From: mhall@netcom.com (Michael Hall)
Subject: Re: low rolling and/or non-smoking in Vegas?
Keywords: las vegas
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest) 
Distribution: usa
Date: Wed, 30 Dec 1992 19:39:09 GMT

kvk@cbnewse.cb.att.com (Kevin) writes:

>I'm planning to go to Vegas for the second time in January, and my
>copy of the Las Vegas Advisor is about two years old. Does anybody know:

>	a) Suggestions on decent blackjack games with low (< $5) minimums.
>	  Last time out I think Binion's, C^2, and the Frontier were
>	  the only $1 minimum single deck games in town. Although I usually
>	  do fairly well, I tend to prefer the $1-$3 minimum tables, call
>	  me cheap.

LV Advisor magazine and the LV Advisor column in Blackjack Forum magazine
have information on which casinos have $1 blackjack games and $1 single deck
blackjack games.  I don't remember seeing $1 tables at Binion's, but I
know they have $2 tables.  Circus Circus and Frontier have $1 single deck.
Union Plaza might.  If you are willing to go up to $3 minimum, then you
can play single deck sans slime at the Golden Nugget.  The minimums at
Excalibur on single deck might be <=$3 sometimes.

>	b) Are any non-smoking casinos around? Silver City was smokeless
>	  the last time I was there, and I seem to recall someone saying
>	  one casino room at C^2 was smokeless. No flames from smokers please,
>	  I just prefer to do without it if I can.

Yep, I think that's all.

>	c) Are the pickets still at the Frontier?

Yes, but the strikers have suddenly become very mellow.  Perhaps the cold
weather has slowed their metabolism.

>	d) I've seen several people refer to Harrah's, where is Harrah's
>	  in Vegas, it wasn't there the last time I was there. How's the
>	  blackjack game there?

It's the old Holiday riverboat thingy.  The blackjack game was originally
a sort of standard double deck (stand on soft 17, double on anything),
but then they started hitting soft 17, and then there was the report of
them getting paranoid about the big name blackjack gods at the LV Advisor
party at Harrahs resulting in them cutting penetration to 50%.  They
are fools.  They cannot compete with their neighbors, Mirage, Sands,
Imperial Palace, Flamingo Hilton, etc., with a stinky hit-soft-17-
no-double-after-splits game, not to mention the unnecessary expense of
the extra shuffling time due to shitty penetration.

Harrah's is also idiotic for their double deck game in Reno: northern Nevada
rules and 40% penetration... no winning counter is going to go near a double
deck blackjack game with either northern Nevada rules or 40% penetration.
The combination is ridiculous and costly to Harrah's, and they should
loosen up both the rules and the penetration considerably, making the
game appealing to a whole lot more stupid gamblers and just a few counters.
Harrah's:  I'd suggest competing with the Reno Flamingo Hilton by adopting
their rules (stand on soft 17, double on anything, double after splits) with
75% penetration, and just keep an eye on anyone using a big spread with big
action.  You could try late surrender, perhaps dropping one of the other
good rules, as joe gambler makes lots of mistakes with surrender, especially
in low tooth-to-gambler ratio Reno.  And get rid of that double cut, where
you cut off 30% of the cards and then don't deal the last 30% either!  It's
costly because of the necessary extra shuffling time.  If some dealers
can't handle two decks, then either offer single deck or assign the
pipsqueak dealers to the shoes!

-- 
Michael Hall   \ 
personal account\Big Brother knows if you picked up those tickets off the floor
mhall@netcom.com \