At the Frank Scoblete Gamblers Jamboree

When I give seminars, I'm usually on my own. I say my piece, take questions and stop and chat with those who stick around afterward.

But at the Frank Scoblete Gamblers Jamboree, May 21-22 at Casino Windsor, there were dozens of seminars with some of the premier gambling experts in North America, along with contests, prizes, fun and games. When I was not giving seminars, I was looking in on some of the others.

I asked the other speakers each to offer a tip:

Scoblete, best selling author of Beat the Craps Out of the Casinos and more: There are good bets and bad bets in almost every game. Avoid playing the linked progressive slots and stick to the slots that aren't linked. You'll save about $10 for every $100 you bet this way. That's a mighty big savings.

"Queen of Comps" Jean Scott, the author of The Frugal Gambler: Changes in the casino world are coming fast and furious. Depending on old information will be disaster in your wallet. Keep up to date!

Dr. Henry Tamburin, author of Blackjack: Take the Money and Run and other books, publisher of the Blackjack Insider e-newsletter and lead instructor for Golden Touch Blackjack: Luck plays a big role when you play blackjack. However, luck will even out over your lifetime. What separates the long-term winners from the losers is playing skill. Also, in tournament blackjack, the most effective tournament strategies are primarily knowing when to risk a large amount of your playing bankroll and when to deviate from the traditional basic playing strategy.

Dominator, founding partner of Golden Touch Craps: When you play the game of craps, bet smart to reduce the house edge. Use come bets with odds or just place the 6 and 8. Put the center bets like hardway bets out of your vocabulary.

Billy the Kid, Golden Touch Craps crew: Always playing the same way can leave your game stagnant, always hoping for the same outcome. Learn different ways to play, like playing the don't side to put a fresh face on your game.

Arman "Pit Boss" Pirim, winner of the Golden Touch Craps "No-Sevens" contest in 2003: In the process of asking for a comp, never be shy. Always ask for more than you want, then negotiate down. It's a lot easier to work down than to insist only on what you want. This makes it look like you let the casino save some face.

Bill Burton, author of Get the Edge at Low-Limit Texas Hold'em: Many low limit players put too much value on suited starting hands. They will play any two suited cards. Since you will only make a flush 5 percent of the time, playing every suited hand will make you a loser in the long run.

Dan Pronovost, creator of the Speed Count used in Golden Touch Blackjack: If you play blackjack, make sure you minimally know the right plays and use the correct basic strategy. You can print out the charts from many online web sites, or get the charts from from most good blackjack books. This can reduce the casino's edge to less than percent!

John Marchel, publisher of the Internet gaming newsletter The Gaming Bulletin, author of 101 Casino Gambling Tips and proprietor of the Web site www.jme.com: When playing roulette try to find a wheel that only has one zero rather than the zero and double zero. The minus 5.26 percent odds drops in half to only 2.70 percent when the double zero is removed. Ask the pit boss if they are considering changing to the French wheel in the future. Your asking just might help to encourage them to do so. (Casino Windsor, site of the Jamboree, has single zero wheels.)

Jerry "Stickman" Stich, advantage player and instructor for Golden Touch Blackjack, Craps and Texas Hold'em: Video Poker is the only type of slot machine that tells you the payback. Take advantage of this information and you can become a long term winner.

Don Caitlin, professor emeritus of mathematics at the University of Massachusetts, and author of The Lottery Book: The Truth Behind the Numbers: Among other things, I will be speaking about expected returns in state lotteries, when games become positive and how you can tell, and whether or not playing a positive game is as attractive as it sounds.

John Kreuz, Nevada attorney, financial planner and gambler: My tip concerns those pesky state income taxes on gambling winnings. Most of us know that, on a federal tax return, an individual is allowed to deduct his/her gambling losses to the extent of winnings; however, many states do not allow gambling losses to be deducted on their state income tax return.

There are legal ways to avoid this unfortunate circumstance. One is by establishing a legal residence in a state with no state income tax (e.g. Nevada) or, two, by establishing a corporation in a state with no state corporate income tax (e.g. Nevada).