Been curious about this for a while. In olden days, most play was in Las Vegas for obvious reasons. Now, with casinos in so many locales, and rules tightening, players have spread out. So?
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Been curious about this for a while. In olden days, most play was in Las Vegas for obvious reasons. Now, with casinos in so many locales, and rules tightening, players have spread out. So?
"I don't think outside the box; I think of what I can do with the box." - Henri Matisse
Since I bought a home there, I spend most of my playing time in Vegas. There are games (rules, pen) in Vegas I can't find anywhere else, plus it has double deck, which is hard to find on the east coast.
Aslan 11/1/90 - 6/15/10 Stormy 1/22/95 - 8/23/10... “Life’s most urgent question is: what are you doing for others?” — Martin Luther King, Jr.
Let's face it, there's no place like Vegas, except perhaps Reno, on a smaller scale. The competition is fiercer between casinos, double deck abounds, and game rules and pen are not a carbon copy of every other house in the area, as became the case in AC before its demise. I don't mean to bury AC; it still has a chance for resurrection, but the odds are prohibitive with the growth of casinos everywhere in the surrounding states.
Aslan 11/1/90 - 6/15/10 Stormy 1/22/95 - 8/23/10... “Life’s most urgent question is: what are you doing for others?” — Martin Luther King, Jr.
You must be talking about a different Vegas than the one I've seen.Originally Posted by Aslan
CET owns half the Strip, MGM owns the other half.
Probably half the BJ games on the Strip are now 6:5.
The only thing good about Vegas is quantity, not quality.
I have not played "on the strip" this year except for a brief jaunt over to see the SLS on its opening. The last time I was on the strip other than that, 6:5 was only on single deck games and that's how it is in every casino on the east coast that I have played at, and I've played at a lot of them, so I would not use 6:5 single deck as a measure, unless that has changed within the past year. I know of many good games on the strip, and I doubt they've changed in one year's time. I'm talking about 6-deck games same as you have in non-Vegas locations. But the strip also has double deck games, which are a rare commodity on the east coast anywhere. Both shoe and pitch games are beatable in many locations. Some here have been to Vegas and been backed off and/or trespassed in short order, which leaves a bad taste in their mouths. But others here are still playing profitably every day to the best of my knowledge at the same locations, and have learned how to play under the radar of the admittedly sophisticated casino surveillance. They play with impunity because they do not flaunt their skills at card counting or other AP skills; they see Vegas as a gold mine that requires both patience and smarts to extract the shiny metal.
All this being said, there are probably as many casinos off the strip as there are on the strip, and they are not owned by the two mega-casino owners, MGM Mirage and Caesar's, so anyone who has only visited the strip, and especially those who have only visited CET properties on the strip, you have missed a wealth of opportunities. The only reasons I haven't played on the strip this past year is because I don't like to fade the traffic and more crowded table conditions, and because I have found off-strip spots that are, so far, equal to or better than strip casinos.
Anywhere in Vegas that you play naked (i.e., without camo) you will be backed off unless you play a hit and run style. If where you play outside of Vegas allows you to play without camo and without hit and run, then I suggest you stay there so long as you have these ideal conditions, conditions that all counters are looking for. But don't think you can't find good games in Vegas, where smartness in surveillance is offset by extreme competition for customer's dollars. No, I will not tell you where the good games are-- use CJBN and do some scouting on your own and you'll find them. I think I already did enough damage arguing that Vegas has good games, and if anyone playing there wants me to delete this post,Been curious about this for a while. In olden days, most play was in Las Vegas for obvious reasons. Now, with casinos in so many locales, and rules tightening, players have spread out. So? I will oblige.
PS-- Nineteen (19) of the 29 or so strip casinos are owned by MGM Mirage and CET. I count 50 or so casinos off the strip including a few in Henderson.
Last edited by Aslan; 11-06-2014 at 10:24 AM.
Aslan 11/1/90 - 6/15/10 Stormy 1/22/95 - 8/23/10... “Life’s most urgent question is: what are you doing for others?” — Martin Luther King, Jr.
I didn't say single deck. There are plenty of 6:5 8D H17 games on the strip. From what I've heard and seen ALL of Monte Carlo, Venetian and Palazzo are 6:5 (except the HL rooms). Most of the CET houses have a significant number of 6:5 shoe games.
The problem with off-strip casinos is it's difficult to play more than chunky green at most of them without standing out.
You say 8D games. Well if they were there, that's probably why I missed them or did not pay any attention to them. I never play 8D games because it takes far too long to get to the plus count, so they're worthless to me unless I intend to wong, which as I remember is how you like to play.
I have played Venetian a lot in the past, but I played their DD games, and they, of course, were all 3:2; I've never seen otherwise in Vegas for DD. Also, I have never seen 6D 6:5. I can see why you're looking at 8D to wong into, since the plus count once it comes tends to be longer than in 6D. Still, I don't think 6:5 can be widespread in shoe games in Vegas, esp. 6D-- maybe someone with a CBJN can weigh in, as I cannot locate mine but will keep looking.
You mentioned Venetian and Palazzo, which does not surprise me, since they like to mix their totally bad games with their good games.
Monte Carlo surprises me because its part of the MGM Mirage group and I have not seen such a bad game in one of their properties, other than the usual CSM games. Again, it must be 8D, but you say not in the High Limit room-- I don't think I've ever seen 8D in a High Limit room. When I did play at Monte Carlo, I played in the High Limit room, since at that time it was the only way I could play a $25 DD game there, but its not one of my favorite casinos.
As for CET, I wouldn't know, since my first scouting trip of Las Vegas years ago I generally do not set foot inside their casinos. A quick look at CBJN from time to time reinforces that decision, and occasionally I've stopped at Planet Hollywood while my wife shopped the Miracle Mile, and always it was p*ss poor pen, even though their shoe games had late surrender.
Not all off-strip casinos are created equal, but if you're talking about 8D games, then you are right about that, since they are probably $5 min games, and wonging in with chunky green draws instant attention.
But I insist there are plenty of good games in Vegas. I play largely DD games, but you and I both know people here who play 6D in Vegas, and I play it myself at times, both off and on strip, and I sometimes play it at the chunky green level off strip, because I am not wonging in. There are good 6D and 8D games off strip in terms of rules and pen, but if you're only wonging in, you'd have to wong in once and leave after the shoe or you'll get plenty of heat doing chunky green.
Aslan 11/1/90 - 6/15/10 Stormy 1/22/95 - 8/23/10... “Life’s most urgent question is: what are you doing for others?” — Martin Luther King, Jr.
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