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Blackjack and Numbers

This post is syndicated by the Las Vegas Advisor for the 888 casino group. Anthony Curtis comments on the 888 article introduced and linked to on this page

AC says: Experienced blackjack players might get the initial impression that this article is too rudimentary to bother reading. Resist that urge. While it addresses aspects of the game that you may already know about, John Grochowski clarifies things in an interesting way using the “numbers” theme. I’ve never seen the 34/55 discussion before, but it helps sum up what you’re looking at in a basic strategy chart and, as a bonus, touches on the little-discussed topic of composition-dependent basic strategy, which is something many won’t have already known about. 

This article was written by John Grochowski in association with 888Casino.

Blackjack and Numbers

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Mob merriment; Golden Nugget woes

What the hell were you thinking, Bally’s Corp.? The company’s struggling Atlantic City casino recently hosted a meet-and-greet featuring mobster Gianni Russo. Our Boardwalk correspondent, who was there, says Russo is “a lifelong member of the Mafia, who was in The Godfather. [He played Talia Shire‘s doomed husband.] It was both a strange and very interesting presentation. He told his story along with screens showing many photos of people he interacted with, with film clips (my favorite was Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra singing a song together), newspaper headlines, and also sang a few songs! The promotions said there would be gifts; they had five violin-shaped liquor bottles, and each invited guest received a signed copy of his book . No other gifts. They had an open bar and some desserts.”

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Sands hailed; A’s to Vegas; Coney casino razzed; Mega-Jottings

First-quarter numbers for Las Vegas Sands were “nicely ahead” per J.P. Morgan analyst Joseph Greff, who said Sands’ Macao casinos were firing on all cylinders (mass-market play, VIP action, slots, retail and lodging). He expected Macanese cash flow of $304 million and got $385 million, far more than the rest of Wall Street was awaiting. “There is still ample room for further recovery,” Greff wrote, noting that Sands had achieved the near-unthinkable with only 69% of hotel rooms (due to a labor crisis), 25% of normal ferry capacity, low passenger loads—39% of capacity—at Macao’s dinky airport, and “less robust visitation” from Hong Kong (74% of peak performance) and Guangdong Province (55%). Retail sales of $109 million were particularly impressive, as they hit 95% of pre-Covid altitude. Beyond that, Chinese mainland visitation is very low: 27%. Still, he expects “a rising tide to lift all Macau boats.” As for Sands itself, its labor crunch is expected to ease by summer, so neither Greff nor management is worried.

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Pennsylvania, Lousiana flagging; All eyes on Macao

Casino winnings in Pennsylvania stuttered last month, hitting $311 million, flat with March 2022. Spreading more gaming wealth among a greater number of properties obviously isn’t helping on a same-store basis. Parx Casino maintained its supremacy with $53 million, despite a 5% slippage. Elsewhere in the Philadelphia area, Philadelphia Live jumped 5.5% to $22 million, besting nearby rival Rivers Philadelphia ($21.5 million, -6%). Harrah’s Philadelphia plunged 10% to $14 million, falling tantalizingly close to Valley Forge Resort, whose $13 million represented a 2.5% gain. In the Pittsburgh market, Rivers Pittsburgh was flat at a still-impressive $33.5 million. Rival Hollywood Meadows galloped 17.5% faster to hit $19 million while Pittsburgh Live gained 5% to reach $10.5 million.

As for the outstate casinos, Wind Creek Bethlehem dipped 1% to a massive $45 million, leaving behind Mohegan Sun Pocono ($19 million, -2%) and smoky Mount Airy ($16 million, +8%). Presque Isle Downs was down 11.5% to $9 million, Hollywood Penn National slipped 3.5% to $16.5 million and Lady Luck Nemacolin plunged 21% to $1.5 million. Amongst the satellites, Hollywood York leapt 14% to $9 million, Hollywood Morgantown vaulted 22.5% to $6.5 million and Parx Shippensburg booked $3 million.

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It Goes Both Ways

In January, I had an incident at the Harrah’s Cherokee casino that I wrote about. I started my trip by taking a $20,000 marker, consisting of eight $2,500 TITO tickets and began to play $5 Deuces Wild. When I hit four deuces, I got two more of the same size . When I hit royals, I collected eight more.

It was a very successful trip and at the end, I had far more than eight of these tickets. I had signed for every one of them. At the end of the trip when I cashed out, the cage said one of the $2,500 tickets had been cancelled. They weren’t going to pay it until they figured it out.

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Atlantic City still up; Full House fuels diners; Japan payday?

Casino revenues were outstripped in New Jersey in March by i-gaming ones, $228.5 million to $253 million. But Atlantic City continued to be healthy, up 5.5%. Slot winnings were 1% higher on flat coin-in but table games did 7% better despite 5% less wagering. Bottom line: Players spent less, lost more. Borgata galloped 12% ahead to $61.5 million (not too shabby for a 20-year-old resort), while Hard Rock Atlantic City remained fairly static, up 2% to $40 million. Ocean Casino Resort vaulted 36% to $34.5 million. In the middle tier (i.e., Caesars Entertainment), the leader was Harrah’s Resort, nudging ahead 3% to $20.5 million. Tropicana Atlantic City wasn’t far behind at $19 million (flat) but Caesars Atlantic City slipped ignominiously to $17 million, down 7%.

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Case Bets

Ohio‘s gaming industry continues to experience woes. Former lottery director Pat McDonald claims to have resigned for reasons of health. Gov. Mike DeWine (R) cites “HR irregularities.” Either way, McDonald’s out abruptly. Top members of DeWine’s staff personally escorted him from the building. Now DeWine has to find a Mr. or Ms. FixIt and soon. For the time being aerospace specialist Michelle Gilchrist is the new occupant of the hot seat. We don’t envy her.

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Atlantic City blues

Atlantic City‘s first casino, Resorts Atlantic City, celebrated the 45th anniversary of legalized gambling on the Boardwalk in rather limp fashion. Highlights included a beachball drop and an appearance by Mayor Marty Small (D). Well, we suppose he’s got to do something besides be a sock puppet for Trenton. Small was accompanied by Atlantic City’s new resident celebrity, Kelsey Grammer, who was evidently “assistant mayor” for the occasion. Is being a Small sidekick that much of an honorific? To cap the festivities, Resorts rolled out … a tribute band?!?! Yes, it’s the New York Bee Gees, adding to the perception of the Boardwalk as an also-ran destination for entertainers.

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