OneAngryDwarf's Blog

Mar. 29—Lisbon, Portugal

I last visited Lisbon in 2008, and thought it was one of the most beautiful cities I had ever seen—the shimmering limestone streets, terra cotta building facades, and funky old trams making their way up and down the windy streets give the city a lot of character. Walking about town four years later, it’s very apparent that the Euro recession has taken its toll on the city. Seems like quite a bit more graffiti and abandoned storefronts strewn about now, not to mention fewer tourists out and about. There are still plenty of interesting sights to see, however, and I still highly recommend a visit for any European traveler for something a bit more off the beaten path than Paris or Rome.

My main objective this time around is to visit Casino Lisboa, located not too far from the city center. The casino opened in 2005, apparently with much controversy as the closest casino to the city previously was 30km away—people were worried about the harmful effects on both that casino and the population at large. It is true that the casino is quite easy to access: just a relatively quick 15-20 minute ride on Lisbon’s extensive and efficient subway system to the neighborhood of Oriente, a ritzy suburb with a high-speed train station, expensive shopping mall, and a very large science center for the kids. From there it’s a (brisk) 5-minute walk over to the casino, which is quite imposing from the outside—lots of black mirrored glass with the casino’s name in giant stencil lettering. To me it almost looked like some kind of warehouse:





I go up to the entrance at about 1PM, and a security guard informs me that…big surprise…they don’t open for another two hours. Judging from these experiences and research of other European casinos, this seems to be the norm here. Only we degenerate Americans believe in gambling at all hours of the day. :-) (OK, Canadians too, to be fair.) It’s fine with me, though, gives me a bit of a chance to have lunch and explore the neighborhood a bit.

Oriente is, in a word…nice. A little too nice, maybe, with big high-rises and fancy restaurants everywhere; it’s quite a bit more sterile than the grittier urban core of Lisbon. (Unfortunately I forgot to get pictures of the area…we’ll be back in about a month and a half, though, and will try to do so then. Scout’s honor.) Anyway, after a pleasant but expensive cable car ride and lunch at a restaurant that screwed up my order twice, I headed back to the casino. It seems like they could stand to open a bit earlier, as there was already a small crowd out front waiting when I arrived shortly before 3PM.

Unfortunately, as is typically the case, taking pictures inside the casino is a big no-no, so you’ll have to take my word for it that it’s quite nice. The mirrored black glass theme continues inside, bit it blends a bit better and gives the casino kind of a nightclub look—I imagine that was the intention to try and attract a party crowd. Table games are all the way up on the third floor—American casinos seem to like having the gaming area all on one floor, but other countries seem to favor multiple levels. (Casino Montreal has a very similar layout—Greektown in Detroit is the only American casino I’ve seen that does it.) Predictably, roulette is the most popular game by far, with 6 or 7 tables. All single-zero, which is nice if you like roulette. No craps, but two tables of blackjack and one each of Caribbean Stud and Mini-Bacc on the other side of the pit. The blackjack rules weren’t too bad, but kind of strange…6-deck CSM, 3:2, dealer does not peek for Blackjack, S17, double 9-10-11 only including after split, surrender available except against an Ace…and the most interesting rule, a suited 6-7-8 or 7-7-7 automatically pays 3:1. I can’t imagine the effect of this on the house edge is that much great, since it’s so rare, but it is a nice bonus even though no one hit it in the short time I was there (though there were a few close calls). Both BJ tables started at a 5-Euro minimum (about US$6.60), which I was pleasantly surprised about; I was expecting it to be much higher.

Due to time constraints, I’m only able to play for about 45 minutes, and after two blackjacks, a couple surrenders, and zero double downs, I leave the table…exactly even. Sadly, Casino Lisboa did follow that weird “you have to surrender before the first player takes a hit” rule that I’ve railed about before, but at least here the dealer actually asked the table if anyone wanted to surrender before starting to deal again. I was surprised to sit down next to a fellow American at the table—a tough-looking guy with a very stereotypical Noo Yawk accent, not exactly someone I would’ve expected to meet in Portugal. He turned out to be quite funny, though, and joked around with the dealer (who spoke excellent English) and generally made the table a fun experience. Overall I liked Casino Lisboa and wish I could have stuck around a bit longer—but this mini-review will have to do for now.

So that’s my whirlwind tour of Portugal for you…stay tuned for the next installment, hopefully in a few days…

Yes, I’m still hanging around here. No, my “Euro Trip” is nothing like that ridiculous movie from 6 or 7 years ago, just needed some kind of catchy title. Anyway, for those unaware, I work on a cruise ship, and a few days ago we finally docked in our first European port after a grueling 7-day Atlantic crossing. Since there doesn’t seem to be too much discussion of European casinos here, I thought I would offer my impressions of the ones that I’m able to visit, along with a general travelogue as I sail across the Mediterranean for the next few months. So here we go…

Mar. 27—Funchal, Madeira

Madeira is a tiny island territory controlled by Portugal, and is actually closer to Africa than Europe. It’s a very common first stop for cruise ships traveling across the Atlantic for this reason, and sure enough we pulled into the dock alongside four other massive ships—not very ideal for just having a relaxing stroll through town, unfortunately!

I was initially unsure if there was a casino in Madeira or not, but as soon as I got off the ship I noticed the huge building on top of a hill with a sign saying “PESTADA CASINO HOTEL PARK,” so I guess that answered my question. I walked up the hill to the hotel—surprisingly, it wasn’t quite as steep as it seemed at first glance. I walked through the front door of the hotel and wander around looking for the casino. I see some signs advertising it around, but no sign of an entrance anywhere. Don’t they usually want to make it obvious? It took about 10 more minutes of wandering before I realize that it’s actually in a totally separate building. D’oh. “Casino Madeira,” the sign says out front—not clear if it’s actually run by the hotel or not. Sadly, I got to the front door of the casino to find out that they don’t open until 3PM. My ship sails at 4PM, so that’s cutting it a bit too close. So I get to save my money for another day, at least…Both the casino and the hotel do have some interesting retro-futuristic architecture, though, which I took some pictures of:





After that little adventure, I headed back down the hill and towards the Funchal city center. Funchal, the de facto “capital” and largest city on the island, is in many ways a typical European city—lots of old buildings, narrow streets—and currency exchange kiosks with horrible rates, as I soon found out. There was some interesting public art along the way, advertising what seemed to be an exhibit at the nearby art museum:






I re-boarded my ship later that afternoon and we proceeded to make our way over to mainland Europe.

(split into two parts for space concerns...next bit on its way...)

I had the chance to visit two casinos in San Juan, Puerto Rico yesterday. There are several more in the city, which I didn't have time to see, but I'll be returning in two weeks and hope to visit some more then and write reviews. For now, here are some mini-reviews of those two:

The Sheraton Old San Juan (not to be confused with the San Juan Sheraton, which is in another part of the city) is the only casino-hotel in the historic Old Town part of the city. It is a small casino, with about 400 slot machines and 10 table games, only three of which were open when I was there--two blackjack, one roulette. The blackjack rules were: 6 decks, dealer stands on soft 17, double any two cards, no surrender or resplitting aces, and the dealer does not take a hole card (European-style). One table had a US$10 minimum, the other $15. One unusual thing I saw on the $10 table was a $1 progressive bet, like the ones in Carribbean Stud or Let It Ride. While I had seen some online casinos offer this at their blackjack, this was the first time I had ever seen one at a brick-and-mortar casino. The paytable was as follows, based only on the player's hand:

Four aces of the same color=Jackpot
Three suited aces=2500 for 1
Three aces=250 for 1
Two suited aces=100 for 1
Two aces=25 for 1

The jackpot was at $40,855.40 when I was there. As one might imagine, this bet slowed the game to a crawl when people were playing it.

Roulette was double-zero with a $5 minimum. I didn't ask if there was an "en prison" rule, but my guess is there is none. There is one Three-Card Poker table, with the usual Pair Plus (40-30-6-3-1) and Ante Bonus (5-4-1) paytables. They do not offer craps.


The El San Juan hotel is one of the oldest in the city, and one of the most luxurious (it's owned by the Waldorf-Astoria company). It's located near the San Juan Airport. The casino has about 400 slot machines, and 15 table games. A casino of this size would rank as a small locals casino by Vegas standards, but it's actually the largest casino in San Juan. The casino is not open 24 hours a day; posted hours are 10AM-4AM, and the tables didn't get going until shortly after noon. Once again, only 2 blackjack and 1 roulette table opened. The blackjack rules were the same as at the Sheraton, except that the dealer DID take a hole card (American style). There are 2 craps tables, but they don't open until later in the evening. Signage at the craps table indicated a $5 minimum, and a field paying 2:1 on the 12. There was nothing indicating the odds allowed, but I noticed a conversion chart on the back of the table labeled "double odds," so I'm assuming that's what they offer. There is one Caribbean Stud Poker table, which is all there is as far as novelty games go. There is also no video poker, only slots.

General information:

Unlike Vegas, the casinos in San Juan are spread out in different areas throughout the city. Unfortunately, Puerto Rico does not have great public transportation, so a taxi or rental car is the best way to travel between them. Spanish is by far the most popular local language, but most employees in tourist-related professions--including all dealers and pit bosses I encountered--speak fluent English. Tipping dealers is encouraged; I was a little confused about this at first, since there was no space for them at the El San Juan, but there was a tip box at the Sheraton, so they are definitely expected. The minimum gambling age is 18.

So that's it for now. I'll definitely be checking out some more casinos in a few weeks and will report back--I'm particularly curious about which hotels deal American-style blackjack and which are European (no hole card). Until then, take care and good luck!

Just checked out of a brief one-night getaway at the MGM Grand in beautiful downtown Detroit. Some random thoughts:

--As reported here before, the hotel is very luxurious--easily on par with Bellagio, Wynn, etc. You will pay for it though. I originally booked the "Grand Player" package, which included $100 in free slot play and dinner at the buffet, for a total of $289 + tax. When I checked in, the front desk clerk checked with the MLife club to see if I qualified for any discounts, and she said I could get casino rate for my room at $199 + tax, but no free play or buffet. I stuck with the original package, figuring $90 extra for $100 freeplay and a buffet seemed like a pretty good deal. Unfortunately, as I later found out at checkout, booking a package meant that I couldn't use my comp dollars toward the room, only for incidentals and the lunch I had at the food court.

--Kudos to the very helpful staff at MGM. The front desk staff without exception were some of the friendliest and most helpful clerks I've encountered in a hotel. A clerk named Shawnice (sp?) in particular went above and beyond when I checked in, getting me into a room right when I arrived at 7AM. I was expecting to have to store my bags and then wait until the afternoon to check in, so this was a very pleasant surprise. The players club representative was also very helpful. Dealers were a bit more of a mixed bag, but they were all competent and none of them make too many mistakes.

--Tables are way too crowded here! Just about every single BJ and mini-bacc spot was filled at 1PM, and finding a seat at any of the three Ultimate Texas Hold'em tables was nigh impossible up until midnight.

--MGM recently changed their players club, seemingly to be a bit more like Harrah's Total Rewards. They're still far more generous, though: after less than half of the play I gave Harrah's properties in Vegas, I had almost 4 times as many comp dollars on my card. The flipside, of course, is that Harrah's offers lots of comped and discounted rooms for future stays, while the "discount" rates MGM shows me on their website aren't much lower than usual.

--Bad variance got the better of me on this trip, though I guess it was to be expected after doing pretty well in Vegas last month. I started off with a hour of craps and did OK, was up a few hundred bucks, but went over to UTH and did terrible, busted my bankroll after about 4 hours. Seems like I folded over 60% of my hands. The few decent hands I got, the dealer just kept on one-upping me. The worst one: I raise 4x with pocket aces. Dealer puts three Queens on the board, and....flips over the fourth Queen in her hand. Ouch. I bet the Trips, so I was still a net winner, but it's the principle of the terrible beat that stings. I can't say I'm suspicious of the auto-shuffler, since I also played UTH at Bally's in Vegas--which doesn't use one--and had a pretty bad losing streak there too for a while.

Overall, if anyone finds himself or herself in Detroit for whatever reason, the MGM is worth stopping in to play for a bit. It's up to you if the hotel is also worth the price or not. Myself, I think I'll just stay at the Super 8 next time.

WOVCON EAST
Hosted by AZDuffman and OneAngryDwarf
Place: Rivers Casino, Pittsburgh, PA
Date: Saturday, March 12
Time: 3PM-8PM (approximate)

OK, it's not really a convention, or even anything on the scale of what the real WOVCon will be. But after AZDuffman and I discussed it, we thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to try and organize a small get-together for our brethren on the East Coast and Upper Midwest.

Since we both live in the Pittsburgh area, the Rivers is most convenient for us, admittedly. However, Pittsburgh is somewhat centrally located between the Northeast and Midwest, and is an easy 3-6 hour drive from many other major cities--so we thought it would also make a fairly convenient meeting point. And the casino itself is very nice.

The plan is pretty simple--meet up at the Drum Bar for a drink or two, then play craps/blackjack/whatever for a few hours, followed by dinner either at the buffet or Andrew's Steakhouse.

If you're interested, just RSVP in the comments so we can get an idea of how many people to expect. Thanks and hope to see you there!

Attendees so far:
AZDuffman
OneAngryDwarf
Gaming News reporter from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Teddys?
sunrise089?
pcket5s?
wrongway + SO?