Best Bets at Blackjack (Surprisingly)

One of our favorite blackjack games is at the good old Riviera...a $5 shoe game with decent rules and 3:2 on blackjack. The trick as for all these places is to start your day there, early enough in the morning that you can get a seat while all the tables aren't packed, especially if, like us, you believe that the fewer the players at the table, the better. Oh, they also have $1 blackjack, if you can ever find a seat, and don't mind being dealt out of a continuous-shuffle machine, you basic-strategy-player, you. (Right across the street, Circus Circus has some decent tables too, and just like at the Riv, every six months you can buy $40 worth of promo chips for $30, reducing the casino's edge that much further. Just get there before it gets even more crowded than across the street.)

"Las Vegas has the biggest Hooters I've ever seen," my poker buddy Brian is fond of saying. True, the cocktail servers here look as if they all have the same surgeon's number in their rolodex, but if you can ignore the distractions, we found to our surprise that they have one of the best single-deck games in town, and if you get there early enough in the day, for as low as $5 minium. They also use a notched shoe for their multideck games, guaranteeing you the same good penetration every time.

The Longhorn is a little dive on Boulder, pretty much right across from Sam's Town, that we've grown to love for several reasons, not the least of which is the most generous set of blackjack rules in town: surrender, double down on your 2nd or 3rd card, doubling on splits, etc. (Eat your heart out, Las Vegas Club.) They have $2 and $5 minimum tables, but playing $5 minimum gets you a $5 bonus if you get a blackjack in diamonds. You earn comped meals in their restaurant pretty fast, and generously tipping your dealer may well get you additional comps as well; I'm just sayin'. Brian, who likes playing the side bets, especially likes this place because he hit the Queens of hearts on the Lucky Ladies for $125. One night they let all the pit players spin the wheel for a prize and Brian won a jacket, the lucky stiff. I had to settle for free slot play. Oh, and when you sign up as a new member, they give you a cookie. Throw in cookin' lounge acts on a tiny stage and what's not to like?

Elsewhere around town: The venerable El Cortez brags that they have 3:2 blackjacks on all their tables, and that goes for single-deck as well. The Rio is not exactly known for their low minimums or decent table game odds, yet surprisingly, they have $5 minimum single-deck when you can find it. Ellis Island and Tuscany, near each other off Flamingo east of the Strip, both offer surrender, a boon to my buddy Brian or, as we all call him, "the 15 magnet." Silverton, south of the south end of the Strip, has so much to recommend it, their $5 minimum blackjack is just gravy. Rampart, attached to the J.W. Marriott Resort off of West Charleston, is a good place to eat considering that playing at their $5 minimum tables can quickly earn you comps to their buffet. Finally, the Stratosphere also uses a notched shoe for their multideck games, and it guarantees every deal has the deepest penetration you'll see in town, even if you have to play at least $10 minimum to get better than 6:5 on your blackjacks.

Using Your Public Library: Another Good Read

I can't stress enough how useful your public library can be as a source of gambling information. Even the smallest branches are likely to have books that can expand your knowledge of poker, blackjack, and other casino games. But don't neglect the travel section, either: You're likely to find some excellent guidebooks for Las Vegas, including the little gem we spotlight today: Frommer's Las Vegas 2013. Compiled these days by Rick Garman, I find these volumes so helpful that even though I'd already read the 2012 edition, I snatched up the 2013 version as soon as it hit the shelves. It's chockfull of recommendations for hotels, casinos, restaurants, attractions, clubs, outdoor activities, and what have you, that will inform you of some of the coolest things going on in Vegas and have you ready to pack your bags and head out to check them out. Also, it provides lots of tips to help you get the most out of your visit.

On top of all that, Garman is just a vastly entertaining writer, peppering his advice with lots of eminently quotable lines, my favorite of which is this note on the vintage pin-up pictures lining the walls of that steak place known as the Strip House:

It is worth noting that while most of the photos are safe for young eyes, there are a few in the mix that are decidedly PG-13, so parents with children may want to scan the walls before sitting to make sure there are no uncomfortable questions during the appetizer course.

On the other hand, the most jaw-dropping tidbit related would perhaps be this offhand remark on The Plaza:

 The decor and furnishings came from  a never-completed, $4-billion Strip hotel, and the quality is obvious.

 Ah, those grand days of Vegas excess, when you could drop billions on a project that you never even bothered to finish. While Frommer's Vegas is brought commendably up-to-date since the previous year's edition, Vegas in such a constant state of flux and change (witness these latest alarming developments) that it's impossible for any guide's information to be up-to-the-minute as you pick it off the shelf. Fortunately, Garman is also behind the website Vegas4Visitors, where you can turn to for his weekly column and the latest news

(Of course, if it's inconvenient for you to carry a guidebook to Vegas that's going to be due at the library before you come home, you can always buy a copy.)

My New Favorite Book in the Whole World

The day after Christmas, I was browsing the bargain books table in the back room of the Gamblers Book Club, and what did I come across but the 2013 edition of the American Casino Guide. This book is noteworthy for its rundown of every casino in the country, lots of articles on gaming by some of the most reputable writers in the business, but above all for the hundreds if not thousands of dollars worth of casino coupons tucked into the back. It lists for $18.95, but because there were only a few days left to use up the coupons, it was marked down to $5.

I grabbed a copy and as I was getting ready to drive away, phoned by poker buddy back at the hotel.

“Dude!” he said. “Grab me a copy and I'll give you five bucks when you get here.”

Well, duh. Like he was going to be content to follow me around and watch while I hopped from casino to casino using up these free slot plays and match plays.

We wound up breaking even on our first two stops, within walking distance from our home base at the Rio. The Gold Coast, although the coupon was for a $5 match play, actually gave us a free $5 bet (it's just how they roll), but neither of us won our blackjack hands. All right, across the street to the Palms, then, which had a coupon for a $10 match play. We each pulled out a $20, bet $10 of it on a hand of blackjack with the match play coupon, lost, looked at each other, each put out another $10 bet, won, and left even.

“Dude,” I said, “I don't know how soon this book is going to recover that $5 for us.”

Pretty quick, as it turned out. We headed downtown, as the $10 free slot play at the El Cortez had to be used that night. We each made a pretty penny on that, then headed to the Las Vegas Club. We each laid down a $5 match play, and then bang, blackjack, blackjack. We headed to the Golden Nugget to buy $60 worth of poker chips for $50, sat around to play our blinds, complained about the maniac who was shoving $65 into each pot without looking at her cards, cashed out our chips and left each up another $7 for the night. We went to the Plaza, won a few bucks on $5 worth of free slot play, decided to sit down and play a few hands of blackjack before moving on, and left nicely ahead for the evening.

Our last stop for the night was Jerry's Nugget, where we each had a free match play (I got a blackjack, my buddy won on a double down) as well as a free drink. While we were there my buddy swiped his card in a kiosk and found out he was getting $20 cash just for showing up a month or thereabouts since his first visit. Yeah, this book was definitely going to pay for itself.

We hit all the other free slot plays and match plays in the book over the course of the next afternoon and evening, and figured we were each up probably $125 to $150 from using those coupons. And that was with only two days before most of them expired!

Also in the book: Two free tickets to the Riviera Comedy Club. You can often find two-for-one coupons in the local entertainment guides, which at $19.95 is quite a bargain, but free tickets? A steal, and I was particularly excited over this find, as I'd already read that this week's headliner was Jimmie “J.J.” Walker of Good Times fame. I even got to meet him after the show and get a signed copy of his new book (at almost nine bucks off the cover price, too). Meeting Mr. “Dy-No-Mite” himself? Priceless!

While a lot of the downtown coupons, like those for the El Cortez, had expired on the 27^th, we still had a two-for-one coupon for the buffet at The Golden Nugget, so we hit that up for breakfast on our way out of town.

Oh, we also picked up copies of the 2014 edition, because the book also includes 15% off at (of course) The Gamblers Book Club. (I bought another friend a copy of the 2013 as a Christmas present.) It's already paying for itself: included was a coupon for the El Cortez, buy one night for $30 and the second night's free. We may even stay in Laughlin on our way out of town on our next trip, because we can get two nights there for $39...at two different hotels. Oh, and while the bulk of the coupons are for Las Vegas, there are also deals for casinos scattered throughout the country, so you might be able to use them at casinos on your route when driving to Vegas...or even in the casino near your home town.

Our recommendation? Buy the book! Save Money! Make money! Heck, the free Girls of Golden Gate Calendar alone should be enough to sway you.

Just some of the deals you can get in the 2014 edition:

Free Slot Play: Club Fortune, The D, El Cortez, Golden Nugget, Las Vegas Club, Palms, Plaza, Silverton

Match Play: Bighorn, The D, Ellis Island, Golden Gate, Jerry's Nugget, Las Vegas Club, The Orleans, Palms, Rampart, Riviera, Silver Nugget

Free Shows: Riviera Comedy Club, Mac King Magic Show (with one $9.95 drink per person)

2-for-1 Tickets: X Burlesque, Mike Hammer Comedy Magic Show, Gordie Brown, The Improv at Harrah's, Defending the Caveman, The Orleans Showroom, Divas, Recycled Percussion, Frankie Moreno, Pin Up

Free Drinks: Clarion Hotel and Casino, Sam's Town, Santa Fe Station, V Bar

2-for-1 Meals or Buffets: Arizona Charlie's, Bighorn, Binion's, Boulder Station, Fiesta Henderson, Fiesta Rancho, Magnolia's (at the 4 Queens), Golden Nugget, Green Valley Ranch, Haagen Dasz, Johnny Rockets, Nathan's Famous, Palace Station, Rampart, Red Rock, Silver Sevens, Suncoast, Sunset Station, Texas Station, Venetian (and the Grand Canal Shoppes)

2-for-1 Admission: National Atomic Testing Museum, Erotic Heritage Museum, Madame Tussaud's, Roller Coaster at New York New York, Eiffel Tower Ride at Paris, Stratosphere Tower

Cashing In: 3 Weeks in Vegas on a Shoestring

Want a view like that for free? Or close to it, anyway. As faithful readers will no doubt recall, one of the reasons you always sign up for a player's card when you first visit a casino, and use it whenever you play, is that casinos will shower you with offers, even of free rooms, to (a) get you back if you haven't returned in a while or (b) reward you for your frequent play...it's a win-win. As a case in point, here's the itinerary for our next trip to Vegas. A caution: These days, with most of the casinos adding a "resort fee," even the "complimentary" nights cost you something. The Cosmopolitan's fee is the highest at $25/night...but if you saw the room you get for that 25 bucks I doubt you'd complain. Besides, it will generally get you in-room wi-fi (which otherwise you'll usually get charged for anyway) as well as access to the fitness center and pool (assuming it's pool weather), which is not necessarily a horrible deal. Also, many of these offers include goodies like free casino play and free meals, which will offset that cost. Anyway, here's our trip-on-a-budget schedule:

The Grand (Downtown, on the site of the old Lady Luck): 2 free nights (plus $10 free play, $10 food credit, & a free deck of cards...woo hoo!)

Stratosphere - 3 free nights (and I won those two free show tickets online, too!)

Gold Coast - 3 free nights, plus choice of $25 Macy's gift card or $20 casino play

Harrahs - 3 free nights, free poker tournament with $25,000 for first place

Cosmopolitan - 2 free nights

Gold Coast - 2 free nights, plus $25 food credit (2 buffets' worth) & $30 in free bets, per day

El Cortez - 4 nights on a Buy 1 Night for $30/Get 1 Night free coupon

Paris Las Vegas - 3 free nights, $50 in casino play

Riviera - 3 nights at $12/night...plus $5 table games play, two free show tickets & a free drink

That's actually 24 nights or three-and-a-half weeks...Don't bother adding them up and challenging my math; two of the hotel stays overlap one night because they're tied to specific events at the respective casinos. And my poker buddy and frequent Vegas traveling companion will be getting his own room at The Gold Coast for three of those nights, having received his first comp offer by e-mail. All were promotions offered to me by mail or e-mail by each casino, except for that coupon at the El Cortez...and I'll explain how I came by that in a future post, real soon.

By the way, I just got offered three free nights at Bally's in March, which will accomplish my goal of having stayed at every one of the Caesar's Entertainment properties in Vegas.

Moral? GET THE PLAYER'S CARD. USE THE PLAYER'S CARD.

A Quick Look Around Caesar's Palace

When Jay Sarno built Caesars in 1966, it was the great-granddaddy of all the Strip's spectacular themed casinos, and through the years has remained obsessively true to that theme (at least until recently converting one tower to a Nobu Hotel).  Literally everywhere you turn are statues and decorations to remind you of the glory that was Rome.

The day after Christmas, these decorations at the valet entrance remind you who won.

Speaking of valet, I believe this statue is supposed to represent one of the Caesars valet attendants. I say that because he was captured moving at their actual speed.

Take a good, close look at some of those statues up front, and you'll see they're authentically aging and weathering. (As always, you can click on the picture for more detail.)

I believe this one represents Emperor Pointius the Helpful.

In an alcove, a nice little sculpture garden.

Inside the Sea Horse Bar.

An elegiac reminder of some of Caesars' own history: Joe Louis ended his days as a greeter at Caesars Palace. Now his statue is tucked away in a corner.

And with that I'll bid you "Ave and Atque." Hail, Jerry!

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Calories

One night before returning to my room at the Imperial Palace (now the Quad), I decided to take in a very late supper (or perhaps a very, very early breakfast) at Hash House A Go Go. I had a craving to try their chicken & waffles, but wasn't necessarily prepared for the double-decker monstrosity that arrived on my plate: two fried chicken breasts atop a stack of waffles with bacon cooked right into them. The prices here are certainly reasonable, considering you'll easily get enough to feed two people. If you find this doesn't quite hit the spot, you can always head downtown and join the line waiting to get into the Heart Attack Grill.

Another example of the Hash House A Go Go's cuisine: the pork tenderloin sandwich. No, that isn't a miniature bun, either. One source claims that his 400-pound brother couldn't finish this one; I don't know if that qualifies as the kind of friend-of-a-friend tale that the urban folklorists delight in tracking down. Maybe you can just track down this pork loin and verify the tale for yourself.

In addition to their restaurant inside the Quad, you can find Hash House A Go Go locations at the Plaza downtown (the opposite end of Fremont from the Heart Attack Grill; how convenient), the M Resort, and off-strip at 6800 W. Sahara.

(Thanks to Clay Jefferies for the culinary photography and for modeling the t-shirt.)

In the Neon Boneyard with the Electrical Dead

You've seen it in movies a million times: that big lot out in the desert where all the old neon signs from the abandoned and demolished casinos go to die. In the last year, the Neon Boneyard Park on N. Las Vegas Boulevard, just north of Downtown, has finally been opened to the public. We decided to check it out on a recent visit, and as luck would have it, while we were inquiring about ticket prices, one of the swell folk at Zappos.com walked up to us and said, "Hey, our group had a couple of extra tickets. Want 'em?" Bless the good folk at Zappos.com; we will hear from them again.

Even the vistor center is recycled: It was salvaged from the La Concha Hotel, an Atomic Age design by noted architect Paul Revere Williams. Nice selection of Vegas-themed books in the gift shop, too.

Our docent Denice with the first neon sign in Downtown Las Vegas, for the Golden Nugget.

Lettering from the Moulin Rouge, the first integrated club in Vegas, which flourished briefly in 1955 until annoyed mobsters forced its closure to forestall competition. Designer Betty Willis studied old French manuscripts to come up with the perfect font. (You might recognize another of her designs: the "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign.)

The original sign for Binion's Horseshoe, one-time home of the World Series of Poker.

There's statuary, too, like this finely detailed vintage pool player, down to the fingernails and mullet.

Once the coolest thing on the Strip, this fearsome skull-and-crossbones adorned the sign at Treasure Island, until its owners foolishly revamped it into TI and replaced it with yet another generic Jumbotron. Now it spends eternity on its back silently screaming at the sky: "WHY?!?!"

Space Age sign for the Stardust, which for a while was accompanied by a giant mushroom cloud.

Finally, an especially sad one for me: the sorely missed Sahara. We may go back sometime to visit it at night; the tickets only cost a couple dollars more...but the signs light up.