HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: hall@kronos.arc.nasa.gov (Michael Hall)
Subject: Re: Reno Goings On...
Organization: NASA/ARC Information Sciences Division
Distribution: usa
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1992 21:14:43 GMT

In article <BuMxx2.IEC@mail.boi.hp.com> kmarko@mail.boi.hp.com (Kurt Marko) writes:
>In article > steveh@or.credence.com (Steve Holder) writes:
>>  We were thinking about staying at Ballys.  Any words on it?
>
>I just got back from Reno last week.  Bally's is now the Reno Hilton.
>Baron Hilton was in Reno inspecting his latest acquisition last week 
>and says they will remodel it with a western motif.

Bally's was a very nice-looking elegant casino, by any town's standards.
I just can't imagine it with longhorns on the walls, dealers dressed in
cowhide/denim wearing cowboy hats, and sawdust on the floor...

>>  Also, does anyone know if the Plantation in Sparks still has .25
>>  craps?

Eh?  Plantation?  You mean I missed a little joint to take a G out of?

-- 
Michael Hall            \
NASA Ames Research Center\  olden Gate casino, Glitter Gulch, Las Vegas
hall@ptolemy.arc.nasa.gov \
Newsgroups: rec.gambling
From: yali@bgtys28.bnr.ca (Yawar Ali)
Subject: Vegas World info wanted
Organization: Bell-Northern Research, Ottawa, Canada
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 92 15:58:56 GMT


Can anyone provide info. on playing conditions and accommodations
at Vegas World? Also, a summary of rec.gamblers' analysis of 
Bob Stupak's current promotional would be much appreciated.
Thanks in advance...
--
Yawar Ali  				
Bell-Northern Research				EMail: yali@bnr.ca
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada	K1Y 4H7			(613-)763-7741
--------Standard Disclaimer: BNR is not responsible for my opinions--------
Newsgroups: rec.gambling
From:  ()
Subject: Black Jack shareware for IBMpc?
Followup-To: rec.gambling
Organization: Public Macs, Academic Computing, Yale University
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1992 18:30:45 GMT


I'm interested in finding a shareware black jack program for the IBM pc.
I'd like the program to be able to handle user-specified multiple decks,
card-counting, shuffling, etc.  Does anyone know if such a program exists
in the public domain or where I can FTP it from?  Thanks.
Newsgroups: rec.gambling
From: rpark@stam.QE.Bell.CA (Richard Park)
Subject: Re: Horse Racing
Reply-To: sjc@stam.bell.ca
Organization: CER, Bell Canada
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 15:22:42 GMT

In article <1992Sep10.151239.192593@ns1.cc.lehigh.edu>, bmk2@ns1.cc.lehigh.edu (BRIAN MICHAEL KIELTY) writes:
|> Is anyone out there interested in Horse Racing? I am a big racing fan and
|> usually goto Monmouth Park in NJ or Meadowlands.. I haven't seen any
|> discussion on this topic. Am I the last of a dying breed?
|> Bk-
I am a big fan of racing and have read several books on handicapping. I don't see
alot on this topic in this newsgroupbut do believe that I can learn off other
people. I am interested in different systems or handicapping methods other than
the basics.
-- 
Richard Park	
Newsgroups: rec.gambling
From: rpark@stam.QE.Bell.CA (Richard Park)
Subject: Re: Toronto Trip Report
Reply-To: rpark@stam.bell.ca
Organization: CER, Bell Canada
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1992 17:20:59 GMT

I went down to play twice. Not being at Vegas or AC I never played BJ	
in a casino type place before but I did know basic strategy as I play
cards with friends. My first visit, I was siting in the middle and the guy
at the end was making his decisions based upon voodoo and not any sort
of logic at all. This got me so angry that I left. The place was packed but
most of people did not know how to play "properly" I saw twice a person not 
spliiting aces and then there was a time when a person hit on a soft 20 against	
the dealer's 7 and that pissed me off even more. I went back in one afternoon
figuring that I could get an end spot. I did as it was raining outside so
it was kind of empty. Started playing basic strategy with counting. I never
saw the pit boss come around. The only problem was that the placed filled up
so I could not move around. Ended up $100 up playing at $5-$25 table. Saw
alot of people do strange things like split 4's on a dealer's 10 etc...
Dealers must be new cause my friend got payed $50 when he lost. 

Anyways, I assume the odds must be worst than Vegas or AC as there
was DD on 9,10,11. I'm saving my money for Vegas. Really had fun and
can't wait till I am in Vegas next year!!!!!!!
-- 
Richard Park	
Newsgroups: rec.gambling
From: kamal@Ingres.COM (Kamal Gupta)
Subject: Re: BJ conditions in Vegas
Organization: Ingres, an ASK Company, Alameda CA 94501
Distribution: usa
Date: 9 Sep 92 00:08:15 GMT



I have had doubts about the fairness of the Frontier game  as well.
I have played there a total of about 10 hours on 3 different trips
and every time I lost heavily. 
I was usually the highest bettor on my table and I noticed
a lot of other folks (smaller bets) weren't doing that badly. The
high point on my last trip there was a 2.5 hour session without
a single BJ (it is easy to track that 'cause they give you tokens).
Normally you'd expect around 10 BJs in that much time.

I wonder if my bet size had anything to do with it. I did
move tables without much benefit. It seems hard to believe that
all their dealers could be card sharks.

I have played enough blackjack to realize that this 
is very possible statistically. However, if this has happened 
to a lot of folks then maybe there is something there. Also, 
I'd be curious to know if anyone's made a short term killing at the 
Frontier while betting greens or more.



Newsgroups: rec.gambling
From: elesatz@diana.cair.du.edu (Eric LeSatz)
Subject: Re: Vegas World info wanted
Organization: University of Denver, Denver, Colorado
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 92 02:07:46 GMT

In article <2p6y57l@rpi.edu> kinosr@rs6104.ecs.rpi.edu (Roy Kiyoshi Kinoshita) writes:
>Oh my god!  I stayed there once and it was TOTALLY gross.  The rooms/hallways
>reeked of putrifaction.  The gambling didn't impress me either.
>
>I would avoid that place.

I was at the Plaza a few months ago and this really drunk cowboy walks
up to the bar and says to me, "Man, this place sucks!! You should head
over to Vegas World where they play country music!"

Of course the guy also ordered two rolls of dimes and left them laying
on the bar. After they sat there for about 5 minutes I grabbed them
and played a few slots.

Eric
______________________________________________________________________________
|__Eric LeSatz_________________[]{}  I've got seven in the clip and one      |
|__elesatz@diana.cair.du.edu___[]{}  in the chamber. Will that be enough??   |
==============================================================================
From: jacob@ocf.berkeley.edu (Jacob Jin)
Newsgroups: rec.gambling
Subject: Re: blackjack pair splitting
Date: 10 Sep 1992 10:29:32 GMT
Organization: U.C. Berkeley Open Computing Facility
NNTP-Posting-Host: earthquake.berkeley.edu
Keywords: blackjack, pair splitting, Humble, Cooper, Hi-Opt I

In article <1992Sep9.192103.25827@cbnewsl.cb.att.com> jacko@cbnewsl.cb.att.com (Jacko) writes:
>In article <1992Sep1.224753.17144@inter-tel.com> kennedy@inter-tel.com (Matt Kennedy) writes:
>
>>     My question concerns  a one-deck blackjack game where you are allowed to
>>double after splitting.  In particular, my question is should  you  split 7,7
>>against a dealer 8 in such a game,  and should you split 6,6 against a dealer
>>7 in such a game?
>
>Yes, basic strategy in a 1D DAS game is to split both these hands.   
>However this is such a rare game that most people don't worry about
>marginal plays like this.

Hmph. I especially like the latter idea, and gave it a thought that it
might work even in a double deck game. What are the studies on this?

In either case, it's news to me, news I wish I'd known about before
going to the frontier. True, I don't think I ever got 66 vs 7 in
my entire playing career in that cowboy pit, but it would still be
nice to know about. Next time I guess.
From: fhchua@athena.mit.edu (Fei Hai Chua)
Newsgroups: rec.gambling
Subject: Vegas World Cheats??
Date: 7 Sep 92 05:40:24 GMT
Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology


I just got back from Las Vegas and have couple questions about the rules
at the Vegas World casino.

I got a special package from Vegas World (which I think many people do)
and went there for 3 days. Included in my package were some chips,
money, and slot tokens.

Question 1: I was given chips for table. Those are not ordinary chips,
but instead, worth only half (or less) of the it's value. As a result,
when I play the "wheel" with $10 worth of chips on both red and black
sides, as long as I the "wheel" doesn't give 00 or 0, I will get $10
worth of real chip back, and the casino takes all my "fake" chips ($20
of them from both side, black and red). I ended up using $20 of my
"fake" chip in exchange with $10 of cash chip. Why? Why were I given
"fake" chips instead of cash chips?

Question 2: I was also given token for slots. Those token are worth $5
each. I was told that I have no obligation to gamble before I went but
Vegas World refused to cash me those tokens. What can I do?

In addition, the $5 slot machines takes $5 token but only give $1
reward. I ended up with $37 after spending those $400 worth of token. Is
this $5 play $1 award thing allowed?

I have a pretty bad impression with Vegas World. Hope I can at least get
the above two confusion sorted out.

Thanks. Please reply by email.

-Fei
--
======== Fei Hai Chua =========================== Computer Science===========
        fei@media.mit.edu            (W|H)     fhchua@athena.mit.edu
  Systems   Programing   Group         |         3 Ames Street #120
     E15-473 (617) 253-3641            |  Cambridge 02142 MA. (617)225-6557
Newsgroups: rec.gambling
From: swood@unixg.ubc.ca (Stephen Wood)
Subject: Re: Cheat Paranoia and Golden Gate (was Re: Blackjack Lemmings?)
Organization: University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., Canada
Date: Sun, 6 Sep 1992 05:31:56 GMT

In article <1992Sep3.212340.3540@kronos.arc.nasa.gov> hall@kronos.arc.nasa.gov (Michael Hall) writes:
>In article <9900062@hpfcmgw.FC.HP.COM> chan@hpfcmgw.FC.HP.COM (Chan Benson) writes:
>
>>Howdy. I too enjoyed the Golden Gate the last time I was in Vegas. Just
>>out of curiousity, did you ever notice them sticking you with a "pro"
>>dealer when you were doing well?
>
>Yep.  I am somewhat paranoid of cheating there.  Notice how the "pro"
>holds the cards?  Way up high, tilted back, hand twisted around with
>the thumb over the front.  (Alas, these warning signs of a card mechanic
>also seem to be the fashionable downtown style.)  However, I would like
>to believe that the pro is merely able to count cards and preferentially
>shuffle to protect the house, rather than being a card mechanic.
>
[munch]
>
>On the other hand, I took GG for a G in half an hour on my last visit,
>graveyard shift, despite a pissy attitude dealer (and I've won a lot in
>the past too.)  I pushed in my winnings plus my buy-in for the dealer to
>color up, before I remembered that they didn't have black chips in the
>whole place; I had to stuff all my pockets with green quarter chips :-)
>A tiny place like this hates to take a loss like that... forces them
>to raise the price of their shrimp cocktails, ya know...
>
Now I know why this place has to hire pro dealers. Michael is taking
too many G's out of this place :-).
From: fovsutt@lims02.lerc.nasa.gov (VINCENT SUTTMILLER)
Subject: Deadwood, South Dakota
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Organization: NASA Lewis Research Center
Date: 11 Sep 1992 16:25 EST  

This is a mini trip report from gambling in Deadwood, South Dakota over 
Labor Day weekend.  The gambling is not a large scale operation there.  
They have blackjack, poker, and slots.  Basically the town put these 
operations in all of the local bars.  Most places have 2 or three blackjack 
tables and 1 or 2 poker tables.  
Slots: Nickel, quarter, and dollar slots.  Played some and seemed very
       tight.  Had some luck but with only 20 or thirty slots per bar
       I'm sure they want to optimize their profits with tight slots.

Poker: Didn't play but low stakes.  

Blackjack: Played at many various bars in town.  My favorite was the 
 Old style No. 10 saloon. (This is where Wild Bill Hickock supposedly
 got shot).  The betting was $2 to 5$.  Single deck with cards down.
 Double only on 10 and 11.  Split up to four times.  Had some good
 luck and stayed ahead.  But with 2 to 5 bets only able to come
 ahead $50.  The place was really loose and a lot of fun.  
 Definitely not a casino atmosphere with sawdust on the floor and
 deer heads on the walls.  Draft beers were free while gambling.
 Had to pay for any other drinks or bottle beer.  Played at a few
 other places: Bodega, Midnight Star (a casino Kevin Costner opened
 after filming Dances with Wolves in the area), Buffalo Saloon,
 and a couple others.  Can't remeber which places but decks ranged
 from 1 to four decks.  Didn't like the four deck shoe as they
 were cutting it half way into the deck.  Was able to try my
 minimal counting skills easily as the pit bosses were floating
 around the place and noone was really watching anyways.

Food was good. It was diner food.  Had steak and eggs at the Depot ($4.94) 
which was good.  Ate lunch at the Bodega restaurant which was good.  Ate 
dinner at Jake's (the restaurant above the Midnight Star) and the service 
was terrible for the prices (14-20 dollars for a meal).

A pretty nice place to gamble as everyone was really friendly but just not 
the high stakes.  If anyone is in the area I recommend going there.

Vince Suttmiller
NASA Lewis Research Center
Cleveland, Ohio

"For the benefit of mankind"
From: markowit@deshaw.com (Steven Markowitz)
Newsgroups: rec.gambling
Subject: Re: "triple action" blackjack
Date: 14 Sep 92 13:44:46 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: D. E. Shaw & Co.

In article <23271@hacgate.SCG.HAC.COM> grover@vulcan1.edsg.hac.com writes:
>Sorry if this has been discussed here before, but has anyone posted a
>strategy to this mutation of blackjack ?  How about odds ?
[...]
>I lost enough money to learn 1 rule.  Don't bust ! (you use all 3 bets :-))


I think that it's time to add something about this game to the FAQ list.


---- Steve
From: mannys@thebookstore.Eng.Sun.COM (Manuel 'Manny' Raposa)
Newsgroups: rec.gambling
Subject: LVA = Vegas in December
Date: 14 Sep 92 15:10:18 GMT
Reply-To: mannys@thebookstore.Eng.Sun.COM
Organization: Sun Microsystems
NNTP-Posting-Host: thebookstore


	Well, the September issue of the Las Vegas Advisor arrived over the
weekend, and what a surprise!  Two free nights at Harrah's on December 20th
and 21st!

	If you are a subscriber, you already know this.  But for those who
haven't subscribed yet, here is the deal.  The LVA has negotiated a deal for
all subscribers who are current in December 1992.  On December 20 and 21,
Harrah's Las Vegas will host the LVA staff and any/all subscribers for a
2 day party.  This includes a FREE room for 2 nights, a cocktail party each
night, a Blackjack and a slot tournament, and real cash prizes.  Some
celebrities have been invited (celebrities?), and Stanford Wong has already
confirmed his attendance, according to the back page of the LVA.  On the
first day, the attendees will be divided into teams, each with a celebrity
captain.  On the second day, these teams will compete in a blackjack 
tournament in the morning, and a slot tournament in the afternoon.  Harrah's
is donating a cash prize of at least $2,500 (maybe more).  Harrah's is
also donating all of the rooms and putting on the cocktail parties which
will include hors de vours (sp?), and an open bar.  The tournament prizes
will be awarded on the second evening at the party.

	This is a Sunday and Monday evening.  Harrah's will allow you to
book additional nights for the casino rate of $35 if you want to arrive
early or stay longer.  There is some limitation in the time frame, but it
escapes me.  

	Reservations MUST be made through LVA.  Harrah's will not be taking
reservations for this get together.

	Hey, what a chance for rec.gamblers to get together in Vegas!  As of
this time, my wife and I are planning on going.  We were planning on going
just after Xmas anyway, so we'll just move our schedule up a bit.  Anybody
else tentatively planning on attending?

	Manny


---
* Manuel J. Raposa         |  I've been to two zoos,                    *
* manuel.raposa@Eng.Sun.Com|                and a county fair,          * 
* Sun Microsystems, Inc.   |  and I ain't NEVER seen nothing like this! * 
=========================================================================
From: winslade@cwis.unomaha.edu (John Winslade)
Newsgroups: rec.gambling
Subject: Re: Deadwood, S.D. gambling
Keywords: Craps
Date: 15 Sep 92 17:25:47 GMT
Organization: University of Nebraska at Omaha

norm@b8.b8.ingr.com (Norm Howe) writes:

>    I read an article yesterday about Deadwood, South Dakota having
>quit a few "full blown" casinos now, with craps, blackjack, rolette,
>and keno. I knew that gambling has been legal there for a long time,
>but I didn't think they had any large casinos with all my favorite
>Las Vegas games. Questions:
>   1. Is it true?

We've been there only once, so your mileage may vary.  We were there two
years ago, shortly after they opened it up to gambling.  At the time, 
all they had (that I remember) were slots, vp, and bj.  (I vaguely
remember seeing a big six, but who the hell cares. ;-)

At the time, ANY building that was standing was being converted to a
casino, oops, excuse me, a 'gaming hall'.  The city ordinance did not
allow the use of the term 'casino' at the time.  They also had rules
something like no more than 35 slots and/or 2 bj tables per location.
This may have changed.

>   2. Has anyone been there and how did you like it?

In general, yes.

>   3. Are there plenty of hotels?

NO.  Rooms in Deadwood were few and expensive.  We stayed in Belle
Fourche (pronounced 'bell-foosh') about 25 miles away.  I remember there
were some real nasty rainstorms when we were there, which kind of put a
damper on activity.  (But a LOT cooler than Vegas in August.)

>   4. How was the atmosphere in the casinos? I like the friendly
>      employees at Vegas, Reno, and Tahoe but I vow never to go
>      to Atlantic City again. They treat everyone like criminals
>      there compared to out West.

Employees were friendly, but there was only one place that would give
you drinks when you were playing, and I think that was beer and soda
only.  Again, I suspect that may have changed.

>   5. Do they have normal rules or do they have any funny rules
>      on some games?

BJ was something like $2 min, $5 max.  I'm sure there were some poker
tables, but I can't remember them off hand.  (Deadwood without POKER !!
That's downright un-American. ;-)

Good day         JSW
Newsgroups: rec.gambling
From: messiah@nevada.edu (MHW)
Subject: Sports bets prediction accuracy?
Originator: messiah@redrock.nevada.edu
Organization: University of Nevada System Computing Services
Date: Sun, 6 Sep 1992 03:35:23 GMT

I don't do a lot of sports betting, but living in Vegas causes me to 
bump into people who do. Someone recently made a claim to me that they
made 23 correct sports predictions out of 30 for an accuracy rate 
of 76.67%. 

This is clearly impressive and I have no reason to doubt the honesty of the
source, what I do have reason to doubt is a 2nd statement that was made in
conjunction with the 1st. The 2nd statement alleges that calculations made
by a statistically inclined individual show that there is only a very slim
chance that the predictions were pure luck.

While I am familiar with the general principles involved in calculating
such things as expected value, standard deviation, correlation etc., I am
not too versatile in the math. Particularly in the case of sports bets,
predicting a team's win rate does not seem accurately measurable. I don't
think one can just *assume* a 50/50 shot cause there's too many variables 
and there's a point spread to overcome besides.

Any smart-asses out there feel like elucidating? Where does one start in
tracking the accuracy of predictions if one wants to prove statistically
that luck was not a significant factor in the success rate?

Thanx...

Mark
Newsgroups: rec.gambling
Subject: blackjack pair splitting
From: kennedy@inter-tel.com (Matt Kennedy)
Date: 1 Sep 92 22:47:53 GMT
Organization: Inter-Tel, Inc. (Chandler, AZ)
Keywords: blackjack, pair splitting, Humble, Cooper, Hi-Opt I
Summary: When do you split 7,7 and 6,6?


     I have a question about basic strategy and Hi-Opt I as described in _The
World's Greatest Blackjack Book_ (Revised Edition  Copyright  1987)  by Lance
Humble and Carl Cooper.

     My question concerns  a one-deck blackjack game where you are allowed to
double after splitting.  In particular, my question is should  you  split 7,7
against a dealer 8 in such a game,  and should you split 6,6 against a dealer
7 in such a game?

     The basic strategy chart on page  402 and the modifications to four-deck
basic stragegy described on  page 181 both indicate that you should split 7,7
against a dealer 8 and split 6,6 against a dealer 7.

     However, the Hi-Opt I table on page 259  shows that you should split 7,7
against a dealer 8 only if the true count is greater than or equal to plus 1,
and that you should never split 6,6 against a dealer 7.  There is  no mention
of either of these cases in the one deck modification list on page 264.

     Do you split 7,7 against a dealer 8,  and  do  you  split  6,6  versus a
dealer 7?

     Please respond via mail (my feed does not include this newsgroup).

=====================
Matthew S. Kennedy
kennedy@inter-tel.com
=====================
From: cobarruvias@asd2.jsc.nasa.gov
Newsgroups: rec.gambling
Subject: BJ in Vegas Sept 11-13 report
Date: 15 Sep 1992 21:51:22 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: NASA/JSC

I spent Sept 11-13 in Vegas mainly to watch the Chavez/Camacho fight, which by
the way was an excellent boxing and fighting lesson given by Chavez. In BJ, I
play basic strategy and hope the luck runs well. I noticed a few things about
the tables. It seems that on off hours my friend and I were doing very well
playing against the dealer at the low dollar tables ($3). We were having fun,
winning some $, and passing the time......Until THEY came.

These are the self taught, self proclaimed experts of the game of BJ. They
proceeded to split face cards, double on 12, hit on 16 with a 6 showing, etc
etc.....Oh well thats when we left. Of course if we moved to a high stake
table, then the players would think twice about making uneducated moves like
that! WRONG.

We moved to the $5 tables and low and behold we now had the self taught, self
proclaimed experts of the game of BJ, but they HAD MORE MONEY than those at the
$3 table. Needless to say we left.

So what did I learn? 1) There are 2 kinds of bad players, those that play on
the cheap tables and those that can afford to play on the more expensive
tables. and 2) If you are like me, playing basic strategy, play on the off
hours like 6:00 am - 9:00 am. It works so much better.

(Boy am I glad I grew out of the self proclaimed expertness after my first
visit!)

*****************************************************************
John R. Cobarruvias, Texas A&M Class of '78, 
NASA Johnson Space Center Houston Tx.
(713)483-9357

"And to think..................I hesitated" (Hellraiser II)
*****************************************************************
Newsgroups: rec.gambling