GAMING GURUS: LATEST FROM OUR STRATEGY EXPERTS

Casino City’s Friday Five: New Las Vegas casino resort edition

It has been highly anticipated but it is finally here. Circa Resort & Casino in Las Vegas officially celebrated its grand opening on Wednesday and started welcoming in guests to the property on Fremont Street. Before we dive into what this resort has to offer, we also take a look at some other top stories...read more

Blackjack Strategies

Blackjack basic strategy is not a one-size-fits-all mandate. Casinos offer differing sets of rules and playing conditions, so there are basic strategies adapted to fit the major rules variations of number of decks and whether the dealer hits soft 17.In the last decade or so, it's become common for dealers to hit soft 17 even in six-deck games.That's far different than my first couple of decades as a player, when I rarely had trouble finding multi-deck games with the dealer standing on all 17s.Player shorthand calls them H17 vs...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: To figure out how magic tricks work, take a lesson from casino security

One of the ways that casino security personnel catch casino cheats is by studying the actions made by players and dealers. Actions by some players stand out when most other players don't act that way. Actions by dealers stand out when they don't follow the prescribed way to do things. You can use the same principles of an action that doesn't look natural or an action that is repeated to get an idea of how magic tricks work. Dealers are taught to do things in a standard way every time...read more

Outrageous Craps Experiences

I am sure that almost all casino gamblers have experienced crazy stuff at the table games and this could be especially so in the world of craps. I know I have been there for such memorable events..Let me start with the worst first – to get that out of the way: I saw a man die at the table in Atlantic City...read more

Top 10 most unique attributes and amenities at the new Circa Resort and Casino in Las Vegas

It's being billed as a "new era" for Las Vegas and, for once, this isn’t media hype or PR jargon. It’s reality.When the new Circa Resort & Casino in Las Vegas opens its doors this week at 8 Fremont Street it will go down as one of the more important milestones this great city has seen in some time, and not just because it’s the first ground-up resort destination to open in the downtown area in 40 years...read more

Are the Odds the Same?

QUESTION: You wrote recently that electronic games that use depictions of playing cards must offer fair odds. The odds of being dealt cards on electronic blackjack are the same as in table blackjack.Does the same thing apply to dice? I'm thinking specifically of the Hot Roll games on both slots and video poker...read more

Hold for a Royal Flush?

A reader has some questions about holding for a royal flush or something else while playing 9/6 Jacks or Better video poker. Here is the inquiry.Hi Stickman,I hope things are going well for you.I have some questions for you that have to do with Jacks or Better...read more

Casino City’s Friday Five: The Las Vegas “new normal” edition

Many are wondering if the Las Vegas we are seeing now with the restrictions and capacity limits will be the “new normal,” or if it will ever return to the Sin City we used to know. We continue to see changes to Las Vegas with the Strip’s first adult-only resort coming to reality next week...read more

Reopening Remarks

After a long lull, readers have resumed sharing tales of back-to-back jackpots.Since casinos have re-opened, and reader experiences that have hit my email box include a couple of table stories that may not strictly fit definitions of "jackpot," but they're rare fun nonetheless.Merri: My favorite game is Three Card Poker, and my first two times back at casinos when they re-opened I couldn't get a seat.The third time, my husband and I got there at 7 in the morning and I think we could have played any open game...read more

Ask the Slot Expert: Magic tricks and slots -- the truth about how they work is dull

Magic tricks and slot machines have something in common. Though they both appear to be governed by some mysterious process, the truth about how they operate is actually quite pedestrian. One magician said, "You really don't want to know how a trick works...read more