Casino Surveillance Pro

Senator Orrin Hatch calls for federal oversight of U.S. sports betting industry Howard Stutz, CDC Gaming Reports ·  August 24, 2018 at 1:20 pm Retiring U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch said Thursday he plans to introduce legislation that would call for federal oversight of the nation’s growing legal sports betting market. In a speech on the Senate floor, the Utah Republican, who has said he is not seeking re-election this year, said that the recent legalization of sports betting by individual states “has been a race to the bottom.” Three states – Delaware, New Jersey and Mississippi – have launched sportsbooks at casinos and racetracks, and a fourth – West Virginia – expects to see its first sportsbook open by Sept. 1. Pennsylvania has also approved sports wagering regulations, and more than a dozen other states are exploring the issue. “I firmly believe that we need a set of fundamental, federal standards that will protect the integrity of the game, consumers, and the spor...

Last week I posted a Twitter poll (@casinologger) asking readers to vote on which hand was the hardest to stick to basic strategy on. These were the four poll options, along with what percentage of votes they got: 1. Hard 12 vs dealers 2 up 34% 2. Hard 13 vs dealers 3 up 31% 3. 9,9 vs dealers 7 up  14% 4. A,6 vs dealers 6 up  21% Here is my analysis of your votes: As you can see, hands 1 and 2 together took 65% of the votes, and I'm sure I know why.  I hate when the dealer has a two or a three up and apparently you guys do too. I just know that if the dealer has a ten for a hole card, he will draw an eight. Or if he has a seven for a hole card he'll draw a 10.  I even seem to lose when I stand on a 20 in these situations. The way to play this hand is to remember that when the dealer has a two or three up you hit if you have a hard 12 and stand if you have a hard 13. Now, you can deviate from basic strategy based on the count if you want to. but if you do it to...

Last night I continued my empirical research on dice setting, with mixed results. Let me tell you about it. So I was back at the Bonanza Casino, on North Virginia Street about 3 miles north of downtown, where the craps table has either a $2 or $3 minimum until 6 pm on most weekdays. I bought in for my usual hundred, and placed $5 on the pass line. My plan was the same as it usually is when I play craps: $5 pass line with max odds, and then place the 6 and 8 for $12 each, once a point is established. I'm continuing with the same way of setting that I said I've done before, which is to have the five and one touching each other on the inside. I also noticed that the threes face me as I set the dice, in kind of a V formation. I then used my three finger/one thumb grip and through the dice to the far end of the table as before, as low and slow as I possibly can. (I've taken to calling this a "low energy" dice toss.) So what were the results? I threw a lot of sevens ...

As I begin, here is a reminder that I have a Patron page. Click here to become a Patron and support my Blogging. And  here is the link to my Amazon affiliate page and some  Good books about Casino gambling . Now on with the show. I came across this article online and wanted to pass it on to you here. Lucky Idiots' May Be Bigger Casino Threat Than Card-counters Casino bosses who agonize about blackjack card-counters might be focusing on the wrong type of advantage player, a top gambling mathematician says. Instead, they should look closer at the “lucky idiot” who repeatedly plays poorly yet amasses huge winnings, says Eliot Jacobson, owner and president of Jacobson Gaming and operator of www.apheat.net , which analyzes casino games, side bets and methods of advantage play. That “lucky idiot” might be part of a team using advantage-play techniques that are more profitable than card-counting and more difficult for casino supervisors to identify, Jacobson says. In general, adva...

 The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that  MGM Resorts will implement a 20 percent service charge at all spas and salons inside the company’s Strip properties.The company said the added service charge essentially replaces tips. Five MGM properties — The  Mirage,   Excalibur,   Luxor,   MGM Grand  and New York-New York — already have a service charge at their spas and salons.   Aria, Bellagio,   Vdara,   Mandalay Bay and  Delano Las Vegas  will be joining, with the charge in place by the end of August. David Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at UNLV, said it’s unclear how  this decision will affect MGM Resorts ; it could bring in additional revenue in the short term, but it could also affect customers’ goodwill. Visitors to Las Vegas “have become increasingly outspoken in their disapproval of add-on charges and fees, and it is hard to imagine that customers will be happy with a new service charge,...

There. I said it. I'm sure I'll get a lot of angry response or emails, but there really is only one advantage that the house has over the player in blackjack. Do you know what it is? The house plays last. In a full Blackjack game with seven players at the table and one dealer the cards are dealt in the play moves clockwise from first base to third base. To be correct, I should say that it's clockwise from the Dealer's perspective. At any rate, once every player receives there two cards and the dealer has his two cards, with one of them face-up, then every player in turn makes his hit or stand decisions. It will start with the player on the dealers left and proceed clockwise to the player on the dealers right. Then the dealer plays last. If he busts, it only makes a winner out of  everyone left with bets on the layout. Prior to that, as play went around the table, if a player had busted he lost immediately (and the dealer immediately took his money). If the dealer go...