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Nevada/Las Vegas minimums (COVID Edition) part 5
It was getting really tedious to edit a post with over 100 casinos in it. So I'm breaking it up to Nevada casinos and non-Nevada casinos. If you are reporting about a casino, could you please try to include the following:
Name of the casino
Where it's located
What time of day and is it a weekday or weekend?
Max odds
Field pays
Side bets available (Repeater, ATS, Firebet)
Are there dividers or how many are shooting per side
The more information we have, the better off we will be. We all know that tables can change rapidly. I saw a table go from 25 to 15 to 100 at the Flamingo in the course of a few hours. I'll try to keep the mins what is reported the most and add other information in the comments like "found this table at $5 on graveyard shift" so people konw that isn't the norm These tables can be a pain to maintain, so please provide as much information as possible. An informed roller is a beter roller.
Vegas Strip Casnio
WeekDay Min
WeekNight Min
WeekendMin
WeeknightMin
MaxOdds
Field Pay
Sidebet
Dividers/Per Side
Last Update
Comments
Aria
25
25
25
25
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
10/27
Ballys
10
15
10
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
No
9/3
Bellagio
15
25
25
50
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Yes
9/3
Caesars
25
25-50
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
No
8/25
Cosmo
25-50
50-100
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
8/22
Cromwell
10
10
15
15
100X
Unknown
ATS
Unknown
11/24
Encore
10
10
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Yes, on some tables
8/12
Excalibur
10
10
10
15
3x4x5x
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
11/24
crapless is usually $10. Bubble craps $5
Flamingo
10-15
15-25
Unknown
25
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
9/29
$100 table at times.
Harrah's
15
25
25
25
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
No
8/22
Linq
15
15
Unknown
25
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
No
8/22
Luxor
10
10
15
15
3x4x5x
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Updated 9/13
Mandalay Bay
15
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
MGM Grand
10
25
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Yes
Unkown
Mirage
15
25
Unknown
Unknown Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Yes
9/29
NY/NY
15
15-25
15
15-25
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Yes
10/27
Osheas
Unknown
15
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Paris
15
15
15
25
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
No
11/9
Park MGM
10
15
15
15
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
11/6
Sahara
5
10
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
8/15
Strat
10
10
10
25
10X
Unknown
Unknown
No
11/24
Treasure Island
15
15
15
15
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
No
9/4
Tropicana
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
No
11/24
Venetian
25
25
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
No
8/22
Wynn
10
10
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Yes, on some tables
10/1
Downtown
WeekDay Min
WeekNight Min
WeekendMin
WeeknightMin
MaxOdds
Field Pay
Sidebet
Dividers/Per Side
Last Update
Comments
Binions
5
10
5
10
5X
Unknown
None
Unknown
11/14
Binions had $5 table several times (opens at 10)
California
10
10
10
10
2X
Unknown
None
Unknown
10/27
Tables open at 11AM
Circa
15
25
15
25
3/4/5X
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
11/2
$10 tables in the mornings have been reported.
The D
15
15
15
15-25
10X
Unknown
ATS
No glass
Updated 9/4
Downtown Grand
10
10
10
Unknown
10X
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
11/14
Table opens at noon.
El Cortez
10
10
10
10
10X
Unknown
None
Yes, some tables
9/4
Jerrys Nugget
3
3
3
3
Unknown
Unknown
ATS
3/None
10/27
Four Queens
5
10
5
10
5X
Unknown
Unknown
No
11/14
$5 tables can be found on some days
Fremont
10
10
10
Unknown
2X
None
Unknown
No
8/10
Golden Gate
10-15
15
15
Unknown
10X
Unknown
ATS
No
8/28
(GG has been 15 some mornings dropping to 10 later in the day)
Golden Nugget
10-15
10
Unknown
3/4/5X
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
No
8/18
$15 with one table open on 8/18
Plaza
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
10X
Unknown
None
No
9/4
OffStrip Casnio
WeekDay Min
WeekNight Min
WeekendMin
WeeknightMin
MaxOdds
Field Pay
Sidebet
Dividers/Per Side
Last Update
Comments
Aliante
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Boulder Station
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Cannery
5
5
5
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Firebet
4 per side
8/31
Ellis Island
5
5
5
5
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
8/17
Craps table opens up at 10am and its 5 dollars 90% of the time
It was getting really tedious to edit a post with over 100 casinos in it. So I'm breaking it up to Nevada casinos and non-Nevada casinos. On a side note, heading to Vegas on Thursday. I'll try to write a trip report and update the minimums as I can. I'm there 9 days and We will be hitting more than 10 casinos, so I expect to be busy. Without further ado: Last update: 9/29
Vegas Strip Casino
Day Min
Night Min
Weekend Day
Weekend Night
Dividers
Comments
Aria
10
15-25
Unknown
Unknown
No
Updated 8/25
Ballys
10
15
10
Unknown
2 tables Updated 9/3
Bellagio
15
25
25
50
Yes, all tables
Updated 9/3
Caesars
25
25-50
Unknown
Unknown
No
Updated 8/25
Cosmo
25-50
50-100
Unknown
Unknown
Updated 8/22
Encore
10
10
10
10
Yes, on some tables
Updated 8/12
Excalibur
10-15
15
10
15
Updated 8/24, crapless is usually $10. Bubble craps $5
Flamingo
10-15
15-25
Unknown
25
Updated 9/29 - $100 table at times.
Harrah's
15
25
25
25
No
Updated 8/22
Linq
15
15
Unknown
25
No
Updated 8/22
Luxor
10
10
15
15
Updated 9/13
Mandalay Bay
15
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
MGM Grand
10
25
Unknown
Unknown
Yes
Mirage
15
25
Unknown
Unknown
Yes
Updated 9/29
NY/NY
10
15-25
15
15-25
Yes
Updated 8/31
Osheas
Unknown
15
Unknown
Unknown
Paris
15
15
Unknown
Unknown
No
Updated 8/22
Sahara
5
10
10
10
Updated 8/15
Strat
Day
10
Unknown
10
25
No
Treasure Island
15
15
15
15
No
Updated 9/4
Tropicana
10
Unknown
No
Updated 9/22
Venetian
25
25
Unknown
Unknown
No
Updated 8/22
Wynn
10
10
10
10
Yes, on some tables
Updated 8/12
Downtown Casino
Day Min
Night Min
Weekend Day
Weekend Night
Dividers
Comments
Binions
5
10
5
10
Binions had $5 table several times (opens at 10, usually 5 until 6PM) Updated 9/4
California
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Tables open at 11AM Updated 8/10
The D
15
15
15
15-25
No glass
Updated 9/4
Downtown Grand
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Table opens at noon. Updated 8/10.
El Cortez
10
10
10
10
Yes, some tables
2 tables Updated 9/4
Four Queens
10
10
10
10
No
Updated 8/15
Fremont
10
10
10
Unknown
Updated 8/10.
Golden Gate
10-15
15
15
Unknown
Updated 8/29 (GG has been 15 some mornings dropping to 10 later in the day)
Golden Nugget
10-15
10
Unknown
Unknown
$15 with one table open on 8/18
Plaza
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Updated 7/30
Sams Town
15
15
Unknown
Unknown
1 table
Offstrip Casino
Day Min
Night Min
Weekend Day
Weekend Night
Dividers
Comments
Aliante
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Boulder Station
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Cannery
5
5
5
Unknown
up to 2 tables - now allowing 4 per side Updated 8/31
Ellis Island
5
5
5
5
1 table - Updated 8/17 - I just called the pit at Ellis. Craps table opens up at 10am and its 5 dollars 90% of the time
Gold Coast
10
10
10
Unknown
Updated 8/31
Green Valley Ranch
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
2 tables open
The Orleans
10
25
Unknown
Unknown
up to 4 tables, I was asked to wear a mask
Palace Station
10
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
ATS And Firebet tables Updated 9/17
Palms
N/A
N/A
Unknown
Unknown
No open date announced
Red Rock
10
15
15
Unknown
Updated 8/14
South Point
5
5
5
10
No
Updated 8/31
Strat
5
10
Unknown
Unknown
Sunset Station
5
5
Unknown
Unknown
Westgate
15
Unknown
Updated 8/24
Other NV Casinos
Day Min
Night Min
Weekend Day
Weekend Night
Dividers
Comments
Cactus Pete's (Jackpot)
5
5
5
5
No
single table Updated 9/29/20
Aquariums (Laughlin)
5
5
10
10
No
ATS - Updated 9/29/20
Edgewater (Laughlin)
10
10
10
10
Updated 9/29/20
Gold Nugget (Laughlin)
5
5
10
10
No
Opened at noon -Updated 9/29/20
Harrahs (Laughlin)
10
10
10
10
no
Updated 9/29/20
Tropicana (Laughlin)
10
10
10
10
Opened at 6PM on weekeday - Updated 9/29/20
Atlantis (Reno)
5/10
5/10
Unknown
Unknown
3 tables on weekends
Cal Neva (Reno)
5
5
10
Unknown
Updated 9/12
Circus Circus (Reno)
Closed
Closed
Unknown
Unknown
Closed table game pit
Eldorado (Reno)
5
10
10
25
Updated 9/12
Grand Sierra (Reno)
15
15-25
15
25
Unknown
Updated 9/29/20
The Nuggett (Reno)
5
5
5
5
Update 8/22
Peppermill (Reno)
5
5
10
10
3 craps tables
Sands (Reno)
5
5
5
5
Update 8/22
Silver Legacy (Reno)
10
25
Unknown
Unknown
Western Village (Reno)
1
1
1
1
Update 8/22
Hard Rock (Tahoe)
5
5
Unknown
Unknown
Harrahs (Tahoe)
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Montbleu (Tahoe)
10
15
Unknown
Unknown
Nugget (Wendover)
5
5
5
5
Updated 7/31
Peppermill (Wendover)
5
5
10
10
Updated 7/31
Rainbow (Wendover)
5
5
10
10
Updated 7/31
Part 1. It's getting buried so I figured we would make a new one. Part 2 Part 3
Report your table minimums here (COVID Edition) part 3
Part 3 in the COVID series. To try and make this list more helpful, I have added Weekend Day and Weekend Night, as those can be vastly different than during the week. I'm trying to monitor Twitter and the Vegas Message Board to get some additional information. Keep sharing all that wonderful goodness. I'd like to update the wiki to talk about what sidebets casinos have, so if you know that info, I can add it to the table comments.
Vegas Strip Casino
Day Min
Night Min
Weekend Day
Weekend Night
Dividers
Comments
Aria
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
No
Updated 7/26
Ballys
10
15
10
Unknown
3 tables Updated 8/8
Bellagio
10
25
Unknown
Unknown
Yes, all tables
Caesars
15
25
Unknown
Unknown
No
Cosmo
15-25
50-100
Unknown
Unknown
Encore
10
10
10
10
Yes, on some tables
Updated 8/12
Excalibur
10-15
15
10
15
Updated 8/12
Flamingo
15
15-25
Unknown
25
Updated 8/8
Harrah's
15
25
25
25
No
Linq
15
15
Unknown
25
No
Updated 8/8
Luxor
10
10
15
15n
Updated 8/12
Mandalay Bay
15
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
MGM Grand
10
25
Unknown
Unknown
Yes
NY/NY
10
15-25
15
Unknown
Yes
Updated 8/8
Osheas
Unknown
15
Unknown
Unknown
Paris
15
15
Unknown
Unknown
No
Updated 8/8
Sahara
5
10
10
10
Updated 8/15
Strat
Day
10
Unknown
10
25
No
Treasure Island
5
15
Unknown
Unknown
Venetian
10-15
25
Unknown
Unknown
No
Wynn
10
10
10
10
Yes, on some tables
Updated 8/12
Downtown Casino
Day Min
Night Min
Weekend Day
Weekend Night
Dividers
Comments
Binions
5
10
Unknown
Unknown
Binions had $5 table several times (opens at noon) Updated 8/17
California
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Tables open at 11AM Updated 8/10
The D
10
15
Unknown
Unknown
No glass
Downtown Grand
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Table opens at noon. Updated 8/10.
El Cortez
10
10
10
10
Yes, some tables
2 tables Updated 8/15
Four Queens
10
10
10
10
No
Updated 8/15
Fremont
10
10
10
Unknown
Updated 8/10.
Golden Gate
10
15
Unknown
Unknown
Updated 8/18
Golden Nugget
10-15
10
Unknown
Unknown
$15 with one table open on 8/18
Plaza
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Updated 7/30
Sams Town
15
15
Unknown
Unknown
1 table
Offstrip Casino
Day Min
Night Min
Weekend Day
Weekend Night
Dividers
Comments
Aliente
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Boulder Station
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Cannery
5
5
Unknown
Unknown
up to 2 tables - now allowing 4 per side
Ellis Island
5
5
5
5
1 table - Updated 8/17 - I just called the pit at Ellis. Craps table opens up at 10am and its 5 dollars 90% of the time
Gold Coast
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Green Valley Ranch
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
2 tables open
The Orleans
10
25
Unknown
Unknown
up to 4 tables, I was asked to wear a mask
Palace Station
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Palms
N/A
N/A
Unknown
Unknown
No open date announced
Red Rock
10
15
15
Unknown
Updated 8/14
South Point
5
5
5
10
No
Updated 8/15
Strat
5
10
Unknown
Unknown
Sunset Station
5
5
Unknown
Unknown
Other NV Casinos
Day Min
Night Min
Weekend Day
Weekend Night
Dividers
Comments
Edgewater (Laughlin)
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Harrahs (Laughlin)
10
15
Unknown
Unknown
no
Atlantis (Reno)
5/10
5/10
Unknown
Unknown
3 tables on weekends
Cal Neva (Reno)
5
5
Unknown
Unknown
Circus Circus (Reno)
Closed
Closed
Unknown
Unknown
Closed table game pit
Eldorado (Reno)
5
10
Unknown
Unknown
Grand Sierra (Reno)
15
15-25 Unknown
Unknown
Peppermill (Reno)
5
5
10
10
3 craps tables
Silver Legacy (Reno)
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Hard Rock (Tahoe)
5
5
Unknown
Unknown
Harrahs (Tahoe)
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Montbleu (Tahoe)
10
15
Unknown
Unknown
Nugget (Wendover)
5
5
5
5
Updated 7/31
Peppermill (Wendover)
5
5
10
10
Updated 7/31
Rainbow (Wendover)
5
5
10
10
Updated 7/31
Non/NV Casino
Day Min
Night Min
Weekend Day
Weekend Night
Dividers
Comments
Wind Creek (Wetumpka, AL)
15
25
Unknown
Unknown
4 to a table Updated 7/31
Sycuan (San Diego, CA)
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Masks required
Barona (So Cal)
10
15
10
10-15
2 tables 2 per side, dealers managing bets for players. Updated 8/21 ($10 at times)
Harrahs (So Cal)
15-25
15-25
15-50
15-50
No
Updated 7/31
Viejas (So Cal)
N/A
N/A
Unknown
Unknown
No live tables
Foxwoods (CT)
15
25
Unknown
Unknown
Mohegan (CT)
15-25
25
Unknown
Unknown
2 were 10, 2
Harrington (DE)
15
15-25
Unknown
Unknown
Must wear mask and face shield
Rivers (Chicago, IL)
15
15
Blue Chip (Michigan City, IN)
5
10
Unknown
Unknown
5 minimum prop bets, 5 min ATS bet.
Caesars Southern IN
10
15
15
25
Updated 8/5
French Lick Resort (French Lick, IN)
15
15
25
25
Tables open at 11am and close at 3AM. Updated 8/5
Harrah's Hooiser Park (Anderson, IN)
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Indiana Grand (IN)
10
15
Unknown
Unknown
No
Belle (Baton Rogue, LA)
5
10
Unknown
Unknown
one half sized table sometimes they open the big one. $5 small table and $10 big late at night
Hollywood (Baton Rogue, LA)
5
10
Unknown
15
Updated 7/24
L’auberge (Baton Rogue,LA)
15
15
Unknown
Unknown
No
L’auberge (Lake Charles,LA)
15
15
Unknown
Unknown
No
1 bubble craps $5 min
El Dorado (Shreveport, LA)
10
10
10
10
Updated 8/17
Horseshoe (Shreveport, LA) 15
15
15
15
Updated 8/17
Margaritaville (Shreveport, LA) 15
15
15
15
Updated 8/17
Ocean Downs (MD)
10
15
Unknown
Unknown
Maryland Live (MD)
25
50
50
Unknown
Yes
5 tables, 4 per side. Electronic craps 15 min
MGM @ National Harbor
50-100
Unknown
Unknown
Yes
4 craps tables 2 were $50 and 2 were $100 mins. Not bubble craps or low roller options.
Firekeepers (Battle Creek, MI)
10
15+
Unknown
Unknown
No dividers, only distancing
1-2 tables depending on demand, did see it at $15 during the day $25 on Fri/Sat night. Masks required, no smoking. $3 Bubble Craps.
Four Winds Casino
15
15
Unknown
Unknown
Digital craps table 5$ min Tuesday and Sunday night. Did not check bubble craps
Gun Lake (Wayland, MI)
10
15
Unknown
Unknown
No
Temp check, masks, usually the crapless table is open
Turtle Creek (Traverse City, MI)
5
Unknown
Unknown
Unknowned
2 tables, temp check, masks
Soaring Eagle (Mt Pleasant, MI)
10
15
Unknown
Unknown
Yes
5 players per side with glass. Tough to hear dealer.
Hollywood Casino, Maryland Heights (St Louis) MO
15
15
Unknown
Unknown
1 regular table & 1 no craps. 4 per side. No outside drinks.
River City (St. Louis, MS)
20
20
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
4 players per side. $20 min. You have to have at least a $20 bet for every throw to "hold your spot"
Beau Rivage (Biloxi, MS)
25
25
Unknown
Unknown
unknown
3 tables
Boomtown (Biloxi, MS)
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
1 table
IP (Biloxi, MS)
25
25
Unknown
Unknown
Scarlett Pearl (Biloxi, MS)
15
25
Unknown
Unknown
No
Masks required, temp check
The Palace Biloxi, MS)
10
15
Unknown
Unknown
Treasure Bay (Biloxi, MS)
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Harrah’s Cherokee & Murphy
15
15
Unknown
Unknown
No
Harrahs River Valley (Murphy, NC)
25
25
Unknown
Unknown
Ballys (AC, NJ)
15
15
Unknown
10
Updated 7/29
Caesars (AC, NJ)
15
15
Unknown
15-25
Updated 7/29
Harrahs (AC, NJ)
15
15
Unknown
Unknown
Hard Rock (AC, NJ
15
25
Unknown
Unknown
2 tables - Updated 7-29
Resorts (AC, NJ)
15
25
Unknown
15
Yes
1 table - Updated 7-29
Ocean (AC, NJ)
10
15
15
25
Yes
4-6 tables
Buffalo Creek (NY)
15
25
Unknown
Unknown
Seneca Niagra (NY)
10
15
Unknown
Unknown
1 table, can go up to $25
Jack/Harrah's (Cincinnati, OH)
25
25
25
25
3 tables, $25 open to close
Hollywood (Columbus, OH)
10-15
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
Unknown
2 tables, masks required
Hollywood (Grantville, PA)
15
25
Unknown Unknown
Unknown
2 tables, masks required
Harrah's Philly (PA)
Unknown
Unknown
15
25
Updated 8/10
Meadows (PA)
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
2-3 tables.
Mohegan Sun (PA)
Unknown
Unknown
25-50
Unknown
Windcreek (PA)
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Mount airy (PA)
10
10
Unknown
Unknown
Valley Forge (PA)
10
Parx (Bensalem, PA)
15
25
Unknown
Unknown
15 but maintaining 25
Southland Casino Racing (West Memphis, TN)
N/A
N/A
Unknown
Unknown
Yes
4 tables all closed. Other pit games open with plexiglas dividers. Bubble craps $5 minimum.
Mardi Gras (Nitro, WV)
15
Usually open on weekends - Updated 7/28
*Last update 8/21 Part 1. It's getting buried so I figured we would make a new one. Part 2 Pulled additional info from here.
6/17 Edit: Great info guys. Keep it coming! If something changes, please let me know. I reached out to the mods asking about putting together a post to collect minimums for craps tables in Vegas and other places. If this post gains traction, it may get a sticky. It may also help cut down on the amount of posts asking for this info. I'll try to keep the body of the post updated. If information is correct, let me know. Update 6/18 - Nevada Gaming Board announced masks required at table games in Nevada. I haven't heard that this is being enforced yet. 6/30: Keep reporting, especially any of you heading to Vegas. We would love to hear what the mins are on the strip Let me know what casino, day or night and the minimums:
Vegas Strip Casino
Day Min
Night Min
Dividers
Comments
Aria
15
25
Unknown
Bellagio
10
25
Yes, all tables
Poker tables open
Caesars
15
25
No
Poker tables open
Casino Royale
N/A
N/A
N/A
Table Games not open
Cosmo
100
50-100
Encore
50
100
Yes, on some tables
Updated 6/16
Excalibur
10-15
Unknown
10 crapless, 15 regular
Flamingo
Rare (5) - 15
25
Harrah's
15
25
No
Confirmed no dividers per 6/16 Youtube video
Linq
15
25
No
Luxor
10
15
Mandalay Bay
N/A
N/A
MGM Grand
10
25
Yes, all tables
NY/NY
10
15
Yes, all tables
Osheas
Unknown
15
Paris
N/A
N/A
No
Opened 6/18 - Masks required at tables.
Planet Hollywood
N/A
N/A
No open date announced
Rio
N/A
N/A
No open date announced
Strat
Day
10
Unknown
Treasure Island
5
15
Venetian
Unknown
25
No
Wynn
25-50
50-100
Yes, on some tables
Updated 6/16
Downtown Casino
Day Min
Night Min
Dividers
Comments
Binions
10
10
California
10
10
The D
10
15
No glass
El Cortez
10
10
Yes, some tables
2 tables
Four Queens
5
5
No
Confirmed thru 6/14 Youtube video
Fremont
10
10
Golden Gate
5
5
From 6/9 on Vegas Message Board (no carnival games)
Sams Town
15
15
1 table
Offstrip Casino
Day Min
Night Min
Dividers
Comments
Aliente
10
10
Boulder Station
10
10
Cannery
5
5
up to 2 tables, a mask was provided but not required
Ellis Island
5
5
1 table
Gold Coast
5
5
Green Valley Ranch
10
10
2 tables open
The Orleans
10
25
up to 4 tables, I was asked to wear a mask
Palace Station
10
10
Unknown
Palms
N/A
N/A
No open date announced
South Point
5
5
2-3x tables w/ only one $5 buy in
Strat
5
10
Sunset Station
5
5
Other NV Casinos
Day Min
Night Min
Dividers
Comments
Edgewater (Laughlin)
10
10
Harrahs (Laughlin)
10
15
no
Atlantis (Reno)
5/10
5/10
2 tables with different mins
Cal Neva (Reno)
5
5
Circus Circus (Reno)
Closed
Closed
Closed table game pit
Eldorado (Reno)
10
10
Grand Sierra (Reno)
15
15-25
Peppermill (Reno)
10
10
3 craps tables
Silver Legacy (Reno)
10
10
Hard Rock (Tahoe)
Closed
Closed
Currently closed
Harrahs (Tahoe)
25
25
Montbleu (Tahoe)
10
15
Non/NV Casino
Day Min
Night Min
Dividers
Comments
Foxwoods (CT)
15
25
Mohegan (CT)
10-50
10-50
2 were 10, 2 $15, 1 $25, 1 $50. Plus a high rollers table
Harrington (DE)
10
15-25
Must wear mask and face shield
Blue Chip (Michigan City, IN)
5
10
5 minimum prop bets, 5 min ATS bet.
L’auberge (Lake Charles,LA)
25/50
25/50
2 $25 min and 2 $50 min tables. 1 bubble craps $5 min
Harrahs (Shreveport, LA)
15
25
Margaritaville (Shreveport, LA)
25
25
Ocean Downs (MD)
10
15
Maryland Live (MD)
25
50
Yes
5 tables, 4 per side. Electronic craps 15 min
MGM @ National Harbor
50-100
Yes
4 craps tables 2 were $50 and 2 were $100 mins. Not bubble craps or low roller options.
Firekeepers (Battle Creek, MI)
10
15+
No dividers, only distancing
1-2 tables depending on demand, did see it at $15 during the day $25 on Fri/Sat night. Masks required, no smoking. $3 Bubble Craps.
River City (St. Louis, MS)
20
20
Unknown
4 players per side. $20 min. You have to have at least a $20 bet for every throw to "hold your spot"
I am heading to Vegas next week and staying at the Venetian. I have played craps in the past, but I don't know much and I often just play the pass line and make odds bets. When I have played, it was downtown at the Nugget or 4 Queens...or sometimes even El Cortez (I actually own a few pairs of first issue dice...circa 1941...from EC.) Although I will get downtown to play, I was curious at how the tables are the Venetian and I am looking for a "slightly more aggressive" play strategy other than just pass/odds bets. (I just want to turn my game up a notch.) Background information... I am $5-$10 table kind of bettor. Any information would be most helpful...Grazie! Just for fun, Here are the El Cortez dice
These are the most popular games at my local casino with $10 minimums - I’ve found to have better luck with these games as you get the free doubles and splits that can turn into 2 or 3 free bets with one of my own bets. What is the verdict on these. Am I better off playing a regular game? Been in vegas for the past few days and played the free bet here only difference is 6/5 instead of the 3/2 i get at home EDIT: Was playing the free bet table at Venetian and the guy at my table (15 min) (5 min side bet) was playing table min with 10 on the side bet. The bet is odds for each free double or split you get. He splits 4’s doubles one of them gets another 4 splits those and 2 more doubles for a total of 5 free bet coins which pays 100:1 so he ends up with $1000 for his $10 bet plus he won like 3 of the 5 free bets
Hey folks! Today I returned to the US after a week aboard the Oasis of the Seas gambling at the single zero roulette table. If you're interested, you can read the original story here where I kept day by day notes in the comments about my winnings and observations. Finished ~$2500 ahead Martingaling for a week. Cruise Background I wanted to vacation in Vegas this fall, my wife wanted to cruise again, so I spent a few months searching cruise lines, looking for a single zero roulette table with at least an 8-bet min/max spread. As it turns out, there are thirteen cruise ships in the world that fit that profile (that I discovered), and after checking all of them against NovembeDecember departure dates from CONUS, I downselected to the Oasis of the Seas from Royal Caribbean for a 7-Day Caribbean cruise, booked it, and thus it was so! The Game For the duration of this cruise, I played single zero roulette and nothing else. The casino on board the Oasis of the Seas has four roulette tables; two American roulette tables on the smoking side, and one each American/European on the non-smoking side. I use the word "European" loosely because while it was single-zero, it had no European rules on it. All four tables were $5 - $100 on the inside, and $5 - $1000 on the outside. I attempted to make arrangements before the cruise as well as with the casino manager during the cruise to raise the limits for my gambling to no avail since I didn't have an established play history with Club Royale. I also requested La Partage be put into effect during my session play without luck - but that was a long shot anyway; the only single zero table I know of in the US with a minimum bet lower than $25 is the $10 - $3000 La Partage table at the Soaring Eagle in Michigan (sorry guys, terminal games don't count!) Single zero roulette tables have a 2.7% house edge; down from the scandalous 5.4% house edge of American roulette (let alone the scammy triple zero crap that Carnival Cruise lines and the Venetian in Vegas are doing); La Partage lowers it to a magnificent 1.35%, but alas - I was destined to go without. My Bets Most of you are probably familiar with a martingale) series bet. For anyone else; on a $5 - $1000 table, $2,000 can bankroll a 8-bet sequence where I double my bet each time I lose, restarting my bet sequence each win. Due to chip denominations, my martingale progression is $5, $10, $25, $50, $100, $250, $500, $1000, which I find more reasonable than 5/10/20/40/80/160/320/640 due to the typical chip denominations 1/5/25/100/500/1000. In a tip of my hat to superstition, my increases from $10 to $25, $100 to $250, and $1000 to $2500 where applicable are my way of "punishing" the casino for making me leave the comfort zone of the outside minimum bet. Mock me if you must; its my personal flair - if my bets grow that high I "deserve" to win more than my base bet for the stress of having to bankroll the roll. The chances of heads or tails on a coin flip are 50% for either outcome. On a single-zero table without La Partage, the equivalent bets - black/red, even/odd, 1-18/19-36 is ~48.6%, with the other 2.7% representing the green zero, or house edge - creating a theoretical loss probability of 2.7% of your bet per bet over time. While the probability of an individual spin being black or red in my case is ~48.6%, the martingale betting progression ties your bets into a session, such that on the table I'm playing on, as long as I don't guess wrong 8 times in a row, I always win. On the off-chance that any newbs are reading this, this is NOT a "strategy" or "guaranteed way to make money." Martingale betting is a low risk, low reward means of using a large sum of money to win a little sum of money - pretty much the opposite of what people go into casinos to do. In statistical terms, the chances of me guessing wrong 8 times in a row in an 8 spin series is three tenths of one percent...but no one sits down for 8 spins and leaves - so my gambling is that when the house spins my losing sequence...I'm not there. =D Such is gambling. Goals! I've learned over the years that if I don't sit at a table with a fixed goal of when to leave, I will get bored and start making side bets (other even money bets or thirds) - more ways to win also mean more ways to lose, and when I am gambling, I am heavily socializing and drinking; I can't keep track of all of it at the same time. My goal is thus to always leave with 120% of my bankroll. This trip was a bit confusing for me because I couldn't reconcile what my bankroll was. Not knowing whether the table limit would be fixed to $1000, or be able to be raised to $10,000 I brought $5,000 in cash with another $35,000 available as credit - I'd wrongly assumed the casino would at least double the table min/max to $10-$2000, and had been hoping they would leave the minimum and double the maximum, adding a one-bet buffer to my 8-spin series. With a $1,000 bet maximum, I stopped bringing more than $2,000 to the casino. If my bankroll is $2,000, I aim to leave with $2400. If my bankroll is $5,000, I aim to leave with $6,000. With $10,000, I aim to leave with $12,000. I initially hoped to turn $2,000 into $2,400, but after doing that the first night gambling and the prospect of the rest of the cruise being bereft of gambling, I decided that since I'd brought $5,000 to gamble with, even if I could only play with $2,000 of it, my 120% goal meant I wanted $1,000 in winnings or bust. On day two when I realized how stingy Club Royale was, and that I'd be buying my own drinks, I shelled out $360 for the liquor package, and adjusted my winning threshold to also cover the liquor package. Then there was a $300 spa treatment. Then an $1800 studio photography session since my wife wanted some nice pictures - something we've not done in a decade. With these confusing inputs leaving me unsure of how to decide if I was up or down, it came down to the fact that while the casino was generally open 8-12 hours a day, the lone roulette table with the single zero didn't open until 8:00 PM - about when the cruise shows started. I did some begging and pleading to have it opened earlier every day to mixed success - a bit on the first day and on the last day, with nothing in the middle. They really wanted people on the American tables - which I had to resist, since for much of the cruise, it was American roulette or nothing. I contented myself during those periods with drinking, socializing with other gamblers, watching, drinking, and trying to find people who didn't have the booze package so I could buy them drinks. Fun Facts
Over 6 days of gambling, averaging 4 hours per day, I hit the $1,000 table maximum bet twice. Both were heart-attack inducing. The first was at 0100 on day 5, I was the last gambler at the table, $1,000 on red didn't screw me, and I took it as a sign to go to bed. The second happened on Day 6; since a $2,000 loss would have left me break even at that point, I took a short break, stretched my legs, and came back.
In the same period, I hit the $250 bet mark in my progression 4 times (resetting from $250 back to $5), and the $500 bet limit zero times. $100 and below bets were too numerous to count.
Total winnings were probably closer to $2800, but I tip freely when its free money.
Despite my "follow the house" betting method of deciding to bet red or black (which capitalizes on streaks), and I never choose which to bet on, there was one dealer would occasionally call a color, and she was only wrong once. I started switching bets when she'd call a color because it was spooky. If I asked her, most of the time she'd say, "I don't know" - but out of 20-30 "calls" over a week that I saw her spinning for me, she missed one.
If I had the balls to play numbers or neighbor bets, I'd have made tens of thousands; I don't believe in ball control; not on modern wheels, but one dealer put out four 28s in 8 spins, three of them in a row, 7 of the others were neighbor bet winners, and he just kept doing it. He's been a casino dealer 44 years...and kept telling people what number to bet on, and no one would listen to him. God, I wish I had.
I learned to play craps as a backup in case the single zero table was closed, but the craps tables were $5 - $300 with 1x odds, shifting to 3-4-5x with $50 minimum bets. I need to ease into craps, and didn't want to have to track different odds systems, nor did I want to play on a $300 limit table - all my practicing on craps was with 3-4-5x odds on a $5 - $2,000 table, and I have a tendency to double down on everything in every game. And in life too; Losing a 5/15 bet makes me put $20 on the pass line. It gets expensive quickly, so I'm not playing craps with less than $5k, $10k to be comfortable, and I need at least a $2k table.
Actually, all the games were a bit ...less competitive. 6:5 blackjack, 1x craps odds, no Euro rules on the Euro table, crappy slots payouts - I get it; I really do. Captive audience, no need to compete with other casinos. Once they're on board, you've got 'em for a week; they're gonna gamble or they're not.
Club Royale has terrible comps compared to Casinos at Sea with NCL. It takes 2500 points with Club Royale to earn comped drinks while gambling. Not only did Club Royale not buy my drinks this cruise, at the rate of my point earnings, it will take me 4 more cruises gambling at the same rate to earn free drinks. That's right; $10,000+ to get free drinks. I did however come away with an amazing $100 off my next cruise voucher.
Assuming total winnings of $2,800 (before tips), being right 48.6% of the time, I gambled through ~1200 roulette spins in a week.
Anyway; it was a blast - but I'll probably go to Vegas for my next vacation instead of cruising. I want to gamble during the day, and go to shows in the evening, not wander around during the day, then have to decide whether I want to gamble or watch shows in the evening. edit And here's a picture of me at my remote office aboard the cruise ship in case anyone was wondering what your mean old /gambling moderator ShelixAnakasian looks like.
A week of degenerate gambling on the Oasis of the Seas comes to a close!
Hey folks! Today I returned to the US after a week aboard the Oasis of the Seas gambling at the single zero roulette table. If you're interested, you can read the original story here where I kept day by day notes in the comments about my winnings and observations. Finished ~$2500 ahead Martingaling for a week. I called out 14 crew members that I thought were exceptional; 11 of them in the casino - the crew were amazing everywhere. The ship itself is probably due a refit. Elevator buttons broken, chairs broken, everything looking a little run down and scuffed. I won't dig into the ports because everyone in here probably knows their way around the Caribbean by now. =D Cruise Background I wanted to vacation in Vegas this fall, my wife wanted to cruise again, so I spent a few months searching cruise lines, looking for a single zero roulette table with at least an 8-bet min/max spread. As it turns out, there are thirteen cruise ships in the world that fit that profile (that I discovered), and after checking all of them against NovembeDecember departure dates from CONUS, I downselected to the Oasis of the Seas from Royal Caribbean for a 7-Day Caribbean cruise, booked it, and thus it was so! The Game For the duration of this cruise, I played single zero roulette and nothing else. The casino on board the Oasis of the Seas has four roulette tables; two American roulette tables on the smoking side, and one each American/European on the non-smoking side. I use the word "European" loosely because while it was single-zero, it had no European rules on it. All four tables were $5 - $100 on the inside, and $5 - $1000 on the outside. I attempted to make arrangements before the cruise as well as with the casino manager during the cruise to raise the limits for my gambling to no avail since I didn't have an established play history with Club Royale. I also requested La Partage be put into effect during my session play without luck - but that was a long shot anyway; the only single zero table I know of in the US with a minimum bet lower than $25 is the $10 - $3000 La Partage table at the Soaring Eagle in Michigan (sorry guys, terminal games don't count!) Single zero roulette tables have a 2.7% house edge; down from the scandalous 5.4% house edge of American roulette (let alone the scammy triple zero crap that Carnival Cruise lines and the Venetian in Vegas are doing); La Partage lowers it to a magnificent 1.35%, but alas - I was destined to go without. My Bets Most of you are probably familiar with a martingale) series bet. For anyone else; on a $5 - $1000 table, $2,000 can bankroll a 8-bet sequence where I double my bet each time I lose, restarting my bet sequence each win. Due to chip denominations, my martingale progression is $5, $10, $25, $50, $100, $250, $500, $1000, which I find more reasonable than 5/10/20/40/80/160/320/640 due to the typical chip denominations 1/5/25/100/500/1000. In a tip of my hat to superstition, my increases from $10 to $25, $100 to $250, and $1000 to $2500 where applicable are my way of "punishing" the casino for making me leave the comfort zone of the outside minimum bet. Mock me if you must; its my personal flair - if my bets grow that high I "deserve" to win more than my base bet for the stress of having to bankroll the roll. The chances of heads or tails on a coin flip are 50% for either outcome. On a single-zero table without La Partage, the equivalent bets - black/red, even/odd, 1-18/19-36 is ~48.6%, with the other 2.7% representing the green zero, or house edge - creating a theoretical loss probability of 2.7% of your bet per bet over time. While the probability of an individual spin being black or red in my case is ~48.6%, the martingale betting progression ties your bets into a session, such that on the table I'm playing on, as long as I don't guess wrong 8 times in a row, I always win. On the off-chance that any newbs are reading this, this is NOT a "strategy" or "guaranteed way to make money." Martingale betting is a low risk, low reward means of using a large sum of money to win a little sum of money - pretty much the opposite of what people go into casinos to do. In statistical terms, the chances of me guessing wrong 8 times in a row in an 8 spin series is three tenths of one percent...but no one sits down for 8 spins and leaves - so my gambling is that when the house spins my losing sequence...I'm not there. =D Such is gambling. Goals! I've learned over the years that if I don't sit at a table with a fixed goal of when to leave, I will get bored and start making side bets (other even money bets or thirds) - more ways to win also mean more ways to lose, and when I am gambling, I am heavily socializing and drinking; I can't keep track of all of it at the same time. My goal is thus to always leave with 120% of my bankroll. This trip was a bit confusing for me because I couldn't reconcile what my bankroll was. Not knowing whether the table limit would be fixed to $1000, or be able to be raised to $10,000 I brought $5,000 in cash with another $35,000 available as credit - I'd wrongly assumed the casino would at least double the table min/max to $10-$2000, and had been hoping they would leave the minimum and double the maximum, adding a one-bet buffer to my 8-spin series. With a $1,000 bet maximum, I stopped bringing more than $2,000 to the casino. If my bankroll is $2,000, I aim to leave with $2400. If my bankroll is $5,000, I aim to leave with $6,000. With $10,000, I aim to leave with $12,000. I initially hoped to turn $2,000 into $2,400, but after doing that the first night gambling and the prospect of the rest of the cruise being bereft of gambling, I decided that since I'd brought $5,000 to gamble with, even if I could only play with $2,000 of it, my 120% goal meant I wanted $1,000 in winnings or bust. On day two when I realized how stingy Club Royale was, and that I'd be buying my own drinks, I shelled out $360 for the liquor package, and adjusted my winning threshold to also cover the liquor package. Then there was a $300 spa treatment. Then an $1800 studio photography session since my wife wanted some nice pictures - something we've not done in a decade. With these confusing inputs leaving me unsure of how to decide if I was up or down, it came down to the fact that while the casino was generally open 8-12 hours a day, the lone roulette table with the single zero didn't open until 8:00 PM - about when the cruise shows started. I did some begging and pleading to have it opened earlier every day to mixed success - a bit on the first day and on the last day, with nothing in the middle. They really wanted people on the American tables - which I had to resist, since for much of the cruise, it was American roulette or nothing. I contented myself during those periods with drinking, socializing with other gamblers, watching, drinking, and trying to find people who didn't have the booze package so I could buy them drinks. Fun Facts
Over 6 days of gambling, averaging 4 hours per day, I hit the $1,000 table maximum bet twice. Both were heart-attack inducing. The first was at 0100 on day 5, I was the last gambler at the table, $1,000 on red didn't screw me, and I took it as a sign to go to bed. The second happened on Day 6; since a $2,000 loss would have left me break even at that point, I took a short break, stretched my legs, and came back.
In the same period, I hit the $250 bet mark in my progression 4 times (resetting from $250 back to $5), and the $500 bet limit zero times. $100 and below bets were too numerous to count.
Total winnings were probably closer to $2800, but I tip freely when its free money.
Despite my "follow the house" betting method of deciding to bet red or black (which capitalizes on streaks), and I never choose which to bet on, there was one dealer would occasionally call a color, and she was only wrong once. I started switching bets when she'd call a color because it was spooky. If I asked her, most of the time she'd say, "I don't know" - but out of 20-30 "calls" over a week that I saw her spinning for me, she missed one.
If I had the balls to play numbers or neighbor bets, I'd have made tens of thousands; I don't believe in ball control; not on modern wheels, but one dealer put out four 28s in 8 spins, three of them in a row, 7 of the others were neighbor bet winners, and he just kept doing it. He's been a casino dealer 44 years...and kept telling people what number to bet on, and no one would listen to him. God, I wish I had.
I learned to play craps as a backup in case the single zero table was closed, but the craps tables were $5 - $300 with 1x odds, shifting to 3-4-5x with $50 minimum bets. I need to ease into craps, and didn't want to have to track different odds systems, nor did I want to play on a $300 limit table - all my practicing on craps was with 3-4-5x odds on a $5 - $2,000 table, and I have a tendency to double down on everything in every game. And in life too; Losing a 5/15 bet makes me put $20 on the pass line. It gets expensive quickly, so I'm not playing craps with less than $5k, $10k to be comfortable, and I need at least a $2k table.
Actually, all the games were a bit ...less competitive. 6:5 blackjack, 1x craps odds, no Euro rules on the Euro table, crappy slots payouts - I get it; I really do. Captive audience, no need to compete with other casinos. Once they're on board, you've got 'em for a week; they're gonna gamble or they're not.
Club Royale has terrible comps compared to Casinos at Sea with NCL. It takes 2500 points with Club Royale to earn comped drinks while gambling. Not only did Club Royale not buy my drinks this cruise, at the rate of my point earnings, it will take me 4 more cruises gambling at the same rate to earn free drinks. That's right; $10,000+ to get free drinks. I did however come away with an amazing $100 off my next cruise voucher.
Assuming total winnings of $2,800 (before tips), being right 48.6% of the time, I gambled through ~1200 roulette spins in a week.
Anyway; it was a blast - but I'll probably go to Vegas for my next vacation instead of cruising. I want to gamble during the day, and go to shows in the evening, not wander around during the day, then have to decide whether I want to gamble or watch shows in the evening. And here's a picture of me at my remote office aboard the cruise ship in case anyone was wondering what your mean old /gambling moderator ShelixAnakasian looks like.
So I wanted to post this not for anything other than for more information for those who come to this sub here for exactly that. Some of this may be repetitive but it can’t hurt to have additional opinions. Hotels: To clarify, I have always been comp’d rooms due to my play, so I can’t speak specifically to prices, just to what I see. -Rio: Stayed here. It was huge. Off the strip so was a bit inconvenient but affordable, and now with ubelyft, it may not be a bad option. They have a Seafood buffet which is solid, but wouldn't say "top notch." One very cool thing for poker players, is if you go in the summer, from about May to end of July, you are bound to see some of the top poker players in the world, as the WSOP is there. -Paris: Stayed here. Hotel is nice. That’s really the best word to describe it, because the rooms are average, clean, pretty standard size. Casino is pretty spacious, cool theme obviously. Always seems like day time even in the late hours of the night. Pizza place there was not great. Buffet there is decent. A lot of different than most others, as they make fresh Crepes and have a French theme, again, obviously. -Casesars: Stayed here. This is THE largest hotel in Vegas. I believe the Bellagio and like 2 other casinos can fit (square foot wise) inside in this hotel. Mainly because of how large the shops are. The rooms are very nice. Fairly standard for the most part, can’t hurt to ask for an upgrade here. It is a very busy hotel/casino, but is so spread out. Sports book is enormous! If sports are your thing, go here to hang. Sit at the bar right there and play some video poker even. They have a decent café/ eatery area for like quick food, which includes your standard Chinese food, burger place, pizza place, etc. HIGHLY RECOMMEND – Searsucker Restaurant. I believe 430-6 is their happy hour. My fiancé and I went there and we ate very well with an app, and drinks and was like 50 bucks. Get duck fat fries! -Linq: Stayed here. Probably my favorite place to stay, in many ways. This won’t be the most luxurious place, however the rooms are “different and modern. The hotel is smaller, the casino is smaller but it’s really not a big deal. Just like Caesars and Bellagio, this is pretty much the center of the strip and in the center of it all. Behind the linq is the “High Roller” wheel ride. Leading to the ride, is a walkway and alley of shops and places to eat and drink. All are very good. Highly suggest Flour and Barley for good pizza and beer. Pizza Is brick oven, and suggest the homemade pesto. The beer selection is pretty stellar, for those beer drinkers who like to experience. For the crowd that likes to gamble and party at the same time, O’sheas bar is IN the casino but also leads to the strip. This place is open 24 hours, and has all gambling games inside it (except for slots, although there may be one BIG slot in there). They also have beer pong tables that they provide you with all the stuff. Again, this is highly recommended place to stay, so you aren’t stuck on the end of strip. -Venetian: Stayed Here. I lied above when I said I never paid for hotels. Staying here I went on Travelocity and got a deal for 5 nights and flight for like $900? I stayed alone because I was traveling for my sister’s wedding. This place is pretty phenomenal. All rooms are suites, technically. Very nice, very big. The Venetian and Pallazo are basically the same place. The rooms are identical and the casino is fairly similar as well. Ate at CUT Steakhouse which was VERY good, clearly very pricy however. All other hotels, I have not stayed at, yet. I don’t think you could go wrong with a hotel, however I would avoid Excalibur, Circus Circus and the Flamingo. Shows: -Criss Angel: Avoid altogether. Show was overpriced and his act is old. -Penn & Teller: I enjoyed this show. This is at the Rio however, so will need to travel there since you can’t walk there. Show was funny, action packed and of course magical. -Mat Franco: Good show. Very personal audience as it doesn’t seat many people. It’s got a feel good vibe to it. -Mac King (Magic): for what you pay, it’s a good show. It won’t break the bank, and there are afternoon shows which is a great way to beat the heat and relax and enjoy some magic and slapstick comedy. He won’t wow you but definitely make you scratch your head. -Mariah Carey: Now this was a 30th birthday present for my fiancé and I got great seats. It turned out that we sat right next to her kids, so she came to visit that area frequently which was very cool. She really is a great performer, and as a guy, the show was pretty good. She does a lot of costume changes, and sings a lot of older songs. I have heard from others that the show is good, and is MUCH better than Celine, for what it’s worth. -Absinthe: This is an absolute MUST SEE. Saw this and it is really hard to describe this show in all honesty. It is a mixture of acrobatics, talents (i.e. juggling, etc.), Raunchy comedy, and just a really good time. Don't see this with parents. This is really a great show, and they change it all the time. i saw this show and explained a few acts to my friend, and he said that is not what he saw, so it really keeps the show electric since the actors/perfomrers are really into new stuff. Food: -Hash House (Linq): food was good. Expensive but its shareable. Chicken and waffles are good -Bellagio Café: I like this place for a good breakfast. It’s little pricy, but not too bad honestly. It’s our favorite breakfast spot so far. -Guy Fieri’s (Linq): Pretty decent spot. Price is pretty good. One of the best burgers I’ve had. Good brisket nachos too -Caesars Buffet: Best buffet in my opinion. Great selection, food that is supposed to be hot, is hot. -Bellagio Buffet: Terrible. Waited forever, was SO expensive. Food was not good honestly. -Paris buffet: It’s okay. Price is Okay. Seriously is just Okay. -General comment of casino restaurants: Do your research before going. Check out the menu. Don’t go to one of these places thinking you’re going to get an app, 2 dinners and drinks for under 100 bucks in most cases. The steakhouses in Vegas are some of the best in the country. A tip for saving a few dollars, is don’t eat normal meal times. Eat a later breakfast, eat an earlier dinner. Lunch may not happen, OR eat snacks. You can easily go to walgreens and get a 5 dollar sandwich. Bruxie: saw a suggestion for this place and they said $5 waffle wednesdays. Yes it's true. they always have a chicken and waffle special for $5 on wednesday. they made us show them the facebook promo or something but wasnt difficult. could probably just open the website on your phone. I really liked the food. i thought the chicken was really good and honestly, for five bucks, quite a steal. Jaburritos: this was right in the alley of the linq. was okay. a bit pricey for "fast food" type, but i didnt mind it. interesting concept in my opinion. was more of a whim visit. Gambling: -All casinos will have fairly expensive table minimums. Expensive meaning, you have to search for 5 dollar blackjack and Craps. Mostly going to be $10 or $15. Slot play is comparable all over. Bellagio has a lot of slots, but you can say the same about Caesars and MGM, etc. Other: -Mob Museum: very cool experience. I recommend it. You can take the Deuce (bus) there, and then walk right to Fremont after. -Pawn Stars: If you are a super fan of the show, then go. Otherwise just avoid. Very small, you won’t see one of the stars of the show, everything is super expensive. -Fremont: Fun to go to, especially to see history. I don’t recommend eating anywhere here lol. My fiancé did the zip line, she enjoyed it. -New York New York: I am putting this here, because this place fascinates me. The area that looks like NY streets and such for the shops, is just pretty cool to me. Nathans here is good. I have gone with my father and my future father in law, and they both agree it is very similar to old time Nathans. I have really mashed up a lot of visits to Vegas here, and definitely leaving out tips and tricks im sure. Let me know if I can answer anything else! Win BIG! Exotics Racing: Gave my fiance this for her birthday last year. i bought her 5 laps in whatever car she wanted. she chose the Audi R8. She LOVED IT. they were very careful with all buyers, and even offered drifting laps to folks just there to watch. They have a pro drifter from fast in the furious (when i was there at least) that would drift for a few laps. it was a sight to watch. Its a bit pricey, but they run specials here and there. If you are looking to splurge and like cars, then this is for you.
“Mini” BlackJack Diary - WARNING, VERY LENGTHY NOVEL Hello guys, me and my family took a round trip tour throughout the United States - with California being our destination. I live in Ohio and we dropped by Vegas for only 2 days. Just a little story about my profit and losses and where I played. The hotel we stayed at was Harrah’s (AMAZING place for a little vacay stay btw but AWFUL for blackjack because of the crud rules.) I had learned BJ with friends a few years prior to this trip because of poker, but never played seriously or practiced before this. I had only studied a couple of days before this trip because I have a horrible habit of doing things last minute. I am a Computer science major and study astrophysics for fun, so naturally I am able to crunch numbers without much effort. My studies were all done within a 4 DAY SPAN. My actual play was done on days 3 AND 4. I start out with a $200 bankroll for cushion, and only play with $20 buy-ins at a time to pull away when I need to. DAY 1 — 2 Days prior to hitting Vegas, I knew virtually NOTHING about Blackjack and had taken it upon myself to learn basic strategy. I had already KNEW how to count with the Hi-Lo system because - as I mentioned - I counted while playing poker FOR FUN at the same time as reading hands. Which I know, counting in poker is useless, but might as well kill two birds with one stone. I learned basic strategy within this first day using android BJ practice apps, and solidified my memory with lots of water and good sleep. This was 7+ hours of practice, as I was stuck in the car for the drive there. DAY 2 — I decided to squeeze as much info out of this as I could, so I learned the Wong Halves system on this day. I also searched online hardcore for the best places to play with the BEST rules. Unfortunately, this was useless because we ended up staying at HARRAH’s (known for its shit rules). For the Wong Halves, this was another 7+ HOURS of brutal brain numbing practice with 10 minute breaks in between each hour. This system was very difficult to learn due to the halves system, but provides a bit of a more an accurate count. It was tough building the neurons for this new method, as I was already used to the Hi-Lo system. But nonetheless, I was able to blitz an entire deck in just under 30 seconds. DAY 3 — So this was it. We finally arrived around 4pm and checked in with our luggage and took everything upstairs. As my parents were checking-in, I scanned the entire bottom casino perimeter to get a good look at my prey and what tables to go for. You could almost get lost looking for the restroom, I’d say - I’m sure they designed the place to have a devils grip on your mind. The first tables in the party pit were intimidating with $15 - $25 minimums! - I was anticipating $5min, as being a broke college student, I know that variance can devour my entire bankroll. As I was watching, I could BARELY keep count of the cards flying out from the dealers hand. Already I was sweating. But knowing the cards were being hand-shuffled here, I was a bit relieved. I decided to turn away and head to the empty back portion of the LINQ hotel, (basically connected to Harrahs), in hopes of finding a table with $5 min. Luckily I did! But with an ASM and cruddy rules?? :( I was screwed at that point, with no real hopes of winning. I decided to go for it and use basic strategy and practice counting while I was there. I failed MISERABLY, and could BARELY keep track of half the cards that were coming out. My first $20 basically flew out of my hands. With the night closing in for us, nearing almost 6pm, my family decided that it was time to leave and head out to eat. DAY 3 — 6:30pm, MAIN ST. Garden Court Buffet SORELY deceived and mislead, I had already dropped my hopes of having any edge against the house. “How could I be defeated so easily? I get that it was only $20 to start out, but have the rules around here really run to shit?” After dinner, while my family is finishing eating, I decide to depressingly look around for tables..... There it is....the fucking holy grail of BlackJack tables. BJ pays 3:2, and dealer hits on S17, with only 2 decks. I almost cry with joy. As any good player, I decide to sit back and watch the other players first and how they play. 2 older guys sitting next to each other, one stacking, one not. The one stacking is generating heat, as passerby’s seem to notice the chips building high. The pit boss notices as well and eyes him the entire time he’s there. I had a feeling he was counting as he was spreading his bets on 4+ count, and I think he was also using a progression system. Who knows. The guy leaves. I jump in, and am the only one at the table. I whip out $20, unfamiliar with the game, the dealer is adjusting my mistakes every 20 seconds as I unnecessarily flip the cards over when I’m not supposed to and touch them when I’m not supposed to. This immediately turns me off from counting. So I turn to basic strategy and win the first few hands. I struggle through the variance and run this all the way up to $120 within the first 20 minutes!! My family finishes dinner and comes to get me. If it weren’t for those meddling kids, I’m sure I’d be up more! - Only kidding. I would have tilted and lost it all like the first time at LINQS, had it not been for their intervention :) I was happy the entire night, with my bank roll starting out with $200, losing a $20 buy-in at first and then returning that with $120, I was invincible!!! Only $80 profit in total :( I did not know how to cut my losses. I wanted more. 11PM, THE VENETIAN - NEW BLACKJACK $5min COLOSSEUM FORMAT That same night I decided to explore The Venetian. They had a new colosseum style blackjack game with the same crap rules. I sit down with my $20 buy-in and go to town. It’s quite a long grind, as I ran it up to $60 in 20 minutes. The free drinks start coming in. And a new guy sits next to me. He is also a Computer science major. We talk for awhile, have a couple drinks and smokes (I normally don’t smoke cigs, only mary) and we both run up to $140 after about an hour and a half of playing total. Lady Luck was on my side that night. I am up a total of $260 in one day. Not bad for $20 buy-in. I decide to call it a night. DAY 4 — LAST DAY AT HARRAH’S It was night time at Harrah’s and we had arrived after walking down the Vegas strip and visiting the different casinos. Mind you this was on July 4th so before arriving to the party pit tables my family was anticipating fireworks to be displayed on the strip that night (it was actually displayed 2 days before July 4th?? Bleh, whatever.) So me and my mother decide to sit down at the $10 minimum tables - and thank god Harrahs even had a few 10$ min - after she had lost roughly $60 at the 3 card poker table. I pull out $20 for a buy-in (I know, I know, awful idea but I do it anyways. I get so freaking lucky and win the first couple of hands, I run it all the way to $220 in 40 minutes! All the while helping my mother gain back her profit as well. I begin to lose 4 consecutive hands and decided to cut my losses at $170!! I cash out with a total profit $430 added to my bankroll ($610 total!) and for the rest of the trip, I am a happy, happy boy. 22 and broke never felt so good. I am actually quite afraid to play again, as there are no good tables in Columbus, Ohio. But am eager to study more. If you guys have any tips or advice, please let me know. That’s my story, thank you guys for reading. As always, happy hunting!
We just spent a week in Vegas split between two hits and three hotels. This is my 6th time in Vegas, my fiancé’s 3rd time, and my friend’s 2nd time. We love the city. It is the only place like it on Earth. I love it, but this massive adult theme-park needs to be treated with respect and best approached with experience. So, I hope this report will help others. We were here last year, and although we had an amazing time, we did make some mistakes. This year’s trip was refined to near perfection. Flights (UK to Vegas). We’re from the UK. We flew direct with Virgin Atlantic. As far as I know VA are the only airline that flies direct from UK to Vegas. We used 80,000 airmiles to upgrade to Premium seats. When you’re sat on your arse for 11 and a half hours, the extra comfort, space, and legroom are well worth it. It also means the actual cost for the flight was super low compared to booking Premium seats without miles (£400 compared to around £1500). As it's a 747, I would recommend getting seats on the upper deck. As it is the top bulge of the plane, it only holds around 70 passengers. It feels exclusive, with faster service from the staff, shorter lines for the bathroom, and far less chance a child or baby will be sat near you. Jetlag. Something I didn’t take into account last time was the effect of jet lag. We paid for it. With the West Coast being 8 hours behind the UK, we tried a different tactic this time around. As soon as asses touched seats on the plane, we adjusted clocks to Vegas time. We respected the need to sleep by front-loading the flight with lots of booze and soon got our heads down. With those few hours of sleep, we were much better adjusted when we landed. ESTA. Immigration into the US can be a pain, but here’s a tip; if you’ve travelled to the US before with the same ESTA, you can use the automated passport scanners and skip the massive line. Food. We’re foodies. We’ve traveled the world and eaten at many Michelin Star restaurants. It’s our thing. It’s our passion. We had high hopes for Vegas food last year, but we came to the quick realisation Vegas can’t do quality. It's not surprising. The sheer volume of people that pound the strip means restaurants don’t really need to try to turn a profit. As I said above, Vegas is a theme-park. It supplies the fake and gaudy like no other, but on the flip side it can’t really do genuine or authentic. Last year we had to pay truly spectacular amounts of money before we got a properly impressive meal at é by José Andrés in the Cosmo. I can’t afford to do that again. So, this year we did things differently. We embraced the brash, the massive, and the crappy and ate like the locals. Finances. Vacations are my opportunity to live large. I look forward to them all year, and save for them with the intention to experience things way beyond my normal life. I want luxury. I want finery. I want to be treated like a rockstar, because these things just don’t exist in my day to day life. I spent a lot on this holiday, but that’s because I saved for it and budgeted hard for it. If you’re doing Vegas, then you have to do it right! Hotel 1: The Vdara. After the flight and immigration we got a cab to our first hotel; the Vdara. What a brilliant hotel. It doesn’t have a casino attached, so is less Vegas and less insane than many strip hotels, but I’ve been there and done that - so this was a beautiful, calm hotel for the start of our trip. We went for a Lake View Suite. Sounds fancy, and it was, but so much cheaper than an equivalent at one of the other big hotels. The room was massive, and modern. It also had a microwave and food preparation area with fridge separate to the mini bar. The Vdara also has a nifty room service robot that can deliver snacks and drinks to you autonomously. It is a novelty now, but it worked well and I can see it being rolled out to other hotels soon. As for location, the Vdara is right behind the Aria and the Bellagio. There’s a sneaky walkway to the Bellagio, or a short walk across the valet to the Aria. From either of these hotels you are straight onto the strip. Adventures. Day 1. First port of call was a walk down the strip to In-n-Out burger next to the High Roller. We don’t have In-n-Out in the UK so its a real treat. We walked the strip until well after dark, visiting Caesars, the Bellagio for coffee, and finally back to the Vice Versa bar at the Vdara. It is a quiet lobby bar with a calm outside section. We had a few drinks there and then off to bed. Day 2. Breakfast at Eggslut at the Cosmo. Expensive, but very tasty. Get the cookie. I has just the right amount of gooey inside and salt crust to make the perfect pud. Back to the Vdara for a workout at their OK gym and then relaxing at the pool. They do a bag check, but we just had water and coke so let us in. I think they were looking for booze. After our fill of the sun (still 30o C + in October) we made our way back to the Cosmo for a late lunch at Block 16. This is their new “street food” area with an excellent selection. We went for the sushi rolls at Tekka. Really good, and bigger than expected. They also have Asahi on draft. Again, a little expensive for the type of food but nice. Hopped in a taxi for a walk around the canals at the Venetian, then over the the Wynn for drinks at Parasol Down. We like drinking outside, and it was really relaxing sipping cocktails by the waterfall. I had a crab cheesy dip thing with breads that was surprisingly tasty. We headed back to the Vdara to get ready for our evening at the Luxor. It started with drinks at an Irish bar I forget the name of. It actually had genuine Irish staff and live music, so the fakery was better than most. A few pints later we went to see the Blue Man Group. Hilarious and a lot of fun. Well recommended. After BMG we wandered to the Mandalay looking for food, but their restaurants were all taken over by a massive convention. We hopped into a cab and made our way back to the Cosmo to Beauty and Essex for food. The restaurant was very cool. You enter through a secret door in a cheesy gift shop. You’re then lead to a dimly lit, intimate table by a pretty server lady. Food was only OK, but definitely not up to scratch for the price. However, the atmosphere was amazing. Day 3. Breakfast was a 15 inch pizza slice from Pin Up Pizza at Planet Hollywood. Horrible, greasy pizza, but the novelty was fun. We checked out and picked up our car from our Turo host, a Tesla Model X for the next leg of our trip; a week in San Diego. Amazing city. Go. Vegas Day 4. Hotel 2: The SLS. It was fight night. Hotels were stupidly expensive because of McGregor vs Khabib, so we stayed for one cheap night at the SLS. When we booked it it was still the W, but the SLS since took it over. The room was a Fabulous King, but I’m not sure that name is relevant anymore. Anyway, the hotel is still in a state of flux. The W side was dead. The bar was closed and the few remaining staff seemed to just be milling around. It was odd. The room was spacious, and had an interesting theme, but seemed a little empty given its square footage. It did have a mirror above the bed, though. Very Vegas. After the long drive from SD, we freshened up and got dinner at Bazaar Meats by José Andrés. This was my favorite meal in Vegas. José Andrés can actually be counted on for a great theme and good food. It wasn’t quite good enough for the price, but it was closer than any other restaurant we visited on this trip. The atmosphere and decor were incredible. A massive industrial fire pit grilling many meats greets you as you enter. The entire room is bordered by the various kitchens and preparation areas, and produce is proudly on show. There were some freakishly huge vegetables and a vast array of meat slabs all around. Of all the Vegas restaurants I’ve visited, the theming here was on point. After dinner, we stayed at the SLS for drinks around the casino watching the fight in the sports bar. Vegas Day 5. Hotel 3: The Cosmopolitan. We checked out of the SLS quickly, glad to be away from its strangeness. As if to confirm our ikky intuition, we passed a crime scene investigation outside, little orange cones all over indicating spent bullet casings. Welcome to America, motherfucker! We headed to our next and final hotel - the Cosmo. What an incredible place. By far and away my fave hotel on the Stip. In addition to the hotels this trip, I’ve stayed at the Stratosphere, Luxor, Aria, and Bellagio. This was better than them all. Even though it was around midday when we hit the check in desk, the concierge sorted us out with a room upgrade to an immediately available room. With three of us sleeping in one room, he wanted to ensure we were comfortable, so booked us into an unlisted suite with two bathrooms, a japanese soaking tub, and a massive balcony on the 55th floor overlooking the Bellagio fountains and the strip. That view was breathtaking, and the room was stunning. Only one minor issue - we found a diaper behind the sofa that housekeeping had missed from the last guest. We complained to the front desk and they sorted it with a $75 credit and resort fees refunded. Score! Lunch was at Secret Pizza. A good slice. Be aware they have more slices available than is on display. We went to Walmart to pick up booze and snacks. And a kettle. I’m English. I need my tea. Vegas hotels don’t have tea and coffee making facilities in the room, so a $15 kettle and some tea was a must. For the cost of three drinks at Starbucks, this is a good move for us Brits. The Cosmo room also had a little bar with additional fridge to the mini bar, so we packed that bitch with booze, mixers and fruit. After Walmart we picked our friend up at the airport and got her showered and dressed ready for dinner. A few drinks at the Chandelier bar in the Cosmo, then over to Jaleo by José Andrés. I’m sure you’re seeing a theme with our booked restaurant choices, but José is consistently good. Jaleo was no exception. The paella was a touch disappointing this time, but the other dishes were amazing. We drank a bit too much sangria, so kept the party going with drinks in Beauty and Essex. It may be a restaurant, but the little bar area also has seating for drinkers to watch the patrons come and go (and the pretty front of house ladies). It proved a great spot to people watch and enjoy their amazing cocktails. After too many drinks, we retired to the room and enjoyed the view with more drinks and snacks on the balcony. That experience was priceless. The twinkling view of the Vegas madness far below our own intimate little party felt very special. We got pretty messy loving that very special moment, and eventually found the bed. After all, our friend had been up for nearly 35 hours. Hardcore! Day 6. To work off the punishment to our livers the night before, we hit the Cosmo gym. It is OK, and actually has a good number of heavy dumbbells. Many hotel gyms I’ve been to stop at around 60lbs but the Cosmo went way up to 100lbs weights. There were only two benches though, so I can see it being a problem when busy. We got brunch at Lardo in the Cosmo Block 16 street food thingy. Great food, but three sandwiches, a coke, and one fries cost nearly $75! Fucking ridiculous. Street food prices these are not. After nursing my abused credit card, we headed to The Range 702. We’d booked the Triple Threat package where you get to pick three guns of your choice with 25 rounds each. I shot a Colt, a P90 and an M4. The girls both opted for two handguns and an AK47. The automatic rifles were quite an experience. Loud and violent. I have shot at The Strip Gun Club before and they were very attentive and let us take our time. Our shooting at 702 felt a little rushed in comparison. They have you shoot all your guns back to back, so for the girls especially they were a little beaten up after their sessions. It would be better to alternate shooters with each gun to give the wrists a rest, but hey, it was a noisy, blasty, shooty good time anyway. After the blasting we went back to the Cosmo to get ready for our evening. This is where we again paid for wanting to wing it and not book too many things. All dressed up, we headed to the Bellagio because we wanted some drinks at Hyde to watch the fountains as the sun went down. It was booked out by a conference party. So we went to try at Spago. Same story. Booked out by conference weenies. We tried back at the Cosmo at the Chinese Mexican called China Poblano, but again the same fucking story! Booked out by conference weenies. We said fuck it, went to the room, threw on our shorts and sneakers, and hit the strip for a dirty night. We walked the craziness with slushy margaritas and ended up at In-n-Out again. We had a burger and then went on a drunk hunt for pudding. Ok. Let me make one thing clear. If you cover a cupcake or doughnut or cookie in enough frosting to choke a donkey, then it will just taste like frosting. And it seems like that’s all you can get at the quick and easy places on the Strip. Our failed pud-hunt brought us to Caesars. I remembered the Gordon Ramsey restaurant did a sticky toffee pudding. Somehow we got seating for three, even though we looked like we’d just been kicked out of a pool party. I say somehow, but when we entered we could see why. Gordon Ramsay’s Pub and Grill is the perfect metaphor for Vegas. I’ve eaten at two of Gordon's Michelin starred restaurants in London and one that didn’t have a star. They are all exquisite. Decor, food, service and the general experience all live up to his reputation for perfection. London is possibly the best place on earth for fine food. Gordon has to be on top of his game to make it there. And he does. Vegas he does not. Vegas is about churning out vaguely thematically relevant crap to the clueless for huge profit. Gordon’s Pub and Grill is hilarious. The theme is old English pub in the middle of a Roman themed casino. With TVs. Lots of TVs. It’s as if someone described a pub down the phone to the designer it’s that bad. We had the corned beef poutine (not an English pub dish) and and the sticky toffee pudding (better). The poutine was terrible. Just fries with pastrami meat (not corned beef) and bad cheese. There was hardly any gravy. The pud was good though, but maybe that was because of a few sunk pints. It hit the spot and the size of it caused comment from the table beside us (who were eating burgers - sigh). Anyway, after done there, back to the room for more balcony drinks and that view. Day 7. A quiet one today. Using the room credit we got a daybed at the Cosmo pool. The cabana bed thing is a $200 minimum spend. The $200 lasted us all day. We managed to eat well, with breakfast, other nibbles, and a few drinks reaching $200. The pool is gorgeous and the attendants were very attentive (hence the name, I suppose). By the time we’d spent our credit, it was nearly dinner o’clock. Dressed up pretty, we headed to New York New York and got Shake Shack burgers. Tasty. Not quite In-n-Out good, but still better than anything in the UK. We played some giant jenga with some random people at one of the outside bars, then went to the Zumanity show. Zumanity was great fun. Very naughty, funny, and the acrobatics were impressive. Well recommended. The boobies on show and the sexy theme got us ready for our next stop - the Palomino Strip Club. My fiance and I had been to the Palomino the year before and we loved it. It is the only club in Vegas that does full nude and booze so it is a no-brainer to be number 1. Our friend had never been to strip club before, so that night was a special treat. We got a bottle service table at the runway with champagne and a stack of ones. It was spectacular pervy fun drinking, watching the girls, and chatting with them as they visited our table. We all got a few sofa dances and had a brilliant night. The girls were super attentive, really looked after my friend as it was her first time, and made us feel very special. We got a drunk burger at In-n-Out (our last - I promise) and somehow made it back to the room alive Day 8. Our last full day. After the craziness of the night before, we slept in. Brunch was at Mon Ami Gabi. Much like Gordon’s Pub, this place was a hilarious parody of a Parisian café. It was nice to sit outside and watch the Strip go by as I munched my lunch, but the food was pretty bad for the price. After brunch we walked up the Strip past the Mirage and then over to the Venetian. The girls did some hard-core shopping while I made stupid comments, made their lives difficult, and generally didn’t help. I don’t like shopping, OK. Because I’m a child, they soon gave up. Back to the room for our last bookings of the trip. Yay. After getting pretty, we hit the Skybar at the Waldorf Astoria (previously the Mandarin Oriental). Gorgeous views and really tasty cocktails. We hit up Lemongrass for dinner without a booking because the Aria was next to the Waldorf. We ordered way too much food, so got most of it boxed up. We dumped it at the room, and then grabbed a cab to the Wynn for our last big destination. We were on the guest list to see Afrojack at Intrigue. Great club. The line wasn’t too bad. About 30 minutes as they checked on everyone. My friend had a bit of an issue with her ID as it is an English driver's license, but she found a picture of her passport on her phone to confirm it was her. The girls both got two free drink vouchers and I got one (am I not pretty enough?). The club was just my thing. It was not massive, but still big. The large outside area around the fire fountains and the waterfall was perfect to escape the heat and craziness of the dance-floor. We stayed for far too long given we had a 9 hour flight to catch the next day, but it was worth it. An amazing last night in an amazing city. Of course when we got back in we ate the rest of the Chinese food on the balcony. Day 9. One last (expensive-ass) Eggslut, and we were on our way home. Thank you Vegas.
So, you wanna go to SHOT show? You think it's all fun and games? Get to play with guns? See Jesse James and R. Lee Ermey? SHOT show is the annual pilgrimage of the unwashed masses to Las Vegas to rub elbows with youtube celebrities, bloggers and overseas businessmen copying US made equipment and share infectious disease. If you love guns, gambling and gonorrhea - SHOT show is for you! It is not my typical idea of a good time. I am not a big fan of Las Vegas. However: I do attend for a few reasons. First, I do enjoy travel and I'm platinum on AA so I can usually score an upgrade. Second, industry people are in there that I do hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars with business with so it's nice to put a face with the name and see what deals are out there. SHOT for me has been a bust for the past few years. Being a value guy, I want to buy at $1000 and sell at $3000 and as of recently the gun business is more like buy for $1 and sell for $1.10 if you get what I mean. We used to do business at SHOT and now it's just checking in on foursquare, instagram and rubbing elbows with bloggers and the like. I want to make money, not spend money so this is very annoying to me. Anyways, onto the play by play. Monday, January 16th. One day before SHOT show. http://imgur.com/a/HoFUm Every time I've been rejected by a woman, I move $1 from checking into savings and I take the bankroll down to the Wynn for some play. Lets do this. The TSA line is a shitshow thanks to, well TSA. I slog my way to the lounge, as shitty as it is to wait for my winged chariot to DFW. I have gone from being in an abusive relationship with Delta to being in an abusive relationship with AA. Although if you really want to experience the battered spouse feeling, UA is a few gates over. This trip's light reading is trying to finish "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell. Such a good book as well as "Outliers" if you want a good read. I walk up to the podium to find out that my upgrades do not clear, even as an AA Plat thanks to the addition of a FOURTH elite tier. Goddamn fucking W. Doug Parker. Asshole. I gate check my bags to make life easier for me and the rest of the folks. The gate agent calls concierge key and executive platinum passengers. I look down and realize I'm wearing a suit and board with the executive platinum folks because I do not care and I look the part. If you walk with a purpose and are dressed reasonably well, you fit the profile. I settle into my window seat and try to finish outliers. I pass out before takeoff and I'm awoken by the dulcet tones of the flight attendants preparing for landing. We land at Dallas a few minutes early and I hightail it to the Centurion for a quick bite to eat. I grab a plate and help myself to some of the excellent brisket, pecan encrusted chicken and some roasted jumbo asparagus. Yes, my pee is going to smell funny. No, I do not care. The lounge is packed. The bar is full and I grab a quick single malt as I have my meal since American's not going to feed me. They begin boarding to Mccarran as I walk out of the lounge. No time for a stop in the spa on this trip. I make it to the gate just as the call group 2 boarding. I bypass the main line and walk up through the priority line giving no heed to the people that have been waiting there before me as I hold up my paper boarding pass with PLATINUM to the gate agent. I board and take my usual seat - the exit row without the seat in front of it. I'm aghast to see this sight. http://imgur.com/a/dygil The savages. Literally. The savages. I put my loathing away for a moment and look down at the exit row. I have the window. The aisle is a large middle aged man and in the middle is what I believe to be a formecurrent linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys wearing a 52 regular sports jacket. He's not a fat guy in a little coat, he's a big fucking hulk of a man stuffed in an exit row seat that is already an inch narrower due to the tray table. I grimace as I take my seat and give him the manly nod. He does not look happy about the fact that his knees are in the seat in front and I'm stretched out like a Cheshire cat in front of a fireplace on a cold January afternoon. The boarding door closes for an on time departure and Stephanie the FA takes her seat. He leans over and asks if he can take the empty row across the aisle and she takes one look at the three of us and gives him the nod. I bail out to give him a path of egress and suddenly the trip to Las Vegas has just become way more comfortable. I finish The Tipping Point somewhere over west texas, so I pop a xanax and dr pepper and zone out for the rest of the ride. I awake to feel one of the FA's jostling me awake telling me to put my seat up. I do so and we have a ride so smooth that not even the Delta guy behind me can complain about light chop. We catch the TYSSN4 arrival and the next thing I know it the Messier Dowty landing gear of the A321 touch the paint at Mccarran for a smooth rollout down 25L. My phone battery is approaching grim death since this seat has no power plugs and I find bartman383 has sent me a message. He has been enjoying LV with his wife and their due to bad weather they are in the city of sin for a few extra nights. He invites me to dinner. I'm still pretty full from DFW and I tell him I'll be over there once I get my bags and the car and I'll see him when I see him. He gives me the info for the hotel as we pull up to the gate. First stop: Centurion lounge. AA's app tells me bags being unloaded. I grab a quick bite of fried chicken and brussels sprouts since they are good for you and a chocolate pudding. The brisket and pecan encrusted chicken from DFW still has me full but I'm well aware of the speed of a union baggage handlers nowadays and who doesn't like chocolate pudding? Terrorists. That's who. Want to know how to screen for terrorists TSA? Set up a table of free chocolate pudding at the airport. The people who don't take any are members of ISIS. It's just that simple. I grab my bag and hoof it to Hertz. I'm an idiot and I am an hour late for my pickup. Oops. Will an Audi A3 suffice? I sigh and I accept my Teutonic quattro chariot. I do a burnout in the parking garage and hightail it to the exit. I flash my #1 card and my ID and the gatekeeper gives me the go ahead. I get onto the the strip and traffic is awful. I'm going to be late for dinner. I make a left onto Russell Road and hightail it up the 15. I manage to get the car up to 100 as I pass the Luxor. My phone is dead so I can't message Bart about being late. Fuck. The exit approaches quickly as I put the 4 wheel disk brakes to work and sling the car around and head south on Las Vegas Bl. I accidentally turn into the Bellagio and I'm now running even more late. Fuck. Eventually, I get the car into the garage at the Cosmopolitan and head upstairs. I cannot remember the name of the restaurant but I head up to the third floor where all the restaurants are and I see this sign that's reminiscent of my days in retail. It says RESTAURANT - LOUNGE - PAWN SHOP. I laugh. I walk in. It's literally a pawnshop. I look around puzzled. FC: Is this a restaurant? Bald Headed Guy: Yes, through that door. He points towards a door. I walk in to find a bustling restaurant, lounge via the entrance of pawnshop. This is insane. I pass a mirror and check myself out. I adjust my tie, after all it is YSL and the ladies LOVE YSL. Remember that. I find the hostess and inform her I will be joining some friends for dinner. They probably do not have me on the reservation though but I turn on the charm and she smiles and says no problem at all. She asks if my tie is from Hermes. I say no, I'm a YSL guy. She looks impressed as I tell her I'll make a quick lap of the room to see if they're there and surprise them. She gives me a nod and tells me to go right ahead. Still got it. I spot bart and his wife who I can only remember vaguely from gunnitlive after party video and I pull up a chair. Bart is surprised to see I made it and they are in the middle of dinner. They offer to ply me with food and beverage but I decline as I'm driving so no booze for me and no food since I am stuffed from Dallas. We chat about life and liberty over libations. Bart's wife thinks I am hysterical. She's had a few drinks and they are already into their main courses. The brussels sprouts are way too salty and we have to send it back. No bueno. Bart invites me up to his suite on the top floor of the hotel where we are to meet Brogelicious later in the evening. I say, when in rome......we head to the top floor of the hotel tower where Bart shows me his view from the balcony and cracks open the mini bar for some more libations. He asks if I want a drink and I say I better not. I'm driving. Not 30 seconds after arriving, brogel shows up. Bart's wife hugs brogel. She's infatuated with him. We start shooting the shit and bart opens up the minibar and tells us to take anything we want, it's on the hotel. I laugh and I look outside as bart opens his yeti 110 for some silver bullets. Apparently he is so baller the hotel will send up a yeti 110 filled with beer to make him happy. His wife is apparently such a baller. I ball on a budget. They just ball. Hahaha. We shoot the shit some more about guns, gun stuff and people on the reddit for a while. I get a little thirsty and I crack open bart's cooler. I ask him how long the stuff in the cooler is supposed to last and he says until Wednesday. I look down and I am agape at what I see. We had two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high-powered blotter acid, a saltshaker half-full of cocaine, and a whole galaxy of multi-colored uppers, downers, screamers, laughers... Also, a quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of beer, a pint of raw ether, and two dozen amyls. Not that we needed all that for the trip, but once you get locked into a serious drug collection, the tendency is to push it as far as you can. The only thing that really worried me was the ether. There is nothing in the world more helpless and irresponsible and depraved than a man in the depths of an ether binge, and I knew we'd get into that rotten stuff pretty soon. I mentally prepared my butthole and I decided to help myself to a coors light against my wishes but Bart, Bart's wife and Brogel are all drinking so I let peer pressure take hold as I cracked open a beer with them. We head out to the balcony to smoke some cuban cigars together as bart's wife takes a photo of all of us. We all look like hell. Haha. As bart downs his second beer, he asks me a question. Bart: ever go hunting? Me: Ducks a little bit but not much Bart: ever want to hunt some deadly game? Me: Like on african safari? Bart: No, I mean like.........man. Me: Hahahahhahaaha you're just fucking with me. Hahahahahhaa. That's really funny. Bart: No really, the concierge here at this hotel will set it up for us. It's amazing. I remember my first hunt...... Brogel starts laughing and I realize they've been doing a bit. I've been had. We bullshit about SHOT and Barrett's shotguns and other things and next thing I know, it's late but bart hands me a mixed drink. I sip it a bit and I was in the middle of a tirade complaining about my customers. Suddenly, there was a terrible roar all around us, and the sky was full of what looked like huge bats, all swooping and screeching and diving around the city, and a voice was screaming: Holy Jesus. What are these goddamn animals? Nobody seems to understand what I'm talking about. It's cold on the balcony. Our cigars are done. We head indoors. No point in mentioning these bats, I thought. Poor bastards will see them soon enough. Back indoors I realize Brussels sprouts and coors light is a bad choice. Seriously no bueno. I excuse myself to the bathroom and drain the vein. The asparagus funny smelling pee and the side effects of beer and brussels sprouts is a noxious combination that a defense contractor should weaponize it. It's pretty bad and not even cuban tobbaco can mask the smell. I sit back down and continue to talk about guns and stuff with bart and the gang and bart asks who ruined the bathroom. I apologize as he sprays a bunch of febreze around and opens the balcony. I apolgize to brogel. He is not accepting my apology. (sorry :( ) Nearly 11, it's about time to pull chocks and mosey on down the dusty trail. I don't want to prompt an evacuation of the hotel due to noxious odors so I decide to leave and bart seems to be kinda mad that I've ripped ass and polluted the sanctuary of his hotel. Half a coors light and brussels sprouts are no bueno in my book now. Bart decides to party hard with his wife and I offer brogel a ride home. He seems skeptical to share a confined space with me after I have just destroyed bart's hotel room. The car has 4 windows and the Uber will cost him a few bucks he can put towards ammo. He relents as we head down to the garage to find my car. Thankfully we find it quickly and I manage to contain the weapons of ass destruction for the 16 minute ride off strip to casa de brogel. He says I'm not that bad a dude and I agree as I hightail it to my hotel. I cannot find my hotel reservations so I call my travel agent to see. Apparently the Wynn was not in my travel budget this year. I have come to find out I have been booked at Circus Circus, much to my chagrin. How bad could it be? I've stayed at the Wynn. I've stayed at Encore. I've stayed at the hotel that Elisabeth Shue's character got raped in in Leaving Las Vegas - but Circus Circus? Did I mention that I HATE CLOWNS? I HATE CLOWNS. Fuck. I pull into the parking garage and the check in line resembles something straight out of the TSA line at Mccarran. 45 minutes to check in. The clerk is friendly and says he's also from Louisiana which is neat. He asks if I've stayed there before and I, being a connoisseur of old vegas history I decide to make a joke and I tell him the last time I was there, Jay Sarno owned the place. He got a laugh. I head up to my room and unpack. The lobby is clean as an old vegas casino can be, the room is clean and there's no way to plug anything in since the hotel predates personal electronic devices. I plug my phone into my external battery and collapse on the bed. I message Bart and chugbleach instead of falling asleep about show tomorrow and I offer to pick bart up early since there is no shuttle from the cosmo. Tuesday, November 16th SHOT Show Day One I awoke several hours later in a daze......the clock said 10AM. The show opened at 8:30. Fuck me to tears. I hurry up and get dressed and down to the sands convention center. The parking lot is FULL. The entire complex is a mess. When my man Steve Wynn built his joint he didn't build enough parking. So people would park at the Venetian and now FUCKING NOBODY CAN GET A PARKING SPACE. Holy shit. I eventually say fuck it and park over at the Wynn and walk over to the Sands. I meet up with a few of my regular suppliers and I see nothing interesting at all. Bart went to bed at 6AM after spending all night partying with his wife over at the palazzo. I joke and say that he just should have stayed there. Bart is amazed at the size of the show and we have lunch at the most disgusting place in las vegas - the convention center bistro snack bar. Bart is a wise man as he grabs a powerade and a fruit cup. I decide to try an "italian beef" and a fruit cup instead of fries to stay semi health conscious. The "italian beef" is the most disgusting thing I have ever eaten. It is flat out depressing. They give me fries with it and I demand a fruit cup. The sassy black woman working the stand asks me "DID YOU ASK FOR FRUIT? CAUSE RIGHT HERE SAYS FRIES" and I channel my inner Louis CK from the "this is how I talk" bit from SNL as I shoot back "WHY YOU FRONTIN ON ME I ASKED FOR FRUIT AND YOUR ASS BETTER BACK UP AND GET ME SOME FRUIT" so she goes back and gets me some fruit. The "italian beef", my fruit cup, bart's fruit cup and powerade comes to $81. My platinum amex comes out and I treat bart to "lunch". We bullshit about guns and stuff in the Springfield booth as we wait at the world's worst concession stand. We eat and Bart is so hungover that he thinks he is in need of physical therapy and a wheelchair. There is no way he is going to party tonight before his trip home. Or so I think. Haha. I meander around the show a bit more and I find this, the most USELESS PRODUCT OF 2017. It's made by a company called radetec. http://imgur.com/a/GOiCB It's a shot counter. For your gun. A digital odometer, for your gun. The only person that would buy this is the guy like my dad that kept a spiral bound notebook in his car where he documented how many miles he traveled per tank, gallons dispensed, PRICE, service station and whether they had a different price for cash/charge, oil consumption, tire rotations, alignments, all services - scheduled or otherwise, and a running odometer. Does anyone know the gun owner who asks for a round count when they are looking at a used gun? The question I always shoot back is "do you want to be lied at a little or do you want to be lied at a lot?" because that's what you're asking for when you ask for round count. UNLESS YOU BUY THIS PRODUCT! I roll my eyes so far back into my head that I nearly lose my balance. This is idiotic. I cannot fathom anyone willing to buy this. What a waste of perfectly good exhibition space. Bart heads back to his hotel after visiting SHOT show for a few hours, not getting any swag and to get an IV of fluids since he looked like he was rapidly approaching grim death. I wrap up visiting prime vendors and checking out the new products, or lack thereof because I have something on the schedule. At 4:30 there's a suicide prevention for retailers seminar hosted by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. As many of you know this is an issue that is important to me and perhaps we as retailers should be doing more. The keynote was from their chief medical director talking about the accessibility of firearms and the mindset of the "typical" suicide. Mostly men. If you are a veteran you are at a significantly larger risk. The information was presented very not surprisingly and one of the things discussed was that we only spend around 21M a year on suicide prevention. A few take away facts from the keynote: When suicide barriers are put up on a bridge, suicide rates for the entire area drop. The key to preventing suicide is getting people to talk about their problems. Once you can get someone out of that mindset, they are statistically less likely to do it and live productive lives afterwards. There are certain terms that they are trying to get away from - for instance, they are not saying "committed suicide" they are now saying "died by suicide" in order to bring awareness and tell it like it is. One thing that really was interesting to me was my reading on the flight in from Dallas. In The Tipping Point, Gladwell discusses how things stay the same and suddenly they all change. One of the things that he discusses is in micronesia - where teen suicide was practically unheard of became an outright epidemic. One teenager did it, for reasons passing understanding to me as an outsider and then all the other kids realized that they too could escape their pain by hanging themselves as well and suddenly the suicide rates in micronesia became so high to where it became a public health issue. I wish I could show you all the article I wrote on TTAG about my friend's death but it has been lost in the cloud and I am unable to find the last draft I sent to print, but it echoes some of the problems we have with suicide and mental health in the firearm industry. After the keynote, the good doctor opened the floor up for questions. Her keynote posed a lot of statistics but not a lot of answers. I am a detail oriented granular data guy and I did not get a solid grasp of the AFSP solutions posed, if any. Several firearm dealers discussed the lack of a cohesive solution and the takeaway was they're trying to develop awareness for the suicide problem. Their goal is to lower suicide rates but how they get there is yet to be determined. I didn't like hearing that and the comments from the crowd reflected the lack of a "here's what you can do TODAY to help this problem" part of the initiative. Going around the room, one dealer who used NICS said that if a customer was just flat out acting funny - he'd lie to the customer and say there was a delay with NICS even though there was an approval just to get them to not be able to have a gun for a few days. The crowd applauded this initiative, however I'm not sure lying to customers is the best way to run a business and treat them with respect. Another dealer brought up an interesting point. When someone comes in looking to buy a gun and they don't know what kind of gun they want, what caliber, and are generally clueless - they're either buying a gun to kill themselves with, OR perhaps they are a very uneducated prospective customer - and there is no clear way of finding out which is which. The problems presented by the AFSP are real. The solutions aren't there though. Yet. Ideally I'd like to see some change to that. However, there's some problems. I hung around and asked the good doctor and her staff some questions and I am in no way denigrating her life's work and her dedication to preventing suicide since she has dedicated her life's work to the issue, but the conversation went something like this. Did you do any research on the accessibility of firearms from a retailer from the legal standpoint? "No, we haven't" Do you know how the NICS or state POC background systems work in regard to mental health holds, etc? "No" One of the problems that I foresee right off the bat is that you talked about how you are fighting time, and if you can get someone out of that suicide mindset - even for a few hours, you can get them into that higher survival bracket. If we apply a one size fits all solution to it like California and put a 10 day wait on everything with the goal of protecting someone from their own life, how do we balance that with the needs of the woman who has been hiding from her abusive spouse and needs a gun right away? "That's a good question that I don't have an answer for." Their initiative, I admire - the lack of solutions is a little off putting however. I tell the doc about how my friend's suicide has impacted me and she seems to be sympathetic to the situation as does her colleagues. I am given her cards and told to call the next time I'm in New York so we can get together and discuss things within the industry. I'll give them a buzz in a few weeks when I'm up there on business. On my way out of the hall, I run into Massad Ayoob. Nice guy. I've admired his work over the years. Bart invites myself and chugbleach to dinner, I can't reach Chug and even though I am beat I decide to hang out with Bart and Mrs Bart Bart: What do you want to eat? FC: Let's find a nice seafood restaurant and eat some red salmon, I feel a powerful lust for red salmon. I begin vomiting. God damn mescaline. Why the fuck can't they make it a little less pure? We eventually head downstairs and order too much food. We are tired and not very hungry. Bart is still hungover and barely able to process food. His wife is grazing on all sorts of meat products. I am in awe of how they are both still upright after six nonstop nights of partying. I've only been here one day and I feel like I am about to die. Dinner concludes with an awkward hug with bart's wife - I don't know how other men feel about wife hugs so I have just avoided the prospect entirely. Like flying through Denver on Frontier. Or flying on Frontier. Ever. I drive over to the Wynn to set up my markers and the poker room is full. I draw a $2500 marker at the craps table and watch the game a bit. I have never played craps before in my life but the three people there seem to be having fun. I look down at my phone and I realize a plane has landed. fluffy_butternut has landed in Las Vegas on business. I had lost a bet and offered to pick him up from the airport. I cash back in my chips against my casino credit and head back to my car. I cannot find my car. Fuck. I wander the wynn garage which is covered in construction debris. I eventually find it and haul ass to the airport. Now, I didn't know this but fluffy has the WORST SENSE OF DIRECTION AT ALL. Seriously. I have no idea how he even made it to the correct city. He lands and has to get his bag and stuff and I circle the airport. He lets me know he's at door 77 wherever the fuck that was. I drive into the pickup portion and I see no sign. He then says he's coming up a level, and I tell him that I'll be there shortly. I park the car and Metro PD starts yelling. Metro: You can't park your car here. FC: Why not? Is this not a reasonable place to park? Metro: Reasonable? You're on a sidewalk! This is the sidewalk! I give the man a $20 and tell him to keep it running as I wander Mccarran screaming FLUFFY! HERE FLUFFY! I message fluffy to let him know I am the car parked on the sidewalk. I instantly figure out who he is having never seen a photo of him and I throw his bags into the car as we head for his hotel. I haul ass out of the airport and get the A3 on the highway. Now this was a superior machine. Thirty nine grand worth of gimmicks and high-priced special effects. The rear windows lit up with a touch like frogs in a dynamite pond. The dashboard was full of esoteric lights and dials and meters that I would never understand. We check in at the Rio where the desk clerk is friendly and flirty. I express amazement there is no line. Fluffy checks in and we take his bags upstairs and he offers to buy me food for driving him to the airport. I decline. We head to the bar anyways. He orders two beers and we decide to call chug. He's staying out in Summerlin or something because his company is apparently run by cheapskates. He asks if we want to hang out and shoot the shit. I say sure and ask if he wants us to pick up food or anything from CVS or something since I have the car and I'm able to do anything I want. He asks for some toothpaste. No problem. I may be an asshole on the internet but I have a heart of gold. We get some toothpaste get to the hotel. Arriving at the lobby, we have no idea where he is. It turns out he gave us the address for the hotel across the street. We laugh and go to that lobby and shoot the shit till 3AM much to the chagrin of the hotel clerk. Fluffy has some beers and we plan on dinner the next day. I drive fluffy back and arrive at the hotel at 4. Fuck me to tears. Wednesday, January 18th. Day 2 of SHOT show. Alarm goes off at 7:30 AM. I wash up, eat and get breakfast. In the garage by 8:15. Nice. I get some dillo dust and check out the new Sig 220 DA/SA and SAO legions. Daddy likey. I go to a competing firm and I piss of my state sales manager by telling him his newer designed triggers suck ass. He says the company tested them and they're the same in every way. I ask him why the triggers have two different part numbers in the catalog and how come they're not interchangeable and if that's really the case, how come there's X changes in the supposedly identical pistol parts that he's holding side by side. He gets mad at me and says I'm not an expert on their product and perhaps I should take his job since I'm so smart. I agree that I'm smart and I hold firm that if he didn't want me to complain about the shitty trigger, they should stop selling guns with shitty triggers. I am nearly kicked out of the booth. I meet up with some of my wholesale reps and I'm mid convo when I see Itsgoodsoup and his friend walking around the show. I yell SOUP but he does not hear me. So I grab his friend and find him and I tell him we should get together at dinner with fluffy and chug. He agrees. The show winds down, I get some business done and nothing much else. We break for a shitty gunnit live lite and I take a few questions from the crowd in fluffy's suite at the Rio. Dinner is at 8 and we arrive at the restaurant late to find soup and his friend sitting at one table and chug and his girlfriend sitting at another. Perhaps we should have gotten here a little earlier. Hahaha. So, fluffy said the place is really good and I order a few of the specialties of the house. Apparently according to yelp they do a kickass peking duck. Soon to be mrs chug is a vegan. But we can eat meat in front of her. I wonder how it's served and Soup's vancouver raised asian friend tells me that they normally carve it tableside. Our vegan says as long as there's no head she's cool. We're not sure if they can fulfill that request. So we order and food starts coming out and we tell tall tales of shot show BS and other stuff. Sure enough, the duck comes out with the head. No bueno. Haha. But I decide to treat us to vegan donuts at the vegan bakery across the street later. Seven courses later we are full. Vegan bakery closed. I am committed to getting her some vegan donuts though. We head to Fremont street to gamble. Fluffy wanders about and we try craps and we're not impressed. We hit some slots and eventually I hit the craps table where chug explains the game to me. We start betting on dice. And somehow we start winning. I find that the house allows you to take 10X behind the line. No idea what this means so I plop $5 on the pass line and the point hits 6. I drop $50 behind it and it hits. We go a few rounds and leave ahead. It's 2:30 AM. Fuck. I drive everyone back to their hotel. I get to sleep around 4. Thursday, January 19th. Day 3 of SHOT show. Wake up at 10AM feeling like crap. Debate whether to head straight to show and wander about. Fuck it. Went to halal guys for some halal. Delicious. Got vegan donuts. Dead drop them at the Palazzo lobby for chug and his girl. Show is a bust. Literally nothing exciting. Fluffy offers to buy me dinner. One of my customers who lives in Summerlin offers to take me to dinner. I pass on fluffy and he destroys the seafood buffet at the rio. I head to Sinatra at the Wynn for dinner with my customer. All good in the hood. Chug has been invited to the Glock dinneafter party and I'm not so we all go our separate ways. I call foghorn5950 and due to some weather, he's flying home early and our plans to hangout are fucked up unless I go tonight. I grab fluffy and we head to Whiskey Down. He orders a makers and I give him a funny look. I tell the waitress make it a bulleit. Everyone laughs. I talk shop with Jeremy also from TTAG and we shoot the shit over cigars and talk about useless products. Next thing we know, chug is out of the dinner and wandering the strip. We decide to meet up at the Linq. It takes us nearly 30 minutes to get out of Whiskey Down at MGM because the waitress was awful and messed up everyone's tab. It was a fucking disaster. To boot, MGM is now charging for parking. FC: What a bunch of fucking jews Fluff: You should just tailgate that lady in front of you out and screw them out of the $7 FC: I should We pull behind her and watch as she gets flustered at the awful parking machine. Her nevada license plate says VETERAN. As the gate goes up we haul ass and screw MGM out of $7. I shout "THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE" out the window as we blow right by her up to the Linq. Through fluffy's awful navigation, we wind up at the loading dock for the Linq. Eventually we find chug and gf hanging at the penny slots. They are holding vegan donuts, which she is very appreciative of. Least I could do after showing her the head. Fluffy plays the House of Cards slot machine. He stuck $100 in, played for 6 minutes and then got really mad and hit the cash out button and $80 was left after 5 minutes. ITS EXACTLY LIKE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT! Chug's gf asks to play a special slot machine called kitty glitter. We ask and the linq does not offer it but Harrahs next door does. So we head over there and the slot tech finds the kitty glitter machine. Fluffy sticks a C note in there and tells her to play and have a blast. So she's banging away at the one armed bandit WHEN SUDDENLY I HEAR THE SOUND. It's PUTTIN ON THE RITZ in shitty .wav file internal speaker format. Hahah. She's just hit the progressive jackpot on the penny KITTY GLITTER machine. THIS PLACE IS AWESOME! We cash out after some play and a good time was had by all. I dump off fluffy at the rio since it was very close and drive everyone else back. It's late, I'm tired and the Palace Station oyster bar is open 24 hours......I head over there and there's a 45 minute wait. So, I pull out my backup bankroll and using everything chug and fluffy have taught me about craps I belly up to the $3 min table where they let you take 10x behind the line. I'm still learning and the table is slow so one of the boxmen start explaining the game to me. Box: So if you place the 6 or the 9 or individual numbers you can bet those but you gotta pay a little juice on it like a commission Me: Like when you buy the hook? short pause Box: Yeah! Exactly like that! You got this! So I played a little and went up a bit and down a bit. As you do. Plunked $5 down on the pass line and took full odds and the point hit. This game is pretty cool! So I hung around and watched for about an hour and finally decided to eat my winnings. I take $5 off my stack and, drop it on the pass line and announce dealer bet - $5 to pass. It hits. The dealers love me. Maybe Vegas isn't so bad after all. http://imgur.com/a/LGhDj I have the pan roast at the oyster bar. No line. It is DELICIOUS. I get back to the hotel at 5AM. I don't care when I wake up. Friday, January 20th. Day 4 of SHOT show. Wake up around noon feeling like crap. Go to show. Debate destroying milk cart with wheels with an ax borrowed from fire station. Decide against it. Gas up car and find myself out by palace station again. Played some craps, hit the buffet and went for an early sleep. It's midnight. The neighbors in my the hotel are having sex. A LOT OF SEX. I can hear everything. I gently knock on the door. No answer. I knock slightly harder. No answer. I head back to my room and close the door just as I hear their door open. I zoom back out to find a puzzled middle aged stocky and perhaps sticky Latino man looking both ways. I get in his line of sight. Me: Hey. I'm next door. It sounds like you're having a lot of fun. I get it. I really do. In fact I haven't had sex since the bush administration so I'm gunning for you man I really am. But it's midnight and I have a 6am flight and a rental car to return. So trust me when I say I'm really happy for you but if you don't mind I really need to get some sleep tonight okay? The awkward silence is deafening. He nods without saying a word and mouths okay. I give him a manly nod and thumbs up. Me: thanks. I'd shake your hand or fist bump but well you know..... I give him a peace sign as he goes back into his little pleasure palace and I turn to realize that I have just locked myself out of my room. I am wearing boxers, a tshirt and barefoot. I head downstairs to the lobby. The check in at the front desk resembles the TSA line at Mccarran. Normally I would not be this rude but desperate times call for desperate measures. The line is 50 people deep. I walk past every person. Fuck your queue. I approach the desk where someone is helping a guest and I raise my right hand as if I were in a deposition to get them to stop. The staff and guest looks puzzled as the angry barefoot man clad in nothing but boxers and a "uzi does it" tshirt approaches the desk. Me: excuse me. I don't mean to interrupt. I have an emergency. I'm up on 8 and my neighbors are having a lot of sex. I mean a LOT of sex. (This is the same front desk clerk who actually checked me in Monday night by coincidence looks back at me very awkwardly and puzzled.) Me: this isn't your regular sex. I'm talking this is your (I begin air humping the front desk and slapping the granite counter with my palm and grunting loudly) sex. You could hear the plan B packaging open. At this point - the ENTIRE FRONT DESK STAFF HAS STOPPED CHECKING IN GUESTS. The people in line and are watching the show. The clerk is stunned. Speechless. Shock and awed. Crapped out and busted. The women are covering their children's eyes and ears. The men are wondering if this show requires a 2 drink minimum. Me: now I get this is Vegas. Everyone wants a good time. It's midnight. My flight leaves at 6 which means I have to be up by 4. And this just isn't working. So I asked them to keep it down and I locked myself out of my room. So if you can make me another key or move me I'd appreciate it. The clerk nods. Clerk: of course. may I see your ID? Years of ballet have prepared me for this day. I step back to make sure my genitals are still ensconced in my boxers as I pirouette and gesticulate wildly. Me: DO I LOOK LIKE I HAVE ID? The floor manager steps over and asks me to head down to the end of the desk where she will make me a key. I give her the room number and thank her after she offers to have security sent up to shutdown the best little whorehouse in Vegas. I tell her it may not be necessary. As I take my keys and walk away the people in line break out in raucous applause. I take a bow and miraculously my boxer shorts don't rip. These people are my subjects and I have been crowned the the king of the three ring circus that is the circus circus lobby. Im offered a $1 tip from a kind soul but I decline. My walk back to the hotel elevator bank is uneventful. So much so that I realize it is going too well. The other shoe, if I were wearing one felt as if it was about to drop. Suddenly a dumbass in a rascal scooter is heading toward me at flank speed as his head is turned to look at everyone BEHIND HIM. There's no way this will end well. For you gentle readers joining us mid conversation - it's midnight and I need to be at the airport in 4.5 hours. I can just see it now. (Cue the harp noises) Scene: Emergency room Nurse: Allergic to anything? Me: NKDA Nurse: cause of injury? Me: what's the IC10 code for "run down by drunken buffoon on motorized wheelchair?" I saw my life and confirmed upgraded first class seats home being given away by the Mccarran gate agent flash before my eyes and my catlike reflexes kicked in and I jumped to my left into the wall, mid 1960's Las Vegas union construction being the path of least resistance. Think "The Bodyguard" with Kevin Costner. The buffoon barely realizes what happens. Children are amazed. "HEY MOM! Look! That guy just ran into a wall!" Me: it was that OR GET RUN DOWN BY SOME JACKASS ON A GODDAMN SCOOTER GOING FULL SPEED DRIVING LIKE A.... I look down and a midwestern nuclear family with two children of formative age are waiting for the elevator. I change my last word. Me: LUNATIC! I look over to the parents. Me: I'm really sorry. This is a family joint and I shouldn't have cursed the drunken scooter driver like that. Sorry kids. Parent: no big deal. They've heard fucking worse. I crack a smile at her word choice. Fucking worse. Yeah. That sounds like my evening. After jumping into a wall, I'm now wide awake and unable to go back to sleep. I make the plane and push on time. The 737 comes to a stop short of the runway and holds. Something is wrong. The pilots come on and say that they loaded more cargo and passengers than planned so they have to redo their numbers. We're waiting on the taxiway with both engines running as they do this and the waiting music comes on. What's the first song? Whitney Houston - "I Will Always Love You"
Re: Venetian table minimums. The odds hold a 0 house edge, thus allowing you to dilute the rest of your house edge. For example, if you bet a $10 passline bet with 0 odds, the casino holds a roughly 1.5% house advantage. By placing 3x odds on that bet, the casino holds a $0.375% house advantage on your $40 total bet. The casino has a whopping number of gaming slots and tables. To date, there are over 3,400 slot machines and 800 table games for cards in the 4 gaming areas. Dining options. Being the biggest hotel and casino establishment in Macau, The Venetian offers a huge selection of dining experience. It has 11 Chinese fine dining restaurants, 4 Asian ... Answer 11 of 16: Heading to the Venetian next weekend, staying Saturday and Sunday nights. What can we expect for table minimums for craps and roulette? Don't want any ugly surprises. Thank you for your help! Every other table game, electronic table game, or Live Gaming machine known to Macau is available at the Venetian, along with over 2,000 slots. Minimums on the 300 tables roll between $200 or $300 all the way up to $2,000 in the high limit Ruby Room, while slots start at 0.02 and end at $100. As for the various game machines and Live Baccarat (which also includes Live Roulette and Live Sic Bo), their lows don't exceed $50. Every Las Vegas table game gets a tab. We list every casino that offers it with the relevant details. We then publish this data in easy to follow tables, broken down into various categories. John also writes a number of blog posts on specific topics, such the best Las Vegas blackjack games, new table games in Las Vegas, and interesting observations he makes during the Las Vegas Table Game ... Answer 1 of 16: Heading to the Venetian next weekend, staying Saturday and Sunday nights. What can we expect for table minimums for craps and roulette? Don't want any ugly surprises. Thank you for your help! Frequently Asked Questions Check In / Check Out, Hotel, Suites, Casino, & Wi-fi. Last Updated: February 4, 2021. The Venetian and The Palazzo Concierge Services are committed to assisting you with the creation of a memorable itinerary for your entire stay with us. Venetian (double deck or shoe, latter adds surrender and re-split aces) Las Vegas casinos with no 3:2 blackjack games. There are three Las Vegas casinos with table games that do not offer any traditional 3:2 blackjack games. Those casinos are Binion’s, Casino Royale and O’Sheas. I found 3:2 tables with a forced $1 side bet at Binion’s but ... Most of the shoe games (23 in total) at the Venetian are tables with minimums of $10, $15, or $25 where the payouts used to be 3:2 before 2014, but are now 6:5. The rules at these tables state that you can double down before and after splitting, which is a small consolation prize for the unfair payouts. Table Games Casino. Our spacious casino features a full range of table games in lavish and friendly surroundings. With over 225 games, there's sure to be something for everyone. We also offer a high-limit salon, where we deal 60 table games, including Baccarat, Blackjack and Roulette, in a welcoming space designed with the most discriminating premium player in mind. The state of Nevada ...
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