Gaming Blog

Did you know?

• A report in early April this year revealed the 22 casinos now on the island of Macau in China generated more than $7 billion in revenues in 2006, this compares to Las Vegas’s $6.6 billion, a deficit of $400 million. This data now shows that Macau has become the number one gambling capital of the world.
• Currently Poland has 25 gambling facilities, 12 of these are owned by foreign companies.
• The Las Vegas MGM Grand's 170,000-square-foot casino is larger than the playing field of Yankee Stadium. It contains 3,500 gaming machines and 165 table games.
• Although gambling is illegal in China (except for Macau) and the government has long considered it morally corrupt, millions buy government lottery tickets every day.
• New Jersey’s 8 percent tax on casino gross revenues is devoted to programs that provide resources and services to disabled and senior citizens.
• When looking at a pair of dice you will find there are a total of 42 dots.
• During 1765 playing cards were the tickets for admission to classes at the University of Pennsylvania.
• A year before he died, Karl Marx, the author of the Communist Manifesto, vacationed in Monte Carlo in 1882.
• Russia has about 350,000 slot machines, that’s almost double the amount currently in the entire state of Nevada, which has about 177,000 machines.
• ·         Early slots were first known as “coins-in-the slot” machines.

Read the fine print

On a recent trip I had a stop in Las Vegas for a plane change. I don’t know why, but when you have to make a plane change you always seem to land at one concourse and are required to go to another one on the other side of the airport. That’s what happened to me on this trip. As I was traveling through the terminals I noticed eight video poker machines along a sparse wall and there were four people playing at the machines. A closer look told me they all were Jacks or Better games and 2 were 6/5, 4 were 7/5 and 2 were 9/6 machines. What was interesting was that none of the players were playing the 9/6 machines. A 9/6 has a return of 99.5%, the 7/5 returns 96% and the 6/5 only returns 95%. Here were identical games but the house was making more because players didn’t know the difference. The same is true for blackjack, craps, and even roulette. They might all “look” the same, but blackjack games will have different rules and craps different odds in different casinos, which can be a big factor when it comes to winning or losing. It pays to read the fine print. Read the placard at the table; look over the felt for information, and look to see if it might be a single zero roulette wheel or one with a double zero. If you don’t like what you “read,” move on.

Gaming Tip for Keno

When it comes to keno strategy the thing to know is there is no real strategy. However, by shopping around at different casinos you will find different payouts for the same type of wins. For example, one casino will pay $42 for a 3-spot win, while another pays $43 and still another casino pays $45 for the same 3-spot. You therefore should try and play in those casinos that offer the best payouts for the types of games you play. It’s important to read the game booklet found in every keno lounge.

Did you know?

• Blackjack is a very popular card game in Russia, where it's traditionally called "21" or "Ochko" ("the hole").
• During World War II, the US Playing Card Company had a secret deal with the U. S. government. They produced special decks for American prisoners of war in German camps. When these cards were moistened, they peeled apart to reveal sections of a map indicating precise escape routes.
• The average reign of a heavyweight-boxing champion is about three years. Joe Louis held the heavyweight crown for twelve years: June 1937- March 1949.
• In the 1999 World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions each player reaching the final table of the tournament received a new car.
• The Danish word for “devil” is “pokker.”
• There are a total of 1,474,200 unique or different Bingo cards possible.
• The new Sands Macau Casino in Macau China has 277 table games, the most in any one casino in the entire world.
• In 1953 there were only 1,800 rooms on the strip in Las Vegas. A first class hotel room cost $7.50 and a motel room would run about $3.00 a night.