News letter #6 March 25/1998
The Gamblers Choice...News letter #6 Vol 1 issue 6
Welcome once again to The Gamblers Choice, it's been a strange winter
and I for one am glad to see the last of it. Welcome to Spring.
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Rio buffet review
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The Rio is an off the strip Casino with one of the most exciting
buffets, yes I said buffet, in Las vegas. The price is healthy but
the choices are overwhelming. It's not your regular "trough" type
buffet where you help yourself out of the communal pot but rather a
booth style where each booth serves a specialty item from Chinese,
American style to hot dogs and hamburgers. And most everything in
between, pasta, steak, roast beef, fried shrimp and fish dishes.
Particularly interesting is the desert bar with an unimaginable variety
of pastries, pies, cakes and cookies and some specialty items that
call you back again and again untill you surrender in a blissfull
stupor too full to move. Oh thats eating in every meaning of the word.
When you go to Vegas check it out, I'm sure you'll agree. Please note:
The Rio does not pay me for saying these nice things about their buffet.
True classic poker story
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The game was draw poker, nothing wild, the stakes were five cent ante,
quarter bets, unlimited raises. It happened in a small town in southern
Ontario, a local game played daily in the hosts garage. He raked a quarter
a pot or played ante free at his option.
It was early evening and the usual compliment of seven players sat at the
table. Everyone anted and the cards were dealt. The player next to the
dealer opened, the next three players called and the fourth player raised.
The sixth player called, I called and the opener called. We threw in our
discards and the dealer drawled "how many" as he went around the table.
I drew one card.
The opener bet again, the first two called, the third dropped out and the
fourth player raised. The sixth player called the raised bet and I raised
back. The opener called all the raises and came back with yet another raise.
The next two players folded and the third player called the raise. The
player on his left folded and I raised back, he returned my raise with his
own and the player between us dropped out. We raised another four times
when someone came in the door and said, "Bill your wife is outside and
wants you to come out", with this startling turn of events I called his
raise.
He leaned back and in the most arrogant manner, spun the cards on the table
one at a time. The first card was an eight, the second an ace followed by
three more aces, nothing wild and he has four aces. He leaned forward to
scoop the pot but before he started scooping I laid out my straight spade
flush, from the five to the nine, I caught the seven of spades.
There was a stunned look of amazement on the face of everyone in the room
but four aces looked like he had been hit with a sledge. With what seemed
like a "nuts" hand he ran into a straight flush. I scooped the pot and
without fanfare left to meet my recent bride.
Many years later, on an overcast rain threatening day, my fishing buddy
and I were waiting for the weather to clear in a small coffee shack by the
lake in southern Ontario. We were swapping stories about various experiences
we had had. There were the two of us and one other person sitting at a
corner table not too far from where we sat.
I began to relate my poker story to Ray, my fishing buddy, and as It ended
with my straight flush beating four aces, the "stranger" in the corner
ambled over to us and said, "and I'm the son-of-a-bitch that had the four
aces". As I looked up at him I began to recognize him as the man of many
years past, who held four aces against my straight flush.........30
New Domains gamblesearch.com and interexna.com
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We have launched a new web site with our own Domain name actually we have
two new domain names and we invite you to check them out. One can be found
at just click on this URL and it will take
you to my new Domain, this is my gambling directory and it has many
interesting links to about 25 gambling subjects, I'm sure you will find
the subject you are looking for. My other gambling domain is
This will take you to my interex index with
all of the URL's submitted to the internet to date. We are working hard
on a whole new stable of Web pages dedicated to the subject of Vegas and
gambling, we will keep you informed on our progress.
The Government and sports books
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Recently the the US "justice" department indicted 14 off shore sports book
operators. It seems the government has everything else under control and
so it must find new windmills to tilt at with your tax dollars, Oh well.
Why we play the slot machines
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Slot players play slots for different reasons but winning is certainly one
of the main reasons. There is nothing like the high generated from a big
hit. The letters I get from slot players always have the same feeling of
elation when telling about winning a jackpot. You can almost feel the high
excitement being expressed. It is particularly enjoyable when they tell me
they took my advice on playing slots and won. I don't know how many took
my advice and lost, they seldom if ever write to me.
Casino comps
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Casinos provide comps, free rooms, free tickets to shows, free meals etc.,
to select customers based on their action. This can range anywhere from
playing slots to being a high roller at craps, roulette, black jack or any
other casino game. Casinos believe in rewarding players with comps much the
same as getting a discount from a retail merchant for spending a lot of
money or sometimes just a little money.
There was a time not too long ago when only high rollers at the tables
could expect to be compted, slot players were considered low rollers but
that all changed as we became more affluent and the slots were upgraded
to high end play, 1.00. 5.00. 20,00 and up. Along with this increase in
slot play denomination, technology provided a way of tracking slot play.
This has given legitimacy and respect to the one time lowly slot player.
Almost everyone now uses slot cards to have their play recorded so they
may qualify for comps. Slot cards cost nothing but a few moments of your
time to register and then of course you must insert them in whatever
machine you play in order to appreciate and receive comps. The only
problem with slot cards is the tendency to leave them in the machine when
play is done, this is my problem, forgetting the damn card in the slot.
Actually, getting a slot card is a good idea and where possible you should
register a common card with you and your partner, thereby inceasing your
volume of play and your level of comps. But don't forget it in the slot.
Now for the commercial
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I invite you to visit my web sites and if you are an online gambler visit
my sponsors. My main web site is;
My sponsors are; Starluck...Grand Dominican....Worldgaming.......
The River Belle....Royal Magic Casino.....if you
look real hard you might even find a lotto game.
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The Sands old and new
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In it's short life of 44 years the Sands hosted President John F. Kennedy
and featured Sinatras' Rat Pack, as well as thousands of other notables
from around the world. But time caught up with the Sands and the wrecking
crew had the last word. Goodbye Sands. Hello Venetian. Estimated at a cost
of 2 billion dollars the Venetian will soon be echoing the sounds once so
familiar at the Sands. Slot machines with flashing lights and spinning reels,
the clink clank of coins cascading into the trays. Dice tables with players
shouting for the shooter to throw a seven. The party atmosphere that seems
to invade every corner of a Casino will soon be in full swing at the
Venetian.
Joining the race to be the biggest and the best, the Venetian is but the
latest in a long line of megacasinos. Touted as the largest hotel in the
world the Venetian features, naturally, a Venetian theme, with canals and
gondolas ready to take patrons on a make believe tour of the canals of
Venice. 6,000 suites with some 30 restaurants muliple swimming pools and
two Casinos. Out of the rubble that once was the Sands, a modern pheonix,
the Venetian, rises to embrace the tourist gambler. Did I say that?
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>From our "we get letters" department
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>From time to time people ask me about various gambling spots and how the
slot machines pay off. This is a sample of the questions I get and answers
I give.
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Writer;
As I told you the other night I am going to Tunica, MS the weekend of March
13th and would like to get some tips and strategies to win at the slot
machines.
Ans. There are no sure fire strategies when playing the slots but there are
a few things you can do to minimize your losses. Always know where you stand
as far as you money is concerned. Try playing 7 or 8 spins on a machine if
you get nothing, move on. Keep your wits about you and don't just feed the
slot aimlessly. Play a roll of coins if you don't think 7 or 8 pulls is
enough, if you don't recoup your roll after once through, move on, if you
do get your roll back plus a few coins try putting the roll through again
and repeat the process, the worst you can do is lose the roll or part of it.
If you do get a good hit, play another roll and move on. These are some of
the strategies I have used over the years and found them to allow me to play
longer for my money and sometimes even win.
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At one time everytime I went I would come home money ahead. The casino
took out all of the type of machines that I was wining on and I have not
been a winner since.
Ans. There are a number of answers to this situation and the first one that
comes to mind is that you had a good string of luck. I have a friend who,
for the longest time, seemed to always win at the slots but here luck just
changed and she is now in the same class as most of us. Luck has almost
everything to do with how well you do at slots.
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I go to Sams Town mostly, the Hollywood next, Harrahs last. All of the
casinos located in Tunica,MS. I quit going to Lady Luck in Helena all
together because I never won a penny there.
Ans. We all have those Casinos where we just can't seem to win, mine is
Fitzgeralds it's the worlds worst for me and I just won't play there. If
you don't feel comforatble in a casino, stay away.
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Playing the slots is my favorite pass time, but I have really been
discouraged the past several times I have gone. I do usually get a free
room and some meals. But it would be so nice to bring home some money
again.
Ans. Winning is always nice and we alwys hope to win that's what keeps us
coming back, that kick when you do get a good hit.
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I am anxiously waiting to hear from you with anything you tell me. I
read part of an interview you did with a gentleman in a book and I think
you will be honest with me.
Ans. Your right I will be honest with you as I am with anyone who asks
about slots or gambling in general. My philosophy is, slots are for
having fun and anytime you win it's a bonus.
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Is there anyway to tell if progressive machines are hooked nationwide or
to just that casino? I don't play progressives except a time or two for
a chance at really big money.
There are three kinds of Progressive slots. One is a single machine
with a progressive feature, these will rarely get much more than a
few hundred or maybe a couple of thousand dollars. Then there are bank
progressives that are tied into a bank of machines at the Casino usually
they are all together in a row. These can go to many thousands, the
nickle progressives at the Imperial Palace stood at 30,000.00 for as
long as I can remember, I don't think anyone ever won that one. Then there
are the city or state wide progressives and they are tied into each other
to provide a giant progressive jackpot sometime into the millions. The
rule of thunb is simply the bigger the jackpot the more machines tied
together to provide it.
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A great Web site give it a peek
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This web site is hosted by Ted Newkirk it's "hot" and it's loaded.
This is one of the premier Vegas sites on the internet, I hate to say it
but it's better than mine.
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New feature. Mark Pilarski is a long time gambling afficianado who has
a real knack for cutting to the chase. With his kind pemission We will
be featuring an item from his website in this and future editions.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Dear Mark,
All casinos have slot machines, blackjack tables, etc. Is there a
difference between casino A, B, and C? Michelle C. Traverse City, MI
PLENTY, Michelle! My goal as a player-advocate columnist is to develop
players who can identify beneficial gaming situations, not only the bets
you make in a casino but the casinos themselves. So are all casinos the
same? No, no-the correct answer is this: No two casinos are alike. Some
are good, and some, well let me describe the differences:
The Good: Though more come to mind, I'll give you two examples: the Club
Cal Neva in Reno and Binion's Horseshoe in Las Vegas. Here's what they
offer their cherished players - that's you and me, Michelle. Besides
some of the cheapest food prices-99˘ breakfasts and $3.99 steak dinners-they
offer great gaming plays like 25˘ crap games with up to 10 times odds,
single deck blackjack with liberal rules, single zero roulette, excellent
video poker pay tables, loads of loose nickel and quarter machines, and
comps just for breathing.
These casinos, the ones that treat you like a treasured commodity and are
always trying to increase buyer value, are casinos I hope you, Michelle,
will migrate to.
The Bad: Quite possibly, this is the casino you normally play in. Gouging
table limits on the weekends; tough getting comps (stale popcorn and lucky
dogs don't cut it); poor pay tables on video poker machines; and tight
slots. Basically, they put out games for your convenience and count their
money. Plus, the practice of my #1 rule of casino management-who's the
boss, you the customer-is limited. If your favorite casino has any of the
above symptoms, maybe it's time to change.
The Ugly: Casino Windsor. Knowing full well they have the only game in
town, Detroiters who cross the river to Canada-and all players for that
matter-are being ripped off, bigtime! For starters, charging $40 for valet
parking and instant admission versus parking two blocks away and waiting
up to two hours to get in is absurd. Hopefully that has changed.
But I'm just warming up. They opened with $15 table minimums/$200
maximumsp;which can deplete a modest bankroll in mere minutes; zero
nickel, very limited quarter and mostly dollar slots; and very poor pay
tables on video poker machines equaling what you would find in airports
and grocery stores. Finally the triple whammy: I found food service at
the buffet slow, quality only fair, and prices high. Unequivocally,
two thumbs down on Casino Windsor.
So, Michelle, the key here is shopping for value, not only on your bet
selection, but learning to shop casinos. Warren Nelson, owner of the
Club Cal Neva in Reno, has lived by a simple principle most of his career:
Give the players the best bet (lowest odds for the house) that you can
while still making a profit, and they will play longer, leave satisfied,
and come back bringing their friends." I applaud his sound reasoning and,
Michelle, that's the kind of casino where you should play.
Before I Shuffle:
Maybe you'll let me blame the following story on sunstroke. After spending
the day lounging poolside at the Mirage Hotel/Casino in Las Vegas, we
decided instead of watching a sporting event in their sports book-we were
just too tired (lazy) to leave the room-that a few snacks and some beer
in our room would do the trick. We each threw in a few bucks and sent our
runner (scissors cuts paper) down to a convenience store called "Impulse"
in the Mirage Hotel.
Noting here that all the "buyer impulse" merchandise we purchased wasn't
priced, the cost of two six-packs, one small package of Jerky, and two 8
ounce boxes of Cheese Nips: $29.43! Even I get the worst of it once in a
while. Thought I would pass along my lesson learned to you.
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My comments;
Well done Mark, I live in Windsor and couldn't agree more on your assessment
of the Windsor Casino. If I may offer a correction, Valet parking opened
at 50.00 not 40.00 sheer greed and opportunism. Not only have they changed
but they're starting to scratch and it looks good on them.
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Remember, Casinos are for having fun, enjoy the games they offer and if
you win consider it a bonus.
If you would like to contribute a short article to my news letter please
feel free. The subject matter must have to do with gambling, no politics,
no religeon. -:) Email you artice to:
If you have any comments or questions on gambling, I will do my very
best to answer them for you.
One last comment, If any of your friends would like to subscribe to my
news letter please feel free to have them submit their name.
Until next time.
Bill Konrad, Editor; "The gamblers Choice"
Cheers,
Bill Konrad
billk@netcore.ca