Years ago, new management at the Union Plaza in downtown Las Vegas tried a grand experiment: they liberalized the blackjack rules and raised the limits. The chip design was modernized, and the cage gracefully handled bigger cashouts with no questions asked. As part of the marketing of this new philosophy (as if “bet more, win more” were some clever, new idea), they held a high-stakes poker tournament and even got some TV crews in there. The goal was to bring some big action back to downtown Vegas. Their experiment worked! Heh heh.
Dad, I’m Going to Marry a Professional Gambler. We Want Your Blessing!
Recently on the videopoker.com internet forum there were some posters saying they would hate to hear such a phrase from their daughters. That forum is primarily frequented by recreational gamblers who don’t know any, or many, successful professional gamblers. Continue reading Dad, I’m Going to Marry a Professional Gambler. We Want Your Blessing!
If I Were a Slot Director
I’ve heard a great many players complain about the way certain slot departments, primarily involving video poker, are being run. I thought it would be an interesting thought exercise to decide how I would handle the job as a slot director if I were given that opportunity.
Continue reading If I Were a Slot Director
How We Do It: Buying a Seat
When it comes to securing a target, I’m not into gimmicks and shortcuts. I’m old-school that way: I believe in hard work (despite a dealer looking at my hands and saying, “You never work”), pounding the pavement, getting to a target on time (which means early), and securing the real estate quietly. There is a young generation of players who take our terminology literally, and think that the easiest way to acquire real estate is to purchase it. They run around, often getting to games late from oversleeping or laziness, and then think that a simple, grand solution is to buy the seat from any civilian in their way. I prefer acquiring real estate through foreclosure; buying a seat has a huge long-term cost, which matters to anyone who wants longevity for that specific target or that casino. Continue reading How We Do It: Buying a Seat
Whatever It Takes
When I moved to Las Vegas in 1994, I was 47 years of age and weighed 210 pounds — which was the heaviest ever for me. My exercise and weight management attempts fluctuated over the years and by 2010 I was up to 260 pounds. The combination of all the free food I wanted from casinos and a relatively sedentary life added up to obesity.
Continue reading Whatever It Takes
Location, Location, Location
I was going to make another installment in the instructional series—”How We Do It: Buying a Seat”—but realize that before we even get into buying “real estate” (our code phrase for seats), we need a crash course on real-estate appraisal. Different seats at the table have value for different reasons. Continue reading Location, Location, Location
Why I Don’t Play Progressives
A month or so ago on vpFREE a poster asked why I don’t play progressives. I thought about my answer for a while and decided to write about it here.
Before I start, I should say I “usually” don’t play progressives. There have been exceptions, which I’ll mention. Continue reading Why I Don’t Play Progressives
An Invisible Promotion
I recently wrote how I played during the $600,000 July Money Madness promotion at the South Point. To summarize, there were two progressives running at all times during the month. One between $10,000 and $25,000 — where, in addition to the one lucky winner, all players playing with a card inserted when it hit received $25 in free play. The second between $1,000 and $2,500 — where no additional money was given away to players playing when someone else hit the jackpot. Continue reading An Invisible Promotion
Legal Musings: Communist Candyland
If you whack a game by hole-carding, the casino will stiff you and then get the DA to intimidate you. The DAs are happy to be the minions of the casino, and the casino no doubt refers to the entire DA’s office as “staff.” So the DA, who’s never heard of a hole card in his life, will come in and say, “Aha!” Then there will be a pause because he’s not sure what he’s aha-ing. Then, he will accuse you of cheating because you “used information not available to others at the table.” Continue reading Legal Musings: Communist Candyland
Concentrating on the Deltas
While most of my video poker play is done in Las Vegas, I do have a few out-of-town plays which I like. I go back to some of them again and again. Unfortunately, publishing what and where would be a death sentence for the games. Continue reading Concentrating on the Deltas