Welcome to our Casino Blog section
CasinoGuide.com is proud to present the world's best Casino Blog, bringing you the inside story from Vegas and beyond.
Latest Posts
Let The Games Begin
May 29, 2010
It's hard to believe that it's already been a year, but today kicked off the 2010 World Series of Poker. Of course, the Main Event still doesn't begin for another month, but it feels like only yesterday that I was perusing the halls of the 2009 event. When I went over to the Rio to check out the preliminary tournaments today, I ran into a situation which I had heard about, but had never witnessed first-hand. Standing outside near the red carpet, random grinders were cutting deals with other players and benefactors. People were showing up to the event without money and were trying to get staked on the spot. It kind of reminded me of trying to get picked for dodgeball. One guy was saying "I came in 4th at the blah blah tournament last month", and another guy was pimping his son and trying to get him into a tournament. ... Read the full blog post...
Indecent Counter-Proposal
May 17, 2010
Well, another Triple Crown race, another loss. My longshot strategy is 0-2 this year. I know, "that's why they call them long shots", but where the hell is equine Jeff Gillooly when you need him? For the Preakness, I decided to give my money to the Sahara book, but when the lone guy behind the counter refused to take his eyes off of a televised game to answer my questions, I got back in the car and made a quick drive to the Hilton. Hey, Nevada Public Utilities Commission, do you see that ... the competitive marketplace actually works. When I say that "I" drove to the Hilton, I don't mean that I actually operated the gas pedal and the steering wheel. The fact is, I only drive a small percentage of the time I go somewhere by vehicle. I hate driving, I know just enough people in this town that I don't ... Read the full blog post...
A Grand Evening
May 9, 2010
Although I typically refuse to do so, Friday was a rare occasion in which I acquiesced to the dreaded "Will you drive me to the airport?" request. While this is a task that I will never perform for an able-bodied person, it just so happened that I had two friends staying in NYNY last week, and one of them was on crutches. Apparently, there is nothing like disability to give one a bit of perspective, because on the way to McCarran, both of these Strip-snobs declared that their next visit to Vegas would be spent on Fremont Street. According to these two, they had an epiphany on this trip. They had come to the conclusion that "everything on The Strip is too far away", and they no longer wanted to feel like a "captive audience in a group of hotels owned by the same people". See ... they all come around. Eventually. After dropping ... Read the full blog post...
Off Track Forgetting
May 4, 2010
It's been awhile since I have bet on sports. As a matter of fact, before Saturday, the last wager I put down was during the Super Bowl. Since I ditched my television, both my interest and knowledge of the professional sports world has plummeted. I've been so out of the loop that I had completely forgotten that the Kentucky Derby was being run this weekend. Fortunately, I checked my forums from my phone while I was out and about on Saturday, and I spotted a thread where the race was being discussed. Upon learning that post time was only a few hours away, I decided to head over to the Stratosphere sports book to get a couple of bets in. I did no research ahead of time, made no preparations, and did not even make a short list of horses of which I was interested in. In retrospect, this was a mistake. When I ... Read the full blog post...
The Other Nugget
April 30, 2010
I had a few things to take care of near Cashman Field earlier this week, and while there, I saw the large Jerry's Nugget oil well sign in the distance. Jerry's Nugget is officially in the city limits of North Las Vegas, but its location of only 1.5 miles north of Fremont Street is enough to consider it a pseudo-Downtown property. Even though this is the case, I've only visited Jerry's a handful of times in the last decade. Today, I decided to add another visit to that meager total. As I drove through the dusty nothingness that is the Las Vegas/North Las Vegas border and approached the entrance to Jerry's, my passenger yelled "There it is!". Assuming he had lost his damn mind getting this excited about a locals casino, I turned toward him to level a well-placed insult when I saw him pointing out the window at the Palomino Club. "That's the only ... Read the full blog post...
Las Vegas on $12 a Day
April 26, 2010
Another weekend has come and gone, and even though it got off to a rough start, this one was still enjoyable in a pathetic kind of way. On Friday night, I had planned to meet a few people at the Sahara "Elvis Suite". That is not the official name of the suite, I only call it by this name because this was the room where Elvis (supposedly) filmed one of his many movies. That particular meeting fell through, however, and I ended up having dinner with some homeskillets from back east. I had not seen these people since last year, and one of them brought a wallet that she had forgotten to send me for Christmas. There is something about getting a Christmas present in April that's kind of cool because it's so unexpected. Being very pleased with my new gift, I decided to christen it with a few crisp bills, with the ... Read the full blog post...
A Game of Skill
April 21, 2010
Is it gambling, or a game of skill? This debate is probably as old as poker itself. The state of Massachusetts is currently pondering this very issue, and it appears that they are leaning toward the "skill" conclusion. For a few brief moments, it looked as if the Commonwealth of Massachusetts would become the latest jurisdiction to criminalize internet gambling and online poker. A bill introduced by House Speaker Robert DeLeo legalizing casino gambling read in part, “Any person who knowingly transmits or receives a wager of any type by any telecommunication device, including telephone, cellular phone, internet, local area network… or knowingly installs or maintains said device or equipment for the transmission or receipt of wagering information shall be punished.” The penalty for firing up an online poker room was set to be up to two years in jail and a $25,000 fine. Effective grassroots lobbying proved to be the difference-maker ... Read the full blog post...
Strangers in the Night
April 13, 2010
New York New York. The only casino in Las Vegas named after a Frank Sinatra song. With the exception of Bill's Gamblin' Hall, of course. On Sunday evening, I took a trip to this venerable property to meet with someone and to avail myself of the finest gaming that MGM/Mirage has to offer. We began the gambling festivities mashing Video Poker buttons in Pour 24 (where I made a tiny profit), and then we moved down to the NYNY "party pit". Unfortunately, on this night, there was no party to be found in this pit. There were dealers, and there was a stage behind them, but there were no women dancing nearby. Hell, there really weren't any women anywhere. This party pit was clearly designed by Steve Jobs and the iPad development team. After winning slightly more money in the misnamed pit, catching up, and cashing out, my driver for the evening and I made ... Read the full blog post...
A Blast From The Past
April 9, 2010
Last week, I watched with mild confusion as people dressed in clothing from the 40's, 50's, and 60's made their way up and down the Boulevard. After querying a few of these people, I was informed that it was "Rockabilly Weekend" in Las Vegas, and that ground zero for this impromptu cast from 'Grease' was the Orleans Hotel and Casino. Having not been to the Orleans in several months, the fact that something unusual was happening gave me the perfect excuse to visit the property. Now, maybe it's because I am too young (at 41, I never thought I would say this), or maybe it is because I was never immersed in the culture, but I've never personally been into the Rockabilly thing. Having relatives that grew up in Appalachia, I was exposed to a great deal of REAL hillbilly rock, but I never got into the cartoon-y mainstream incarnation of the genre. The ... Read the full blog post...
Rex and the City
March 22, 2010
Sex and the City. I've never watched the show. Hell, I'm not even sure what it's about. From the conversations I've overheard, it sounds like a show about five over-the-hill hookers, but that's an uneducated guess. I suppose I could look it up, but the answer would probably just depress me. Anyway, before or during their visits, several of my visiting friends and family have made it a point to ask me where they could find the new Sex and the City slot machines, and my answer was always the same. "Why?" Their answers never made much sense. Apparently, there was a special on TV or some kind of other advertisement promoting the machines, and in the short amount of time that they have been available, a bit of a strange cult following has developed around this particular game. Even though this has been the case, I have never sought out the machines. I figured ... Read the full blog post...
