The Easy Vegas thread
Quote: hitthat16I know circus circus in Reno became a slot parlor, and they are now again a full casino with tables. I think they only open them on weekends but it’s a start.
I didn't know that, thanks for the correction.
Thank you, CrystalMath. For those who didn't know about this and similar deals, here's the scoop:Quote: CrystalMatIt’s a marginal case, but the Rio sold last year and is being leased back by Caesars.
Starting list year, both Caesars and MGM sold the real estate (land+buildings) of certain casinos, with the new owner immediately leasing the properties back to Caesars and MGM. So, for those casinos, Caesars and MGM are renting the properties from a landlord. They did this to get a big influx of cash in order to weather future recessions (which seems downright prescient now). I'm familiar with this kind of deal because I was on the board of directors of a co-op housing non-profit that did the exact same thing: sold one of the properties to get a bunch of cash, with the new owner immediately leasing the building back to us to operate.
So, interestingly, MGM is no longer the owner of the building+land of the MGM Grand! They're actually still a partial owner, since the real estate is jointly owned by two companies, one of them being a sister company of MGM Resorts.
Anyway, my list of "Who Owns What" is about who owns the casino business, not the real estate, so Caesars is still listed there as the owner of the Rio, since Caesars owns the Rio casino business.
It's like with most local restaurants: someone owns the restaurant business but the land+building is rented from a landlord. When someone asks who owns, say, Sushi Wonderland, s/he's usually interested in who owns the business, not who owns the real estate.
I know a skeptic could say that could be any casino at any time or was Photo-shopped, but it's important to me that there is some evidence to support my claim the tables were removed.
Quote: MichaelBluejayThanks for the heads up!
You're welcome.
Sigh.Quote: WizardThe Longhorn casino has removed their three blackjack tables and is now slots only. I wish to emphasize the tables are physically removed and not just closed.
Sic transi gloria something.
Quote: WizardThe Longhorn casino has removed their three blackjack tables and is now slots only. I wish to emphasize the tables are physically removed and not just closed.
Very disappointing. I had the pleasure of visiting last year, and though the Mrs at first seemed hesitant about going in, the experience of their blackjack tournament and friendly dealers was a highlight of our Vegas trip.
Quote: billryanCasinos come and go, but I will miss the Longhorn.
My favorite thing about the Longhorn is their coffee shop. I generally only eat breakfast there but it is my kind of place. A greasy spoon with very affordable prices. I usually get the small Chicken Fried Steak and I think it is $4.99 with hash browns and toast. They are also the only place in Vegas that i know serves chipped beef on toast (Shit on a shingle).
Quote: GialmereI like the article on what dealers get paid, especially the advice on tipping. What are your thoughts on tipping the cocktail waitress? Many here feel that $1 per drink is sufficient, yet that was the going rate 25 years ago and I feel cheap doing it.
Of course, as your dealer chart shows, it depends on where you are. One time I was at the Morongo casino near Palm Springs and tipped the waitress $1 for a water on her tray. (No booze on the casino floor there which allows 18 year olds to gamble.) She was so grateful that I wondered if anyone in that pace had ever given her a gratuity before.
@MichaelBluejay did a great job. I agree your opinion. I'll re visit here again.
Quote: DRichMy favorite thing about the Longhorn is their coffee shop. I generally only eat breakfast there but it is my kind of place. A greasy spoon with very affordable prices. I usually get the small Chicken Fried Steak and I think it is $4.99 with hash browns and toast. They are also the only place in Vegas that i know serves chipped beef on toast (Shit on a shingle).
You could get a small CFS with potato and toast for $4.99 or get twice as much CFS for 9.99, but only get one serving of potatoes and toast, or you could order two $4.99 meals and get two or everything.
I liked their regular burgers but made the mistake once of ordering their 16-ounce burger. I finished it, just to say that I did, but it was bad.
Quote: billryanYou could get a small CFS with potato and toast for $4.99 or get twice as much CFS for 9.99, but only get one serving of potatoes and toast, or you could order two $4.99 meals and get two or everything.
I liked their regular burgers but made the mistake once of ordering their 16-ounce burger. I finished it, just to say that I did, but it was bad.
I generally don't finish the $4.99 chicken fried steak. I sure don't need any more food than that. That is enough food at the one meal that I won't need to eat again for two days.
I'm doing this for a couple of reasons. First, if I'm telling readers that I think jail for online gambling is extremely unlikely, then I should put my money where my mouth is, and show that I'm actually confident about my position.
Second, if I'm wrong and anyone has actually done jail for online gambling, I want to know about it, and the bounty might motivate someone to report it when they wouldn't have done so otherwise.
I've offered rewards before for finding problems with certain content, and I've paid out a few times. It's worth it in order to make sure my content is good.
Quote: MichaelBluejayI'm offering a $100 reward for reports of any U.S. player spending any time in jail after being sentenced for gambling online, as a player.
I respect that! As far as I know not only is that number zero, but it's not a crime in the first place to play. The crime, as I understand it, is US banks facilitating the financial transactions.
Well, it's against the law in most states, according to both your state-by-state tally and mine.Quote: WizardAs far as I know not only is that number zero, but it's not a crime in the first place to play. The crime, as I understand it, is US banks facilitating the financial transactions.
Quote: MichaelBluejayWell, it's against the law in most states, according to both your state-by-state tally and mine.Quote: WizardAs far as I know not only is that number zero, but it's not a crime in the first place to play. The crime, as I understand it, is US banks facilitating the financial transactions.
I actually did that state-by-state, but I should do an updated version sooner or later. It's not really high priority since, as a practical matter, the laws are essentially never enforced against mere players. I also enjoyed your page on the subject.
The bottom of the page on WoO says, "Written by: Michael Shackleford".
Quote: MichaelBluejayGlad you liked my article!
The bottom of the page on WoO says, "Written by: Michael Shackleford".
I didn't realize that. If he doesn't care that it says that, then I'm not worried about it. It's no big deal.
Quote: WizardThe crime, as I understand it, is US banks facilitating the financial transactions.
Quote: MichaelBluejayWell, it's against the law in most states, according to both your state-by-state tally and mine.
You're right. I was referring to federal law, which I should have made clear.
Okay, I'll add it to my To-Do List, but it's a pretty long list.Quote: onenickelmiracleA nice list idea would be which hotels have the shortest walks from the casino floor to your elevator. Such I have stayed at Tropicana once and walked 10 seconds and another time 10 minutes. Maybe some places are better for the average person than 10 minutes. I'm not very familiar with all the places, maybe some get worse once you're off your elevator.
Also, I added Fremont to my Hall of Shame.
Also, I published my article on Las Vegas Shopping. I actually wrote it a couple of years ago but forgot to publish it. Whoops.
Quote: MichaelBluejayAlso, I published my article on Las Vegas Shopping. I actually wrote it a couple of years ago but forgot to publish it. Whoops.
It's not indoor, but what about The District at Green Valley Ranch? It comes across to me a little more upscale than Grand Bazaar.
That's not in Vegas.Quote: ThatDonGuyIt's not indoor, but what about The District at Green Valley Ranch? It comes across to me a little more upscale than Grand Bazaar.
Quote: MichaelBluejayThat's not in Vegas.
True but that’s a semantics game once you start excluding portions of the metro area or valley, it could be accurately stated that most of that website is more about unincorporated Clark County and not Las Vegas if you go further down the semantics route.
Quote: MichaelBluejayThat's not in Vegas.
I'm not sure that the Grand Bazaar is in Vegas either. I thought Vegas started north of Sahara.
In my experience, pendant’s like themselves exceedingly.Quote: MichaelBluejayNobody likes a pedant.
Such an audience would only be interested in the Strip and Downtown. They want to climb the Eiffel Tower, ride a gondola, see the Fremont Street Experience and gamble a few hundred dollars. The end. If they can get a few tips and save a few bucks while they do this, terrific.
If he starts sending people 10 miles this way for the best slot comps and 10 miles that way for the best VP offerings et al, the site would quickly become "Advanced Vegas" and he'd lose the audience he's trying to help.
I don't hesitate to send readers off-strip to get better odds (like in my slots and VP articles), but now that you mention it, I could certainly put that advice in more places so it's more front-and-center, so I'll add that to my to-do list.
But yes, I don't cover getting the very best slot points, or AP stuff for that matter.
The reason I don't list Henderson casinos in the List of Las Vegas Casinos is simply that Henderson isn't Las Vegas. I don't have the resources to cover Henderson as well. I mean, I could, but that would mean that there's Vegas-specific stuff on my To-Do list that wouldn't get done, because I don't have time to do everything on my list.
Thanks, I didn't know about this! I updated the site. It's very helpful when readers point out things that have changed.Quote: ThatDonGuyThe "Getting around the Las Vegas Strip" page needs to be updated to take into account the discontinuation of the SDX (and the corresponding expansion of the Deuce).
I won't be surprised if there are a few bugs, as well as content errors, but it's a good start.
Next time I update the map I plan to list extinct casinos that have no replacements in very light type. For now, even though they're not depicted, there are four of them that you can find if you hunt (mouse) around.
found a content error: Aria 1990... lolQuote: MichaelBluejayHere's something I've been wanting to do for years, and finally did: a historical map of the strip.
I won't be surprised if there are a few bugs, as well as content errors, but it's a good start.
Next time I update the map I plan to list extinct casinos that have no replacements in very light type. For now, even though they're not depicted, there are four of them that you can find if you hunt (mouse) around.
tried mousing over for Stardust but not found.
how about adding projects in process like Echelon/Resorts World Vegas?
Whoops about Aria, thanks! I fixed it.Quote: 100xOddsfound a content error: Aria 1990... lol
tried mousing over for Stardust but not found.
how about adding projects in process like Echelon/Resorts World Vegas?
I added Resorts World/Echelon/Stardust.
I don't have every dead casino if it hasn't been replaced by something. (But maybe I do, I haven't investigated.) Getting all the dead casinos in blank space listed is a lower priority. Ditto for most non-casinos (like hotels without casinos), but I'll try to continue to improve it as I find time.
Here is a link:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNY6h_8ex0vLvRehO8MHr3A
and:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GalBjKwF5Hg&t=96s
I also posted a link to your Martingale calculator on a couple of his videos as a comment. They were deleted also for some reason.........wonder why? LOL
My Betting System Challenge isn't available for blackjack for a couple of reasons. First, blackjack is beatable with card counting, and it's too hard to both craft a contract that properly legally rejects card-counting methods, as well as fend off would-be challengers who are trying to slip a card-counting method past me. Second, it's an absolute pain to program.
Could have been Dec. 2000 rather than Jan. 2001, I didn't keep records and my memory isn't perfect. First appearance in the Wayback Machine is Feb. 2001.
I didn't mention anything on the website, either. Kept it kind of low-key.
Speaking of 20-years, I first met the Wizard in person just over 20 years ago, Oct. 2000. To tell you how far back that was, he still had a day job, hadn't yet moved to Vegas, and the website was THEwizardOfOdds.com.
Quote: MichaelBluejaySpeaking of 20-years, I first met the Wizard in person just over 20 years ago, Oct. 2000. To tell you how far back that was, he still had a day job, hadn't yet moved to Vegas, and the website was THEwizardOfOdds.com.
Yes, I remember that!
October 2000 was when I was in the window after leaving SSA and before moving to Vegas. That short chapter of my life was April 2000 to Feb 2001.
Quote: MichaelBluejayI guess I should have mentioned this in January, but January was the 20-year anniversary of Easy Vegas.
Could have been Dec. 2000 rather than Jan. 2001, I didn't keep records and my memory isn't perfect. First appearance in the Wayback Machine is Feb. 2001.
I didn't mention anything on the website, either. Kept it kind of low-key.
Speaking of 20-years, I first met the Wizard in person just over 20 years ago, Oct. 2000. To tell you how far back that was, he still had a day job, hadn't yet moved to Vegas, and the website was THEwizardOfOdds.com.
I also met the Wizard back during that time frame. I think it was the late 1990's when he had TheWizardofOdds.com website. Now I consider the Wizard a friend even though we probably only see each other about twice a year.
Well, my mistake then, I thought you were still at SSA in Oct. 2000. What did you do between leaving SSA and moving to Vegas? Started the consulting business but ran it from Maryland? I know the site didn't make much money in those days.Quote: WizardOctober 2000 was when I was in the window after leaving SSA and before moving to Vegas. That short chapter of my life was April 2000 to Feb 2001.
Quote: MichaelBluejayWell, my mistake then, I thought you were still at SSA in Oct. 2000. What did you do between leaving SSA and moving to Vegas? Started the consulting business but ran it from Maryland? I know the site didn't make much money in those days.
Yup, my income was mostly consulting then. I also made an easy 2K a month from the Golden Palace every month for a while, back in the glory days of bonus hunting.
I specifically remember I left on Good Friday, 2000.
This also means that my memory was pretty good about the time the site started.
Quote: MichaelBluejayI see that I registered VegasReference.com (the original domain for Easy Vegas) on Dec. 20, 2020.
December 20, 2020??
