tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52982336400297731202024-03-13T01:56:15.488-07:00Cards, Dice and Wheels of FortuneRobertCanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428375689821585471noreply@blogger.comBlogger73125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298233640029773120.post-33718973376111663772017-01-16T12:24:00.002-08:002017-01-16T12:24:32.920-08:00Las Vegas - Becoming a Local<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The
first week of January, 2017 was our 6 month anniversary as legitimate residents
of Las Vegas. We came in the midst of one of the hottest summers in the valley
(see my speedometer temperature gauge reading 118 degrees) and so far this
winter there has been a lot more rain than I had anticipated. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpN9OfqS8naHhYQvFstKywpBHn19E8qqqrKtgxy6ZaP1y-Uo4RC6WESvxaXgJiFC0Iiml9hjRE32iAKtWhz4TJsVRI5fILPbNJDnmT7U8qy9mkdY5BSF04TRvrzK8xH0UYnuGzb4dEdpY/s1600/IMG_1611.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpN9OfqS8naHhYQvFstKywpBHn19E8qqqrKtgxy6ZaP1y-Uo4RC6WESvxaXgJiFC0Iiml9hjRE32iAKtWhz4TJsVRI5fILPbNJDnmT7U8qy9mkdY5BSF04TRvrzK8xH0UYnuGzb4dEdpY/s320/IMG_1611.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Over time that
will all even out and, regardless of the variations and proclivities of weather
here in the desert, I do not miss the sleet, snow, icy windshields, salted
streets and sidewalks and frigid cold of the northeast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Yet,
becoming a “local” involves a lot more than living in Las Vegas and doing
things that Las Vegas residents do. Becoming a local in the poker room is an
even more daunting task.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Although
the choices of where to play poker in Vegas are not as varied as they were
about five or six years ago, there are still plenty of places to play. Add into
that mix the stakes you are willing to play and the options narrow further. Big
strip casinos like the Bellagio, Aria, the Mirage, and Wynn all have sizeable
poker rooms that fill up regularly on weekends with tourists and opportunists.
The game of choice is No Limit Hold’em and the many $1/$2 dollar tables and
$1/$5 tables with other variations in between attract players willing to buy in
for thousands of dollars. Limit tables are far and few between although they
can be found in smaller venues like the Flamingo, Monte Carlo, and even
Excalibur. The Venetian, once a mecca for poker players, has been seriously
impacted by the poker-playing public’s dislike for owner Sheldon Adelson and
his vocal trashing of on-line gambling ventures. Some still play there but not
with the enthusiasm of a few years ago. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Tournaments
abound, both small and moderate stakes, and the Downtown locations, the Golden
Nugget in particular, have nice, regular, reasonably staked competitions.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">But,
to become a “local” one must pick a room and frequent it regularly. For that,
and for residents who live in North Las Vegas, away from the frenzy of the
Strip, that often means a Station casino.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">In
the past six months I have played at Red Rock, Green Valley Ranch, and, most
often, Santa Fe. These, along with the other Station casinos, offer small
stakes Limit games ($2/$4 and $3/$6 primarily) as well as small stakes
tournaments at least twice a day. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Did
I mention that, more often than not, becoming a local player takes time and
often costs money? Except for weekends and holidays, these off-strip casinos
are all locals! The faces that show up for the tournaments are mostly all the
same faces; the bodies occupying the chairs around the low limit tables are the
same ones that show up every day; those waiting around for the occasional Omaha
or No-Limit game are the same payers day in and day out.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The
characteristics of local players vary greatly. Contrary to popularly held
opinions, they are not all “tight” poker players. On the contrary, some can be
very loose. Whatever strategy they have developed over years of playing becomes
their poker personality and they project it, win or lose. They all know each
other and they all know how the others play. Some have been in Vegas for a few
years; some have lived here all their lives. They come from New York,
California, the Mid-West, Mexico and Canada. Many are retired but not all. They
tend to be right of center politically and care very little about what anyone
else thinks of their opinions and views. They are deeply concerned about rakes
and fees but generously tip dealers with every winning pot and cocktail
waitresses with every drink. They react favorably to any casino perk that
increases their edge, be it a high-hand jackpot or a “quad-flopper” promotion.
They come and go during the course of the day some arriving by 6 AM, leaving
the table for lunch, and returning afterwards. Some pop in from their jobs
instead of eating lunch, leaving with a few bucks winnings or depositing their
lunch money on someone else’s stack of chips. During the week they tend to be
older, more senior citizens and the sight of oxygen tanks and walkers lined up
against the wall is common.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">They
share one characteristic in common – they are known. They are known by each
other and they are known by the casino staff: dealers, floor people, managers,
waitresses and hosts. If you are known, you are a local. It doesn’t have
anything to do with how well or how badly you play poker. It doesn’t have
anything to do with buying in for $100 at a time or doling out $20 bill after
$20 dollar bill. It doesn’t have anything to do with how you dress or how you
talk. If you are known, you are a “local.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">So,
that’s what I have been doing – getting people to know me and it has been going
well. A few dealers know my name; a few patrons know and remember me; I feel
comfortable and welcome in the poker room. Becoming a regular winner, on the
other hand, takes more time but I am working on that too!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Coming from a fairly urban
environment to North Las Vegas, I never expected to be thrust into a veritable
zoo of wildlife. Don’t get me wrong – we have animals in New York, even in the
city, and they are rather hearty types.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">We have skunks, raccoons,
squirrels, pigeons, birds of all types, even some pretty ones, and we have
rats! The skunks and raccoons are nocturnal so the chance of running into one
of them while walking your dog in the day light is remote. Night walks are
another story altogether, especially on evenings before garbage pick-ups. The
raccoons and skunks either have very good noses (probably) or are intelligent
enough to have learned the days of the week (possibly). Sunday evenings before
Monday trash pick-ups were usually the best time for spotting urban game
lurking under a parked car or hiding behind a shrub.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">A close encounter involves
a snarl on one end and a feverish barking Maltese on the other but the
stand-off usually results in a draw and the ways of urban nature go
undisturbed. Get too close and risk being sprayed or even worse.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Our little house in North
Las Vegas is sandwiched between a quiet street of similar (more like EXACTLY
THE SAME) houses on one side and a golf course on the other. We tolerate the
occasional stray golf ball hitting the side of the house or rolling into our
space. Our dogs even put up with the occasional golfer crossing the “Out Of
Bounds” line and searching our bushes for a ball (tolerate for dogs equals
frantic snarly and incessant barking, by the way). We retrieve the lost,
unclaimed balls, especially after a weekend, in the unlikeliest of places. So
be it! No big deal.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">What we never expected was
the number and variety of wild critters that make their homes around our home
and neighborhood.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">New Yorkers are no
strangers to rabbits. They (the rabbits) live in the suburbs twenty minutes or
so from the busy streets of the city or closer in enclosures we call “Pet
Stores!” We know some people (even relatives) that have or have had a rabbit or
two as a pet. They always seemed quite docile and rather motionless inside
their too small indoor hutches surrounded by hay and toys they were unlikely to
play with. Most of these family pets start out small and skinny but grow fat
and ponderous from too much good food and little or no exercise.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Enter the Las Vegas Desert
Golf Course Dwelling Jackrabbit!!! I am sure I am at fault for not paying
attention to the non-man-eating beasts on the TV nature programs or for
by-passing the rabbit houses at the Bronx Zoo deeming them uninteresting and
boring as a kid but the creature that lives under a rosemary bush three feet
from our patio sliding door is a ferocious looking beast like I have never seen
before.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">We call him Jack since I
am reasonably sure he (she maybe! – if so we apologize for the gender naming
mix-up) is a jackrabbit. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">To start with he is huge.
Not fat mind you. On the contrary, he is sleek and wiry, the very definition of
one of those lean, mean prize-fighters with no pronounced muscles to speak of
who kick the crap out of anyone who gets in their way. He is tall but that
incudes his ears and who wouldn’t since, after his eyes, they are the most
pronounced feature of this animal. When he stretches out to wander out onto the
golf course for dinner he is longer and taller than either our Maltese or our
Shi-Tzu. That’s not saying much but he’s a rabbit after all. If you were
expecting warm, furry and cuddly as in “bunny,” Jack’s not your guy. He is
every bit as wily as “Wily Coyote.” (By the way, we have those too but that’s a
story for another post!).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTa3oBIUYnQomHs83J9-2nIQEJV6rQiMwkZVCNEYZP9Ps27gwUWk8X_WLoefkBeo8D-tojR-3OFme5PEyyXO8oOWNFL9bs0cRE36y22Gmm7YTwHKkFZkquFbO0wxOu6rNYOQ_66BYUmi0/s1600/Jack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTa3oBIUYnQomHs83J9-2nIQEJV6rQiMwkZVCNEYZP9Ps27gwUWk8X_WLoefkBeo8D-tojR-3OFme5PEyyXO8oOWNFL9bs0cRE36y22Gmm7YTwHKkFZkquFbO0wxOu6rNYOQ_66BYUmi0/s320/Jack.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"></span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Most times Jack just sits
outside our back door and stares which is easy for him since his eyes are dark,
large, and bulging. With a few small modifications by an amateur illustrator he
could easily be turned into the Zombie Rabbit of your worst nightmare.</span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Jack has friends and
perhaps even family. Although there are a few other jackrabbits of his size and
stature in the neighborhood, most are smaller (maybe children!) and many are
different looking which leads me to conclude that in addition to jackrabbits we
also have other breeds of rabbits around here. These other rabbits terrify you
with their sheer numbers rather than their frightening appearance.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Our complex has set aside
a few grassy areas for dog walking, complete with an ample supply of doggy
doodie bags for dealing with (well, you know what I mean!). Evening walks, just
like back in the city, require a flash light since the green patch at night is
covered (that is not an exaggeration) with rabbits that mostly flee when you
shine a light on them. It’s creepy to see so many rabbits in the same place at
the same time. I have counted thirty at once but I am sure some have already
fled by the time I gather enough composure to count.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Some do not flee. These
are the bigger ones, not as big as Jack but way bigger than the average rabbit.
Their mottled coats tell me they are some kind of hybrid born out of some
ungodly union between different breeds of rabbit. Shine a light on them and
they do not flinch; walk up to them and they do not move; hiss, “Shoo!” at them
and they remain. Only my dog can scatter them with a lunge and a yelp. Good
thing they do not lunge back.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">These rabbits are grey,
brown, beige, black, white or any combination of the above. There is a solid
black one of impressive size who has little or no fear of humans and none of
little dogs. We avoid him.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Each night we do our
business quickly and leave the grass to the rabbits.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">I have mentioned the
“rabbit issue” to a few neighbors who are willing to speak to a New Yorker. The
response is immediate and vehement – they (the rabbits) are hated members of
the community and in the best Trumpian spirit they have attempted to have them
banned, deported or even exterminated. The local newsletter has contained
articles detailing the progress (little, if any) that has been made with the
Animal Control people. “Desert animals live in the desert,” the authorities
have said and “we are living on their territory.” Not dismayed the anti-rabbit
posse has suggested (again very Trump-like) building “rabbit-proof” walls
throughout the community. Although it didn’t say so in the article I am sure
someone suggested having the rabbits pay for the wall as well!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">As a side note our
community (55+ as it happens to be and fairly (hugely) conservative) has many
election signs posted in front yards. To the dismay of a liberal, soft,
mealy-mouthed (their description, not mine) Democrat from the east coast, the
Trump signs out front out-number the Hillary signs about 20-1 ( that’s not an
average – there are about 20 Trump signs and one lonely but proud Hillary
sign). Each time I pass the Hillary sign I beep my car horn in support; each
time I pass a Trump sign I wonder if the occupants of that home really do
support a megalomaniac, war mongering, bigoted, frightened,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>failed entrepreneur from NYC or they just want
to get rid of the rabbits!</span></div>
RobertCanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428375689821585471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298233640029773120.post-32558917850119270732016-08-27T12:38:00.000-07:002016-08-27T13:59:15.889-07:00Miss and Don't Miss #2<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">As the days pass (quickly
I might add), the things left behind in New York and those that are new to Las
Vegas become more pronounced. Anyone who says that NY is better than LV or vice
versa is not considering all the facts. Both places have appeal and both places
have negatives. In actuality they are not much different although there are
plenty who will argue this statement.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Each day wandering around
North Las Vegas and its environs I am reminded about those things that I “miss”
and “do not miss” about both towns.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<u><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Traffic</span></u><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> : If you listen to morning “drive-time” radio in Las
Vegas you would think that traffic is a nightmare – back-ups moving south on
I15, a pile up on the 215, Flamingo Road barely passable. Any and all of these
traffic bulletins involve waiting to get where you are going for another 10
minutes maximum. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Since arriving here a
little over 3 months ago I have been depending on Google Maps to get me from
point A to point B – this kind of navigational guide is a must in Las Vegas for
anyone coming here from the east coast since every strip mall looks exactly
like every other strip mall and every housing development is chock full of
little brown and tan houses all in a row (no distinguishable landmarks, no way
points that stand out). Those of you who use Google Maps (and if you do not I
recommend it highly over other GPS apps and devices) know that the “smart” part
of the program turns heavy traffic roads from yellow to orange to (God
forbid!!!) red when traffic is at its worst. Driving around NY you make U-turns
over grassy road dividers when you see red! In Las Vegas? Meh!!!! A red road
means that there are more than a usual number of cars on the road – not stopped
mind you, not moving under the speed limit mind you, but just more than an
average number of cars on the road.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">For me this is wonderland.
I have not been in a traffic jam (a New York style traffic jam) in three
months. For those of you unfamiliar with a New York style traffic jam, let me
give an illustration.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">My wife and I sold our
home in New York and decided to forego the all-around stress of taking our two
not so well-behaved small but annoying dogs on a plane ride out here. We opted
for a closing in the late morning, a quick lunch, and off in the car we would
be on a five day jaunt across the country. You’ve heard about the “best-laid
plans?” Once we were all in the car, the dogs safely strapped in the back seat
since otherwise our Shih-Tzu prefers to lean over the front seat and whine
while our Maltese prefers riding shot-gun digging his small, lethal paws into
my wife’s legs, we set our minds on the far west. Not so fast. The Mercedes CLA
250 lease we were driving, an otherwise reliable but over-rated car, had been
trouble free up until that point when a “warning” light blipped on the dash!!!
A quick look in the manual informed us, yes, you guessed it, “bring the car in
to the dealership to get this checked out ASAP”. So instead of heading west directly
for the George Washington Bridge, we headed east toward the dealership in New
Rochelle.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">After some begging and
suggesting that we weren’t moving the car out of the Service Department
entrance until they helped us, they agreed to take a look at it. Unconsciously
they hurried up the process as much as possible after we exited the vehicle and
sauntered into their posh Waiting Room with our two dogs in tow.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Their fast is not my idea
of fast and after almost two hours they informed us that the “sensor” that
tripped the warning light was defective and they did not have the part to
replace it. They assured us the car was running perfectly and to have the part
changed once we arrived in Las Vegas (we still have not by the way!).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Back in the car we
re-mapped our escape route and since we were now on the east side of the county
we opted for I95 to the Cross Bronx Expressway, to the GW Bridge. Simple!
Straightforward! Efficient! Except we did not factor in that this was a Friday
afternoon (now about 3:30 PM) in New York City.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqKT9eO417nAJgpcYhDgIdHAfEjCxDjhiWqO9xMtpewpcogh5tePZ6yDZPrsaLNmUT-iF1u6O1D5BqRQngUsCFHrDbSeSvUJxA-XZAM7XlVMbFKplXonREgFEqCGihSC4lohA_nOh-suk/s1600/traffic-jam-jpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqKT9eO417nAJgpcYhDgIdHAfEjCxDjhiWqO9xMtpewpcogh5tePZ6yDZPrsaLNmUT-iF1u6O1D5BqRQngUsCFHrDbSeSvUJxA-XZAM7XlVMbFKplXonREgFEqCGihSC4lohA_nOh-suk/s640/traffic-jam-jpg.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">New York traffic is so bad
that the radio routinely does not report traffic snarls that are routine and
normal – translation, anything that happens on the Cross Bronx Expressway! From
where we started this leg of our trip to the New Jersey side of the GW bridge
is 5 or 6 miles at the most. At 6:30 PM (3 hours later) we were crossing the
Hudson River and already exhausted. That’s RED traffic on Google Maps and I
sincerely do not miss that kind of New York Traffic at all.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<u><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Fast Food</span></u><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> : First things first. I am not a big fan of fast
food. I will eat an occasional Kentucky Fried Chicken meal and I find myself at
MacDonalds far more often than I’d like. Fast food has its place in our society
– something to eat when you need to get it FAST. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Somehow the “fast” part of
fast food has been lost at many venues in LV as opposed to New York where you
can get a hot dog or a gourmet meal from a food truck in a split second! The
idea of having food ready to serve at the request of a diner involves having
the food you are selling already prepared or very close to being prepared. I’m
sure that at the end of the day many fast food establishments that do all of
this the correct way have a certain amount of waste to deal with – prepared food
waiting to be bought but no one bought it! My guess is that many Las Vegas fast
food establishments are attempting to cut down on this sort of waste. However,
in doing so they eliminate the essence of “fast.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">At a local casino that my
wife and I frequent there are a number of decent sit down restaurants and a
small food court. Food courts are designed for fast food, right? Not so fast.
Of the Dairy Queen, Nathan’s, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Capriotti’s,
Panda Express, Rubio’s and Johnny Rocket’s there, the only one that has food ready
and waiting is the Panda Express and often the display trays are down to the
bottom and you have to wait for another batch to be prepared.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8MYTfpDrMajb7dDkAp-ik-cu-yeF7zXgbrxvzFiMY4leglQREFLMxpbf7oGTGyprZuICLDdpJSk6sCUzjhnaPiaozEOV895POiZ3gpksec-Fsj5ck4np6ItG_b4wJRFJnVd5YEfMVFdo/s1600/Nathans.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8MYTfpDrMajb7dDkAp-ik-cu-yeF7zXgbrxvzFiMY4leglQREFLMxpbf7oGTGyprZuICLDdpJSk6sCUzjhnaPiaozEOV895POiZ3gpksec-Fsj5ck4np6ItG_b4wJRFJnVd5YEfMVFdo/s320/Nathans.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Nathan’s hotdogs? Waiting
on the cold side of the grill for a customer. Fries? That’ll take 3 – 5 minutes
in the deep fryer. A burger? You are looking at a good 10-15 minute wait!</span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">What I’m saying is if I
lower my standards enough to order fast food, I at least expect it to be fast.
Think again in Las Vegas. I miss New York fast food.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<u><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Poker Update</span></u><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> : I am relieved that I came to Las Vegas to retire, and not to attempt
to make a living playing poker. If I had tried surviving on poker by now I’d be
holding a sign on the corner advertising my willingness to work for food!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_1-4XykkwF_UT7ZKnROusDbGKgvjrCSMS797FKW24_wllgrR8pRyGyYxQtM58xrOkhtw8QwG5JXushwjx3VMNS3gnAq4gaTfS6mJ1DmQz3muuTZeymC-5x28eNNTwdemsy2UF-8LXhCM/s1600/HELP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_1-4XykkwF_UT7ZKnROusDbGKgvjrCSMS797FKW24_wllgrR8pRyGyYxQtM58xrOkhtw8QwG5JXushwjx3VMNS3gnAq4gaTfS6mJ1DmQz3muuTZeymC-5x28eNNTwdemsy2UF-8LXhCM/s1600/HELP.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">I have finished first in a
small online tournament which paid about 20x my buy in. That was very
satisfying. On the other hand I have gone out of similar tournaments on the
bubble twice! That’s heart wrenching.</span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Live play is not going
well. No tournament cashes in about 6 attempts and 2 out of about 10 winning
seats at cash games. I’m not ready to give up yet although I am tightening up
my play a good deal. Thankfully I enjoy playing and I am not losing the farm!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Time will tell.</span></div>
RobertCanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428375689821585471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298233640029773120.post-29996995181057998092016-07-26T13:37:00.001-07:002016-07-26T13:43:50.250-07:00Miss and Don't Miss #1<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"></span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">It’s
going on two months that we have been here in the desert following our week
long drive across country. We do not regret the move. In spite of the record
breaking heat we had in June we are on the road to becoming Las Vegans (Vegans?
– we are certainly not giving up meat! Las Vegians?).</span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">There
are, however, things that I miss about the east in general and the New York
Metropolitan area in particular.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<u><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Pizza (and by extension BREAD)</span></u><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">
– The number of pizza places in the Las Vegas area advertising themselves as “New
York Pizza” establishments is astounding. I attribute this advertising gimmick
to pandering to the easterner’s need for good pizza. Some of the ones I have
tried are passable, as in edible, but something’s missing. I have eaten decent
crust, middling mozzarella, and tolerable sauce rarely if ever all on the same
slice. Years ago when I first starting coming to Vegas as a tourist, not even
this level of average excellence was available so kudos to those who are trying.
My latest thinking is that the NY “environment” is missing and no one can
transport that here or anywhere. Rarely are there lines of people queued up for
slices and cokes even at lunch time. Never thus far has there been yelling,
pushing, jockeying for better places in line or mean, threatening looks from
those behind the counter. Rarely have I been told that a “pie is coming out
soon,” first of all because they never call pizza “pie.” Secondly, because
there is seldom enough business for anyone to be in a rush so spare slices are
always waiting. </span><br />
<br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4hnu92a7cRNxVFIRpu8O6pa_zYr7hQx7D_IINznP7saegAmz22OkmlZMlGt5_WMy9LYBzFdu-Sp_NhgNgBSm1TNz_Xww2zOYes9G5ilevm4z-jLI_5sL-vbZshmkt5fOD165p8suTa_s/s1600/pizza.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4hnu92a7cRNxVFIRpu8O6pa_zYr7hQx7D_IINznP7saegAmz22OkmlZMlGt5_WMy9LYBzFdu-Sp_NhgNgBSm1TNz_Xww2zOYes9G5ilevm4z-jLI_5sL-vbZshmkt5fOD165p8suTa_s/s320/pizza.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Also, pizza joints in Las Vegas are really into “toppings.”
Aside from a sausage, pepperoni, or mushrooms slice here and there, New Yorkers
are content with what is called the “cheese slice” here in Vegas as if you can
have a slice of pizza without cheese. Here the menu of toppings includes all
those available in NY with the addition of exotic extras like pineapple and
avocado. “Gimme a break!!! Pineapple pizza? I’ll never get used to that.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">My
best guess though is that there is more wrong with desert pizza at the
foundation level than anywhere else, which brings me to bread! There ae so many
kinds of exceptional, breath-taking, scrumptious breads in the New York area
that the old saw, “Man does not live by bread alone,” is way off base. In New
York you CAN live by bread alone – maybe a little olive oil or butter too but
that’s plenty. So if it’s difficult to get good bread here it’s not because
there isn’t any good flour – there’s lots of it and it grows closer to Vegas
than it does to NY. Believe me, I drove passed all those amber waves of grain
on my way out here. The problem with bread here is water. Not only do we have
lousy water in Las Vegas but the issue is magnified by the fact that New York
City and its environs have world class water. The city we lived in, Mount
Vernon, had its water judged the best in New York State multiple times. So, I’m
spoiled. And, this all runs down hill – lousy water, lousy dough; lousy dough
lousy pizza. I’ll live with this situation but I still miss NY pizza.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<u><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Humidity</span></u><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> – Hate it with a
passion and I do not miss it at all. Give me humidity under 20% any day of the
week and you can jack the temperature up as high as you want. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">If
I understand humidity correctly, 100% humidity means wet, right – wet like
raining, or submerged in the ocean, or doused with a hose. I don’t think there
is anything like 100%+ humidity. 100% is the limit and anything close to that
yields buckets of sweat and oodles of discomfort. This week, while it has been
a tolerable 111 degrees Fahrenheit with about 15% humidity in Las Vegas, it has
been in the 90s in New York with humidity of 80% as well. Brutal! That’s stay
indoors weather, not just to get cool in the AC, but so as not to die on the
street from heat stroke. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAv9Ndx9A5LNiXwTnzKeTs6LXJd_4GTa1wfh0_MUB9tO6me-0dh1tznWRIPXO052-QA17biGQklF9VkJf-rqr18s-DOMp1mcyIywmld9KXGyaojUZrEYRKrso9cmU0kDEcM8F0k57ejCY/s1600/middle-aged-woman-drying-sweaty-forehead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAv9Ndx9A5LNiXwTnzKeTs6LXJd_4GTa1wfh0_MUB9tO6me-0dh1tznWRIPXO052-QA17biGQklF9VkJf-rqr18s-DOMp1mcyIywmld9KXGyaojUZrEYRKrso9cmU0kDEcM8F0k57ejCY/s320/middle-aged-woman-drying-sweaty-forehead.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">And
if you really want to thank your lucky stars that you are in the desert instead
of the east coast, think of those poor devils in Orlando or Miami, Florida. Daily,
this time of year, they are treated to 90+/90+ situations. Icky! Sticky! Goo!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">God
bless Las Vegas.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<u><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Poker</span></u><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> - Although I am not
doing as well as I hope to do in the near future, especially online, I relish
the fact that in Las Vegas adults are treated like adults and “allowed” to play
games of chance (skill too!) like poker whenever the hell they please. It’s my
money. I earned it and if I want to put it at risk on a card table that’s my
business, not the state government’s. Wake up New York. Let them play!!!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">More
later.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
RobertCanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428375689821585471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298233640029773120.post-41918676174466980402016-06-28T08:36:00.000-07:002016-06-28T17:19:15.186-07:00The Sun Doesn't Always Shine in VegasThat's what they tell me - "Of course it rains here!" Well since I have been here, attempting to settle in as a "local," and not a visitor or a vacationer, the sun has been shining, and shining, and shining to the tune of 100+ degrees temperature for the last two weeks! But guess what? They weren't kidding. This morning the sun was NOT shining and as I looked up to snap the photo below I think I even felt a rain drop.<div><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyZHzfsAkzBuwSCRoD-5ggRyEMgIP7hfFip2Q2FMj04D72ZoeDJum6J9hjHAxXUgvzepuwjMf1OMeYWjw05C_IM06epZu7KfeQPkZMoaLHf7tvaQWjXumNiwYQ521FVgRqq3FZRvgSZXI/s640/blogger-image--1887992083.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyZHzfsAkzBuwSCRoD-5ggRyEMgIP7hfFip2Q2FMj04D72ZoeDJum6J9hjHAxXUgvzepuwjMf1OMeYWjw05C_IM06epZu7KfeQPkZMoaLHf7tvaQWjXumNiwYQ521FVgRqq3FZRvgSZXI/s640/blogger-image--1887992083.jpg"></a></div><br>
<br>
Right now, at 8 AM, it's 96 degrees after an overnight of 100 and more. The rest of the week promises temps above 110 which is no big deal around here. I lived through 116 last week and didn't notice anyone else blink! That's the desert for you. But, remember it's a DRY heat! Yeah, right!<br>
<br>
For the last two weeks I have been sharpening my poker skills which have become rather rusty from lack of play. Returning to the tables with little prep resulted in loose play and too many bad calls. That behavior is on the way out after having dropped a $100 at a $2/$4 table at Santa Fe Station (3 hour session) and $3 at a similar table with a 1/2 Kill at Red Rock after about two hours. My play on WSOP.COM has been better - two final tables in small tournaments going out on the bubble once and one place before the bubble another time.<br>
<br>
I tripled a $25 buy on a .25/.50 No Limit Hold'em table on line for my only cash thus far. That was very satisfying but necessitated a quick exit before I bled that profit away too.<br>
<br>
Lessons being learned: stop calling from the small blind with junk especially on short handed tables and always - ALWAYS - stay aware of and capitalize on position. Things will improve.<br>
<br>
My original plan was to play in the Super Seniors event at the Rio last weekend for $1000 but my level of play dissuaded me from that. Since I am a permanent fixture around here now I can wait until next year for that and test my abilities on smaller tournaments around town.<br>
<br>
I am planning a few blog posts on things I miss and do not miss about New York. Stay tuned. Right now I am not missing many things although I am missing many people.</div><div><br></div><div>I'll keep in touch.</div>RobertCanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428375689821585471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298233640029773120.post-22964940945403675862016-06-13T13:40:00.001-07:002016-06-13T13:40:05.406-07:00Arrived and Settling In<div><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">Five days on the road but we are finally here in Las Vegas with our two dogs.</span></div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOdiJEOwCmhRWpha4bEjnvLOaAOyPVecbe-1LhNrrBAi11l7qTjnVmdJqaQGrMbbM27_lRw-MMMfbdJ3pQIdvoU8J1tWdn8TSzOH87PNmya6FvhG0au_0ef5-0iwyM-D7omGKF61PS0kg/s640/blogger-image--1780897419.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIk8LOuGGvaPZsdYpbd6wxEgmjvl8BXx1HOrZZP3lgfqyKoIALwX1YeEQaa64VKu6t3t-Yxb2yPB0pIpOex-3LwOPcKaZtl6_W710P3yOrmUztdOfrDx3Cw6f4fl0UsOFWR65SM0-mUqQ/s640/blogger-image-1103725464.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIk8LOuGGvaPZsdYpbd6wxEgmjvl8BXx1HOrZZP3lgfqyKoIALwX1YeEQaa64VKu6t3t-Yxb2yPB0pIpOex-3LwOPcKaZtl6_W710P3yOrmUztdOfrDx3Cw6f4fl0UsOFWR65SM0-mUqQ/s640/blogger-image-1103725464.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">That isn't actually the view we had driving in but that's one of the views everyone associates with Las Vegas. We are actually about 30 minutes north of the strip and that's the way we came in, from the north on I15. Before that it was I70 from Columbus, OH to just west of Cove Fort, UT and onto I15 and eventually Vegas. Before Columbus we drove a combination of I80, I287, I78, and I76 until we were able to level out and head mostly west.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">It's a beautiful country and at 500 plus miles a day you get to see a lot. The east is green and cluttered followed by farms and fields as far as the eyes can see. Missouri and Kansas are flat and monotonous aside from the nice state police office in Mizzou who stopped me for going 81 in a 70 mile per hour zone. She let me go with a warning either because my wife told her we were recently retired and going to visit our grandkids for the rest of our lives or because she noticed a recently happening accident a few hundred yards back in her rear view mirror. Toed the line from there on!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Eastern Colorado is not a whole lot different from western Kansas but after Denver the vistas are something that a New York urban dweller rarely gets to see. Mountains, huge mountains. Rocky crags on all sides. Ski areas with snow still on the slopes in early June! Utah gets boring and then spectacular and the short stretch of I15 that snakes through Arizona defies description - scenery not to be missed!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">From our little house in North Las Vegas the view is more like this:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz7vm65h1WeZWNbCDwQmbvbR1nSosr9PlnHSVeTsTDSBm_fRmhY4mrJGXMFjkF2Y_93cELUjxbHzU8yFiV8KXs3doWQM9IOgWZT_HL3ePkpQa1JYATf-2WOE3NXvuGlKJzUgADN2QdHg4/s640/blogger-image--1192947968.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz7vm65h1WeZWNbCDwQmbvbR1nSosr9PlnHSVeTsTDSBm_fRmhY4mrJGXMFjkF2Y_93cELUjxbHzU8yFiV8KXs3doWQM9IOgWZT_HL3ePkpQa1JYATf-2WOE3NXvuGlKJzUgADN2QdHg4/s640/blogger-image--1192947968.jpg"></a></div><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Not too shabby!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">We have been here for a week bunking at our daughter's house waiting for our furniture and supplies to be delivered. We have been graced with ample face time with the grandkids who are happy to finally see us after what must have been an eternity of waiting for them. We have visited a casino once in this time and we are sure the frequency of visits will increase shortly.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">More to come.</div></div><br></div>RobertCanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428375689821585471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298233640029773120.post-51616404344850556132016-05-25T11:49:00.003-07:002016-05-25T11:49:46.954-07:00A New Era (for us anyway!)<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
Some of you may have noticed (but then again maybe you
have not) that this blog has been idle for a few months. The last entry was
sometime on November right before the holidays. After that all hell broke out
in our household! Sounds dramatic but it really wasn’t, although there was
enough going on to keep me away from writing for a while.
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
After Christmas my wife decided to return to Las Vegas
with our daughter and the two grandkids to spend a while there. Over the past
30 years or so Minnie (my wife) and I have spent numerous vacations in Vegas
and after our daughter (Minnie too!) went to live there a few years ago we
started to think about making the move ourselves. Seems like a no-brainer,
right. Not quite.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
Both of us are (were) attached to our jobs and, for the
most part, enjoyed working. That soon evaporated for her as she realized that
she was ready to spend some time relaxing and enjoying life. One down, one to
go! I was a harder sell and needed a nudge – a big nudge.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
That nudge came in the middle of Minnie’s January hiatus
when she called home (New York) to say she was going to look at houses in Vegas
with a Real Estate friend of my daughter’s. Looking is harmless, or so I
thought. Within a day or two she saw something she liked (loved is more like
it) and the second call home was to say we were buying a house in Vegas! The
place was small, about 1/3 the size of our NY house, and the price was right,
about 1/3 of the price of our NY house. Two weeks after she returned home all
the papers were signed and all the forms submitted and by the middle of
February we owned a house in NY and a future home in North Las Vegas. That was
my nudge.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy5Mq8uPbp9WajdzOTuaUwnQYYq-p4mRUFVFtsQNzp8jx9qiXYFFx20hYlKPnSadPWQpr2uldk0CnjKP965_IMYH7FBcKJMiJk7i9rqOPF8J-ozvC_8KOoaXeLp6pcaaotL-K5D1rfPBk/s1600/small-front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy5Mq8uPbp9WajdzOTuaUwnQYYq-p4mRUFVFtsQNzp8jx9qiXYFFx20hYlKPnSadPWQpr2uldk0CnjKP965_IMYH7FBcKJMiJk7i9rqOPF8J-ozvC_8KOoaXeLp6pcaaotL-K5D1rfPBk/s1600/small-front.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
A few months later, following a purging of our NY house
of most of our worldly possessions so as to “stage” our impending sale as well
as could be expected and a quick (2 weeks) process guaranteeing most of what we
expected to get for the house, and we are sitting around waiting for a closing
date to appear and a trip west to materialize.
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
From our limited experiences we have learned that buying
a home in Nevada is a lot easier than selling a home in New York. If not easier
than certainly quicker. It took less than a month to make an offer, seal a
deal, arrange a closing and take possession in North Las Vegas. In New York we
are pushing 3 months without a closing date pinned down. I’m sure it will
happen but the waiting is killing us.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
During those 3 months Minnie closed up her business, I
arranged to retire (5/31 is my last day on the job), we sold most of our
furniture, Minnie organized three days of successful Moving Sales, we are
saying goodbyes to friends and family, and we are planning our close to a week-long
trip across country with our one remaining automobile and our two dogs, Tiger
and Kiki. If that doesn’t kill us nothing ever will!</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
Our grandkids have been waiting patiently (impatiently,
actually) to hear that grandma and grandpa are on the road and who can blame them.
Three months is a long wait for us – for little kids (7 and 4 years old!) it
must seem like forever. But we will get there although it’s difficult to say
just when.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiR3ks_5gBLx7U6JgOo_TmRVQg1_KPOuuZzBOO-wZklAjy67Phygve73vpxseLTFvCSuTtEkz_RVc8U_NhOu6LB1Z8EVtaSkU6bPymWx03m_64WpITa2rbQsNtYEPp9ROg4hHr-C5efek/s1600/From+afar%2521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiR3ks_5gBLx7U6JgOo_TmRVQg1_KPOuuZzBOO-wZklAjy67Phygve73vpxseLTFvCSuTtEkz_RVc8U_NhOu6LB1Z8EVtaSkU6bPymWx03m_64WpITa2rbQsNtYEPp9ROg4hHr-C5efek/s400/From+afar%2521.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
And, all of this is my long-winded way of saying that
this blog should be a lot more active in a few weeks. After all, what will I
have to do in the middle of the glitzy desert except play poker, get a little
more exercise, cook and eat in a healthier fashion, spend time with my wife and
family, make new friends, find new exciting things to do, and write blog posts
more regularly. That sounds like a plan.
</div>
RobertCanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428375689821585471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298233640029773120.post-73328127674322066772015-11-27T11:46:00.000-08:002015-11-27T11:50:00.144-08:00James McManus' "The Education of a Poker Player": Facts or Fiction<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">There are at least four other
books I can find online with “education of a poker player” as part of their
title:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: xx-small; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">John Billingham’s
<u>The Education of a Modern Poker Player</u> <a href="http://tinyurl.com/zalq6h3" target="_blank">LINK</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: xx-small; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Richard Sparks’ <u>Getting
Lucky: The Education of a Mad Poker Player</u> <a href="http://tinyurl.com/zyrkf6e" target="_blank">LINK</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: xx-small; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Robert Jameson’s <u>The
Education of a Poker Player</u> (self-published) <a href="http://tinyurl.com/gp86otp" target="_blank">LINK</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; font-size: xx-small; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Herbert O.
Yardley’s <u>Education of a Poker Player</u> <a href="http://tinyurl.com/zwl8taf" target="_blank">LINK</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<u><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><br /></span></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">All of them are what you
might expect from their titles – stories about how the authors came to the game
of poker and some sort of treatise on how they learned the game along with
advice and strategies for the readers to emulate should they choose to embark
on the same journey.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlWmGsB5ujAH6-APXjsadpNK-TC7dkXCxJFvb_AMSBuhj8DMlOS5eFVPbBTbnorfx-cMgojL3EDZbHWSaz3wa6lsnZojTxiVwYJrnnqVt5TIg2zJQpjkKshHzCOgWxD7tCKLL2Yb9tazY/s1600/Poker+Player.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlWmGsB5ujAH6-APXjsadpNK-TC7dkXCxJFvb_AMSBuhj8DMlOS5eFVPbBTbnorfx-cMgojL3EDZbHWSaz3wa6lsnZojTxiVwYJrnnqVt5TIg2zJQpjkKshHzCOgWxD7tCKLL2Yb9tazY/s320/Poker+Player.png" width="241" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">James McManus’ <u>The Education of a Poker Player</u> <a href="http://tinyurl.com/jonjhr4" target="_blank">LINK</a> is
not anything like the books mentioned above!</span><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The first hint that
McManus’ 2015 published work is not going to be typical is the fact that it is
not “fact.” It is a collection of stories, a few previously published
elsewhere, that are billed as fiction but smack of autobiographical or
semi-autobiographical vignettes from a boy’s life. I say “from a boy’s life”
because the narrator barely makes it out of his teens before the close of the
final story in the collection.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">There are seven stories in
all with only “Kings Up” and “Romeoville” giving poker more than a passing
mention. I’ll come back to those two.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">James McManus is more than
a good writer. He is a thorough, professional, recognized chronicler of the
kind the poker community has not seen since A. Alvarez and <u>The Biggest Game
in Town</u> <a href="http://tinyurl.com/gqmy9ed" target="_blank">LINK</a>. McManus’ <u>Positively Fifth Street</u> <a href="http://tinyurl.com/zubkaue" target="_blank">LINK</a> is a major cog in the
machine that brought poker to pop culture-like popularity in the early part of
the current century. Along with the atmospheric rise of online poker sites, and
the astounding World Series of Poker victory of Chris Moneymaker in 2003,
McManus is credited by many as a founding father of the modern poker boom.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">In <u>Positively Fifth
Street</u> and the later <u>Cowboys Full: The Story of Poker</u> (2009) <a href="http://tinyurl.com/gn5toem" target="_blank">LINK</a>, James
McManus is at his journalistic best – a keen observer of the human condition
and a thorough, relentless researcher of times past. Non-fiction is his milieu
and, although I am reasonably sure that every non-fiction writer has a burning
desire deep inside to create a stunning piece of fiction that will blow
everyone away, that’s not always as easy as it seems. McManus has written
fiction before and has been rewarded for his efforts – he was awarded a Carl
Sandburg Award for Fiction. Nevertheless, he is at his best in the real world
of non-fiction.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<u><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The Education of a
Poker Player</span></u><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">, throughout all seven
stories, follows Vincent Killeen, an Irish-born, Bronx transplant living in the
Chicago suburbs with his mother and father, a gaggle of siblings, and his uber
Catholic grandmother who also works in the parish rectory. In addition to the
standard Catholic trappings of going to church, saying prayers, and attending parochial
school, Vince is treated to doses of intense religious propaganda promulgated mostly
by his grandmother but also by the clerics involved. The propaganda includes
where babies come from, a series of untruths that are not sorted out until he
is middle school age, the wisdom of joining the clergy - the prospect of
becoming a priest so that his entire family’s time in Purgatory will be
eliminated - and the ubiquitous aura that sex, and anything remotely sexual,
will land you in the fires of hell for eternity where your skin will be
painfully seared from your body only to grow back and be seared off again and
again. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEFLwYy3vUpZNYLeMMVEO-IF2nxulR0PhZ-OZPRxYnLjQOLKE2-91A_VSjZzz9Ry21hJV_j_owqbVDLxe_6m46w5GRRoBEb04Vb1fSdGVMaY7hMO2wSXkoNKI-qKZm_L3Ja5zu-gEoRNo/s1600/Church.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEFLwYy3vUpZNYLeMMVEO-IF2nxulR0PhZ-OZPRxYnLjQOLKE2-91A_VSjZzz9Ry21hJV_j_owqbVDLxe_6m46w5GRRoBEb04Vb1fSdGVMaY7hMO2wSXkoNKI-qKZm_L3Ja5zu-gEoRNo/s640/Church.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">To Vince’s credit he
eventually sees through most of the hype, like virtually all Catholic school
children eventually do. Like all normal prepubescent boys he soon gives in to
the temptation and relieves the stubborn “doozers” that he so often gets
whenever he is around a good looking female lay teacher or a distaff classmate
that he fantasizes about. Guilt, shame, and other pre-programmed feelings of
inadequacy soon fade with age.</span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The members of Vince’s
nuclear family are not big fans of gambling or carousing although on his mother’s
side that’s not the case at all. The Madden’s introduce Vince to poker and a
few other borderline vices when he spends a summer with them in Mahopac, NY.
When he receives “a pair of Bicycle decks” and a copy of Yardley’s <u>The
Education of a Poker Player</u> for his thirteenth birthday from his maternal
grandmother and grandfather and their randy son, Uncle Thomas, the scandal is
great enough that his father confiscates the gift for a while with the
admonishment to never play poker for anything but “matchsticks” or “pennies.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">You can guess that Vince
pays no mind to his father’s advice leaving room for the only real “poker”
story of the book, “Kings Up.” The setting for the poker game is a caddy shack at
the local country club where Vince is a B caddie. The regulars, A caddies, consist
of a variety of unsavory characters who have chosen caddying as their life’s
work. Actually what they prefer doing is spending drizzly afternoons separating
the local teenagers from their meager earnings. Vince has a knack for poker and
usually can hold his own against the toughs, Swede and Tennessee. The final
encounter in this game of draw poker to which the title refers has Vince pitted
against Swede in a mega pot. Both players think they have a read on their
opponent and they do since the ultimate showdown reveals both have kings over sevens.
Vince scrapes up the pot though and the lesson learned is “kicker, kicker,
kicker” – his Ace kicking Swede’s Jack! But that wasn’t the end. Like many junk
yard card games, this one, too, ended in a brawl with coins and bills strewn
all over the dirty floor.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">It’s a good story but not
a great story,</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The other mostly poker
story is the final “Romeoville” wherein a losing player at a home game Vince is
involved in crashes his car and dies on the way home for no apparent reason.
Guilt, questions, and soul searching follow and thankfully the story does not
yield to the Catholic pressure of bad things (dying) follow bad things (playing
poker).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">James McManus’ <u>The Education of a Poker Player</u>
is not a bad book. Unfortunately it is not a good book either if you take into
account what we have come to expect from the author. If any of you who have
been unfortunate enough to experience the surreptitious proselytizing of all
Catholic institutions, including and especially the Irish Catholic family and
parochial schools, would like revisit those chilling feelings, be my guest! I,
for one, remember them all too well.</span>RobertCanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428375689821585471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298233640029773120.post-89910502487611984342015-11-23T09:40:00.004-08:002015-11-23T09:40:47.112-08:00Musings – DFS, Sexism, and the Internet<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Over the last year or two I have consciously made an effort
to “follow” those on Twitter who have something useful to say about the poker
playing community. My list is not exhaustive but I think it is representative
and I believe I am getting a fairly well-rounded view of the issues that impact
poker players. Also, selfishly, I often post links to this blog on Twitter with
new articles in hopes of attracting readers, new and old.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Over the past few weeks the number of posts in my twitter
feed on Daily Fantasy Sports and the recurring theme of sexism in poker have
been astounding. Everyone has had a go at these two issues, and in the typical
manner of commentary on the World Wide Web, the comments run from the sublime
to the ridiculous.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<u>Daily Fantasy Sports</u></div>
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</div>
<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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Daily Fantasy Sports in general and FanDuel</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh6hS-Z1PCxMnOhsNCyw-ToCJvcEkzc8uKdq-fLhYkfiyOW3-RX8Gj38dqW1VJC5OJ0Uqjm4_k3Gq9QbF5WJdse_CqLx4-WUEb95JJKCqJ0QbhVB9KKq3l7sl8XD9aOUkQz_tQFWoD3iw/s1600/fanduel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="94" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh6hS-Z1PCxMnOhsNCyw-ToCJvcEkzc8uKdq-fLhYkfiyOW3-RX8Gj38dqW1VJC5OJ0Uqjm4_k3Gq9QbF5WJdse_CqLx4-WUEb95JJKCqJ0QbhVB9KKq3l7sl8XD9aOUkQz_tQFWoD3iw/s200/fanduel.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
and DraftKings
in particular have enjoyed a free ride as far as the government and other
regulators are concerned. It’s not that no one noticed two or three years ago
when these mega sites first started attracting players. It’s that the money
they were generating was inconsequential. Once the money swelled, the risk of being
targeted and investigated increased dramatically. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5DZp-4lVPonY02SSqlXrlBZYFEFuUg1Zhyphenhyphen9CRdfJfz1gXSGbUlFdvARDoGy8VOf1dkli6cODBNdbyJBe413Pp3iCphHjIWAJqFS_V4_4NxJb22uL7jtAjclkdYyulS3rTAx9RVAxI41s/s1600/DraftKings_Logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5DZp-4lVPonY02SSqlXrlBZYFEFuUg1Zhyphenhyphen9CRdfJfz1gXSGbUlFdvARDoGy8VOf1dkli6cODBNdbyJBe413Pp3iCphHjIWAJqFS_V4_4NxJb22uL7jtAjclkdYyulS3rTAx9RVAxI41s/s200/DraftKings_Logo.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
The fact that a DraftKings’
employee won a hefty pool prize on FanDuel after allegations of leaked
information was only the straw that broke the camel’s back. Within the space of
two weeks state AGs and gambling commission big wigs started to swoop in for
their share of the pot.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Up to this point what is going on in Nevada and
Massachusetts makes most sense to me. What is going on in New York reeks of
paternalism and publicity grabbing.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Nevada, as we all know, has a refined respect for gambling.
They tolerate all sorts of wagering although they do not encourage state-wide
or national lotteries for obvious reasons. Their standpoint in a nutshell is if
you want to operate in NV get a license. Period! End of story! Get approved
like every other new iteration of a game of chance (or skill, if you prefer)
and you can do business here as long as we (the state) get our cut.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The MA Attorney General, Maura Tracy Healey, not known as a
friend of gambling, recently took the middle road on DFS. Her take is let’s sit
down and draw up some regulations and then you can take wagers in MA. Her
initial proposal will probably be regarded by the big DFS companies as a
negotiating position. I do not see any way that FanDuel or DraftKings would
agree to limiting their clientele to 21 year olds and older or cutting all
college sports out of the mix.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
New York, on the other hand, is way off base in my opinion.
I live in a state that tolerates (encourages might be a better word) horse
racing, both flats and harness racing, lotteries of every stripe, Native
American casinos, racinos, charity Bingo and charity poker games, and now four
fledgling casinos in the offing. Skewering the DFS sites on the grounds that they
violate gambling statutes is a travesty. New York is far beyond upholding a
constitutional provision preventing gambling in the state when there are so
many exceptions that NY is soon to become a gambling mecca. The AG, and the
state he represents, wants a piece of the pie. Why not be honest about it
instead of manufacturing this huge affront. In the end, when all the financial
pieces have been shared equitably, DFS will operate in NY and many other places
too.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://tinyurl.com/p2acybs" target="_blank">Previous post on DFS and Poker</a> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<u>Sexism in the Poker Community</u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
I have addressed the issue of poor treatment of women in the
poker community before in this blog. It’s a topic that keeps coming up because
it does not go away. That leads me to believe that this is not so much a poker
issue as a social issue that is far more wide-spread than the poker table.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNS6IhUSJq7x3B0L9sn24axZPLQ3Ymp0qgx0OlE76MUitzsFHbN9LuAXhBkLZBUMjMr-uoS3S_EGUBHW4WjXNjvgvxJ2WAxv6IZWOSG4M5AqJ0brLsQmewQPMNcvUN7K8DWdBK4xhDTzA/s1600/womencards.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNS6IhUSJq7x3B0L9sn24axZPLQ3Ymp0qgx0OlE76MUitzsFHbN9LuAXhBkLZBUMjMr-uoS3S_EGUBHW4WjXNjvgvxJ2WAxv6IZWOSG4M5AqJ0brLsQmewQPMNcvUN7K8DWdBK4xhDTzA/s320/womencards.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The current gaggle of presidential candidates, both
Republicans and Democrats, either address the issues of gender inequality and
seek ways to eradicate them or avoid the issues altogether and even try to
clamp down further on what women can and cannot do in an otherwise free society
like ours. Gender inequality is not going away any time soon and, just as
racism persists in the USA even after major legislative efforts to erase it, sexism
will not be regulated away by Congress or by poker room rules. The changes that
need to take place are not changes that happen on paper. They are changes that
happen inside individual human beings. You can rest assured that men at a poker
table who disrespect women are the same men that disrespect their wives,
daughters, girlfriends and mothers. When those attitudes away from the poker
table change then it will be safer for women to play poker without fear of
being abused. Sad but true!!!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<u>The Internet</u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
And finally what about the Internet! We have arrived at a
point where most of us cannot do without it! The era of using our cell phones
for just about everything from paying bills, to scheduling a trip, to sending a
greeting card, and adjusting the heat in our home has arrived and each day more
industries go by the wayside because people have been replaced by data ( i.e.
the travel agency, the people who make phone books, and maybe soon the
newspaper and magazines, and so many more things). I’m not saying this is all
bad. As a matter of fact, much of it is good, very good.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiql5YIRj1AKeLz3hEX7_B7vgGfZTWZC90JelQpEt5sCT454Vou5qJcTMUeG1lzpoLbuMi_B4IbxL6UPR3bV62NvZGvvUGC0LZyxvtwZYwj4HaN-vXyN49E-aZtEbXmfI16Ajrdj0_VIjI/s1600/map_of_the_internet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiql5YIRj1AKeLz3hEX7_B7vgGfZTWZC90JelQpEt5sCT454Vou5qJcTMUeG1lzpoLbuMi_B4IbxL6UPR3bV62NvZGvvUGC0LZyxvtwZYwj4HaN-vXyN49E-aZtEbXmfI16Ajrdj0_VIjI/s400/map_of_the_internet.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
What is of some concern, however, are places on the web
where people get to express an opinion – twitter, facebook, any comment section
in any internet post.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The digital generation is a generation that grew up,
learned even, that opinions are sacrosanct! If it’s my opinion there is nothing
you can say to undermine it. I am entitled to my views. Well, guess what. You’re
not, especially if they are hurtful, stupid, mean, cowardly, obscene, racist,
sexist, ageist, or any other distasteful comment designed to cut deeply and
twist the blade. What happened to “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t
say anything at all?” Why not express an opinion on a topic without besmirching
the character of the person on the other end?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
My guess is that any open comment area on the internet takes
about three or four generations of comments before someone says something
stupid or hurtful. The idea of an intelligent airing of opinions going on until
everyone has had a chance to voice their responsible point of view is unheard
of. This is not a legacy that we should be leaving behind. Let’s clean it up,
people. Let’s revive the cult of civility and treat each other with respect.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-size: small;">'Nuf said!</span> </span>RobertCanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428375689821585471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298233640029773120.post-50568170950776230302015-11-13T13:02:00.000-08:002015-11-14T19:56:46.458-08:00Return From The Desert<div style="text-align: justify;">
I just returned from our twice yearly trip to Las Vegas,
trips that are designed to increase our face time with the grandkids and our
daughter who live there and enjoy it very much. We, my wife and I, enjoy Vegas
too but not enough yet to pick up our hardened east coast roots and move out
there for good. We go with great anticipation having not seen any of them for
months and we take full advantage of spending as much time as possible with
them. After about three days we are so exhausted that a side trip to a local
casino (they live in North Las Vegas) is a necessity. Once refreshed we are
back into the fray and happy for it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii5uhnYtS-NTHXiWG4tCVAn5bCPSTBJpaliQhY6G_9PhoAEg2sI-P0EHtQAlpJOHxbM1oOs2YV0cz8T5Iowz_Hb2xjduD0-KgD3Snkv8BX2Y9V7PcRMuuCZKdfmY6-dj8Hp-5FT1Svz6U/s1600/IMG_1206.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii5uhnYtS-NTHXiWG4tCVAn5bCPSTBJpaliQhY6G_9PhoAEg2sI-P0EHtQAlpJOHxbM1oOs2YV0cz8T5Iowz_Hb2xjduD0-KgD3Snkv8BX2Y9V7PcRMuuCZKdfmY6-dj8Hp-5FT1Svz6U/s400/IMG_1206.JPG" width="400"></a></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br>
This time around I had the opportunity to play poker in
three distinctly different ways – one of which is very familiar to me, another
something I really enjoyed once upon a time, and the third a completely new
experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<u>The Red Rock Tournament:</u> By rental car my daughter’s
home is about 25 minutes east of the Red Rock Resort and Casino on the 215. As
“station” casinos go it is one of the nicer ones and the one we prefer over the
closer Santa Fe Casino. Red Rock has everything a gambler could want plus a
bowling alley, a Bingo hall, a 16 screen movie theater, restaurants galore,
low, mid, and high range, and a friendly local atmosphere although there are
tourists a plenty. Parking is plentiful and nearby and the valet option is free
of charge although a nice tip makes a lot of sense and generates a lot of good
will. I played in a noon time No Limit Hold’em tournament on a weekday where
the entrance fee was $60 with a generous add on for $10 more. Ten bucks went to
the casino and the rest was player money. Only 15 players sat down that day but
according to the TM that’s about average on a weekday with Friday and weekend
tournaments generating at least double that number.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkH4qWp-zVIN8_ERMKVAxEa_uF7Io49QxNibnfxVbf32XPV49MFZydn4bjpDfsaEpq18aGEKtKLRzVFj6ULRR_CaV9_onT-02kK1lx9-detMF9hcx8nQoNaDGo9aTyfxiOpaJbYBMXoZQ/s1600/Red-Rock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkH4qWp-zVIN8_ERMKVAxEa_uF7Io49QxNibnfxVbf32XPV49MFZydn4bjpDfsaEpq18aGEKtKLRzVFj6ULRR_CaV9_onT-02kK1lx9-detMF9hcx8nQoNaDGo9aTyfxiOpaJbYBMXoZQ/s320/Red-Rock.jpg" width="320"></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
We played for about four 20 minute levels and then arrived
at the “final” table which meant that five players had been knocked out – not
your typical World Series of Poker experience for sure but a minor victory
nonetheless.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>The play after that was
every bit as competitive as any poker game I ever watched on TV or anywhere
else – bad beats, suck outs, near misses, bluffs, tense races <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and uncanny reads. It was great fun. With $900
in prize money at stake and a disdain for the normal pay out structure of money
for places 1, 2 and 3 only, talk of an amicable fair split started when there
were 7 players left. Most of these kinds of conversations defer to the chip
leader and he was not interested with that many players left. However, he was a
nice guy and when the table was reduced to 5 players and he had the lion’s
share of the chips he suggested a split that gave him the winner’s badge and
$400 while the rest received $125 each. He wasn’t sacrificing much in terms of
money and he was eliminating the risk of being blown away by a lucky hand. So,
that’s where it ended. I was one of the lucky recipients of $125 and after a
tip to the dealer I was still ahead.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
What this brings to mind, and this is why I write about it,
is that the vast majority of people play poker, in a casino or anywhere else,
for FUN! Winning $50 bucks is not going to change anyone’s life in any way at
all. Losing $70 bucks is not a big deal for most people. Yet, having spent a
few hours with like-minded people enjoying a pastime that we all agree is fun,
is an experience worth savoring. Why this fact is not universally recognized
and why some people still have to travel outside of their own states to play
harmless games like poker is, and always will be, incomprehensible to me.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<u>Online Poker in Nevada:</u> The last two times I was in
Las Vegas online poker was already legal but I was too busy doing other things
to bother. This trip, once the grandkids were bedded down for the night and the
catching up with my daughter was done, I decided to play.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Before they were shut down by the US Justice Department, I
had played online poker before on sites like Full Tilt Poker, Ultimate Bet, and
Poker Stars. I was never a big winner but then I never played big stakes
either. I enjoyed playing Sit ‘N Go type tournaments and when I had the time to
invest I was not beyond playing a MTT sometimes with thousands of others from
all over the world for $5 or $10 entries. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfKIJ6hcXb3qCbHM5PkH2fI2aesWeIS5jQVVPnlCaEHzzTATFnKa_XW0qgf8vj0TNV26wtDvZEAvtAnOTZY_tHEprQTJB3dRyhm7l2ZjFBwb1ABAUMRRVTRyUGGZ-EeZtefTIqQHkRAVI/s1600/WSOP.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfKIJ6hcXb3qCbHM5PkH2fI2aesWeIS5jQVVPnlCaEHzzTATFnKa_XW0qgf8vj0TNV26wtDvZEAvtAnOTZY_tHEprQTJB3dRyhm7l2ZjFBwb1ABAUMRRVTRyUGGZ-EeZtefTIqQHkRAVI/s320/WSOP.png" width="320"></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
I chose to open a WSOP account on the site run by Caesars
just because I had heard that they had more liquidity at their site – more
people playing at any given time. Honestly, the liquidity was far less than
anything I had experienced before Black Friday. Given the choice between cash
games, sit ‘n gos, and tournaments, I always will choose sit ‘n gos. Never in an
entire week of evenings was I able to find a table of this kind with more than
one other player waiting hopelessly for additional players. Cash games for micro
stakes were available but not in abundance. Tournaments were the one area where
you could register and play easily.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Most of the ones I played were $5 or $10 entries with
unlimited re-buys and an add-on before the re-buy period ended. In live
tournaments I am against re-buys. For me it defeats the purpose of tournament
play. With unlimited re-buys you can play like an ass, bust out, and return
from the dead immediately. Overly aggressive play is not penalized as it should
be. In the case of WSOP online tournaments that never attracted more than 125
players and usually attracted in the neighborhood of 60 or 70, re-buys tend to
fatten up the prize pool and, for that reason, I can live with them in these
kinds of cases.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
As the week progressed my late night escapades showed an
improvement in finishing, getting down to just before the money twice. I
invested $150 overall and left with about $15 still in my account and a “cash”
nowhere in sight. I will try again next time and work harder at better results.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<u>Poker Pro at Aliante:</u> The Aliante Resort and Casino
is the closest gambling option to my daughter’s house. It is, in fact, within
walking distance or a short five minute drive away. My wife and I have stayed
there a few times rather than bunk at our daughter’s house but we prefer being
around the kids as much as possible. The hotel itself is nice and the pool, in
season, is pretty. It has a Bingo hall, a few nice restaurants, and a movie
theater. It was once a “station” casino but changed hands about 4 or 5 years
ago. Soon after the property changed hands they abandoned their small but cozy
poker room and, for all intents and purposes, it was gone forever.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
It’s hard to say what made management change its mind but I,
for one, always left comments in the hotel lobby and online, lamenting the loss
of poker and pleading for its return. This trip I was able to experience what
the Aliante has done to make up for that.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Poker Pro machines are not new. They are ubiquitous on
cruise ships and have been known to show up in smaller casinos when the demand
was there. They had been set up in a nice circle on the casino floor since
November 2014. They only opened for play recently and customers are just now
getting used to them.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
For anyone who has ever played poker on a computer or smart
phone, these machines are a dream. However, rather than playing with someone,
somewhere far away, with a Poker Pro machine there are ten people seated around
a poker layout playing electronic cards and betting accordingly. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq5S_b8WJgROFgJCipVy3v9aWjH6UIhRNPfp2tVMTEgqDLwOeafBIYCRZUh8Xs3Vew4xYlu-RNqj4XrQc6kve1ge3FnRrIhTyoub6flnEbPVdy44tanRYZqYrSh4fKU_w0Xp08wzMgwXA/s1600/PokerTek.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq5S_b8WJgROFgJCipVy3v9aWjH6UIhRNPfp2tVMTEgqDLwOeafBIYCRZUh8Xs3Vew4xYlu-RNqj4XrQc6kve1ge3FnRrIhTyoub6flnEbPVdy44tanRYZqYrSh4fKU_w0Xp08wzMgwXA/s320/PokerTek.jpg" width="320"></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
I played in a small, inexpensive ($30) tournament with 17
other players – two tables. I busted out after about an hour but played long
enough to see the potential of these machines. Although they are expensive to
own or lease, they require just one live worker to register players and pay off
winners. Over time they will undoubtedly pay for themselves. A few days later,
when no tournament was scheduled, I played No Limit Hold ‘em at a full table.
The stakes were small (.50 and $1 blinds), the buy ins were from $40 to $200,
and bets of $15, $25, and all in bets for $100 or more happen at the drop of a
hat. I played for about 2 hours, holding on to about $150 in winnings that I
accumulated in the first 20 minutes, just enjoying the experience most of the
time.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The “touch” screen in front of each player is not what you
are used to on your phone. In order to place a bet or “turn up” the ends of
your cards so you, and no one else, can see them, pressure rather than touch
must be applied. Most players use the edge of the players’ cards to press down
on an icon; others use the edge of their fingernail with the same results.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
This is a great way to satisfy a known need in this small
casino. I can see that they are starting out slowly and I support that. I would
recommend that they run more tournaments each day (right now most days they
have one at noon and on a few days they have an evening one as well). Following
that they have a lot of room to increase stakes to the $50 or $60 level for
tournaments. If you are in the area I suggest you try them out!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<u>And By The Way:</u> I love poker. My wife does too and is
trying to muster up the courage to play in public. We both enjoy other casino
games as well but are not comfortable playing at high stakes. We like $5
Blackjack, $5 Craps, and we sometimes play quarter or lower slot machines and
Keno, of course. I also enjoy playing draw poker machines and although I know
the basic strategy for Bonus Poker and Jacks or Better, I have never walked
away with more than a few bucks in winnings, certainly never a jackpot.</div>
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Walking through the Red Rock Casino one morning, on the way
to the cafe, we passed a bank of 8 poker machines that advertised 100% pay
back. I know that means that over all, over time, that’s the rate these
machines are set to pay off. Any one player and any one given time will still
lose their drawers! I decided that we should give them a try on the way back
from breakfast.</div>
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Sitting next to each other, investing $20 worth of quarters
each and playing 5 units at a time, we both set to our mission. Not long after
we started I had spun my first Royal Straight Flush ever and I quickly printed
out my ticket for $1000+ and we left. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijlIstetKLBFqz4lzV9g8un7GCmw_DFx1aTWHZa5VZhsmTiMoh2qMIvn-UcWNCAxqG_8Y9EeE6ZmMsRPOmWUCSWchyzg5Bo8xZvvGVimImtGlQ8jLYAv1dYlo7IOEVwzWJy_leyOu168w/s1600/IMG_1175.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijlIstetKLBFqz4lzV9g8un7GCmw_DFx1aTWHZa5VZhsmTiMoh2qMIvn-UcWNCAxqG_8Y9EeE6ZmMsRPOmWUCSWchyzg5Bo8xZvvGVimImtGlQ8jLYAv1dYlo7IOEVwzWJy_leyOu168w/s320/IMG_1175.JPG" width="320"></a></div>
Give these machines a try if you are in
the area.RobertCanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428375689821585471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298233640029773120.post-29400361788551500062015-10-23T11:49:00.000-07:002015-10-23T11:49:02.822-07:00And Then There Were Four (4)<div style="text-align: justify;">
The deliberations on New York's possible fourth new casino are done and the result is approval by the same gambling regulators who originally rejected a proposal from Tioga Downs to expand their racino operation into a full fledged casino. After being sent back to the table for neglecting to select a proposal from the Southern Tier of New York, the regulators put a smile on the face of Governor Andrew Cuomo and a bigger one on the face of his friend and campaign supporter, Tioga Downs owner Jeff Gural by saying yes at their October 14, 2015 meeting.</div>
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Any time a government entity is involved in a decision, politics will be involved too as I am sure was the case here. Political shenanigans or not, if the real purpose of approving casinos for different areas of New York was to boost the local economic picture then the Southern Tier / Binghamton area deserves to be noticed.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBxU9gN8YpXQJpYzMt_xNYX5yrEi7yZUpkTPx9vEAXioP14SHLVOv6XRqFbQeiXrkWkhDSJwbxAreoTkiH1CejTT11xtt7MSNqBsGGsscBKv6_YGepJTBS2a56ak29b6oaWKJFcXWOMqE/s1600/Binghamton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBxU9gN8YpXQJpYzMt_xNYX5yrEi7yZUpkTPx9vEAXioP14SHLVOv6XRqFbQeiXrkWkhDSJwbxAreoTkiH1CejTT11xtt7MSNqBsGGsscBKv6_YGepJTBS2a56ak29b6oaWKJFcXWOMqE/s640/Binghamton.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Binghamton, New York</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Tioga Downs itself it located in Nichols, New York which is a lot closer to northern Pennsylvania than it is to Binghamton. The likelihood that expansion of this raceway/racino into a full service casino will somehow raise this depressed area up is slim. The area has been depressed for quite sometime and that is mostly due to the changing identity of the area. Once a burgeoning manufacturing center, the gloves, shoes, firearms, and technology (read IBM) that once bolstered this community have moved elsewhere. A few construction jobs that are transitory at best and a few casino jobs that are mostly low-paying are not going to perform the magic that is needed here.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj82R3W00bN1lRIazgySBhKeOPHm_sX-MhnO8if-wX2dXMU1PiSPepqcvSZ1ZwpxIw3UOd49GE9TA34yGvCUS8-Mr0GDwNUO44-caPztwqoSfr7aQrpQ99MHH8IZAF7_QTk4LXkf_wM6l8/s1600/FoxwoodsCasinoLogo.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj82R3W00bN1lRIazgySBhKeOPHm_sX-MhnO8if-wX2dXMU1PiSPepqcvSZ1ZwpxIw3UOd49GE9TA34yGvCUS8-Mr0GDwNUO44-caPztwqoSfr7aQrpQ99MHH8IZAF7_QTk4LXkf_wM6l8/s320/FoxwoodsCasinoLogo.png" width="320" /></a></div>
If you look to our neighboring state of Connecticut, home to two of the largest Indian casinos in the world, Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, the lessons to be learned are not bright for the surrounding communities. The per capita income graphs for CT go up slightly for most areas over the past 20 years but have since leveled out or even dropped. Having a huge casino in your neighborhood does little to change the character of a community for the best, especially economically.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDXypgT22QIVmIDEsYtU7VsB6StMU2j-IZqSg8sWjBYw81ntKGG5oVNNqluZ4R8vtE6Q2-amrc65iobG2CZbDZ-z-Y3vGuK5lq4lN2N0srQ15sAjKe0UfpeLtgwQtNSd_Nj8HLIx2RDZs/s1600/Mohegan+Sun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDXypgT22QIVmIDEsYtU7VsB6StMU2j-IZqSg8sWjBYw81ntKGG5oVNNqluZ4R8vtE6Q2-amrc65iobG2CZbDZ-z-Y3vGuK5lq4lN2N0srQ15sAjKe0UfpeLtgwQtNSd_Nj8HLIx2RDZs/s320/Mohegan+Sun.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
New York's grand experiment to bring real casinos to New York is hardly anything new. Before this casino expansion there were 20 casinos/racinos throughout the state (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_casinos_in_New_York" target="_blank">20)</a> and now there will be four more. Only a dreamer would have high expectations that any significant changes for any community are in the offing. A bit more tax money will be raised. A few more people will get jobs, mostly low-paying ones. A few more entertainment seeking patrons will have an easier trip to have some fun. New York, nor any other state for that matter, will ever duplicate the Las Vegas experience. New Jersey tried and look what happened there.<br />
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<br />RobertCanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428375689821585471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298233640029773120.post-74153432834082686982015-10-09T13:47:00.001-07:002015-10-09T13:47:09.800-07:00Daily Fantasy Sports and Online Poker<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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This past week DraftKings and FanDuel especially, but all
Daily Fantasy Sports outlets and by extension any kind of betting that takes
place online, including Online Poker, were on the hot seat. By now everyone who
cares about access to various kinds of gambling from an electronic devise knows
the circumstances - a probably data leak - and the excuses - data might have been
available but wasn’t used to win $350,000 - so I am not going to repeat them
here in detail.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM_q0YwxbtS3rXxu1Xhyphenhyphenw2C5hQjmVUVskv-_jOYyu2mNx1fHGSTlLURMSrQGV4HDjZ5qgOUegy1eMvweFu5saiR7F5wMWvlhZVVOR2fCLrvBNv5O072Xw8UY5lPvd7X0Jq19SVcR9I8xs/s1600/DraftKings_Logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM_q0YwxbtS3rXxu1Xhyphenhyphenw2C5hQjmVUVskv-_jOYyu2mNx1fHGSTlLURMSrQGV4HDjZ5qgOUegy1eMvweFu5saiR7F5wMWvlhZVVOR2fCLrvBNv5O072Xw8UY5lPvd7X0Jq19SVcR9I8xs/s400/DraftKings_Logo.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Actually, the facts do not matter all that much. What matters
is the PERCEPTION that some wrong doing did take place or could have taken
place. DraftKings’ good will stock took a dive and is still plummeting from the
precipice where this newly minted billion dollar company has been sitting for several months now. FanDuels’ is not far behind.</div>
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I play DFS and I play on DraftKings. When I first started,
last football season, I liked their application better than FanDuel’s, even
though FanDuel was the industry leader at the time. I play what by anyone’s
standards are considered chump stakes ($5 50/50 contests mostly) but I am not
playing to get rich or make a killing. I play because it’s fun and true to what
NFL and other major sports insiders believe, it makes me interested in sporting events and players that I
otherwise would not care about. There is skill involved in making selections
but there is a tremendous amount of luck involved as well. If you bet on a QB
who does really well and then gets pulled for a back-up so the second string
player can get some experience, that’s luck, bad luck without a whole lot of
skill involved. You can consider all the angles each week if you have time and
resources to do that but my guess is if you are doing that you’re not in it for
the fun, you’re in it for the profit.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi76CFR0qiFRPS1clbq35G28A0s2X1_fX213uKUuCFWkdwwR7iMHqpHTwA6L5ZeWVnT3TZbA5orT_G3MI97odbVcn-mGGBS5mqn6elBp07NYzdX_Q0jIKt3zvuPhFNpHLSllZ6K_seL9Cs/s1600/fanduel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi76CFR0qiFRPS1clbq35G28A0s2X1_fX213uKUuCFWkdwwR7iMHqpHTwA6L5ZeWVnT3TZbA5orT_G3MI97odbVcn-mGGBS5mqn6elBp07NYzdX_Q0jIKt3zvuPhFNpHLSllZ6K_seL9Cs/s400/fanduel.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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If I get screwed out of $5 because someone cheated it’s not
the end of the world. I’m not going to risk any more dollars, but it’s a
pittance down the drain. If someone with inside information wins $350,000 that
could have gone to the next player in line who did not have inside information,
that’s highway robbery in anyone’s book and deserves to be punished like all
other crimes are punished.</div>
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<br /></div>
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But the company line (I just received a “personal” email
this morning from DraftKings execs Jason Robins, Matt Kalish, and Paul
Liberman, co-founders of DraftKings - <a href="http://www.fox9.com/sports/31482854-story" target="_blank">See the email as published on fox9</a>) is that nothing untoward happened and they
were already working on ways to self-regulate and bring in third-party
auditors. Unfortunately that’s too little too late.</div>
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<br /></div>
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My own take is that nonsense like this has been going on
from the start and if it’s not DK’s employees playing on FD or vice versa with
inside information, it most certainly is one site’s employees in the know
handing info off to friends and relatives playing on another site who will not
come up on anyone's radar unless someone is looking really hard. Trust me, now they
are going to look hard, really hard.</div>
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So, what does all this chicanery have to do with online
poker? Not much directly but a whole lot indirectly. According to Rick Muny, VP
of Player Relations for the Poker Players Alliance, “. . . there is the obvious
risk of online poker getting pulled into legislative attempts to limit or even
ban DFS.” <a href="http://theppa.org/newsletters/2015/10/09/update-73/" target="_blank">Rich's Latest PPA Weekly Update says it all</a></div>
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A few week's ago Jennifer Newell, a well-respected poker writer and key commentator on the unfortunate events in and around St. Louis over the last year, wrote about the unholy connection between DFS and poker so prominent on nearly all poker blogs, poker sites, and poker events. Her chickens are coming home to roost! Jennifer's article, posted on Robbie Strazynski's cardplayerlifestyle site, is a good, prophetic read. <a href="http://cardplayerlifestyle.com/poker-possibly-in-for-rough-breakup-after-dfs-romance/" target="_blank">Entire Article Here!</a></div>
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<br /></div>
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The public and politicians especially are not very discerning.
Any sort of gambling online, skill based or not, that comes under scrutiny
brings all kinds of online gambling under scrutiny. The poker lobby will suffer
a setback and it’s not even their fault. Thank the guys who have been
plastering advertisements all over every poker tournament and just about every
sporting event on TV or elsewhere since last summer. Messing up like this makes it difficult for
everyone.</div>
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I think we are all in for a roller-coaster ride with no
signs of getting off anytime soon. Should there be outside control and
regulation of DFS? Yes, there absolutely should be just like there should be
outside control and regulation on all legal online poker sites. If we are happy
to settle for investing our money and time in unregulated online poker sites with
no guarantee that they are free of collusion, free of cheating and that there
is no chance of NOT getting our money back when we want it, then we will be happy
dealing with DraftKings and FanDuel in a future without independent regulation
and/or government oversight. I don’t know about you, but that’s not me!</div>
RobertCanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428375689821585471noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298233640029773120.post-13397373030834674172015-10-02T12:10:00.000-07:002015-10-02T12:10:13.762-07:00Greed – Biting the Hand That Feeds You<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
A lot has been written and said about the recent woes of the
gambling industry – fewer people gambling, less money being generated by games
of chance, changing demographics, etc. Some of the commentary has merit but the
facts are that the gaming industry is making more money in the USA and around
the world than it ever has. Most of the trepidation among casino execs comes
from their insecurity about being able to attract young audiences or what are
referred to as Millennials. Those fears are justified.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the past week I read two articles, one lengthy,
comprehensive, and prophetic by Motley Fool’s Jeff Hwang, and another in my
local newspaper by Matt Spillane. In my mind, both articles touch on the issue
of greed.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hwang, a well-known writer and personality in the poker
world, makes a case for how best to address the “Millennial Problem.” <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/09/19/the-millennial-problem-why-we-dont-gamble.aspx#.Vf9RMksAXlg.twitter" target="_blank">See Entire Article Here . . . </a>His
premise is that most of the solutions extant in the business do not address the
core issue that “. . . the gaming industry as a whole is giving less and less
action, while millennials in general are more perceptive to nickel-and-diming.”
In Hwang’s opinion what the casino execs fail to realize is that Millennials
are not the idiots they perceive them to be but are savvy, experienced,
potential customers who see through the hype and will not fully participate
until the casinos give them the value they know does not now exist on the
casino floor.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibVZ4dEdnXgOFUM5qL4iXK5SMNTXnx3Whddm8WGKnYZ8oxxEW3dPK0TjZpCLSgJaV0IWAYHLqTUq0cANPMPGHa9s5PDCLKgXrVlri9N3iJEPJ7ASFej79AyNIDUPPh5fXvZC423zmX4Ek/s1600/millennials_1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibVZ4dEdnXgOFUM5qL4iXK5SMNTXnx3Whddm8WGKnYZ8oxxEW3dPK0TjZpCLSgJaV0IWAYHLqTUq0cANPMPGHa9s5PDCLKgXrVlri9N3iJEPJ7ASFej79AyNIDUPPh5fXvZC423zmX4Ek/s320/millennials_1.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hwang’s analysis includes charts and graphs that show
clearly what many of us sense in our gut when we walk into a casino – the value
that we used to get and, for us older players, were used to getting, has slowly
been eroded in favor of higher house advantages. From the almost complete
dismantling of 3:2 payoffs on blackjacks to the precipitous increase of low
value table games, a reasonably intelligent gambler can no longer hope to
reduce the house’s odds to a manageable level.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The inexperienced moderate income player no longer has a
place in a casino. The very lowest stakes table games in the vast majority of
establishments require a minimum bet of $10 at off-peak times. Most evenings
and definitely weekends it may be difficult to find any table even at that
rate. The norm has become $15 blackjack tables and many $25 tables. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Ns3J-b9Uz5syHbQy4Fixxs7IGsAxovIdIcqEpYtUIWBQb1011NgbKaxJf_npAHTtZNw__Y6rnGQnVLrMVd9dUFx4iemgdIZ5liJLlKrYshwqO3L5wTcvu4LZ0ueVBYpBLEqvNMkPvYE/s1600/25+Minimum.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Ns3J-b9Uz5syHbQy4Fixxs7IGsAxovIdIcqEpYtUIWBQb1011NgbKaxJf_npAHTtZNw__Y6rnGQnVLrMVd9dUFx4iemgdIZ5liJLlKrYshwqO3L5wTcvu4LZ0ueVBYpBLEqvNMkPvYE/s400/25+Minimum.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Expecting
novice gamblers to risk those stakes to “experience” the game is short-sighted
and has been keeping new players away.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Even slot machines, the perennial refuge of the small time
gambler, have surreptitiously increased stakes to the point of fleecing
customers. Courageous slot players in the old days would risk a $3 maximum per
pull on a dollar machine in return for an advertised 98% pay back. Sometimes
you won and sometimes you’d lose but you never felt like you were being robbed.
These days a “penny” slot player needs to risk far more than a dollar per spin
to activate the jackpot and nickel machines requiring more than a hundred units
per spin can eat through a small bankroll in no time. To add insult to injury,
the payback on these low denomination machines is often in the mid 80% area.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
All of these innovations that tend to increase the stakes
that gamblers play at also tend to decrease the numbers of players that are
playing. That’s simple economics. But greed is in play here and the mentality
is to get as much as you can into the casino coffers as fast as you can.
Slowly, the casino experience is losing its former aura of entertainment in
favor of a “get it while you can” attitude on the part of the corporations.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And don’t think that your local lottery vendor is giving you
a better deal, which brings me to the second article I mentioned. It’s really
only a small piece in the local newspaper but the gist of it is simply that one
of the nationally available lotteries, Powerball, will soon be INCREASING the
odds of winning the jackpot. That’s right! I said “INCREASING,” not decreasing. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT-5b2bmOPVBQjniXKggGq6w9DGwb40cw8UHfrVWNEeEJrY-5c8wIEeaeeNcTBWxezYxEeHPlqelZxs9SRGa-Ww2iqjb4O7KsClt836kQYjvENO8eoK9CThntCYnszlA9Kng5W2Zo5w28/s1600/powerball.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT-5b2bmOPVBQjniXKggGq6w9DGwb40cw8UHfrVWNEeEJrY-5c8wIEeaeeNcTBWxezYxEeHPlqelZxs9SRGa-Ww2iqjb4O7KsClt836kQYjvENO8eoK9CThntCYnszlA9Kng5W2Zo5w28/s400/powerball.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
The disclaimer in the article says that smaller prizes will be easier to win
but who do you know that plays the lottery to win a “smaller” prize. The only
reason anyone plays is a chance at the jackpot – that life-changing hundreds of
millions of dollars!<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, even as lottery players in New York have decreased since
2013, the wisdom here is that making it harder to win will attract more
players. I don’t think so. If you though that 175,223,510 to 1 odds were bad,
what do you think 292,201,338 to 1 will be? Really bad. Really, really bad!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In a quest to make more money, more money for investors no
matter what anyone tells you about where the profits go, those who control our
country’s gambling interests are biting the hands that feed them. The greedier
they get the fewer people will participate, especially younger, smarter, more
discerning players like Millennials. And a few of us older ones will be a lot
more careful about where we plunk down our retirement benefits.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">Wake up!</span></span>RobertCanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428375689821585471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298233640029773120.post-57650761442270321012015-09-25T12:20:00.002-07:002015-09-25T12:20:27.196-07:00OTB or not to be?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Apparently that is the question according to this morning’s
local newspaper (Yes, my wife and I do still read the local newspaper – print version
– each morning preferring to get our lies and egregious entertainment flashes
from an old school medium rather than an electronic one. NYS Comptroller,
Thomas Napoli, who has been featured in this blog before (<a href="http://www.cardsdicewheels.blogspot.com/2014/06/when-tom-dinapoli-speaks-everyone.html" target="_blank">See Tom Napoli, June 2014</a>) is quoted
in the article saying "The viability of OTBs is in financial jeopardy.
Statutory payment requirements, a downturn in racing interest and major fee
increases have each contributed to this plight.”</div>
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Can I say, “And not a moment too soon!”</div>
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Have you ever been in an Off Track Betting parlor, a phrase used very
loosely to identify these spaces where gentleman, mostly gentleman, another
loosely used term, gather to place bets at racetracks too far away for them to
go to? If you haven’t you aren’t missing much.</div>
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Since 1970, that’s 45 years ago, New York State has licensed
various regional corporations to run off-track betting establishments so that
those not lucky enough to live a short distance from a racetrack could plunk
down a few bucks and become a millionaire. OTBs never seemed like a great idea
to me but I was fortunate enough to be born and raised in Yonkers where, with a
few glitches here and there, a harness racing track was always only a bus ride away. Once
old enough to drive a car, Roosevelt Field on Long Island (since turned into a
shopping mall of sorts), and Aqueduct Race Track in Queens were also easy
commutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>OTBs seemed unnecessary and a
waste of space. Why lose your money at some track far, far away when it could
easily be lost close to home. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_n_v5eUFvYVerBeo_ANwm4FKuC7Z3EXJTjvwjFT9er24tkQzhgoqyZ2a8cePZ2SN7Och4PH25i-SvG3VUgi0KJUIPYu7He155gpNEcCCR6z-Hva6x5RcWIT7Isvco8wzNW3sBdEAyk5Q/s1600/yonkers-raceway.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_n_v5eUFvYVerBeo_ANwm4FKuC7Z3EXJTjvwjFT9er24tkQzhgoqyZ2a8cePZ2SN7Och4PH25i-SvG3VUgi0KJUIPYu7He155gpNEcCCR6z-Hva6x5RcWIT7Isvco8wzNW3sBdEAyk5Q/s400/yonkers-raceway.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Race tracks are generally far from the scenic atmosphere of
Churchill Downs which everyone gets to visit once a year through the magic of
television. Some are much nicer than others but all of them have their “pits,”
let’s call them, where the $2 bettors congregate, yell, spit, curse, smoke (they
used to anyway!), throw their butts and losing tickets all over the floor and
variously lament on how close they came to winning or what a loser<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>or cheater their jockey was. These denizens
of the paddock do not usually deign to dress for their race track outings. They
come in T-shirts, dirty jeans, raggedy jackets or their work clothes with “Henry”
or some other mundane name stitched onto the outside of their shirt pocket if
they are there on their lunch break. Some stay for all the races; some run
in and run out betting on a “tip” from someone who knows all about it. Women
are in the minority but if they are there they often look more disheveled than
the men.</div>
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Image this scenario and multiply it downward by a factor of
five and that’s what your typical OTB looks like. Usually painted a drab
institutional minty green but wearing the scuffs and grime of decades, the
walls are not inviting. The floors aren’t either, made up of dirty chipped linoleum
tiles that have not been cleaned or waxed in ages. The floors eventually get
swept but for the most part the discarded betting slips will remain there for
most of the day. Tellers, those who interpret the complicated wagers that might
spell success for the bettors, are behind barred or thick plexi-glass windows
and say little to the patrons. Do something wrong – propose a bet that is
unintelligible – and you will get a stair, a frown, and maybe even a growl. All
are good signs that your bet will go unplaced as your horse comes to the rail. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_RMH9YPbkC_SUAEPYZOAUb98vx2vSi93y_O2kFr9Mn8VeWuPaBut1OvOoEa4GXDHtNrQwI8dPZU6vu1VkNtqssp8ZAztP8oP8n_wlebfTaiuP_z2VzBhQ0Y17dvdgYD58hOg7UUQ7Fe8/s1600/OTB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_RMH9YPbkC_SUAEPYZOAUb98vx2vSi93y_O2kFr9Mn8VeWuPaBut1OvOoEa4GXDHtNrQwI8dPZU6vu1VkNtqssp8ZAztP8oP8n_wlebfTaiuP_z2VzBhQ0Y17dvdgYD58hOg7UUQ7Fe8/s1600/OTB.jpg" /></a></div>
In the midst this woefully pathetic environment there are
opportunists lurking midway down the long lines of bettors that usually form
minutes before a given post time. They wait and wait to the last seconds before
the race goes off and then adeptly shoulder their way in front of an
unsuspecting newcomer in order to squeeze their bet in at the wire. More than
once have I witnessed this scenario result in pushes, shoves and no one on that
line getting a bet in for that race.</div>
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It’s not surprising that OTBs will soon be a thing of the
past. There are many other alternatives to them including multiple ways of
placing bets on horse races from the comfort of your own home. Sorry to say
that few of us in NY will miss them – mostly we stopped going a long time ago.</div>
RobertCanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428375689821585471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298233640029773120.post-86325307421845754332015-09-11T08:08:00.001-07:002015-09-11T09:35:42.856-07:00Keeping Up With New York - Tioga Downs and Online PokerIt has been a busy week for New York when it comes to gambling issues: the continuing saga of Tioga Downs and it's quest for a full scale casino license in the Southern Tier, and a hearing on State Senator John Bonacic's push for online poker throughout the state.<br />
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<u>Tioga Downs</u> - A hearing was held this past Thursday, September 10, 2015 on the beefed up proposal to turn the Tioga Downs racino into a full scale casino. The original proposal was rejected and owner Jeffrey Gural, a major contributor to Governor Cuomo's last campaign and a purported friend, wasn't going to take that lying down. After repeated protests from government entities throughout the Southern Tier stressing the fact that this area is in serious need of economic assistance, the State Gaming Facility Location Board relented and allowed Tioga Downs to submit a revised proposal. The Board chairman, Kevin Law, made it clear before the hearing that if the new proposal was merely "lipstick" on an otherwise bland and unspectacular original plan it wasn't going to fly. After the hearing Law is quoted in the Journal News saying, "I think we've seen with their submittal and the presentation today is that it's certainly more than just lipstick, and there were some significant changes." <a href="http://www.lohud.com/story/news/politics/albany-watch/2015/09/09/new-york-online-poker/71970762/" target="_blank">Read Journal News Article Here</a><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgze6HPI5PK6VnWoElweM-p0LRpanhO_HXbLi8YpSCkLaPk6vPa2MolDs0ysh44bTHCFv2-wv1WV6PVchrEWzVEHppvmETe7XOsr0UvqDZWXMfP4893bcM02pnYTu8AMLcrobhAMlN4sjE/s1600/Tioga+Downs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgze6HPI5PK6VnWoElweM-p0LRpanhO_HXbLi8YpSCkLaPk6vPa2MolDs0ysh44bTHCFv2-wv1WV6PVchrEWzVEHppvmETe7XOsr0UvqDZWXMfP4893bcM02pnYTu8AMLcrobhAMlN4sjE/s400/Tioga+Downs.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tioga Downs</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The public will get a chance to comment on the new plan, pro and con, at an open hearing on September 18th at SUNY Broome's Baldwin Gym. Attendees can expect to hear questions about Gural's association with the Governor as well as his relationship to his other major holding, the Meadowlands. Considering that if gambling is brought to the Meadowlands at any time in the near future every existing gambling establishment in New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey will feel the pinch, these are questions that need to be asked. Up to now Gural's response to Meadowlands concerns has been pretty non-commital.<br />
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<u>Online Poker in New York</u> - Up to now there has not been a strong push for online poker or online gambling in New York. Previous bills sponsored by State Senator John Bonacic and NYS Assemblyman Gary Pretlow have received little support and have not raised the eyebrows of the governor one way or the other. With that in mind the Senate hearing held on Wednesday, September 9, 2015 is a major step forward.<br />
<br />
Most of the speakers, actually all of the invited speakers, were proponents of online poker coming to New York. Representatives from MGM, the Borgata in NJ, and Caesars touted the benefits and safety of online gambling. Most stressed how online operations enhance rather than detract from brick and mortar operations, saying that the best people to run online enterprises are those who are already in the casino business. There was also a big push in the direction of boosting the existing racing establishments in New York, racinos included, by the addition of online poker/gambling components.<br />
<br />
Other speakers included John Pappas from the Poker Players Alliance. The PPA is strongly supporting efforts for online poker in any and all states where it is proposed having greatly decreased their efforts on the federal level given the torpor and ennui of our federal legislators on this topic. <a href="http://tinyurl.com/qesru4g" target="_blank">Read a Q and A with John Pappas by this blogger from October 2012 on the State of Online Poker</a><br />
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<a href="http://theppa.org/static/pdf/PAPPAS_NY_Testimony.pdf" target="_blank">John's Recent Remarks at the Hearing </a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibYJcInVcQt3KT8uu7IXoYjCTy1LzrOQEj4BFANIeg7NvQFBgA1kdNn34U-LsOOyN_SSUmr1OCljVJYfzzPIEPJQmAburOmLHLzYdUZGN4C59eo4eQqEm05VjnIVB_PGWzR6O_jO0JuDc/s1600/PPA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibYJcInVcQt3KT8uu7IXoYjCTy1LzrOQEj4BFANIeg7NvQFBgA1kdNn34U-LsOOyN_SSUmr1OCljVJYfzzPIEPJQmAburOmLHLzYdUZGN4C59eo4eQqEm05VjnIVB_PGWzR6O_jO0JuDc/s320/PPA.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="http://theppa.org/static/pdf/NY-Testimony-Press-Release2.pdf" target="_blank">The PPA's Press Release on the NY Hearing</a><br />
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It's very hard to say when or if any of this will happen or even get to the Governor's desk. Suffice it to say that Many New Yorkers are watching this debate closely. And, there are detractors <a href="http://cagnyinf.org/wp/tag/coalition-against-gambling-in-new-york/" target="_blank">If You Are Interested!</a> I am not one of them. The sooner we have the ability to play legal online poker in NY, the better.RobertCanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428375689821585471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298233640029773120.post-64457689766907262102015-08-31T13:19:00.004-07:002015-08-31T13:19:52.637-07:00Up Close and Personal - Electronic Blackjack<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span id="goog_1019334781"></span><span id="goog_1019334782"></span>Last week I wrote about the newly installed electronic blackjack machines at the Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway. Although stories in the local newspapers alluded to the fact that these machines were long-awaited and that gamblers would be falling all over themselves to get a seat, the reality is a very different story. My wife and I, who visit this racino infrequently but we do, stopped by on a mid-afternoon Sunday. While the place was not crowded there were plenty of patrons playing the vast array of slot machines available. Very few were playing blackjack machines.<br />
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The craps, roulette, and baccarat machines were full but not crowded - a normal state of affairs. Although there was some indication in the newspaper stories that there would be a bank of blackjack machines on the first floor, we couldn't locate it. On the smaller second floor however there were at least three banks of blackjack machines, none with more than a couple of people playing.</div>
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The machines are manufactured by IGT, no stranger to the gaming industry. The one we eventually played on had a "magic" theme and a headless, bodyless, white gloved dealer dispensed cards, paid off winning hands, and sucked up your "chips" if you lost. The machine itself is pleasant enough - not too many loud noises, beeps, and honks. Pretty clear prompts. The terminal itself took a little getting used to but once you realized where the dealer's cards were displayed and where your cards and the other players' cards were, it was fairly easy even though I inadvertently pressed an incorrect button 3 times in this first foray! I'm thinking that's more my fault for not paying attention than anything to do with the machine's design. My wife had no trouble at all navigating the screen.</div>
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The nitty-gritty details serious gamblers want to know about this reincarnation of what was always a table game where people faced people are as follows:</div>
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* The game is played with 6 decks that are continuously shuffled. There were never more than 4 players at our table at any one time and only twice did I see identical cards come up so, for all it's worth, without a sign clearly saying the game used 6 decks, it could have been two for all I could tell. The continuous shuffle clearly dissuades any inkling of counting anything - card sharps take note!</div>
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* Blackjacks pay 3 - 2. It's only a matter of time before the New York guys catch wind of what has been going on all over the country, so collect on these 3/2 payoffs while you can. I am sure they will soon be 6 - 5.</div>
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* Double Downs are only allowed on a first two-card count of 9, 10, or 11. Eliminating the double downs with a soft hand to a break card is a distinct casino advantage. I'll leave it to you readers to Comment on exactly what percentage that advantage is.</div>
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* Dealer hits soft 17s, a now almost universal adjustment also in the casino's favor.</div>
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* Insurance is offered but there is no surrender - a sucker bet for one and another option taken away from the player for two.</div>
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* Splitting Aces is allowed for the normal one card on each Ace - standard rules.</div>
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* Non-aces like cards can be split and hit multiple times - standard rules again.</div>
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And that's pretty much it except for a dizzying offering of two different types of side bets both designed for suckers only. An entire placard beside the blackjack layout is needed to explain these side bets and since I was not going to play them ever, I didn't read them. One side bet is called the Hot Streak and the other is called the Upcard. Use your imagination about how these bets seek to separate you from your bankroll one dollar at a time.</div>
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And then we come to stakes! Although I do not agree with this direction casino stakes are going in, the minimums keep going up. I can almost understand that playing with a live dealer $2 or $3 blackjack bets do not even pay for his/her salary, never mind the casino's upkeep and overhead. And, I have heard that the $5 game is a just about break even game in this regard. Nevertheless, when the stakes go up, the players go down and I can never understand why the casinos do not see this. Twenty people playing $5 blackjack is a bigger casino overall edge than 5 people playing $15 blackjack. There are no $5 electronic blackjack tables at Empire City Casino; at least there weren't any there when we visited. Half of one bank of machines had a minimum bet of $25 and all the others were $10 minimums.</div>
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I'm sure the casinos are not anxious to be in the education business, but for every player who learns how to play in real-life situations the casino earns another life-long player. I'm guessing that many more new players will attempt to learn the game playing at low stakes than at higher ones. There were no new players at these tables and I don't think there will be many unless they lower the stakes.</div>
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We enjoyed ourselves though. We walked away winning $305 between us, stopped for a drink on the way out and studiously avoided all the other electronic gizmos on the way out.</div>
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If you like blackjack these machines are worth a try. If you do not know how to play, try not to learn here. Get some practice at home or on your SmartPhone before risking a few hundred bucks. </div>
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<br />RobertCanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428375689821585471noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298233640029773120.post-3753513251948252572015-08-21T10:39:00.000-07:002015-08-21T10:39:35.931-07:00When is a Racino Not a Racino?<div style="text-align: justify;">
Question: When is a Racino Not a Racino? Answer: When you can play table games there in addition to slot machines! Well, electronic table games at least.</div>
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The two New York State racinos in the New York City Metropolitan area - the Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway and Resorts World Casino in Queens - have offered electronic versions of Roulette, Baccarat, Craps, and Sic Bo since they opened. Those tables get a fair deal of play although the customer trust factor for electronic craps and roulette is far less than the confidence that players have in the Baccarat games since Baccarat is and always has been a game of pure chance. Nevertheless, the racinos make money on these layouts. </div>
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This past week both racinos made good on a legislative enhancement that went into effect last April that allows racinos to offer electronic games of "skill," which, presumably, includes electronic Blackjack tables. While not what I would call a "game of skill," in the same vein as poker or backgammon, blackjack does have a basic strategy which, in the long run, separates the good players from everyone else. One way or the other, the electronic Blackjack tables have been installed and have met with immediate success. </div>
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According to an article in the Journal News this past week, writer Matt Coyne (mcoyne@lohud.com) reveals that Empire City already has two banks of blackjack terminals yielding 24 seats. Another 50 or so seats were in various stages of readiness and the short term goal is to have 200 seats very soon and up to 500 as soon as they can get the machines from the distributor. </div>
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Resorts World has at least 60 seats in operation with another 300 or so planned this fall. </div>
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With blackjack the question always is what are the payouts, how many decks are being used, and how often are the cards being shuffled. While I do not have any information at this point if the machines are hitting or standing on soft 17s (the trend has been to hit these since the odds of improving and winning are better than not doing so for players and for the house), or on how many decks are being used and how they are being shuffled (card counting or even card estimating is almost out of the question with electronic blackjack layouts since casinos often do not reveal how many decks are in play), I do know that naturals 21s are being paid at 3 to 2 and not the nefarious 6 to 5 that has been adopted in almost all brick and mortar casinos these days. </div>
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That's good news and if those payout odds on blackjacks remain, playing these machines will be a fair deal for decent players. One way or the other, it's a good start.<br />
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Since the legislature has approved games of skill for racinos throughout the state and since poker is almost universally regarded as a game of skill, the big question is if and when these racinos will install electronic hold 'em tables that allow players to compete against each other? Although I am not sure if they are still there, the Plaza in downtown Las Vegas had a few of these machines going and they were given fairly positive reviews. </div>
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The Aliante Casino, a small former Station casino in North Las Vegas, has had the machines on the floor since last fall but the last time I was there (March - April 2015) they were not up and running. Many cruise ship lines use the PokerTek <a href="http://pokertek.com/" target="_blank">Website</a> machines since they are inexpensive to operate and monitor. <a href="http://www.cardschat.com/f13/pokerpro-electronic-table-review-156220/" target="_blank">Review on CardsChat</a> These kinds of tables would be an extreme improvement for New York racinos which, until recently, have had very few options for sensible, intelligent gamblers. <a href="http://www.playingpokerlive.com/pokertek-pokerpro-electronic-tables-1040-2" target="_blank">Another Review</a><br />
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Although true table games have been approved for three casinos around the state, and although there are a few Indian casino options in what we New Yorkers call "upstate," the chances of a real Las Vegas type casino operating in the New York Metropolitan area in the near future are slim. Electronic blackjack tables are a step up; electronic holdem machines would be a giant leap for all of us.</div>
RobertCanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428375689821585471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298233640029773120.post-32015959543892929122015-08-14T12:31:00.001-07:002015-08-14T12:33:32.541-07:00A Chip Off the Old Block<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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The atmosphere inside the walls of a casino is unreal, at
times surreal. Very few casinos, especially older casinos, have windows that
allow day light in and none have clocks in view. The idea is to block out
reality and allow patrons to forget whether it’s night or day, or what time of
the night or day it is.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
And the tinkering with reality doesn’t stop there. Gambling
in a casino means turning in your real currency for a time and using a
substitute currency while you are there. What we call chips or checks/cheques
or even tokens date back to the early 19<sup>th</sup> century and there a many
reasons why they are still used today. Most of the reasons are for the casino’s
benefit, of course. When you think about it, this subterfuge is not a whole lot
different from substituting “paper” money for gold and silver and getting
everyone to agree with the ruse.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOKL8JP6vTGyxhrLRicwQRcNDdig8rWJEMqCMo4UVf2_Zjla3RGhjQ8LqkchGGgeTZR8siB7SkRWkxwU6KVxdEfxKvgw46u0oH24BYeb6JauYoQsdgIfmTzpB2b41bHhQMmwfHfBgMvuw/s1600/Holiday+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOKL8JP6vTGyxhrLRicwQRcNDdig8rWJEMqCMo4UVf2_Zjla3RGhjQ8LqkchGGgeTZR8siB7SkRWkxwU6KVxdEfxKvgw46u0oH24BYeb6JauYoQsdgIfmTzpB2b41bHhQMmwfHfBgMvuw/s200/Holiday+1.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The primary characteristic of the casino chip is its
uniformity. While each casino may emblazon their chips with their own distinct
decoration, (casino name, location, emblem, or logo) they all are mostly of
uniform shape (round), size (about the size of an old half-dollar), and weight
(lighter than a silver coin but heavier than a modern one). Clearly stamped on
each chip is its denomination - $1, $5, $25, and $100 – for the vast majority
of chips in play. Other higher denominations are available and the highest
value chips may even be larger or in a completely different shape than the
common ones.
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFIFg_fQZtXjM2VJ-aY9YEJAW0U9RP8fSXqtagXCCKjCZKXPIcgaFjMEqviDx0RJ4acRQOoHcHtfFN9jZLVvvGt-SMUDTVLtSiIle4cadEUR9XzIhiKQt0PYbDB1OFMEixJC87-5PfgK0/s1600/dunes5rare.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFIFg_fQZtXjM2VJ-aY9YEJAW0U9RP8fSXqtagXCCKjCZKXPIcgaFjMEqviDx0RJ4acRQOoHcHtfFN9jZLVvvGt-SMUDTVLtSiIle4cadEUR9XzIhiKQt0PYbDB1OFMEixJC87-5PfgK0/s200/dunes5rare.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Chip uniformity includes color and casinos basically all
agree in this area - $1 chips are white or blue, $5 chips are red, $25 are
green, and $100 chips are black. Values above these can be of varying shades of
yellow and pink, mauve and puce, lavender and lilac according to each
particular casino’s whim.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjncyTIOMkjQTjJVvEtI_tIPsAtoVTkZGAWLnxj8QJa-C8Oo8qBFM0gu64otcldolQ1mPTXa1aUy97CKtYjuDrRY0wg2p7Ba98XZoYRPHVkdZe0cgz7TTJtGvGUzmXojN1tMSofavTnaRw/s1600/Webb+25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjncyTIOMkjQTjJVvEtI_tIPsAtoVTkZGAWLnxj8QJa-C8Oo8qBFM0gu64otcldolQ1mPTXa1aUy97CKtYjuDrRY0wg2p7Ba98XZoYRPHVkdZe0cgz7TTJtGvGUzmXojN1tMSofavTnaRw/s1600/Webb+25.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Uniformity leads to convenience, especially when it comes to
counting chips. Chips are stacked in piles of twenty, each of the same
denomination. In a blackjack table “rack” every twenty chip stack is separated
by a clear marker. A security guard or a pit boss can easily tally the worth of
the chips on any given table – stacks of $1s equal $20, stacks of $5s equal
$100, stacks of $25 chips equal $500, and a stack of black $100 chips equals
$2000. Higher chip values are generally separated out, kept to the center of
the rack and tallied separately.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGSwWq3cX5PzWS2svELDUMx3II9KZTtc02S6DJ0lS01G8av8PXE1RTq4bElpbKm3aidr05Plp2Dy3k3jaFJ5bjBWmKr6ktCukxpV-y7CiKx3VTitrCIJNx8nuTdYzTeIxVlU695SFM97U/s1600/Thunderbird+100.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGSwWq3cX5PzWS2svELDUMx3II9KZTtc02S6DJ0lS01G8av8PXE1RTq4bElpbKm3aidr05Plp2Dy3k3jaFJ5bjBWmKr6ktCukxpV-y7CiKx3VTitrCIJNx8nuTdYzTeIxVlU695SFM97U/s200/Thunderbird+100.jpeg" width="192" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
One of the advantages of this uniformity among gambling
chips is that players can easily determine the worth of the chips in their
neighbor’s stacks. At a poker table, especially a tournament poker table,
players are cautioned to display the stacks of their larger denomination chips
so that others can easily determine the value of their stacks.
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9yIJF0kOC41CjL3BgXAA0f2GjbBl14hLnbcyorank4EMHWTXl3xmRpujgg5m-jCTyC3xFWm4V3xQFKFs9u2N8tGLAW4Lh26CV4wq-RinMCIWgPpnIeJzckv7myBW1oH0SVvUU3yUjlAM/s1600/littlecae10000.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9yIJF0kOC41CjL3BgXAA0f2GjbBl14hLnbcyorank4EMHWTXl3xmRpujgg5m-jCTyC3xFWm4V3xQFKFs9u2N8tGLAW4Lh26CV4wq-RinMCIWgPpnIeJzckv7myBW1oH0SVvUU3yUjlAM/s200/littlecae10000.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Of course, casino chips are not valued for their intrinsic
worth alone – they make great toys! Watch just about any experienced gambler
fiddle with his/her chip stack and you will see a demonstration of some of the
best digital acrobatics ever imagined – the twirl, the thumb flip, and my
favorite, the butterfly.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
But, the main reason for using chips instead of legal tender
is that research has proven that people gamble more freely with substitute
money than they do with real money.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Our friends in the gaming industry have recently gone a step
further in their quest to separate us from our money while we are still
smiling. Once upon a time if you put good old American quarters into a slot
machine, good old American quarters came out when you lined up the 7s. These
days you insert bills, any denomination will do, and when you win the counter
records your winnings – nothing tangible, nothing to hold, just wealth held in
abeyance. If you are smart enough to stop playing while the counter is
recording sums over and above what you first put in, you may be lucky enough to
get to the cash-out machine and turn your ticket into winnings. Or you can just
put it back into another machine because even though it represents money it
doesn’t really look and feel like money.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMoR4kCr5fNnI5ES10s9pUExX_ae-Pwm1YlIm6vZG2HudB6KrbED4cWBSLojAC4saD4hFJNviQ_tGGO4vQHsdd3OdFIzPZuHOjARDi21-qBVYV4PdKQMtGIdYh96G7fmY3DdGqygH4JPc/s1600/New+Penny+Slot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMoR4kCr5fNnI5ES10s9pUExX_ae-Pwm1YlIm6vZG2HudB6KrbED4cWBSLojAC4saD4hFJNviQ_tGGO4vQHsdd3OdFIzPZuHOjARDi21-qBVYV4PdKQMtGIdYh96G7fmY3DdGqygH4JPc/s1600/New+Penny+Slot.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
And before I leave the subject of one-armed bandits (now, of
course, they have no arms, just buttons!), what about the penny machine. Years
ago fun loving slot players always knew where the banks of penny and nickel machines
were. At one time or another we all made that journey to the furthest corner of
the casino floor where all the unluckiest players gathered to slowly recoup a
grub stack after having lost the rent money at higher level slots. These days
the penny and nickel machines are right out in front, rows upon rows of them.
Why the change of heart on the casino’s behalf and the proliferation of low
denomination slots? Once again, it’s mostly smoke and mirrors. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikqvUaDsf1SxAjb79QmwV4XC-rwSWsApkuRiDt1YspD5ICozgbDxNJC37uROHIasMbuozMuZg59TNHN5GT7hNUU-qoAjyZNTLxkNOha5iqXPa0I_lpgSWaG8N5OhyqQvZit4JOhxtGSok/s1600/Old+Penny+Slot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikqvUaDsf1SxAjb79QmwV4XC-rwSWsApkuRiDt1YspD5ICozgbDxNJC37uROHIasMbuozMuZg59TNHN5GT7hNUU-qoAjyZNTLxkNOha5iqXPa0I_lpgSWaG8N5OhyqQvZit4JOhxtGSok/s320/Old+Penny+Slot.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The 1cent and 5cent labels attract players as do the
relatively huge jackpots that are offered. So what’s a few pennies? Actually,
in many cases the jackpot is only available to those who press enough buttons
to register 250 or so of those pennies per spin. A great many people play at
this level regularly but would never think of playing a dollar machine where
the jackpot is available for only 200 pennies! But, we keep coming and we keep
playing so it’s not really strange that they keep changing reality for us. God
only knows what’s coming next! God and Steve Wynn!
</div>
RobertCanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428375689821585471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298233640029773120.post-80536203128170381072015-08-10T11:04:00.000-07:002015-08-10T11:04:11.751-07:00Mojo, Voodoo, or Just Plain Luck!<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Walk through any casino in the world and the air is pungent
with superstition. Gamblers are, by far, the most superstitious group of human
beings you will ever meet. They believe, contrary to every mathematical formula
built into every game of chance on the casino floor, that they can influence
the outcome of their play. And, don’t try to convince them otherwise! The only
logic to all of these gambling antics is no logic at all.</div>
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Start at the slot machines. How many times have you seen a
player, man or woman but in this case mostly women, talking to the machine they
are playing?</div>
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“Come on now! Pay off! You know you want to!”<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP6w3jghbUuGqCpmjDQnzlAjxYN2J2IyXQWVXL7cLdE4MdKlQq2uzXvCzDaFkpL0_C5ZGnO940hKcLKEchHQW5GGkSQAeFJvLHtO-XVCPks70d6Kn64O83MUlofO6hGbm1XTMOffRL48A/s1600/slots.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP6w3jghbUuGqCpmjDQnzlAjxYN2J2IyXQWVXL7cLdE4MdKlQq2uzXvCzDaFkpL0_C5ZGnO940hKcLKEchHQW5GGkSQAeFJvLHtO-XVCPks70d6Kn64O83MUlofO6hGbm1XTMOffRL48A/s1600/slots.jpg" /></a></div>
All the while they pet and pat various parts of the machine
to create good vibes. If the machine hits only once during, or soon after, this
elaborate ritual, the player’s system is reinforced and will continue unabated.
If nothing happens, excuses are easily manufactured and the practice continues
anyway. For some slot players the charm is to play an entire bank of slot
machines instead of just one. Back and forth, pulling handles or pushing
buttons, this slot machine dance is well known and rather common place. Every
time one machines scores, the need for the ceremony is fortified.</div>
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Craps tables are a haven for superstitious types. Read just
one book about dice and the math is very clear – over time more sevens will
come up than any other number followed by sixes and eights and then fives and
nines right down the line. Snake eyes and box cars pay 30-1 because the odds of
them hitting are a mere 1/36 or about 3%. Patterns in the short term can be
very different but unadulterated dice land randomly and observant dealers and
pit employees are always on the look out for scammers who attempt to physically
influence the way the dice land.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBfub1hjNqhjkguLc5gpUYVy6PeAySs4EAzrd1kQFNXGlqd12yGOry7wQwW0b-tecrhKUVjghC14I6Qe4BlJUABBwu_tsZktnkY3Y4Si6gx9tEgPWj-ipyDTeG7PCsV2pELjbUoWtL8MU/s1600/dice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBfub1hjNqhjkguLc5gpUYVy6PeAySs4EAzrd1kQFNXGlqd12yGOry7wQwW0b-tecrhKUVjghC14I6Qe4BlJUABBwu_tsZktnkY3Y4Si6gx9tEgPWj-ipyDTeG7PCsV2pELjbUoWtL8MU/s1600/dice.jpg" /></a></div>
Nevertheless, the number of gamblers who throw dice in every
conceivable odd manner, hoping to influence the outcome, defies logic - high in
an arc, straight down and banging off the rear wall, setting the dice on the
table before picking them up, pre-shakes and mini rolls. None of it makes any
difference but don’t try telling a gambler that. For the shooter, his or her
technique is what works and no one will ever convince them otherwise.</div>
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I once observed, and won a little money with, an old fella
at a craps table in the Golden Nugget downtown in Las Vegas. He was hot, having two impressive
rolls one right after the other, so much so that after he sevened-out on the
second string of rolls the players around the table willingly passed the dice
back to him. After another spectacular series of passes and after winning a
bundle he turned to walk away and I naively asked him as he passed by if he
always rolled like that. He looked at me, seriously, and said, “Only when I
have my underwear on backwards!”</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I tried. Didn’t work for me! Did make me kind of uncomfortable, though!!</span></span>RobertCanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428375689821585471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298233640029773120.post-79083970310095983822015-08-03T10:49:00.000-07:002015-08-03T10:49:18.733-07:00Catching Up - Again!<div style="text-align: justify;">
Blogger's nightmare. I just spent an hour and a half writing this post and another hour and a half trying to recover it since I was writing it on an iPad and neglected to hit the "SAVE" button before I exited. Many recovery programs out there but none did the trick so here are my choices. One, quit and never write another blog post in my life or two, start all over again. How's that for "black and white" thinking! I'm starting over!!</div>
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<b>New York Casinos </b>- Very little new has happened since the January announcements of the three out of a possible four casinos selected to be built in NY. The reopening of bids for another Finger Lakes area casino has proceeded with very few takers and no decision as of this time. The impact of the final decision is important for the Finger Lakes region but will have very little, in any, impact throughout the rest of that state.</div>
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Interestingly enough the tribal entities in NY are not to be out done. The Oneida Indian Nation, owner/operator's of the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, NY (read Finger Lakes Region!) has announced a planned Wizard of Oz themed casino in Tyre, NY (read Finger Lakes Region as well!). To be called the Yellow Brick Road Casino, it pays homage to the hometown hero, L. Frank Baum, author of the classic "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9z4g164suLE3O2SyVpEk1yk7_MQB2Q7eGjAl0XbiJRZsH1N8g7Pltnf-T0VmVfuBkSW1QZSJZYBZiOO8wDk7WEx6OIZqZlkBAVw9XCABfktW3uajbTSShhU0BnTzvSthxqydZi-gUd5k/s1600/Wizard_title_page.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9z4g164suLE3O2SyVpEk1yk7_MQB2Q7eGjAl0XbiJRZsH1N8g7Pltnf-T0VmVfuBkSW1QZSJZYBZiOO8wDk7WEx6OIZqZlkBAVw9XCABfktW3uajbTSShhU0BnTzvSthxqydZi-gUd5k/s320/Wizard_title_page.jpg" width="230" /></a></div>
Baum was born in nearby Chittenango and the Oneidas plan to muscle in on the annual festival, called "Oz-Stravaganza" that attracts fans for all over the world. Whether or not another casino in an already crowded market can survive on festival goers remains to be seen. Certainly the closest cities, Rochester and Syracuse, do not have nearly enough people to support all the casinos that may end up there - Turning Stone, Lago (being built), Yellow Brick (proposed), and a possible fourth. If all of that does indeed come to pass the Oneidas have the edge judging from their very successful Turning Stone location.<br />
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@JGPretlow notwithstanding, the voices for online poker in NY are not being heard and any chance of this even getting to an Assembly committee is dead for 2015. Maybe 2016 will be a better year.</div>
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<b>New Jersey Casinos </b>- Atlantic City is breathing its last breaths. The only casino with its head above water is the Borgata which has cornered the millennial market and does a better job than most in the poker arena. The Tropicana has shown some signs of life of late but as soon as Labor Day is gone it too will sink back into the doldrums. As always, AC has more safety issues than any other kinds and as long as that remains gamblers will choose to go elsewhere.</div>
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There are still rumors of building a mega-casino at the Meadowlands. This, not rehabbing AC, is the answer to New Jersey's gambling issues but there is too much money at stake for this to be an easy decision. Once they sort out just how much of a very big pie each stakeholder ends up with, we may have a decision. Until then it will be politics as usual. Nevertheless it is hard to believe that the writing on the wall is escaping most. A casino at the Meadowlands is a complete game changer for most of the northeast. Once build, the worries about gambling dollars switches to those in Pennsylvania, New York, and even Connecticut.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjId2rnVecyxTKvkDCKKGFL7Kx9YjSqGgH5g0KhTmbBwVhGkVyv-qiLN_tHamqnCLGtrQ92NqGM7-3UTm_uC_5a4qdRRpCjmXJ2YuoT64O1hSOk0NaLNFTmazxAnXZoOocLNEJjB1-wIU0/s1600/Meadowlands.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="475" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjId2rnVecyxTKvkDCKKGFL7Kx9YjSqGgH5g0KhTmbBwVhGkVyv-qiLN_tHamqnCLGtrQ92NqGM7-3UTm_uC_5a4qdRRpCjmXJ2YuoT64O1hSOk0NaLNFTmazxAnXZoOocLNEJjB1-wIU0/s640/Meadowlands.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Online gambling in NJ seems to be leveling off with the coming of nice summer weather. Unlike their teen and pre-teen counterparts, adults who gamble online can easily drag themselves away from a computer screen in the summer months when there are better things to be had out-of-doors. Online gambling other than poker seems to be enjoying more of a following. Time will answer any questions in this area. </div>
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<b>WSOP 2015 </b>- The poker tournament of tournaments has seen another successful run come to an end in Las Vegas. A mecca for poker geeks the world over, spending June and July in Vegas is a must for any serious poker player and a bunch of novices as well. This year's winners came from both camps although it seems to be getting more difficult for seasoned pros, except for Phil Helmuth that is, to come away with a bracelet.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrc318oqzE0vK1C8Est4wR7jNIE0N0rwYNVVcwocTXz41l1klK0YezUkuF-AJgenCOkrALGZE4AJwWiXE135EIdrSU4yNaeVtUce5-UUEMFOX4r5d3c2yVPl_x2W2ER28bKshGxrRQ_s4/s1600/wsop-2015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrc318oqzE0vK1C8Est4wR7jNIE0N0rwYNVVcwocTXz41l1klK0YezUkuF-AJgenCOkrALGZE4AJwWiXE135EIdrSU4yNaeVtUce5-UUEMFOX4r5d3c2yVPl_x2W2ER28bKshGxrRQ_s4/s320/wsop-2015.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
New this year is the clamor that pros are putting up regarding input on tournament practices. Up for debate were payouts as well as structures and regular players see no reason why the WSOP hierarchy refuses to allow them some legitimate input. Worst case scenario is that the officials say "NO" to every suggestion; best case scenario is a lot of good will spreading around.</div>
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For the first time in a long time the WSOP sponsored a mid-level buy-in tournament. The Colossus was staged within the first few tournaments and with a very reasonable stake of $565 it attracted a record crowd necessitating tables being put up in very unlikely places - the kitchen for one! The game drew 22,373 players according to PokerNews and was won by a small time circuit grinder (PokerNews' words) named Cord Garcia. Garcia walked away with in excess of $600K, enough of a stake to buy back into a few other tournaments I am sure. If the WSOP people are smart they will hold this again and maybe even stage a similar tournament toward the end of the series to hold regular players around. What's good for non-pros is good for the game, right? Which brings me to the always controversial topic of women and poker . . .</div>
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<b>Women and Poker </b>- The likes of @KaraOTR, @katehall, and @KristyArnett and so many others have said it all, some recently, on this topic. The pathetic thing is that it has to be said at all. Poker is no more a men's game than any other game that does not have a foundation in pure physical strength. That's the difference between men and women for the most part and even that's not always true. Yet, men have a distinct advantage when it comes to strength. In competitions that involve primarily physical strength it makes sense to separate men and women so that the playing field is level. Poker is not one of those activities. Neither is chess, scrabble, backgammon, or a slew of other activities that get our competitive juices flowing. So why the sexism, and it is blatant sexism, in poker? </div>
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The game developed in places that were not considered to be spots where decent women congregated. Saloons, bars, back rooms were all the haunts of men who, instead of pitching in and sharing the responsibilities at home, chose to go out and play cards. The modern game, the one played in casinos world-wide, grew out of this atmosphere and cigarette smoking, cigar chomping, dirty talking men were more likely than women to sit down at the few tables available. Women got their first break in poker with the internet craze since they could easily play and, if they wished, not identify themselves as women. The internet days came and went leaving behind a sometimes up and sometimes down but rather healthy face-to-face poker environment these days - a poker environment populated in the vast majority by men.<br />
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Men are insecure; don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Some women are too but men are more likely to suffer from this character defect. The fact that a statement like that will raise the hackles of many men is the proof of the pudding. We like what is ours and we want to keep it that way at all costs. So when a woman sits down at a poker table, no matter how well she plays, no matter what she looks like, no matter if she is old or young, we resort to small talk, innuendo, and often outright insults. We don't really want them playing poker and our behavior says so. Instead we drive women away from the game just like we attempt to drive them away from the board room or any leadership position, anywhere except where we think they belong. We want to keep what is ours and we want to keep it at all costs.</div>
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It's a shame but that's the way things are. Most men will behave at a poker table in a way that tends to exclude half the human race and, unfortunately, all the assets they might bring to a game of poker. Short-sighted? You bet. It's mostly about egos, weak egos and, I'm afraid, there's little that can be done about it. </div>
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Poker rooms I have been in are generally sensitive to the issue of women playing poker. Room managers and tournament directors, both male and female, know that a fist of hundred dollar bills in a woman's hand is just as good as the same fistful in a man's hand. The trouble usually starts when a woman sits down. The best behaved and savvy male players I have seen are what I call "regulars." These are guys, yes they are usually guys, who sit and play in the same card room day after day grinding out a small win percentage. When a new player walks up, usually a tourist, they go out of their way to make that person comfortable. If they are comfortable, they will stay. If they stay they almost always lose some dough. Sometimes these "walk-ins" are women and, for the regulars, that rarely matters. A woman's money is just as good as a man's money and if they have to set aside their petty biases and their hard nosed prejudices, they will for the sake of a few bucks. Unfortunately many men won't!</div>
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Making it difficult and sometimes impossible for women to enjoy playing poker in public is unacceptable and thank goodness there are those who speak out. What gets me is that those who speak out are usually women. Although there may be more than a modicum of male support behind the scenes, there is very little displayed publicly. When was the last time you read a male pro ranting on Twitter about inequality in poker? I didn't think so! And it's not that many prominent male poker pros aren't sympathetic to this cause. What's more likely is that they refrain from speaking out in deference to the corporate entities that pay their salaries and insist that the pros make very few, if any, waves. That's too bad because in the end this game will not survive on any level close to its pinnacle without the support and participation of women.</div>
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RobertCanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428375689821585471noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298233640029773120.post-65569723495941941222015-07-12T09:15:00.000-07:002015-07-12T09:15:21.008-07:00A Brush With Greatness<div>
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First, and very quickly, apologies to regular readers for being a ghost. As you know, sometimes the normal world interferes with the blogosphere. 'Nuf said!<br />
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I am here in Vegas with my lovely wife taking a long needed and well deserved vacation. Although we have been to Vegas regularly over the past 30 or so years, we have recently spent more time with our daughter and our grandkids to the north of the action and very little time on the Strip. We are spending a week here now devoted exclusively to visiting our old haunts.<br />
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Las Vegas, unlike most other gambling destinations, has consistently reinvented itself over the years in order to stay ahead financially. After our three or four year hiatus from the Strip, much has changed once again. The area between the Bellagio and the Monte Carlo going south, once a line of small businesses, has grown into the glitziest section of Las Vegas Boulevard. The Aria, the Cosmopolitan, the Mandarin Oriental, all tall and shiny, attract hordes of visitors. Now over 80% of the casinos on the Strip are controlled by either MGM or Caesars. You can move from the northern end of the Boulevard to the very southern end, crossing the street back and forth, and never enter traffic - good for pedestrians not getting run down, bad for old feet since all the crossovers are situated way back from the main road.<br />
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Big corporations buying up smaller ones like Caesars and MGM did is not always a bad thing but here it mostly is bad for someone. Casinos like the Flamingo, where we have always stayed given its very central location, have gone downhill. Small rooms are cheap and they have done some room renovations. But, belt tightening has resulted in changes that might be good for the business but not so good for the customers. What once was a spacious, inviting Keno Room, is now a corner of the casino with about a dozen seats and two employees. Everyone is down-sizing their Keno rooms or eliminating them altogether (except for Bally's and their huge Keno board!). The ways to get off your feet and only put a few bucks at risk are going away fast.<br />
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I always thought that one of the marvels of Vegas was the legions of workers hired specifically to keep the places looking great - bathroom attendants, guys cleaning glass doors all day long, people removing trash before it hit the ground. Most of them are gone, victims of reductions in staff.<br />
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Gone also are coin changers, slot attendants, waiters at the Buffet, all replaced by ATM machines, and soda machines. The number of electronic gaming devices in addition to slots is growing as well - electronic craps, blackjack, roulette, and baccarat. Electronic Texas Hold'em machines are in operation downtown and soon to be north of the Strip in Aliante. Even the Big Six Wheel, the perennial no-brainier that everyone could play, no gambling expertise required, has been replaced by the digital version that does not demand a paid employee to spin a winning number for you but instead relies on a random electronic/mechanical mechanism that doesn't get paid overtime.<br />
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Poker hasn't changed at all except for its growing popularity. Many smaller rooms have closed in deference to the bigger operations but a few Strip venues still maintain modest operations. I like playing in the Flamingo's room where it is friendly and the games are at reasonable limits. They have daily tournaments for low buy-ins ($50 this time around) and they normally draw 30+ participants.<br />
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I bought into one of these on a Sunday evening and that was the scene of my brush with greatness, poker greatness.<br />
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It's the beginning of July so the annual WSOP is winding down at the Rio, another Caesars property a few blocks west of the Strip. The Main Event, or the ME as the "tweeters" refer to it, was just beginning. Poker players are in town by the thousands, some staying from early June to mid-July, trying to cash in on the big action. Most WSOP tournaments have buy ins in the $1000 to $1500 range with a few lower and many higher, some much, much higher. The majority of these contests are played from early afternoon to early the next morning with players returning on subsequent days if they are lucky enough to still be in contention. Mornings are for satellite tournaments (satties) where players can win entry to large tournaments for lesser buy ins. These satellites also provide excellent practice fields for pros and amateurs alike. Most pros do not have to venture outside the Rio for all the action they desire for these six weeks. Seeing a pro playing outside of these satellites and in a low stakes tournament is rare indeed.<br />
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The Flamingo tournament I entered had 30 entrants and after about two hours we were down to one table of 10 that quickly became a table of 9 and after about 20 minutes became a table of seven. The tournament was paying 4 spots, the first place receiving more than $400.<br />
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I had played most of the tournament at one table of fairly good players, so good that most of the ten or so alternates came into the action at this table resulting in a situation where approximately 2/3 of the chips in play were at my table and about 1/3 were on the other. When we combined for the final table there were six player from my table and four from the other and only one of them, a woman, had a decent stack.<br />
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I'm no pro but I know that play around the "bubble," the line between those who get paid and those who do not, demands a different strategy than play at other points in a tournament. I also know that at this point when blinds are relatively larger, 1000 and 2000 at this point, players with short stacks get desperate and often go all-in where they might not otherwise.<br />
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Another woman at the table was in just that situation - short stacked with a little over 2000 in chips. She was in the seat before me. The woman with the larger stack had been playing aggressively, going all-in on multiple occasions and winning every hand.<br />
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Cautious though I was, when the woman to my right went all-in before the flop I saw an opportunity to snatch her stack with only one player to play after me. I met her all-in with an all-in of my own expecting the action to stop right there. Unfortunately it did not. The aggressive player, with slightly more chips than my 15 big blinds, went all in behind me. Everyone else folded.<br />
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I didn't know it at the time and if I did it would not have changed the way I played. I think my all-in was a good play and given the chance I'd do it again. My opponent, the aggressive player to my left, it turns out is a former WSOP bracelet winner enjoying herself playing in a low stake tournament.<br />
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As you have probably guessed I lost the hand - the original all-in showed A/4 suited in spades, I showed A/Q suited in clubs, and the bracelet owner showed A/K suited in hearts. At the end the board showed 3 hearts and the rest garbage. The table went from 7 to 5 very quickly. I left and they played the real bubble player out shortly after.</div>
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My opponent, it turns out, was Vanessa Hellebuyck, winner of the WSOP Women's Tournament in 2010 and the first ever bracelet for a French citizen. I don't know if she won this little tournament, just that she beat the day lights out of me. In addition to chalking another $50 bucks off my poker bankroll, this time I came away with a special memory.</div>
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PS - I saw a good old boy a day or two later who was still in the tournament when I busted. He said, and I quote, "I busted her up good! She didn't get anywhere near the money." So much for respect for greatness.<br />
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RobertCanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428375689821585471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298233640029773120.post-27211968636867997102015-03-20T11:24:00.003-07:002015-03-20T11:24:36.652-07:00A Short Day In The Life - Foxwoods Poker Classic<div style="text-align: justify;">
It would be an huge understatement to say that I like playing poker. I like playing at home with relatives; I like playing online even if that means playing with fake money because I live in New York; I like playing in casinos and card rooms anytime I can get there. I am not a professional poker player nor have I ever pretended to be one - playing poker for a living is, well, a grind and from the little I know about it, takes a lot more time than most people have to play poker and have a life (translate "relationships") too. Some can do it, a very select few; most cannot. I cannot.</div>
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But I like playing enough to take a personal day from work once in a great while and travel the two hours + it takes for me to get from my home in NY to Foxwoods. This is what I did the other day.<br />
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First of all I want to say what needs to be said about Foxwoods. As far as poker in concerned, Foxwoods deserves a medal. From its beginning in the late 80s as a bingo hall, a huge one at that, to its metamorphosis in the early 90s to a full-fledged casino, Foxwoods has always embraced poker. Their poker room, although it has moved around the casino floor a few times in the past 20 or so years, has always been inviting, well-staffed, well-organized, and full! During the heyday of online poker in the USA when it was considered "legal" to play, right through the lousy days following Black Friday, the Foxwoods Poker Room has endured. While Atlantic City, and its premier poker venue, the Taj Majal, slowly but inevitably waned and its neighbor the Mohegan Sun had a room then didn't have a room and then had one again, Foxwoods has remained consistent, viable, and inviting.</div>
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Foxwoods has relationships with the WPT, WSOP and the CardPlayer poker tours. They also run their own tournament events multiple times per year. When there are no major events going on they offer daily and weekend events with buy-ins well inside the wheel house of ordinary recreational players. Unlike other venues that have all but abandoned the limit game, Foxwoods still offers a table or two of $2-$4 and $4-$8 games that attract newcomers to the game as well as a host of senior citizens who enjoy the social aspect of the game and prefer watching their pension incomes go up or down only a little bit at a time. Everyone can find a place and a game to play at Foxwoods.<br />
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So, back to the other day and the Foxwoods Poker Classic. Just like in other years, Foxwoods puts on their "Classic" in March and although it never has attracted WSOP type numbers, it is very well attended by recreational players and pros alike. This year, piggy-backing on the recent mini-surge in poker popularity, they went out on a big, shaky limb and offered a $500,000 guarantee total prize money at their kick-off event - a three-day qualifier into a final day with all final day attendees already in the money! Sound enticing? It was enticing enough to get me motivated and more than 1900 other players.<br />
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The event itself was, of course, a no-limit hold 'em event with a $600 buy-in, steep but not WSOP steep. The split was $530 in prize money and $70 for the casino's various expenses including dealer gratuities. They needed in the neighborhood of 1000 players to sign up or re-buy to make the guarantee.<br />
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Strategically I reasoned and plotted that fewer players would attend Day 1C, which was on a Monday, than would sign up for Day 1A or 1B which were on a Saturday and a Sunday respectively. I'm guessing that a lot of other players reasoned as I did because 540 players paid admission on Saturday, 535 on Sunday and over 800 on Monday. The guarantee was busted by the end of the day on Sunday and Monday was all gravy.<br />
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Many players bought in again after busting out. One guy at my table was in for the fourth time having been able to re-enter on his first day and then playing each of the other days. Foxwoods banned players who qualified on one day from trying to better their chip count on another day and taking the larger of their two finishes. If you qualified for the final day and then re-entered you forfeited your previous stack, eliminating the "best stack forward" option favored by many pros. This is a good rule, a rule that takes the recreational player into consideration. I am usually not crazy about re-buy tournaments but the fervor of these players re-entering certainly helped double the guarantee.<br />
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Each day 12% of the field qualified for the finals, something like 65 the first and second day and 101 the third day for a total of 231 finalists all guaranteed a payday of close to double their buy-in. But if you like numbers games it's easy to see that on days one and two you had to beat 88% of the field or about 475 players but on day three the 88% of the field amounted to over 700 players! Worse odds for sure.<br />
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The long and the very short of it is that my involvement last all of 3 3/4 levels. I was out, all 20,000 chips out, before the first break. That's not very good, in fact that's terrible but I have no one to blame but myself. Cards were lousy but that's no excuse. Flopping a set and then being beaten by a higher set is no excuse either. Reading an opponent dead-wrong, which I did on my last hand of play, is no excuse either. Getting all in much too early in a tournament that would ultimately last 5 days will get a player everytime. It got me.<br />
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So, it's back to the drawing board with the hopes that next time around I play better keeping in mind the lessons learned from my experiences here.<br />
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John Quirk in the end was the big winner. He took home $124,376. Only $530 of that was my money! The 2nd and 3rd place finished ended up with $100 grand each based on a deal that the final three made to divide the winnings. Who says poker players aren't cooperative?<br />
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Winning is easy to deal with but only a select few can be winners and no one can be a winner all the time. Losing is a lot harder to deal with but being honest about your play, doing something to get better, and getting back on the horse when the time is right can lessen the impact of busting out of a tournament early or just before the money. I'm thankful I'll be around to play another day and, in all likelihood, that day will be at Foxwoods.<br />
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Good luck! </div>
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<br />RobertCanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428375689821585471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298233640029773120.post-88634587318502264832015-03-13T11:36:00.001-07:002015-03-13T11:36:33.258-07:00Craps at the Venetian – Sunday Morning Blues<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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I don’t shoot craps at the
Venetian, never have. It’s the kind of craps atmosphere that draws guys in
suits and ladies in low cut evening dresses and, frankly, it’s missing that
tinge of sleaze which I find comforting at a craps table. Besides, on a busy
evening you can’t find more than one $10 minimum layout on the floor and I
generally choose to lose my money half as fast.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
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Yet, when I walk through the
casino on my way to the Grand Lux Café, a Cheesecake Factory restaurant inside the
casino with better than average food, I often glance over at the craps tables
to see what’s going on. That was the deal one Sunday morning when I noticed a
lot of people hanging out around a table and only one guy throwing dice.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I was with my wife, my constant Las Vegas companion, and
we knowingly nodded at each other as we sauntered over to satisfy our curiosity.</div>
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<br /></div>
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There was a young man
(mid-thirties, no older) standing at the end of the table to the left of the
stick man. He had a plastic rack in front of him resting on the rail with what
looked like a sleeve and a half of strangely colored chips that didn’t seem to
fit in the rack. We watched him methodically place one chip on the “Don’t Pass”
line and roll the dice. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Kc9wChhq0u_aawlIZURw67cbB7VoOZUdEMeL9VyqTMFRi8ukVrheL_GDVXSjqbhU1JavmOOhG0txzDlA_WnJltO7pREALD52lynr7bZtEBo0OgtOmjLaTZRSFkUtRyTzhzTcyHFgPYE/s1600/Craps.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Kc9wChhq0u_aawlIZURw67cbB7VoOZUdEMeL9VyqTMFRi8ukVrheL_GDVXSjqbhU1JavmOOhG0txzDlA_WnJltO7pREALD52lynr7bZtEBo0OgtOmjLaTZRSFkUtRyTzhzTcyHFgPYE/s1600/Craps.jpg" height="237" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
“Seven,” the stick man called and
the dealer raked in the guy’s chip.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
We watched him do that 3 or 4
times, each time losing to either a seven, an eleven, or a number that he
quickly duplicated on the subsequent roll. He was hot as hell and he was losing
his drawers. Since I didn’t recognize the denominations of these over sized,
pale colored chips, I looked over at a guy standing next to me and merely
raised my eyebrows.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
“$10,000,” he whispered.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
In the few minutes we had been there,
this guy <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>lost $50,000 and never thought
to change his strategy. And he never did. He never bet more than 1 chip at a
time and he rarely won – we saw him collect 2 or 3 times at most.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
In the next 20 minutes he
proceeded to calmly go through his entire rack of chips – probably in the
neighborhood of $250,000 ( a pretty nice house in those days!). He never
changed his strategy; never once made a “right” bet; never flinched as they
hauled in his chips!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
So, was he a gambling addict out
here on a Sunday morning before the wife and kids woke up betting the mortgage
money in an attempt to hit it big? Was he an LA drug dealer in town for the
weekend trying the best way he knew how to launder his ill-gotten gains? Maybe
he was a dotcom whiz kid playing with his newly minted fortune like the chips
were so many pieces of plastic? We never found out; we never even inquired
probably because Las Vegas is so full of unbelievably sad stories associated
with gambling that we didn’t want to hear another.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Next time you go, risk a ride
into town in a taxi and ask the driver a few of the questions that every
tourist is dying to know. Where are you from? How long have you been here? How
do you like it? Chances are he/she didn’t come to Sin City to drive a hack.
Chances are their story of woe is just another cautionary tale and no better or
worse than the next cabby’s, or the next waiter’s, or the next lady of the
evening’s.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Gambling is fun but it’s
dangerous. It’s not dangerous to everyone but it is lethal to some. Maybe our
Sunday morning Venetian guy was just having some fun; maybe some day we’ll
be riding in his cab!</div>
RobertCanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428375689821585471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298233640029773120.post-20090777357876927942015-03-02T12:47:00.001-08:002015-03-02T12:47:03.853-08:00The New York Gaming Facility Location Board Report<div style="text-align: justify;">
The NY Gaming Facility Location Board, in the interest of transparency and in response to pressure from the unhappy people who were left out of the final selections, released it's entire December 2014 report to the public last week. The volume of information and the number of pages in the report are enough to put most skeptics off but if you are up to wading through its 785 pages or if you need a good sleep aide for the next month or two, here's the link!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="http://www.gaming.ny.gov/pdf/02.27.15.GFLBFinalAppendicesWebSmall.pdf" target="_blank">LINK TO FULL REPORT</a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Honestly I can only admit to having perused a few sections, especially those that have to do with the Orange County proposals. These were the proposals that would have put a casino within a stone's throw of New York City - by far the most lucrative proposals in terms of generating revenue and taxes. Unfortunately, in the Board's reasoning, these proposals met with too much local dissatisfaction and presented insurmountable traffic issues. If I were being cynical I'd say, "DUH!!!" since a lot of traffic = a lot of people = a lot of money = a lot of taxes, but now I know the powers that be in New York are not looking in the direction of a successful, viable enterprise.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The Board did open up the process for more proposals in the Southern Tier region, a region which only received three lukewarm proposals in the first go around. Placing a casino closer to Binghamtom will do little more than encourage a slew of college students to "invest" their government checks in a effort to double up before they pay their tuition. Without a huge IBM presence, as there was many years ago, the area will remain depressed, casino or no casino.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
When the new Montreign Resort Casino opens in Sullivan County (read Catskills!) sometime in 2016 if we are lucky, I will take a ride there some sunny summer day to check the place out. </div>
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My wife and I will throw a few bucks around the craps tables and the blackjack tables, I'll play some poker if they are smart enough to have a poker room, and we'll have something to eat before we leave. I predict that we will not return there (since it is a 3+ hour drive!) regularly. I doubt that we will even visit the others.</div>
RobertCanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428375689821585471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5298233640029773120.post-80498405544609894282015-02-23T12:05:00.003-08:002015-02-23T12:05:25.560-08:00The Thinking Poker Diaries, Vol. 1 & Vol. 2 - A Review<div style="text-align: justify;">
The market for poker books is drying up. After "Positively Fifth Street" and the Chris Moneymaker generated poker frenzy of the early 2000s the general public's interest in reading about and learning about poker has waned considerably.</div>
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If you got on the bandwagon early or were there already and had your work resuscitated (a la Doyle Brunson's "Super System") you had a good run. Your books pushed the other ones out of the "games and puzzles" section of Barnes and Noble and had multiple shelves to themselves. </div>
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I bought into the hype hoping to lose myself in the world of poker and maybe even win a few bucks. My home bookcase still has a shelf or two filled with the worn, dog-eared copies of a few of my favorites:</div>
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* "Tournament Poker for Advanced Player," by David Sklansky</div>
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* "Killer Poker Online," by John Vorhaus</div>
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* "Hold'em Excellence," by Lou Krieger</div>
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* "Play Poker Like the Pros," by Phil Hellmuth, Jr,</div>
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* Winning Low Limit Hold'em," by Lee Jones (still my absolute favorite)</div>
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Along with the "how to" books came a few books that were more about the poker scene or the poker "life" than about the game itself. A few of these, too, had been around before the bonanza and were very worth reading:</div>
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* "Big Deal," by Anthony Holden</div>
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* "Poker Nation," by Andy Bellin</div>
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* "The Biggest Game in Town," by A. Alvarez, along with Jim McManus' "Fifth Street" my favorites of this genre.</div>
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Andrew Brokos' series "The Thinking Poker Diaries: Stories and Strategic Thoughts from Poker's Premier Event" is a combination of both these types - how to books and poker life books. I've read Volumes 1 and 2 and the 3rd has just come out and I am sure I will read that one too. </div>
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What I like about these books (I read both of them on Kindle) is more the feeling you get while reading them than what is being said. For sure Mr. Brokos knows what he's talking about. Anyone who finishes in the money multiple times at the WSOP is worthy of a listen. If you are looking for strategies for playing various levels of tournament action you will find it here. He offers advice on bluffing, playing short stacks, playing on the bubble, and learning how to dominate at the table. He also gives play by play, blow by blow accounts of pivotal hands he has played - a gold mine for some readers, not so much fun for others. Good poker players have remarkable memories and who am I to criticize them for recounting hands that are meant to teach valuable lessons to novice players. </div>
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There is value in these books just for those things - instruction, strategy, nuance. But for me, the aura of these short reports is what I like best. I am sure they are called "diaries" for that reason. Mr. Brokos does not shy away from sharing his emotional attachment to the game, the pull it exerts on one's "normal" life, his failings and bad decisions which he readily admits and owns. The latter trait, a gift in my estimation, is far from the haughty, invulnerable tone of most other poker players and poker writers.</div>
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If you seek an easy read that will not leave you feeling like a dunce you should try these. They are available on Amazon in hold-in-your-hand versions or digitally for Kindle. (You can download a Kindle reader to your mobile phone, tablet or computer for FREE.)</div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=brokos%20poker" target="_blank">Click here for LINK directly to Amazon</a></div>
RobertCanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04428375689821585471noreply@blogger.com0