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Two Advantage Plays on Norwegian Cruise Lines — And an end of a play

Shirley and I just returned from a week-long Caribbean cruise on the Norwegian Sun. The cruise was “free” from the Palms, meaning that we “only” had to pay $521 in port fees and taxes — per person. We’ve taken a large number of cruises to many destinations, and this particular one was the only one that came up on NCL when we Googled “2011 Square Dance Cruise.” It’s a minority priority, to be sure, but it’s ours. Continue reading Two Advantage Plays on Norwegian Cruise Lines — And an end of a play

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Time-Stamping Your Money

Assume you have more than $500 in your wallet. If it’s not true when you’re reading this, it has been true sometime before and you can do a “thought experiment” rather than a physical one. Reach into your wallet and pull out a $100 bill. Can you tell me when and where you got that particular bill? In most cases, the answer will be “no.” Yes we can imagine a scenario where one of the bills we got from the South Point had a ripped corner, and it just so happens that that was the bill you pulled out so you know where you got it, but that’s a pretty rare case. Continue reading Time-Stamping Your Money

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Good Judgment Affected by Losing Streak

Sam’s Town offered a nice low-roller promotion in September that they are extending through October. On Sundays, earning 1,750 points entitles you to $20 in Rebel gas cards. This is a 1.1% add-on to whatever multiplier you are normally entitled to if you play less-than-100% games. It’s a 0.55% add-on if you play their 100% games. One nice plus is that Sunday is one of the days when you can pick up free play — should you be entitled to it for past play. You can play lesser amounts to earn lesser amounts of gas cards, but why would you? Once you’re there, this is a good promotion worth playing to the max. Continue reading Good Judgment Affected by Losing Streak

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A Look at Busting Vega$ by Ben Mezrich

In Munchkin’s and my September 1, 2011 Gambling with an Edge radio shows, guest Andy Bloch (poker player and former MIT Blackjack Team member) mentioned that he was involved in the Monte Carlo arrest described in Ben Mezrich’s book, Busting Vega$. Bloch claimed some of the details in the book were different than what actually happened. Continue reading A Look at Busting Vega$ by Ben Mezrich

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If a Tree in a Forest Falls and Nobody is Around, Does it Make Any Noise?

I never figured out why people debated the subject listed in the title of this article. Of course there was noise. To my mind the presence of sensors, human or otherwise, is not a necessary requirement to knowing whether or not there is noise. For whatever reason, some people want to take the other side of this argument. (If you are such a person, leave me out of the argument. Just assume I have a closed mind on this particular subject.) Continue reading If a Tree in a Forest Falls and Nobody is Around, Does it Make Any Noise?

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Annual Invitation to Come Square Dancing with Shirley and Me

A year ago, when my weekly column was on a different site, I wrote a column encouraging you to join Shirley and me square dancing http://www.casinogaming.com/columnists/dancer/2010/0914.html Everything I said in that column still applies except that this year the beginner’s classes are on Tuesdays, beginning September 13. Continue reading Annual Invitation to Come Square Dancing with Shirley and Me