Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 704

Slots Review: Gypsy Fortune, Red Baron, Luau Party

1) Gypsy Fortune: Atronic. 86-94%, 3 spins. This 9 and/or 21 line slot offers a little mystery and an innovative 3D bonus event. The main bonus event occurs with the appearance of three "Circle of Cards' moving to an array of floating fortune-telling cards...read more

New Blue Chip Casino a Gem for Michigan City

The ongoing $150 million construction project by Las Vegas-based Boyd Gaming that will bring the nation's newest concept in riverboat gambling to Michigan City, Indiana, is destined to create a giant footprint in the greater Northwest Indiana gaming market. The present Blue Chip Casino & Hotel gaming vessel, which opened in 1997, is not unlike any of the other riverboat casinos in the market...read more

When Should You Ignore the Maximum Coin Rule at the Slots?

"Let me tell you about the very rich," wrote F Scott Fitzgerald in the short story, The Rich Boy. "They are different from you and me." Ernest Hemingway, in The Snows of Kilimanjaro, responded, "Yes, they have more money." Ponder this when next you read or hear a punting pundit pontificating that you should always play the maximum number of coins in a slot machine...read more

More on Max Coin: Video Poker

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote that while on most reel-spinning slot machines playing maximum coins brings the best payback percentage, it also increases overall losses. It's a bad idea to play progressive slots or buy-a-pays where each coin activates different symbols without betting the max...read more

Heard it on the River

If you have a sombrero, you might dust it off for the next BALLY'S ULTIMATE BLACKJACK TOURNAMENT where you might be able to win a share of the $150,000 prize money. The theme of this event is "Mucho Dinero" and that includes a $60,000 top prize...read more

Casinos As Debt Collectors

A large casino may be stuck with more than $10 million every year in bum checks and bounced markers. How to collect? Debt collectors often make their money by, well, collecting debts. They are not paid by the hour, but depend for their livelihood upon their ability to extract money from reluctant customers...read more

Counters, markers and the occasional check

Dear Mark, I'm not a gambler, so please excuse the ignorance of this question — but assuming card counting is a mental exercise, how do the casinos know someone is doing it? Janet C. All card-counting systems, Janet, keep track of the ratio of small cards (2, 3, 4, 5, 6) to big cards (10, jack, queen, king, ace) remaining in the deck...read more

Tragedy Strikes

I was dealing craps at the Mint one afternoon when my stomach started burning. My first thought was that I shouldn't have eaten that third bowl of clam chowder in the help's hall. Then my head started aching. That's it, I knew what it was...read more

Eng's Betting on Horse Racing for Dummies -- Smart Buy at GBC

Richard Eng, who has been writing about thoroughbred racing for more than 20 years (he lives in Las Vegas), has written one of the sharpest, smartest books for newcomers to the sport and those who have a few informational gaps to fill. His Betting on Horse Racing for Dummies (362 pages, paperbound, $19.99) covers the sport via 26 chunky, well-organized and easy-to-digest chapters...read more

Skipping the Passline Bet

Mr. Scoblete, Is it alright not to bet on the initial Pass Line? Can I just wait for the come-out roll and then put money on the place numbers (i.e., 6, 8, etc.) after the come roll is determined? Thank you, Exequiel Dear Exequiel: Casinos prefer not to limit your betting options because the more you bet the better it is for them...read more