Vegas 6/15-20 (and a craps question)
I got a deal a few months ago at Downtown Grand; it ended up being something like $55 a night after the "resort fee." There are some places that still give off the "Lady Luck" vibe; for example, the elevators use actual bells rather than tones. Also, it must really cater to Asian tourists, as there is no fourth floor (just as there is also no 13th). DG has $5 craps with 345x odds, and you can usually find a $5 blackjack table except in "prime time", where the minimum is $10 (6 deck shoe, H17, blackjack plays 3-2; don't know about DAS or RSA).
Speaking of craps, here's a question for the experts: when I bought in, I didn't realize there was a point in play (I heard one of the dealers call "craps" on a 12), and put $5 on the pass line; the next roll made a point of 5, and I got back my 5 plus 7 more. What is the "standard" policy for a pass line bet that's not on a come-out?
On Monday, I, er, well, I, um, rented a car to get to the hotels left on my "list". I rented a Focus, which was a little small for me; I should have paid the extra $4/day for a Camry or Fusion. Anyway, here's what I managed to reach between 8:30 AM and about 3 PM, from The D (which is where the rental car office was); M, Green Valley, Fiesta Henderson, El Dorado, Railroad Pass, Club Fortune, Jokers Wild, Longhorn (after lunch at Original Tommy's next door - I don't see why everyone loves the chili; it's bland and congeals quickly), Bighorn, Jerry's Nugget, Silver Nugget, Opera House, Lucky Club, Fiesta Rancho, Rampart, Suncoast, and Red Rock, where I watched the USA-Ghana soccer match with a pro-USA crowd. After that, dinner at Via Brasil, and then back to Downtown Grand. Note that the only freeways I took were I-15 to the M, and then 215 from Green Valley to Fiesta Henderson.
Note that DG uses the pay parking garage across the street from its main entrance, but you can get the ticket validated for free parking at the hotel's front desk.
I got far more done on Monday than I had expected, so my Tuesday travels were light - first to Sunset Station, then Wildfire (which is pretty much just a bowling alley, sports book, and machines - no tables), then to the Pinball Hall of Fame on Tropicana near Maryland (where, for some reason, the new The Wizard of Oz pinball wasn't set up next to the other newer ones), then to Arizona Charlie's in Boulder for the Tuesday night BBQ Buffet.
The only other thing that surprised me on my trip was that there was $5 craps on the strip in the dinner hours - Harrah's had a $5 table (345x odds) open until at least 7 PM, when I left to catch the Terry Fator show at the Mirage.
Please don't buy in in the middle of a roll. Please.
Quote: ThatDonGuySpeaking of craps, here's a question for the experts: when I bought in, I didn't realize there was a point in play (I heard one of the dealers call "craps" on a 12), and put $5 on the pass line; the next roll made a point of 5, and I got back my 5 plus 7 more. What is the "standard" policy for a pass line bet that's not on a come-out?
Most of the time it would be treated as a "put bet" and pay you even money. You ended up with a generous dealer/casino that paid it as a place bet (7:5) instead.
Quote: ThatDonGuy[..]where I watched the USA-Ghana soccer match with a pro-USA crowd.
That does it. Las Vegas is not the same country as America ;)
Quote: wudgedMost of the time it would be treated as a "put bet" and pay you even money. You ended up with a generous dealer/casino that paid it as a place bet (7:5) instead.
I agree with wudged, except for the Put Bet part. It is my understanding a PUT bet only goes on box numbers. In this case, you were just jumping in on the current point, which I do not believe is considered a PUT bet.
If you put your $5 clearly in the Pass Line area, and the dealer paid you $7, the dealer did you a big favor and treated your bet as a Place bet. When I see a dealer do this for someone, that is an immediate tip from me.
If you were a bit sloppy putting your money down on the pass line, and it was touching the back line, then the dealer may have assumed you knew that you were making a Place bet on the point. If you were sloppy, then you got lucky.
But this just shows how important it is at craps to know what you are doing. You could have just as easily been given $5, instead of $7. You would have been happy winning in either case, but you ended up with $2 more just because of where the money is placed.
Quote: ahiromuWell it looks like we disagree. I tend to play at places that don't allow put bets (or they're so rare you basically have to yell at the dealer that you're making one).
If somebody either isn't paying attention or doesn't understand the game, and they try to make a pass line bet when there is a point established, I usually see dealers push the bet back so it straddles the bottom line of the pass line box (making it a place bet on the point). If the person asks, the dealer usually just says that it's the same bet with better odds. If the person insists (I've seen this happen a few times) the dealer will just shrug and put it back in the pass line box, and pay them less when they hit.
---
Are you guys aware that a place bet is just a put bet with a preset ratio of flat to odds? I say the payout was correct.
Quote: DJTeddyBearNice report and nice job on that hit and run casino circuit!
Definitely did better than we did in February.
We had the car from Friday to Monday, and we hit downtown obv. but the only offstrip casinos we made it to were Gold Coast, Rio, Sam's Town, South Point, M, Suncoast, and Red Rock. These were the ones I wanted to hit the most, but I wouldn't have minded to hit a few more.
Quote: ahiromuUsually if you put a bet down around the pass line after a point, it's treated as a place bet (which is how yours was, 7:5). However, most of the time this bet is placed not in the pass line box, but on the line between the pass line box and where you'd put your odds.
Please don't buy in in the middle of a roll. Please.
Usually, I don't, but like I said, I didn't realize I was in the middle of a roll when I did.
It happens, often.Quote: ThatDonGuyUsually, I don't, but like I said, I didn't realize I was in the middle of a roll when I did.
Usually a dealer will intone "placing the Point, Sir" (ie, you are NOT making a Line Bet). If you WANT to place the point then position your chip(s) ON the bottom white line of the PASS LINE area, stradling the area where a Pass Line bet would be made and where Pass line ODDs would be made. If its a stack, position the bottom chip ON the line and position the rest of you chips slightly offset.
A non busy dealer will confirm: Placing The Point.
If you dont want to miss the roll, just show your money and call your bet. The dealer will say "bet". This is termed a call bet.
Quote: DJTeddyBearAre you guys aware that a place bet is just a put bet with a preset ratio of flat to odds? I say the payout was correct.
This is true for the payout, but it is not true for the bet.
A PUT bet cannot be taken back down, but a PLACE bet can. So yes, while a PUT bet with the right odds will pay the same as a PLACE bet, they are not really the same bet.
Quote: ThatDonGuyOn Monday, I, er, well, I, um, rented a car to get to the hotels left on my "list". I rented a Focus, which was a little small for me; I should have paid the extra $4/day for a Camry or Fusion. Anyway, here's what I managed to reach between 8:30 AM and about 3 PM, from The D (which is where the rental car office was); M, Green Valley, Fiesta Henderson, El Dorado, Railroad Pass, Club Fortune, Jokers Wild, Longhorn (after lunch at Original Tommy's next door - I don't see why everyone loves the chili; it's bland and congeals quickly), Bighorn, Jerry's Nugget, Silver Nugget, Opera House, Lucky Club, Fiesta Rancho, Rampart, Suncoast, and Red Rock, where I watched the USA-Ghana soccer match with a pro-USA crowd. After that, dinner at Via Brasil, and then back to Downtown Grand. Note that the only freeways I took were I-15 to the M, and then 215 from Green Valley to Fiesta Henderson.
Holy crap man! How the hell did you hit all of those casinos in one day, and by 3pm no less?! Did you gamble at all of them? That is a huge list. Honestly, that day does not sound like fun at all to me, with all of the driving. But that's me, you do your own thing :)
Quote: DJTeddyBearAre you guys aware that a place bet is just a put bet with a preset ratio of flat to odds? I say the payout was correct.
True for 5/6/8/9, but not quite true with the 4/10. A $30 place on the 6 pays the same as a $5 put bet with $25 odds. (Each bet has $30 total in action for a $35 payoff). But a $20 place on the 4 pays $36, while a $5 put bet with $15 odds will only pay you $35. Either way you're better off with a buy bet anyway, which will pay you $39 assuming vig-on-win.
Also as has been mentioned, a put bet is a contract bet and can't be taken down. And is often time disallowed at casinos with more than 3/4/5 odds. And is so rare that I don't even know why we bother bringing it up around here :). Actually, if you can find a place with 10x odds that allows put bets and it's not a big hassle, and you normally would make place bets anyway, might as well do put bets. But I rarely, if EVER make place bets (stick to pass/come or DP/DC + odds), so I don't even really think about it.
OP clearly just ran into a friendly dealer who saw him put down the pass line after the come out, and gave him a "courtesy pay" of 7:5. Pretty nice dealer, really, as he had to be sure you actually put the chips down after the comeout.
Quote: AcesAndEightsHoly crap man! How the hell did you hit all of those casinos in one day, and by 3pm no less?! Did you gamble at all of them? That is a huge list. Honestly, that day does not sound like fun at all to me, with all of the driving. But that's me, you do your own thing :)
I didn't gamble at any of them. In most cases, it was, park out front, get a chip from the cage or an empty table with a dealer, get a player's club card, find a gift shop (they're usually near the hotel's front desk) to get a pair of casino dice, and leave.
For whatever reason, while The M didn't have its own dice available, it had a Viva Vegas gift shop that sold other casinos' dice, including three casinos that weren't selling their own when I was in Vegas last year - Planet Hollywood, Rio, and Cosmopolitan.
The only gambling I did was about an hour of $10 blackjack, an hour or so of 8/6 JoB VP, $20 into a dollar Wheel of Fortune slot, and about 2 hours of craps. Except for an hour of craps at Harrah's (where I was waiting for the Terry Fator show at the Mirage to start seating), all of it was at the Downtown Grand.
Quote: ThatDonGuyI didn't gamble at any of them. In most cases, it was, park out front, get a chip from the cage or an empty table with a dealer, get a player's club card, find a gift shop (they're usually near the hotel's front desk) to get a pair of casino dice, and leave.
For whatever reason, while The M didn't have its own dice available, it had a Viva Vegas gift shop that sold other casinos' dice, including three casinos that weren't selling their own when I was in Vegas last year - Planet Hollywood, Rio, and Cosmopolitan.
The only gambling I did was about an hour of $10 blackjack, an hour or so of 8/6 JoB VP, $20 into a dollar Wheel of Fortune slot, and about 2 hours of craps. Except for an hour of craps at Harrah's (where I was waiting for the Terry Fator show at the Mirage to start seating), all of it was at the Downtown Grand.
Ah okay, it was a souvenir-collecting trip. Understood. Although I have to say that I like Doc and rdw4potus's method better, where they gamble at least a few minutes while collecting each chip :).
Quote: AcesAndEightsAh okay, it was a souvenir-collecting trip. Understood. Although I have to say that I like Doc and rdw4potus's method better, where they gamble at least a few minutes while collecting each chip :).
I'm used to doing this on buses, where I don't have much time to gamble as I have to try to catch the next bus, which usually gives me 30 minutes to get in and out. The one time I remember gambling at a casino where I was making a chip run was at Silverton last year, as the buses are an hour apart. (This is where I threw back all five cards of a dealt full house in VP as I was so used to how it's done online, where cards in paying hands are held by default. It didn't help me any that it said "FULL HOUSE" on the deal.)
Quote: ThatDonGuyI'm used to doing this on buses, where I don't have much time to gamble as I have to try to catch the next bus, which usually gives me 30 minutes to get in and out. The one time I remember gambling at a casino where I was making a chip run was at Silverton last year, as the buses are an hour apart. (This is where I threw back all five cards of a dealt full house in VP as I was so used to how it's done online, where cards in paying hands are held by default. It didn't help me any that it said "FULL HOUSE" on the deal.)
Obviously too late now, but if you call a slot attendant over, they will almost certainly pay you.
Quote: AxiomOfChoiceObviously too late now, but if you call a slot attendant over, they will almost certainly pay you.
This is exactly what happened to me in my first VP session after having learned 9/6 job bs. I was dealt a full house, got excited, and drew all new cards. Won nothing. But I didn't know at the time that I could get the Attendant to review my error and possibly pay me.
