Las Vegas Advisor

Posted on April 7, 2020August 24, 2023 by Bob Dancer — 8 Comments

Ways Casinos Can Restrict You

I’m writing this as all Nevada casinos are closed for business. It feels weird. It’s the first time this has happened in my lifetime. Nevada was a few days behind several other states that have also closed casinos. More than one dozen Las Vegas casinos voluntarily closed before the governor’s order.

Since, because of the governor’s order, Nevada casinos won’t let you in these days, I began to list other ways a casino can kick out video poker players — although usually one at a time.

Posted on March 31, 2020August 24, 2023 by Bob Dancer — 42 Comments

Will Playable Video Poker Return After COVID-19?

The coronavirus has shut down casinos across the world. Even if they are allowed to open up again in a month or two, they will have sustained significant losses. Some estimates are that it will take up to two years for Nevada casinos to recover. If they stay closed for longer than two months, it will take much longer than that.

This means some casinos will not reopen at all. If they were cash-strapped and struggling before the pandemic, they just might be pushed over the edge. Expect many casino bankruptcies in 2020 and 2021.

Posted on March 24, 2020 by Bob Dancer — 9 Comments

A Look at Robert Wachtel’s The Backgammon Chronicles: A Pro’s Adventures on Tour

Robert Wachtel is a world-class backgammon player — Richard Munchkin and I have each known him for more than forty years. He recently self-published a two-volume set of Chronicles which I read and enjoyed. While Bob will be a guest in the near future on Gambling with an Edge, I thought I’d give readers a preview of the books.

The essays in each volume are mostly previously published stories from backgammon periodicals — updated for the book. I haven’t kept up with the backgammon literature since I left the game in 1993, so it was all new to me (other than a remembrance piece written when Paul Magriel passed away). Color photographs enhance the experience.

Posted on March 17, 2020August 24, 2023 by Bob Dancer — 2 Comments

Drivers, Pilots, and Artists

Several years ago, I was attending a series of motivational lectures by Dr. William Kerley. Near the end of the last lecture, he spoke of when he was hired by Continental Airlines to give classes to their non-pilots on how to deal with pilots. To properly understand what pilots go through, he spent many hours in flight simulators for a variety of airplanes. (This happened before 9/11).

Kerley said he developed a great appreciation of how good all airline pilots really have to be, but as in everything else, there were some of these pilots who barely got their license, some who were average, and some cream-of-the-crop pilots. Kerley said the pilots themselves categorize these groups as drivers, pilots, and artists.

Posted on March 10, 2020August 24, 2023 by Bob Dancer — 7 Comments

How it Should Be Done

I was playing video poker at a Dotty’s — a chain of 15-machine bar/casinos where I can still eke out an edge. I was playing high stakes for there ($50 a hand) at about 4 a.m. one Sunday morning, sitting off in a corner where the rest of the place spread out before me.

Directly across from me, a lady I’ll call Susan, called the bartender over and said her machine had shorted her a hundred dollars. It didn’t involve me and I didn’t have any information about it, so I watched silently. Voices weren’t raised, but I could still hear things clearly.

Posted on March 7, 2020 by Dave Kamsler — 2 Comments

Since You Asked — Wildlife on the Strip

If you read my first blog post, you know there’s a lot more wildlife in Las Vegas than what can be found in the club scene. But I know what you’re thinking: “Hey, Dave, that sounds nice and all, but Vegas time is precious time and I’m not leaving the greatest four-mile stretch on Earth to go traipsing all over.”

Fine, but in that case, can I interest you in some wildlife right on the Strip?

Posted on March 3, 2020 by Bob Dancer — 4 Comments

The 24th Annual Blackjack Ball

Recently in Las Vegas, more than 60 of the sharpest blackjack players from around the world, with a few other successful gamblers invited as well, got together with their guests for an evening of socializing, drinking champagne, and competing against each other. We voted to select the newest member of the Blackjack Hall of Fame. The last man standing in the skills contest won the Grosjean Cup. The names of both of these winners will be recognizable to most of my readers.

The ballot for the Blackjack Hall of Fame, alphabetized by first name, included Anthony Curtis, Blair Hull, Cat Hulbert, Lance Humble, Maria “The Greek,” Mark Billings, Mike Michalek, Norm Wattenberger, and Richard Dougherty.

Posted on February 25, 2020August 24, 2023 by Bob Dancer — Leave a comment

Is it Good for Me or Good for Us?

Not too long ago, here I wrote an article about when to hold a kicker to three aces while playing a Double Double Bonus progressive. The thumbnail conclusion was that if four aces pay 800 coins, and the aces-with-a-kicker (AWAK) progressive is at least 2285 coins, from a hand like AAA53, you should hold AAA3.

Whether you understood the article or not, assume for today that the previous sentence is true and that you and Al (whom you’ll meet shortly) both believe that and play that way.

Posted on February 24, 2020 by Dave Kamsler — Leave a comment

Since You Asked — Lion Habitat Ranch

[Editor’s Note: Our new blogger, Floridian “Dapper” Dave Kamsler, is a Vegas veteran, having made more than 50 trips, ranging from three days to three weeks, in his Vegas “career.” He estimates that he’s spent 3% of his life in Las Vegas hotel rooms. He’s a CPA who’s also done some sportscasting on radio and television, and he was one of only 39 winners (out of 206,000 entrants) in FanDuel’s 2019 NFL Survivor Pool, so he’ll have some insight to offer on sports as well. Most of all, he’s stayed at plenty of places and done plenty of things in Vegas that you’ve only heard about — and many that you haven’t — so he’ll offer up trip reviews and photos to help you discover and enjoy more of our favorite city. Take it: Dave.]

Hey, remember when the MGM Grand used to have live lions? I’m sure you never stopped to think about it, but those lions didn’t actually live on the casino floor. The lived off-site and were transported to the MGM Grand every day. (And no, there’s no truth to the rumor that the lions were banned from the casino for counting cards!)

Posted on February 18, 2020August 24, 2023 by Bob Dancer — 13 Comments

What Time Is It?

It was approaching midnight recently as I played a progressive at a Las Vegas casino. This was a casino that changed multipliers every day, and today I was receiving the highest possible multiplier. Tomorrow my multiplier was likely to be smaller. It didn’t have to be, but I wouldn’t know what it would be until I swiped after midnight. It was not a casino where you had to swipe for your multiplier before you started playing, but rather one where you just had to swipe before you left.

The progressive was high enough that it was worth playing whatever the multiplier was, but obviously, the bigger the multiplier the better.

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