Gaming Gurus: Strategy Expert Article Archive - Page 791

Gaming Expansion Requires Striking a Delicate Balance

It is a difficult task that the Governor and Michigan Legislature face. With a full blown state budget crisis, the thought of enhancing state revenues by expanding the number of gaming outlets in the state has become very attractive. Already there has been a major expansion of gaming into bars and restaurants throughout the state with the introduction of the state Lottery's "Club Games," including pull-tab games and a video keno game with 225 drawings in 900 restaurants and bars state wide each day....read more

Heard it on the River

If you read this column on a regular basis then you have heard us talk about a rumored NASCAR track operation that might be coming to TUNICA RESORTS. These early sightings have legs and now we can put a name on the organization that is supposedly attempting to make this venture a happening thing here...read more

Pai Gow Poker Good Slot Alternative

Breaking away from the slots is a difficult transition for a majority of casino players, but a very necessary one if you wish to enjoy the total casino experience and attempt to derive the most bang for your gambling dollar. A couple of weeks ago I explored the opportunities that await table games neophytes at the roulette wheel...read more

A Comparison of Chicago-Area Casinos - Part 4: Restaurants

Restaurants at casinos are essentially support services, there to make it convenient for you to return to the main business - gambling - after you eat. Main business or not, there are some legitimately fine restaurants in local casinos. As I toured Chicago area casinos, I broke down food service into several categories to see how the operations stacked up: Breakfast options: With Harrah's Joliet, Empress Joliet, Grand Victoria in Elgin and Hollywood in Aurora having dropped breakfast buffets in the wake of the Illinois gaming tax hike, breakfast options have narrowed...read more

Even-Money Equivalents Help Anticipate Swings in New Situations

Everybody understands that the higher the payoff on a bet, the less likely it is to hit. You may not know the precise chance of a $50,000 slot machine jackpot with $1 bet. But you can be sure it's smaller than the prospect of a $5,000 win for the same wager on a similar game two seats away...read more

Slot nostalgia

Dear Mark, My first day gambling was in Reno the day President Kennedy was killed. An unlucky day to say the very least. I remember which casino I was in, Harold's Club, but I'm not quite certain what type of slot machine I was playing on when I heard the grim news. I believe, though not 100% sure, it was a triple-line machine by Bally's...read more

"No Way I Can Lose This Hand" and Other Famous Last Words

The well-dressed, distinguished gentleman was playing at a $100 blackjack table and betting b-i-g with his cohort standing behind him, rooting him on. He had just bemoaned losing five hands in a row and defiantly quadrupled his bet on the sixth hand...read more

Grand Victoria Makes Point at Craps

The Grand Victoria in Elgin, the lone Chicago-area casino in Illinois to not institute admission charges or cut hours of operation or other services in the wake of the revenue tax hikes, has rocketed to the forefront in yet another category that affects recreational gamblers: The game of craps. Table games promotions are rare, but the Grand Vic has come up with one for dice players that ranks as the best ever in this market...read more

Withdrawing Applications

Be careful what you wish, because sometimes you can't back out. It is always surprising to read about someone applying for a gaming license who is turned down when regulators uncover some horrendous incident in the applicant's past. These cases often involve questionable and even illegal business practices and dealings with associates of organized crime...read more

Quinn's Best of Thoroughbred Handicapping Back in Print with Something for Everyone

In the almost 40 years Gamblers Book Shop (Gambler's Book Club) has been in existence, the name James Quinn has been among the most respected names. Quinn, whose first work, The Handicapper's Condition Book was recently updated and republished by The Daily Racing Form, now brings to his fans and potential fans The Best of Thoroughbred Handicapping (Leading Ideas and Methods) (326 pages, hardbound, $29.95). Getting your hands on a copy this latest title is like having access to the best ideas of more than two dozen different books and 21 authors who are also top handicappers...read more