Casino message boards

Just like any other topic under the sun nowadays, casino gambling is discussed endlessly on Internet message boards. Online, players gather to swap stories about wins, losses, restaurants, rooms and comps, report on their latest trips and trade strategy tips.

I check in on a few message boards from time to time, many of which have no fee to join in the fun. Here are a few free boards where you can post your questions, comments and advice, and often join in a lively discussion.

Boyd's Eye View Forum, www.midwestgamingandtravel.com: Video poker author Linda Boyd, a regular in Midwest Gaming and Travel magazine, hosts this forum where video poker is a specialty. She'll often join in the discussions, lending her casino experience and video poker expertise.

As you'd expect, video poker topics are a mainstay, but you'll find a wide variety of lively exchanges. Recent topics include a discussion of the blackjack movie "21," assigning value to comps, trip reports from Las Vegas, Seneca Niagara casino and the Motor City casino in Detroit, and how rising fuel costs affect your casino plans for the summer.

The forum is relatively new and isn't as active as some older ones yet. The 20-post thread on "21" was a long one by Boyd's Eye View standards. But some interesting characters and savvy players hang out there, making this a worthy forum to visit.

While you're there, you might want to check out subscription information to Midwest Gaming and Travel. I'm a bit biased, since I write for the magazine, but that aside, Midwest Gaming always has a strong collection of gambling experts and writers, with Frank Scoblete, Henry Tamburin, Boyd, John Robison, Victor Royer and Fred Renzey among the regulars.

American Casino Guide, www.americancasinoguide.com: Steve Bourie's annual American Casino Guide is a treasure in book form, with listings of every casino in the United States, with their locations and phone numbers, games, amenities, size of casino, even buffet prices. It also carries articles and gambling tips from experts, making it a handy-dandy guide to all things casino.

The website also includes casino listings and much more, including a free forum to exchange information. When you log onto the American Casino Guide home page, look for the main menu on the right side of the page, and click on "Casino Discussion Board."

There is no specialty topic here — everything is fair game. A recent look at the board found threads on blackjack in Florida, cutbacks Harrah's recently made on services in some of its Diamond lounges in Las Vegas, using the casino coupons in the print edition of the Guide, Wisconsin casinos and smoking regulations in Atlantic City.

Bourie jumps into the discussions himself, but as on any message board, half the fun is getting extra information from fellow players with local knowledge.

Las Vegas Advisor, www.lasvegasadvisor.com: Anthony Curtis' monthly Advisor has long been one of my favorite Las Vegas resources in its print editions. The Advisor deserves special commendations in the upgrades it has made in its website in the last couple of years. With its mix of blogs and podcasts, features such as the question of the day and the top 10 Las Vegas values, pool reports and much more, the Advisor site could entice you into browsing for hours.

Not everything here is free, but there is enough free content to keep any Vegas enthusiast going for some time. That includes the forums, with both free and members-only sections.

The free message boards include separate forums on sports betting, golf in Las Vegas, "Kill Phil" poker, the Ultimate Blackjack Tour, Internet gambling and something called "Las Vegas Free for All." The Free for All is the busiest of the free forums, a place to discuss practically anything.

Trip reports and casino topics such as low-volatility slot machines, Let It Ride tournaments, the El Cortez airport shuttle and how much money to bring to Las Vegas are staples, but so are political and economic discussions, weddings, airfares and airline amenities, or the lack thereof.

These are BUSY boards. A recent check of the Free For All found more than 32,000 topics and more than 640,000 posts. The members section is every bit as busy, with more separate forums — coupons, hotels, gambling, member meets and more. To get into the members section, you have to be an Advisor subscriber, priced at $37 for a 12-month online membership. The coupon book you get with it is worth far more than $37 for any Las Vegas visitor, and I've always said the Advisor itself is value for money even without the coupons.