Gambling in Costa Rica
Before I announce it on the Odds site I welcome all suggestions, comments, corrections and questions here first.
Video Keno - "put tables here"
Quote: rdw4potusRummy - "Briefly the house edge is XXX%"
Video Keno - "put tables here"
Thanks. Keep 'em coming.
The south-American inland capital thing is interesting. I think the issue here is that a lot of cities are not planned from scratch. These were just the population centers after the Spanish colonial rule ended. San Jose, if I remember correctly, was started via an effort to urbanize the peoples of the area. It wasn't the capitol.
Mexico city is an ancient city. Who knows why the Aztecs made it their capitol?
Quote: bbvk05I think the issue here is that a lot of cities are not planned from scratch.
Lots of big cities started as small cities. I think you could say that about just about every US city except Washington DC. In general, I think some become big cities because people want to live there. But why choose inland over the coast?
than women, or vice versa. To what do you credit their
rude attitude. Canasta
sounds interesting, we used a basket like that for bingo
when we were kids.
Thanks for killiing any desire to visit there I might have
had, of which I had none anyway..
Quote: EvenBobWere the dealers all Costa Rican's.
I assume so.
Quote:Were there more men than women, or vice versa.
In what context?
Quote:To what do you credit their rude attitude.
I don't know. Perhaps it is a badly paying job, so management can't be too picky who they hire.
Quote:Thanks for killiing any desire to visit there I might have
had, of which I had none anyway..
It doesn't surprise me that you come away with that feeling. The casinos there are not much fun. However, the country has lots of great outdoor things to do, which I didn't have the chance to do. My mother has been there four times, and she rarely goes to the same place twice.
have a wide audience. I mean how many people go to
Costa Rica to gamble when there are a zillion and 1
choices at home.
In any event, I thought this part of your intro was
amusing:
"Most tourists come to Costa Rica for one of two reasons: to enjoy nature or prostitution.
Evidently, neither group have much interest in gambling. However, for the few visitors who
are interested, I traveled there in March 2013, in part to report on the casino scene".
So from that, I hope I can assume you enjoy nature ?
Other political factors include better central control of internal security in countries with little infrastructure and troublesome mountain ranges. Also capitals are notably distant from border areas, as that tends to help defense during the many international invasions. Which are now largely historical.
By the way, I notice that the casino atop the Holiday Inn is not mentioned. Would you know whether it has closed? It never seemed that busy. Thanks.
Quote: JohnnyQSo from that, I hope I can assume you enjoy nature ?
Vulcanologists may be aware that the Arenal volcano near Fortuna is one of the handful in the world that erupts flaming boulders, a spectacular sight, especially when viewed from the bottom of the volcano. At Irazu near Cartago we were able to climb into the caldera and walk to the lip of the crater while it smoked.
what I was asking. If there's more men, the macho
attitude that pervades all of Central and S America
might be the reason for the rude behavior.
Quote: SanchoPanzaVulcanologists may be aware that the Arenal volcano near Fortuna is one of the handful in the world that erupts flaming boulders, a spectacular sight, especially when viewed from the bottom of the volcano. At Irazu near Cartago we were able to climb into the caldera and walk to the lip of the crater while it smoked.
Are you suggesting the Wiz re-phrase his intro to say:
"Most tourists come to Costa Rica for one of two reasons: to enjoy nature or prostitution and watch
flaming boulders.
(rimshot)
Quote: Mission146I didn't see any grammatical errors!
"Evidently, neither group have much interest in gambling" is an error, at least in American English.
"In Costa Rica, as with Panama, smoking is strictly prohibited" -- you mean "as in Panama"
"The most popular game is a blackjack variant Called rummy." ... "so they offer a variant Called rummy instead." -- called
"Most don't seem to realize, nor care," -- or care. The sentence is already negative.
"The pay table is the same as in the US" ... "the usual 5-4-1 pay table in the US" ... "US dollar denominations." ... "pretty high percentage of the US population" -- U.S.
"(ticket in — ticket out)" -- I would punctuate that phrase like this: "(ticket-in, ticket-out)." In any case, there is no place there for that em dash.
"Casino del Ray"/ Casino Del Ray" -- pick a style for the del.
Quote: sodawater"Evidently, neither group have much interest in gambling" is an error, at least in American English.
"In Costa Rica, as with Panama, smoking is strictly prohibited" -- you mean "as in Panama"
F*^$%&^!!!!
Right you are, "Evidently, neither group has much interest in gambling."
Thanks, Soda!
Please compare your comments with the impressions I gleaned from the website (remember their website is in Spanish... I kept yelling at it "English" and "Real Words" and "Real People" but it didn't listen).
The website had the word Ruleta yet your text seems to indicate three stories of slot machines and only six table games.
The website had the image of a pair of Red Dice... indicating some sort of dice game, perhaps craps.
The website states three texas hold em tournaments a week.
.........................
As to prostitution, the locals clearly know the situation... I wonder if there are "tells" in the ads or something?
........
As to "Dealers".... if you look at European websites you can encounter the term American Style waiters... meaning prompt and responsive rather than the French style meaning "In my own sweet time". It is possible that such a difference may exist in Dealers in South America. At one time Caesars prohibited conversation between BJ dealers and customers, perhaps South American casinos developed along similar lines. Or perhaps because the Latin style of conversation is to stand so very close to a person, conversation across a BJ table is considered rude?
Kitty Korner .... Diagonally opposite.
Quote: SanchoPanzaBy the way, I notice that the casino atop the Holiday Inn is not mentioned. Would you know whether it has closed? It never seemed that busy. Thanks.
I stayed my first night at the Holiday Inn downtown and there was no mention of a casino anywhere.
Quote: SanchoPanzaVulcanologists may be aware that the Arenal volcano near Fortuna is one of the handful in the world that erupts flaming boulders,
About an hour before landing the pilot mentioned that on the right side of the plane an erupting volcano could be seen. For once, I was on the right (as in correct) side of the plane, and indeed I could see the red glow of lava from a volcano. It was night so that was all I could make out.
Quote: Mission146I didn't see any grammatical errors!
Indeed, I must have a good proofreader. Seriously, Mission was kind enough to proofread an earlier draft.
Quote: EvenBobWere there more men or more women dealers is what I was asking.
As far as I can remember, they were 100% male.
Quote: FleaStiffI selected Palma Real at random...
The website had the word Ruleta yet your text seems to indicate three stories of slot machines and only six table games.
The website had the image of a pair of Red Dice... indicating some sort of dice game, perhaps craps.
The website states three texas hold em tournaments a week.
I mentioned the Palma had canasta, which is the same thing, except with a cage and balls instead of a wheel. I certainly didn't see any craps at the Palma. I was there around 3:00 on a weekday and didn't notice any poker tournaments. I'm not denying they have them, but I didn't recall any poker tables. I'm sure the web site is right, I was just going off my observations when I was there.
Quote:As to "Dealers".... if you look at European websites you can encounter the term American Style waiters... meaning prompt and responsive rather than the French style meaning "In my own sweet time". It is possible that such a difference may exist in Dealers in South America. At one time Caesars prohibited conversation between BJ dealers and customers, perhaps South American casinos developed along similar lines. Or perhaps because the Latin style of conversation is to stand so very close to a person, conversation across a BJ table is considered rude?
The dealers in Panama, Argentina, and Uruguay are not very friendly either. It may be that in Latin America the custom is just different regarding the dealer's job.
Let's be honest. The United States is the best place to gamble. Every other country is uptight or has a stick up their a$$ about it, or thinks it should be some sort of stuffed-shirt endeavor. That's why Europeans come to LV and AC to play. I can imagine Australia is pretty fun, too -- they bet on everything and are laid back.
Quote: Wizard
As far as I can remember, they were 100% male. (the dealers)
.
That might explain the rude behavior. Macho attitudes
make for lousy work with the public employees.
Quote: sodawater"The pay table is the same as in the US" ... "the usual 5-4-1 pay table in the US" ... "US dollar denominations." ... "pretty high percentage of the US population" -- U.S.
Sodawater has to be the 'go to' person for grammar and spelling! Kudos, I didn't find a thing [although I didnt finish it yet].
In the matter of the initials, U.S. is correct of course, but I have come to prefer US without periods. If up to me I wouldn't change it.
Quote: JohnnyQ
In any event, I thought this part of your intro was
amusing:
"Most tourists come to Costa Rica for one of two reasons: to enjoy nature or prostitution.
Evidently, neither group have much interest in gambling. However, for the few visitors who
are interested, I traveled there in March 2013, in part to report on the casino scene".
Yes, unintentional humor for the careful reader. The Wizard might want to spell out exactly what other activity he had in mind! [g]
Quote: sodawater"Most don't seem to realize, nor care," -- or care. The sentence is already negative.
Thanks for all your corrections! However, this one I don't understand. I thought "nor" would be right to be consistently negative. Maybe this is a bad example, but consider "that is neither here nor there." Doesn't the "neither" establish it as a negative sentence, thus the "nor" later on?
Quote: teddysGreat article. Let's be honest. The United States is the best place to gamble. Every other country is uptight or has a stick up their a$$ about it, or thinks it should be some sort of stuffed-shirt endeavor.
Thanks. Your comment would be worthy of a separate thread. I've played in a lot of countries, and find your comment to be pretty much true. I've had some nice dealers in Canada, but nowhere near the percentage as here. However, I've never seen it worse that in CR. Most dealers act annoyed that you disturbed their daydreaming or whore-watching to play. With others, I detected anti-gringo racism.
I think the phrases now in use are Eco-Tourism and Sex-Tourism, although if an adult female from the UK goes to Turkey or Cyprus and meets an available local man, it is not then considered Sex-Tourism anymore than if an American female treks to Caribbean for a fling with a Jamaican male. (This myth persists despite later revelations about the local men being engaged in the business of providing such companionship irrespective of any preferences they might have). US Attorneys are however prone to prosecute males for traveling from the US for activities with females that are underage in our culture. Of course the recent activities of former Mega Millionaire Silicon Valley Ex-Patriates in Central America are still fresh in everyone's mind: All gardeners and cooks that you hire are men who have young daughters or nieces they will bring around for introductions. Its an established way of life down there.
With casinos often being very much "neighborhood casinos" rather than "tourista casinos", its clear the country supports gambling, hence the dress codes. The UK started out with a super Tony atmosphere of a Private Gambling Club but failed to maintain it. Now many of the casinos are Middle Eastern owned and some Far Eastern owned.
Web sites for casinos in the US are not always quite up to date or fully revealing.
I was trying to focus on what you found versus what a tourist whose sole language was English might expect to find. It may well be that "Canasta" is the game but if the web site reads "Ruleta" I'm puzzled by the Spanish as well as by the English terminology.
Quote: FleaStiffIt may well be that "Canasta" is the game but if the web site reads "Ruleta" I'm puzzled by the Spanish as well as by the English terminology.
I'm positive the Palma had canasta and not ruleta. I suspect that either they changed from roulette to canasta and never updated the site, but more likely the person who built the web site wasn't a gambler and thought both games were called ruleta.
Perhaps Nareed can address the terminology, but I think they call the version with the cage canasta because the cage is like a basket. The word for cage in Spanish is juala, which is also the same word for jail. Perhaps they don't want the negative association in the casino, so go with canasta.
Quote: WizardIt may be that in Latin America the custom is just different regarding the dealer's job.
They seem to have a strong dose of attitude against people winning or even trying to win. Sort of like joints here that sweat the money.
Quote: WizardThanks for all your corrections! However, this one I don't understand. I thought "nor" would be right to be consistently negative. Maybe this is a bad example, but consider "that is neither here nor there." Doesn't the "neither" establish it as a negative sentence, thus the "nor" later on?
There are two rules of grammar to consider here -- proper or/nor usage and parallel construction.
See the second two sections (and the "warning") in Grammar Girl's article. Since you're using a verb phrase in the second negative item, you technically have the choice of whether to use "nor" or "or," based on what sounds better.
However, to use "nor," you have to make sure your construction is parallel. In this case, your construction is not parallel, because the first verb phrase is "don't seem to realize," and the second is just "care." ("Grammar Girl" addresses parallel construction in the linked page, but only with regard to "neither...nor." But it also applies to your usage of nor without neither, here.)
In order to make the construction parallel and allow the usage of "nor," you would have to rephrase it as follows:
"Most don't seem to realize -- nor do they seem to care --"
Which is overly wordy and ridiculous.
"Most don't seem to realize, or care,"
is much clearer and more concise.
A final point about negative sentences is that you generally only want one negative word in them. It's a little like multiplication in math. If you multiply one negative with any number of positives, the result is negative. If you multiply two negatives (with any number of positives), the result is positive. Three negatives, back to negative. And so no.
Examples:
"We don't need no stinking badges." -- Two negatives, so technically the sentence means they DO need stinking badges. Correct would be "We don't need any stinking badges," or "We need no stinking badges."
"I could care less" -- No negatives, so technically the sentence means the speaker cares some. Correct would be "I couldn't care less."
Sometimes a double-negative construction would be correct, if you're trying to emphasize a certain point:
"Do you like her?"
"Well, I don't dislike her."
That construction has a distinct meaning the second speaker wants to emphasize, rather than simply saying he likes her.
Why can't those darned foreigners just use English!! Upon sober reflection, which of course will require someone who is sober, it will probably be perceived that those who read a Guide to Gambling in Costa Rica will most likely have some facility with or at least tolerance for the Spanish language and be ready to deal with nuances in meanings. Certainly someone from the USA about to read that guide who was interested in roulette would look under R for roulette not C for Canasta.Quote: WizardPerhaps Nareed can address the terminology, but I think they call the version with the cage canasta because the cage is like a basket. The word for cage in Spanish is juala, which is also the same word for jail. Perhaps they don't want the negative association in the casino, so go with canasta.
>These rooms seem to be open only during the evening, if at all.
Yes, the web sites seem to indicate separate rooms perhaps the laws are more strict there or its simply a noise/distraction factor.
I do however wonder about your comment of open only during the evening. I saw web sites quoting events at 3:00am. Also I was wondering about the famed Latin "Siesta" wherein it is so hot and humid in the afternoons that people sleep and go out for dinner at ten pm when the night starts?
Quote: FleaStiffCertainly someone from the USA about to read that guide who was interested in roulette would look under R for roulette not C for Canasta.
I thought I explained in the article that canasta was the same as roulette, except with the cage and balls. Hopefully it comes through in the article that I respect the language of the country and express the names of both languages. If the reader scrolls to a point where it says "casino X offers canasta, rummy, and pai gow poker," then the reader is welcome to search the rest of the article for what in the heck canasta is, and he will get the answer.
Quote: FleaStiffI do however wonder about your comment of open only during the evening. I saw web sites quoting events at 3:00am. Also I was wondering about the famed Latin "Siesta" wherein it is so hot and humid in the afternoons that people sleep and go out for dinner at ten pm when the night starts?
I'm not claiming that the article is completely accurate in terms of such things. In my trip there I saw only one active poker game, and that had just a few people. The article ran long enough as it is, so I didn't want to add more about the open hours for each poker game. That is likely to change all the time and I don't want every poker player in CR writing to me with updates. I just want to get the gist across that poker is not very popular and generally only open in certain casinos at night.
Regarding the "nor" issue, how about this, "Most seem to neither know nor care that they are not playing blackjack. "
Quote: sodawater"We don't need no stinking badges." -- Two negatives, so technically the sentence means they DO need stinking badges. Correct would be "We don't need any stinking badges," or "We need no stinking badges."
Ha! In certain areas I'm familiar with, the double negative has an intensifying effect. So it would be especially certain they didnt feel they needed badges there with the former construction, whereas to leave 'no' out would be less emphatic. Yes, that is not considered correct in proper English, but if you wish to understand and communicate ...
On the other hand, note that in math a negative times a negative is a positive. Coincidence?
Quote: teddysGreat article.
Let's be honest. The United States is the best place to gamble. Every other country is uptight or has a stick up their a$$ about it, or thinks it should be some sort of stuffed-shirt endeavor..
I would think that's because in most countries gambling
and casinos are part of the culture, they have been
around for generations. In the US, it all very very new.
We've only had casinos in MI for 20 years, and are only
now expanding them to most parts of the state. Some
states, like PA, are just now getting them. In 75 years
our view of casinos will be much different than it is now.
Many of your DB games have this (copy/paste obv): 9-6-5 99.02%
9-6-5 typically pays 97.81%
another entry says: Double Bonus 10-6-4 96.38%
9-6-4 typically pays 96.38%
Under the Bonus Deluxe game where you were unsure of the straight flush in the note below you write 50-7-5 returns 97.4%, that should be 50-8-5.
And to be super anal, 7/5 Bonus technically rounds down to 98.01%. (98.0147%)
I am unclear on what the JW's tables exactly mean, which values are being changed, if it's Kings or better, etc. Also Mariott is missing a "t" in the video poker table title.
Quote: WizardI'm positive the Palma had canasta and not ruleta. I suspect that either they changed from roulette to canasta and never updated the site, but more likely the person who built the web site wasn't a gambler and thought both games were called ruleta.
Perhaps Nareed can address the terminology, but I think they call the version with the cage canasta because the cage is like a basket. The word for cage in Spanish is juala, which is also the same word for jail. Perhaps they don't want the negative association in the casino, so go with canasta.
I've never heard anyone use juala. Could it depend on the country? The word for jail that I'm familiar with is carcel.
Quote: tringlomaneThere are some errors in the Video Poker tables:
Very good catches, thank you! Now I'm not sure which joker wild pay tables those were, so just removed them from the list.
Quote: 1BBI've never heard anyone use juala. Could it depend on the country? The word for jail that I'm familiar with is carcel.
SpanishDict.com says jaula can mean a cell for insane people (locos). I hope Nareed doesn't read this, as she hates it when I quote that site.
Quote: WizardI just posted my blog entry on my Odds site about gambling in Costa Rica. I put a lot of time into it, so I hope you'll have a look. The purpose of the trip was largely to write that article. Before I announce it on the Odds site I welcome all suggestions, comments, corrections and questions here first.
Cities in Latin America are inland mostly because the coast was a good way to get malaria. "Endemic" means "native to an area".
Quote: CDCQuinine (Early 17th Century)
Following their arrival in the New World, Spanish Jesuit missionaries learned from indigenous Indian tribes of a medicinal bark used for the treatment of fevers. With this bark, the Countess of Chinchón, the wife of the Viceroy of Peru, was cured of her fever. The bark from the tree was then called Peruvian bark and the tree was named Cinchona after the countess. The medicine from the bark is now known as the antimalarial, quinine. Along with artemisinins, quinine is one of the most effective antimalarial drugs available today.
Actually, to be more specific, I don't think much is really known about epidemics in pre-Columbian America. Since the natives knew how to cure malarial fevers, they may very well have been fighting malaria for centuries. In any case, the majority of the Latin American cities are built on the sights of the pre-Columbian cities.
In British North America the pre-European population did not build large cities. So the Europeans naturally built the cities on the coast to benefit from repeated trade with the old continent. The colder climate also meant that the coastal areas were less prone to disease, and fear of the warfare was rampant only a few hundred miles away from the coast.
Also pre-industrial open ocean fishing with mechanical winches and massive nets made out of man made fibers was mostly practiced at higher latitudes. The Basques were whaling for over a 1000 years. The tropics are actually relatively barren of the kind of plankton and krill that fish eat, except at deep depths which would have been out of the arrange of early fisherman. There was no culture based around fish like you have in Japan.
One of the major points of confusion arises because people today go to Hawaii and they see whales, and they also have "whaler villages". Prior to WWI, the whales you see in Hawaii would be relatively diffuse, and not of particularly value commercially. The 18th century whalers went to Hawaii to spend the winter, because it was too dangerous to be at high latitudes. They did not hunt the whales that migrated there to give birth to their calves. They were waiting until the spring when they could go back to the more arctic latitudes. The native Hawaiians paid little attention to the whales. The primary fearsome animal in their culture was the shark.
Quote: Wizard's Costa Rica Review re: "canasta""...This form of roulette should be offered in California casinos, where the ball and wheel are prohibited per state law."
The problem in California is not that the ball and wheel are prohibited. I've seen roulette wheels in California casinos. However, the game is all jacked up, inserting the use of playing cards at some juncture of the "California" game to comply with the State regulation that all wagering decisions must be "card based".
Unfortunately, this means the, "bingo cage" approach will not fly unless it is bastardized with playing cards at some point.
I'm curious why the casinos are so small in Costa Rica. Is there a prohibition on larger establishments? There are economies of scale that give larger joints a better chance at being profitable.
Is there a government agency that verifies the fairness of the games? With so many little places, who makes sure everyone is on the up and up?
Quote: AyecarumbaI'm curious why the casinos are so small in Costa Rica. Is there a prohibition on larger establishments? There are economies of scale that give larger joints a better chance at being profitable.
If I am not mistaken, large casinos are rare outside of the USA, Australia, Macau, and Singapore. There seems to be a lot of resistance to establishments built on gaming. People are more sanguine about gaming as a side business, especially if it is tourists losing their money.
I got a letter once from a man in Latvia who wanted to build a casino to capture the Russian gaming money that was leaving the continent. They have many little casinos in all the countries around the Baltic, but public resistance to a large casino was very strong.
Quote: AyecarumbaUnfortunately, this means the, "bingo cage" approach will not fly unless it is bastardized with playing cards at some point.
They have a bingo hopper for roulette at Harrah's Rincon. I've heard a rumor they got rid of, but that is unconfirmed.
Quote:I'm curious why the casinos are so small in Costa Rica. Is there a prohibition on larger establishments? There are economies of scale that give larger joints a better chance at being profitable.
I don't know. It would seem the market would be ripe for a medium-sized American-style casino. There are about such casinos in Panama City, as I wrote about two years ago.
Quote:Is there a government agency that verifies the fairness of the games? With so many little places, who makes sure everyone is on the up and up?
I don't know. Strange that some casinos insist blackjack is illegal, and the rest openly offer it.
