Sunday, July 31, 2005
Quarter Blackjack and Other Diversions
I work at Wynn Las Vegas, which is a very nice hotel with many amenities, some of which are to be found no where else. For instance, it has the only golf course on the Las Vegas strip. You must be a guest to use the course, and the greens fees are $500.00. Per round. On the other hand, good tee times are always available. There are a lot of diversions at Wynn Las Vegas, including thirty retail shops, twenty some restaurants, a unique front feature involving a waterfall and a talking face projected on a stone head. There is a Baccarat room where the minimum bet is the same as a round of golf. I have no idea how to play Baccarat, but at those prices I truly don't care. (It's an odd game, though, as the players are allowed to destroy their cards, and many do.) There is poker from a buck to no limit, and one heck of a collection of tables with roulette, blackjack, pai gow poker and craps.
Craps, now that must be fun. You should hear people shout with glee while they play. I never have played, though, so I can't vouch for the entertainment value. The players are loud, though, I'll grant them that. There are also hundreds of slot machines, including the ever popular Wheel of Fortune (that shout almost made me offer to buy the machine at the airport once just so I could throw it away and shut it up.) There are also two, soon to be three, theaters (Avenue Q opens shortly, Spamalot is coming next year, and there's a strange show called "Le Reve.") I see the performers for "Le Reve" frequently. They're theater all the way, which is to say effusive and over the top but basically kind and always entertaining. If you want to see them you'll need to fork over about $130.00. Go ahead, I dare you.
Well, as I said, I don't play Baccarat, and my poker experience is strictly nickel dime with friends because I'm lousy at it. But I do like video poker and blackjack. Two reasons: played well, both are pretty much break-even propositions over the long term. (So are craps and roulette, but I don't really care for screaming in my ears so I don't play them.) I'm told there are $5 blackjack tables in the casino, but I've never seen one for less than $15. Luckily, there is a bank of video blackjack machines that can be played for as little as a quarter a bet. I think a quarter is the minimum for video poker here, too, although you can find penny machines in lots of casinos these days. (Just don't hit maximum bet because it's 100 coins, and you might as well just play a dollar machine if that's what you want to do.)
I'm just rambling about all these things because yesterday morning after work, at 8AM, I went down to the casino looking for video poker when I came across the blackjack machines. Much like the video poker at Wynn, the blackjack machines are very generous. I put $3 into one and came away with $5 ten minutes later. Not a lot of cash, but a heck of a percentage gain. The machine kept giving me blackjacks (which don't have to be black or even a jack; I have no idea where the name comes from) and twenty-one if not blackjack, and once a six card win. They added up to nineteen. The dealer had twenty, but because I had six cards without busting I won anyway. Most places it takes seven cards to win that way. Not bad. I think that the next time I feel like spending some actual money gambling I'll play one of Wynn's machines for five bucks a line.
The upshot is that the place I work is a really nice place to visit and play at, or to see a play at. If only I could afford it.
Craps, now that must be fun. You should hear people shout with glee while they play. I never have played, though, so I can't vouch for the entertainment value. The players are loud, though, I'll grant them that. There are also hundreds of slot machines, including the ever popular Wheel of Fortune (that shout almost made me offer to buy the machine at the airport once just so I could throw it away and shut it up.) There are also two, soon to be three, theaters (Avenue Q opens shortly, Spamalot is coming next year, and there's a strange show called "Le Reve.") I see the performers for "Le Reve" frequently. They're theater all the way, which is to say effusive and over the top but basically kind and always entertaining. If you want to see them you'll need to fork over about $130.00. Go ahead, I dare you.
Well, as I said, I don't play Baccarat, and my poker experience is strictly nickel dime with friends because I'm lousy at it. But I do like video poker and blackjack. Two reasons: played well, both are pretty much break-even propositions over the long term. (So are craps and roulette, but I don't really care for screaming in my ears so I don't play them.) I'm told there are $5 blackjack tables in the casino, but I've never seen one for less than $15. Luckily, there is a bank of video blackjack machines that can be played for as little as a quarter a bet. I think a quarter is the minimum for video poker here, too, although you can find penny machines in lots of casinos these days. (Just don't hit maximum bet because it's 100 coins, and you might as well just play a dollar machine if that's what you want to do.)
I'm just rambling about all these things because yesterday morning after work, at 8AM, I went down to the casino looking for video poker when I came across the blackjack machines. Much like the video poker at Wynn, the blackjack machines are very generous. I put $3 into one and came away with $5 ten minutes later. Not a lot of cash, but a heck of a percentage gain. The machine kept giving me blackjacks (which don't have to be black or even a jack; I have no idea where the name comes from) and twenty-one if not blackjack, and once a six card win. They added up to nineteen. The dealer had twenty, but because I had six cards without busting I won anyway. Most places it takes seven cards to win that way. Not bad. I think that the next time I feel like spending some actual money gambling I'll play one of Wynn's machines for five bucks a line.
The upshot is that the place I work is a really nice place to visit and play at, or to see a play at. If only I could afford it.
