I was invited to play in a blackjack tournament March 20 and 21 at The Cromwell, formerly Bill's Gambling Hall, formerly the Barbary Coast and I called this morning to confirm.
In addition to a spot in the BJ tourney, we'll have 3 nights comped at Ballys to enjoy on the 19th, 20th and 21st. Should be a fun time.
The top prize is $15,000, but the only catch is that all the prize money is in "casino cash." That means the winner would get $15,000 to gamble with. So for example, if you play bj at $100 a hand in casino cash, if you win the hand they give you $100 in real chips that you can cash in later. If you lose, they take your casino cash. So it's likely that the 15,000 top prize might only be worth half of its true cash value.
The other prizes are:
2nd - $10,000 casino cash
3rd - $7,500 " "
4th - $5,000 " "
5th - $3,500 " "
6th - $2,500 " "
7th thru 48th - $750 each in casino cash.
So if I win or even cash, I wonder what's the best strategy to turn the play money into $$$$$?
Make 15 bets of $1,000 each, hoping to win most of them?
Make 150 bets of $100 each?
Go to the roulette table and bet $7,500 on red and $7,500 on black and pray that O or OO doesn't hit?
Readers, I'm open to suggestions...all I have to do is cash, right?
Thursday, March 8, 2018
World Series Odds
The Rampart Casino has issued its odds for the 2018 World Series.
Yankees 7-2
Astros 4-1
Dodgers 11-2
Indians & Cubs 13-2
Nationals 7-1
Red Sox 9-1
D-Backs 15-1
Cardinals 20-1
Mets 25-1
Angels 28-1
Brewers, Rays, Blue Jays & Mariners 30-1
Giants 35-1
Rockies 40-1
Braves & Chisox 50-1
Rangers & Orioles 60-1
Royals, Pirates, Twins & Marlins 75-1
A's, Phillies & Reds 100-1
Padres 125-1
Tigers 150-1
Yankees 7-2
Astros 4-1
Dodgers 11-2
Indians & Cubs 13-2
Nationals 7-1
Red Sox 9-1
D-Backs 15-1
Cardinals 20-1
Mets 25-1
Angels 28-1
Brewers, Rays, Blue Jays & Mariners 30-1
Giants 35-1
Rockies 40-1
Braves & Chisox 50-1
Rangers & Orioles 60-1
Royals, Pirates, Twins & Marlins 75-1
A's, Phillies & Reds 100-1
Padres 125-1
Tigers 150-1
More Plating
Here's another edition of "Vanity Plates of Las Vegas."
California is 'MORE RAD' than the other states.
Who wants to buy a house?
Meeeeechigan fan in Las Vegas!
Polly Pocket?
Beware - Poker Diva in da house!
Russian Red Wing hanging out at Ballys?
Huh?
Poker Tourney Cash $$$$
On Tuesday I drove down to Ballys to play poker.
It's about a 30-40 minute drive from our apartment and I had to mail some bills, so I swung by a post office on the way. Leaving the post office, I pulled behind a big white, fully pimped-out Chevy pickup and wished I had brought my camera along because the guy's license plate read "IrnMike."
I knew Mike Tyson lived in Las Vegas and wondered if he could be piloting this sweet pickup. So I pulled up along side at the next red light and was foiled in my attempt to ID the driver because the windows were tinted solid black!
Oh well, I'll never know if I shared the road with the ex-champ, movie actor, accused rapist, face-tattooed lisper or not.
Anyway, I got to Ballys about 10:30 and there was no cash poker game going. I waited around til 11 and we finally got a 5-player game going. I was slowly bleeding away chips and not feeling that this would be a good day. By noon I was down $40 or so and by 1230 I decided to play in the noon tourney that pays $500 for 1st place, $200 for 2nd and $100 for third. It cost $60 to enter.
Key to making the decision was the fact that there were only 5 other players in the tourney!
All I had to do was outlast 3 people to cash.
So I joined the tourney late, but quickly won a couple of hands and was 3rd in chips in no time. I busted one guy out of his chips, he re-bought into the tourney and I busted him out a second time, building my stack even higher. Being persistent, or stupid, he re-bought again. So, including his first buy-in he had $180 invested!
After about an hour of play, it was down to 3 of us. One guy had 90,000 in chips, I had 18,000 and the 3rd guy had 12, 000. The blinds were 4,000 and 2,000 when I got dealt A-5, both hearts.
The chip leader bet 2,000 and I called. The flop came A-5-8 with two diamonds. The chip leader bet 6000 and I went all in for my final 16,000. We showed our cards...my two pair and he had two diamonds. I had visions of doubling up my stack to roughly 35,000 and giving me a solid grip on 2nd place!
Sure enough, he hit a flush on the turn card and my only chance was to snag an Ace or Five on the river. No such luck and I finished 3rd, winning $100.
Looking back, maybe I should have just waited and hope the 3rd place guy got blinded out, but with the Ace 5,it seemed like the best thing to do.
Oh yeah, the guy who won the $500 was the guy I knocked out twice and he kept rebuying, investing $180 to take down the top prize.
Such is poker.
And so our adventure continues...
It's about a 30-40 minute drive from our apartment and I had to mail some bills, so I swung by a post office on the way. Leaving the post office, I pulled behind a big white, fully pimped-out Chevy pickup and wished I had brought my camera along because the guy's license plate read "IrnMike."
I knew Mike Tyson lived in Las Vegas and wondered if he could be piloting this sweet pickup. So I pulled up along side at the next red light and was foiled in my attempt to ID the driver because the windows were tinted solid black!
Oh well, I'll never know if I shared the road with the ex-champ, movie actor, accused rapist, face-tattooed lisper or not.
Anyway, I got to Ballys about 10:30 and there was no cash poker game going. I waited around til 11 and we finally got a 5-player game going. I was slowly bleeding away chips and not feeling that this would be a good day. By noon I was down $40 or so and by 1230 I decided to play in the noon tourney that pays $500 for 1st place, $200 for 2nd and $100 for third. It cost $60 to enter.
Key to making the decision was the fact that there were only 5 other players in the tourney!
All I had to do was outlast 3 people to cash.
So I joined the tourney late, but quickly won a couple of hands and was 3rd in chips in no time. I busted one guy out of his chips, he re-bought into the tourney and I busted him out a second time, building my stack even higher. Being persistent, or stupid, he re-bought again. So, including his first buy-in he had $180 invested!
After about an hour of play, it was down to 3 of us. One guy had 90,000 in chips, I had 18,000 and the 3rd guy had 12, 000. The blinds were 4,000 and 2,000 when I got dealt A-5, both hearts.
The chip leader bet 2,000 and I called. The flop came A-5-8 with two diamonds. The chip leader bet 6000 and I went all in for my final 16,000. We showed our cards...my two pair and he had two diamonds. I had visions of doubling up my stack to roughly 35,000 and giving me a solid grip on 2nd place!
Sure enough, he hit a flush on the turn card and my only chance was to snag an Ace or Five on the river. No such luck and I finished 3rd, winning $100.
Looking back, maybe I should have just waited and hope the 3rd place guy got blinded out, but with the Ace 5,it seemed like the best thing to do.
Oh yeah, the guy who won the $500 was the guy I knocked out twice and he kept rebuying, investing $180 to take down the top prize.
Such is poker.
And so our adventure continues...
Tuesday, March 6, 2018
Marine Shares A Baseball Memory
Last week I was playing poker at Planet Hollywood when a Marine veteran shared an interesting baseball memory.
Mike is a 79-year-old poker dealer who grew up near Detroit and spent 24 years in the Corps, from 1956 to 1980. When he shared with us that he spent some time in Vietnam, I asked if he was one of the early "advisors" the U.S. sent there in the very early half of the 1960s.
"No, I didn't get there until 1968, just after Tet," he explained. "I was at 29 Palms and the day before I shipped out I saw Denny McLain beat the Angels 3-0. That was the year he won 31 games and he was dominating that day."
Later I looked up the box score of the May 29 game and McLain struck out 13 Angels while pitching a complete game. The win improved McLain's record to 8-1 with a 1.94 ERA. Willie Horton slugged a 2-run homer to give Denny all the offense he would need.
So after 30 minutes of dealing poker, Mike left our table for his regular break. We thanked him for the story and his service as a Marine. A few minutes later, I was watching the poker action, but out of the hand, when I got a tap on my shoulder.
"Thought you might like to see this," Mike said as he handed me the ticket stub from that Tiger victory. It was for a field box seat at Anaheim Stadium and Mike paid $3.50 for the best seat in the place. Mike had the ticket stub laminated, took it with him to Vietnam and carries it in his wallet to this day!!
Semper Fi!!
Mike is a 79-year-old poker dealer who grew up near Detroit and spent 24 years in the Corps, from 1956 to 1980. When he shared with us that he spent some time in Vietnam, I asked if he was one of the early "advisors" the U.S. sent there in the very early half of the 1960s.
"No, I didn't get there until 1968, just after Tet," he explained. "I was at 29 Palms and the day before I shipped out I saw Denny McLain beat the Angels 3-0. That was the year he won 31 games and he was dominating that day."
Later I looked up the box score of the May 29 game and McLain struck out 13 Angels while pitching a complete game. The win improved McLain's record to 8-1 with a 1.94 ERA. Willie Horton slugged a 2-run homer to give Denny all the offense he would need.
So after 30 minutes of dealing poker, Mike left our table for his regular break. We thanked him for the story and his service as a Marine. A few minutes later, I was watching the poker action, but out of the hand, when I got a tap on my shoulder.
"Thought you might like to see this," Mike said as he handed me the ticket stub from that Tiger victory. It was for a field box seat at Anaheim Stadium and Mike paid $3.50 for the best seat in the place. Mike had the ticket stub laminated, took it with him to Vietnam and carries it in his wallet to this day!!
Semper Fi!!
Monday, March 5, 2018
MLB Season Win Totals
The win totals are now out and here are some of the highlight at the Red Rock Casino's sports book.
The highest win total is the World Champion Houston Astros at 97.5, followed by the Dodgers at 96.5, the Indians and Yankees at 94.5, the Cubs at 93.5, the Nationals at 92.5 and the Red Sox at 91.5
At the other end of the spectrum are the Marlins at 64.5, and THE TIGERS and Chisox at 68.5. The Royals and Padres are 71.5, while the Orioles are72.5.
Odds are also out on who will lead the Majors in Home Runs for the upcoming season. The favorite is Giancarlo Stanton at 7-2, followed by teammate Aaron Judge at 5-1. Cody Bellinger is 12-1, Bryce Harper is 15-1, while JD Martinez is 15-1 and Mike Trout is 16-1.
Some interesting long shots are Miguel Sano at 35-1, Edwin Encarnacion at 40-1, George Springer at 50-1, Gary Sanchez at 75-1 and the lone Tiger, Miguel Cabrera at 100-1.
The highest win total is the World Champion Houston Astros at 97.5, followed by the Dodgers at 96.5, the Indians and Yankees at 94.5, the Cubs at 93.5, the Nationals at 92.5 and the Red Sox at 91.5
At the other end of the spectrum are the Marlins at 64.5, and THE TIGERS and Chisox at 68.5. The Royals and Padres are 71.5, while the Orioles are72.5.
Odds are also out on who will lead the Majors in Home Runs for the upcoming season. The favorite is Giancarlo Stanton at 7-2, followed by teammate Aaron Judge at 5-1. Cody Bellinger is 12-1, Bryce Harper is 15-1, while JD Martinez is 15-1 and Mike Trout is 16-1.
Some interesting long shots are Miguel Sano at 35-1, Edwin Encarnacion at 40-1, George Springer at 50-1, Gary Sanchez at 75-1 and the lone Tiger, Miguel Cabrera at 100-1.
Time to Catch Up!
It's been more than two months since we issued a report and an update is long overdue.
I'll try to do much better on keeping our readers posted on all of our adventures, but truthfully we didn't really have many adventures in January and February. I spent a lot of time on writing projects and got to interview some interesting people, including couples who had been married more than 40 or 5 years for a Valentine's Day story and some truckers who cook their meals in their big rigs while rolling along at 60mph.
But it's time to get back to the blog, so here are some of our recent shenanigans.
Helen's brother Norman and his wife Lorraine came to see us on Thursday for 3 days and got a room at Ballys. I arranged Helen and I to be comped there too, in fact, we set it up so we were right across the hall from each other on the 17th floor of the newly remodeled Indigo Tower.
Highlight of Thursday was a "belated birthday" dinner for me at Martirano's an upscale Italian eatery located in the walkway between Ballys and Paris. The meal was fantastic and the service was excellent. I had rigatoni with veal smothered in tasty "gravy" along with crusty bread and a glass of chianti.
On Friday the foursome piled into Norman's Tesla for the one-mile ride to the Venetian. He had driven the Tesla over from Thousand Oaks, northwest of Los Angeles, for the weekend. The drawback to the electric powered Tesla is that he had to stop twice to recharge the car. The normal 5-hour drive really took about s. Anyway, we rolled to the Venetian where Helen was on a mission to find a hard-to-find Pez dispenser for her cousin Carrie who is an avid Pez Head. Word on the Pez Street is that a shop at the Venetian's Canal Shops had these babies and Helen was determined to find one for her cuz.
So while Helen and Lorraine went Pez hunting, Norman and I hit the sports book to bet on hoops and hockey. We each had a winning wager on the Los Angeles Kings, so that was cool.
Helen not only found the elusive Pez, but was able to buy 3 of them for Carrie. Then we all met up for lunch at Black Tap, a burgers and beer joint near the sports book. I opted for a classic All American burger with cheddar and onion rings.
Helen had a California burger topped with avocado, while Lorraine went with a broccoli and quinoa salad. Norman picked a burger and we all had a tasty time.
Black Tap is known for their outrageously Crazy Milk Shakes and assorted desserts. They are packed with all sorts of sugary treats,candies and baked goods. And they come with a crazy price tag too, $16-20 per milk shake. I didn't get a shot of any shakes, but here are some of the fixin's they use to make 'em.
After lunch, Norman and I were back in the sports book, while Helen and Lorraine went off shopping. It was a fun time and we decided to head back to Ballys for dinner. Last year we started a nice relaxing tradition of ordering a Giordano's deep dish pizza and salad for dinner in the room and watching a movie on TV in Norman and Lorraine's room as we wind down after a fun Vegas day.
But first, Lorraine gave me a great birthday present, a beautiful book "Las Vegas Then and Now."
This great book has tons of historical photos of old Vegas and compares them side by side with what is on that particular site now. For example, it shows the classic Desert Inn and compares it with Wynn now on that location. It's detailed and a very fun read for a Vegas fan!
The movie we chose was "Molly's Game," an interesting study of a woman who got into the business of running high stakes poker games in New York. Very compelling tale!
On Saturday we headed back to the Venetian, since Norman and I had some winning sports bets to cash. We watched some more hockey and basketball, then the four of us enjoyed a lunch at a Mexican eatery in the Venetian Food Court. Lorraine and I had burrito bowls, while Helen enjoyed three steak tacos and Norman opted for steak and chicken enchiladas. Muy Bueno!!
We headed back to Ballys where Helen and I got out of the Tesla and said our goodbyes to Norman and Lorraine we drove back to LA. It's always, always a fun time when they come to visit and we're hoping they get back to LV before we leave for TC around April 10-12. We discussed seeing the Beatles show "Love" if the can make it back here in the next month or so.
Helen and I stayed at Ballys Saturday night. I got up very early on Sunday and went down to play some poker. I logged 3.5 hours of play and won$30, but lost $50 in blackjack. Made a couple of $10 sports bets - a 5-team hoops parlay and a 3-team hockey parlay. Lost the basketball bet when Hofstra (a 5-pt favorite) lost outright. But won the hockey parlay, which pays $45 and gives me a $25 profit.
We drove home Sunday morning. It was nice to get back to our apartment and our regular life here. I had some 150 emails to deal with - most of them very delete-able!
And so our adventure continues...
I'll try to do much better on keeping our readers posted on all of our adventures, but truthfully we didn't really have many adventures in January and February. I spent a lot of time on writing projects and got to interview some interesting people, including couples who had been married more than 40 or 5 years for a Valentine's Day story and some truckers who cook their meals in their big rigs while rolling along at 60mph.
But it's time to get back to the blog, so here are some of our recent shenanigans.
Helen's brother Norman and his wife Lorraine came to see us on Thursday for 3 days and got a room at Ballys. I arranged Helen and I to be comped there too, in fact, we set it up so we were right across the hall from each other on the 17th floor of the newly remodeled Indigo Tower.
Highlight of Thursday was a "belated birthday" dinner for me at Martirano's an upscale Italian eatery located in the walkway between Ballys and Paris. The meal was fantastic and the service was excellent. I had rigatoni with veal smothered in tasty "gravy" along with crusty bread and a glass of chianti.
On Friday the foursome piled into Norman's Tesla for the one-mile ride to the Venetian. He had driven the Tesla over from Thousand Oaks, northwest of Los Angeles, for the weekend. The drawback to the electric powered Tesla is that he had to stop twice to recharge the car. The normal 5-hour drive really took about s. Anyway, we rolled to the Venetian where Helen was on a mission to find a hard-to-find Pez dispenser for her cousin Carrie who is an avid Pez Head. Word on the Pez Street is that a shop at the Venetian's Canal Shops had these babies and Helen was determined to find one for her cuz.
So while Helen and Lorraine went Pez hunting, Norman and I hit the sports book to bet on hoops and hockey. We each had a winning wager on the Los Angeles Kings, so that was cool.
Helen not only found the elusive Pez, but was able to buy 3 of them for Carrie. Then we all met up for lunch at Black Tap, a burgers and beer joint near the sports book. I opted for a classic All American burger with cheddar and onion rings.
Helen had a California burger topped with avocado, while Lorraine went with a broccoli and quinoa salad. Norman picked a burger and we all had a tasty time.
Black Tap is known for their outrageously Crazy Milk Shakes and assorted desserts. They are packed with all sorts of sugary treats,candies and baked goods. And they come with a crazy price tag too, $16-20 per milk shake. I didn't get a shot of any shakes, but here are some of the fixin's they use to make 'em.
After lunch, Norman and I were back in the sports book, while Helen and Lorraine went off shopping. It was a fun time and we decided to head back to Ballys for dinner. Last year we started a nice relaxing tradition of ordering a Giordano's deep dish pizza and salad for dinner in the room and watching a movie on TV in Norman and Lorraine's room as we wind down after a fun Vegas day.
But first, Lorraine gave me a great birthday present, a beautiful book "Las Vegas Then and Now."
This great book has tons of historical photos of old Vegas and compares them side by side with what is on that particular site now. For example, it shows the classic Desert Inn and compares it with Wynn now on that location. It's detailed and a very fun read for a Vegas fan!
The movie we chose was "Molly's Game," an interesting study of a woman who got into the business of running high stakes poker games in New York. Very compelling tale!
On Saturday we headed back to the Venetian, since Norman and I had some winning sports bets to cash. We watched some more hockey and basketball, then the four of us enjoyed a lunch at a Mexican eatery in the Venetian Food Court. Lorraine and I had burrito bowls, while Helen enjoyed three steak tacos and Norman opted for steak and chicken enchiladas. Muy Bueno!!
We headed back to Ballys where Helen and I got out of the Tesla and said our goodbyes to Norman and Lorraine we drove back to LA. It's always, always a fun time when they come to visit and we're hoping they get back to LV before we leave for TC around April 10-12. We discussed seeing the Beatles show "Love" if the can make it back here in the next month or so.
Helen and I stayed at Ballys Saturday night. I got up very early on Sunday and went down to play some poker. I logged 3.5 hours of play and won$30, but lost $50 in blackjack. Made a couple of $10 sports bets - a 5-team hoops parlay and a 3-team hockey parlay. Lost the basketball bet when Hofstra (a 5-pt favorite) lost outright. But won the hockey parlay, which pays $45 and gives me a $25 profit.
We drove home Sunday morning. It was nice to get back to our apartment and our regular life here. I had some 150 emails to deal with - most of them very delete-able!
And so our adventure continues...
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