Showing posts with label Gambling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gambling. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Great Moments in Race Betting

Here at VegasRy we don't even pretend to know anything about horse racing, our knowledge is limited to looking at the racing form for the coolest name. That and being beat over the head with horse racing coverage once a year during the Kentucky Derby.

However, even we wouldn't use this betting strategy:

According to witnesses, the man entered the parlor around noon and asked how much it would cost to buy every possible trifecta combination (a bettor must pick the first three finishers in exact order) in the 20-horse field. After being told it would cost $13,680, he left — presumably to visit his bank.

He returned shortly thereafter, purchased his tickets and left.

Unfortunately for the hopeful bettor, the 2007 Derby $2 trifecta payoff of $440 was a far cry from 2005 and 2002 returns.

Over 13 grand to win $440, good times. At least he got to cash a ticket...


Encore: Yes for Street Sense; no for Oscar

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Look out Vegas, here comes South Dakota!

This week I had the unique and exciting opportunity to travel to Rapid City, South Dakota for business. While driving in my rental to my hotel, I glanced over and saw as sign reading ‘CASINO!’. I slammed on the brakes and pulled the car into the parking lot. Let’s just say this was no Caesars Palace. What made this casino unique was that it was located in a strip mall, just like a Subway or Verizon store would be.

This was not a unique location, however, as there were these ‘casinos’ all over Rapid City, in similar locations. So I asked around, and it turns out that these establishments are video keno and video poker only, no slots or table games. (Although they do have traditional casinos in Deadwood and on the reservations) Also interesting is that the machines are centrally controlled and operated by the state’s lottery program.

From a description of the state’s gambling laws:

In the first year of operation, 700 establishments were licensed and generated revenues that surpassed projections by nearly $2.5 million. The number of establishments and terminals grew quickly, leveling off by 1994, but with steady growth to near the current levels of approximately 8,300 terminals in 1,400 establishments across the state.

South Dakota’s video lottery terminals offer variations of poker, blackjack, keno, and bingo games, with both quarter and nickel games available. The maximum bet is $2 and the top prize is $1,000. Winnings from video lottery play are not dispensed right from the terminal, but rather a voucher for the winnings is printed by the terminal, which the player is required to claim at the establishment that same day. Terminals pay out – credits won as a percentage of credits played – between 88 and 92 percent.

I didn’t have time to check one out unfortunately, although who wouldn’t love having a ‘casino’ on every street corner?


Here are a few pictures:

So you have a place to spend your winnings...


I couldn't get it in the frame, but there is actually a liquor store to the right...one stop shopping.


And my personal favorite, that's a women's gym below the 'Casino'...

Video Lottery in South Dakota

Monday, April 9, 2007

Not All Blackjack Games Are Created Equal...

Disclaimer: All statistics come from this great article in the Las Vegas Sun

The proliferation of 6:5 blackjack in Las Vegas is among the chief arguments that people turn to when pointing to the downfall of player’s rights in Las Vegas. More and more, gambling conditions are worsening, with methods such as lower pay tables in Video Poker machines and automatic shuffle machines…not that we should be the least bit surprised.

For those not in the know, at a traditional Blackjack table, when a player receives a blackjack (An Ace and a face card or ten) and the dealer has anything but 21 also, the player receives one and a half times his bet as payments. This is called 3:2 Blackjack, as the bet pays out at a ratio of 3:2. However, more and more in Las Vegas, especially at the Strip Casinos, this payout is lowered to 6:5.

The edge might not seem significant, but when you break down the math, it means that a basic strategy player will lose his money 5 times faster at a shoe-dealt game, and 8 times more quickly at a single-deck game.

So why are Casinos doing this? Simple, because people play it. More and more, the lower-limit games at casinos employ this bottom-line-friendly game, as the lower-level player probably wouldn’t notice anyway.

The lesson here is to carefully check out the rules on the table felt before sitting down to play. However it is becoming increasingly hard to find a game with decent rules, as seemingly all the full payout tables can only be found at Downtown Casinos, or Off-Strip, locals places.

Anthony Curtis of the Las Vegas Advisor, perhaps recognizable from those awful quasi-infomercials about Vegas on the Travel Channel, states in this article:

"Over time, bit by bit, person by person, the entire market is going to react as a single organism and people will move away from that game," Curtis said. "It will hurt the casinos in the long run."

I don’t buy this one bit; vacationers (like us) come to Las Vegas to have a good time, not to scour each table up and down the strip till you find what you are looking for. And by the look of the completely full tables on our last trip, 6:5 isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. I predict that soon, we will be looking around for a 6:5 table to play at, as all the casinos will offer is even-money.

Taking a hit: New blackjack odds further tilt advantage toward the house

6:5 Blackjack? Just say No!

Monday, April 2, 2007

Congrats Stewie!

Congratulations to Gossip Stew for taking down the first annual VegasRy.com NCAA challenge.

Stew owned the field including me and gamblin' Lou while blanking VegasRy.

Better luck next year everyone.

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Pay This Man His Money


Rumor has it Tim Floyd has cashed in on more than just a new high school recruit that could make or break his team's future this past week. Word around Vegas is that he had a hefty sum of dough on the Tarheels to cover on Friday night over his Trojans. After blowing an enormous first half lead, USC (with the help of a technical from Coach Floyd) failed to cover the 8.5 points they were getting much to the dismay of the the gambling world. It certainly appeared as though they gave up down the stretch. With Floyd's season done, he can now fly to Vegas to personally collect his winnings and celebrate his good fortune.

Credit for this post is owed to the good folks at JustCallMeJuice.

Louie's Lead Pipe Lock of the Week: UCLA

Reports coming from all over that Florida Coach Billy Donovan is on his way to Lexington to take over Kentucky, even as his team prepares to play UCLA in the Final Four.

Lou Says "Don't sleep on this big-money opportunity!".

Because of the massive distraction that inevitably causes, the Lou Man LOVES UCLA +3. He also likes Georgetown -1.

Report: UK Ready To Name Donovan (WLEXTV - Lexington)

Monday, March 26, 2007

VegasRy's Tourney Challenge Update

Time for a quick update on the progress of the First Annual VegasRy Tournament Challenge.

Despite her early lead, it looks Like Allison is out of it due to her questionable pick of Memphis to win it all.


This leaves the likely winner to come down to a matchup of 2 puppies, Stewie and Louie. Stew has 2 teams remaining, and Florida winning it all, whereas the Lou Man has 3 teams left, and Georgetown cutting down the nets. Louie has 400 potential points left, and Stewie has 280, with a slim 60 point lead.

Keep an eye on the brackets here.

P.S. The Rebels fell to Oregon 70-66 on Friday night, despite a tremendous comeback from 17 down with just over 5 minutes to play. Turns out Oregon's outside shooting was too much for UNLV, which ended the season 30-7.

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

I keep the big bills on the outside...

Here I am, playing my favorite slot machine, Louie's Gold. Since you can't pry the Lou Man out of the sports book, it was up to me to try the machine that bears his name. No luck.

I've only seen this machine once at the Monte Carlo, let us know if you've seen it elsewhere.

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Big Day for the Runnin' Rebels

UNLV upset 2nd seed Wisconsin 74-68 Sunday to become the lowest seed (7) to advance to the Sweet 16 in this years NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.

Looks like Stewie is the only one to have the Rebels advancing this far in the VegasRy Tourney Challenge.

The other Nevada team in the Tournament, The University of Nevada Wolfpack fell to Memphis 78-62.

Friday, March 16, 2007

One Great Hire



I'm so glad we hired Louie to handle the betting part of VegasRy because VegasRy himself has yet to pick a winner through Round 1. I heard an excuse that he failed to submit his picks after filling it out. Either way...Lou's the man!

Oh and Gossip Stewie's looking good as well. Who wants to lay some money on these 2?

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

VegasRy Gambling Tip: Don't bet on your Alma Mater

So Iowa was a 4 seed, playing a 5 seed. Friday morning at Bellagio, they are getting 2 points. So, being the Iowa Alums that we are here at VegasRy, we rushed to the counter to give them our money.

3 hours later...


Iowa loses by 19 and never competes. I wonder if there will be a refund in my next alumni club newsletter?

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Join the VegasRy Tournament Challenge!

Click here to join our Tournament Challenge League, submit your picks and go up against VegasRy, RollThaDice, Louie the Gambling Puppy, and everyone else here at VegasRy.com!

Here's a little food for thought.

Tournament Challenge

Vegas oddsmakers do their tournament homework

Wednesday, March 7, 2007

Louie's Weekend Picks

Here are the Lou Man's picks for the upcoming weekend of college basketball tourneys.

Lou says "Run, don't walk, to your bookmaker with these picks!".

ACC Men's Basketball Tournament - North Carolina (+125)
Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament - Indiana (+500)
Pacific Ten Men's Basketball Tournament - UCLA (-125)
Big East Men's Basketball Tournament - Louisville (Of Course!) (+225)
SEC Men's Basketball Tournament - Tennessee (+400)


Lou's Homepage - http://vegasry.com/Louie/Louie.htm

Email Lou

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

Vegas Survival Tip #3: Know Your Surroundings

As everyone knows Vegas is very dry and usually extremely warm. As a result, dehydration is rampant. To combat this I have a drink with me at all times. It's usually a refreshing Ten & Tonic or one of the many other drinks we here at VegasRy love. These beverages have been documented in great detail in several past posts and in many yet to come. By combatting dehydration, you'll have little concern about bottle lip which is very common in Vegas. (Bottle lip can also be prevented by drinking only non-bottled drinks.) Anyways, back to the real reason for this post. A lot of good things come from staying hydrated. To name a few: you're healthier, less of the aforementioned bottle lip, clearer complexion, enhanced libido etc. One downside does exist though and that is you will inevitably need to dispose of all that liquid at some point. And once you do, you'll need to more and more frequently throughout the day. As a result, you must keep this in mind when choosing where to gamble. I make sure to only shoot craps at a table that is near a public restroom. In the rare event that this table is rediculously hot and I have an uncontrollable urge, I can make a swift run to relieve my humanly needs and return in as little time as possible. Time is precious because you never know when the tide will turn and house edge will kill the momentum. It's best to scope out the casino for the best-accessed restrooms from the floor and then choose a gaming table or machine of your fancy nearby. Cheers!

Here is a map of Bellagio's Casino floor with the optimal location for gaming in relation to the nearest restroom.