Things are not always as they seem in roulette. Take the roulette table layout and wheel. New players quickly learn that the numbers on the wheel are not in the same order as the numbers on the layout.

That represents a challenge to players who like to bet neighboring numbers. Some online games, including Roulette Advanced, distributed by NetEnt, have stepped up to that challenge by offering a single-zero roulette variation that enables combination bets on numbers that are neighbors on the wheel.

Not every online casino has such games, and they are rare in live casinos.

In standard roulette games, many bettors will wager on consecutive numbers on the layout in combination bets – two-number splits, three-number streets, four-number corners and six-number double streets.

What if you want to combine numbers that are adjacent on the wheel, but not on the layout, thinking that the dealer might hit a certain sector on the wheel? In standard roulette, you must make several wagers to cover all your numbers.

Roulette Advanced enables you to pick among combinations that are adjacent on the wheel. 

The Roulette Advanced layout includes the standard grid, but it also has a racetrack-like oval display to choose among sector bets. On that oval, the numbers are marked off in segments in wheel order.

Good Neighbors

"Neighbors" bets, placed on the racetrack, enable you to bet on roulette combinations as they appear on the wheel. If you want to bet the ball will land within a three-number wheel segment of 27, 6 and 34, a three-number neighbors bet will do the trick.

If you want to expand the segment and pick 9 as your center number, it falls in between 31 and 22, and a five-number neighbors bet can also get you 14 to the left of 31 and 18 to the right of 22.

You could expand that once again to a seven-number bet, with the 14-31-9-22-18 sequence you've already chosen along with 20 to the left of 14 and 29 to the right of 18.

Where neighbors bets are available, they're essentially treated as separate wagers on each number. That means neighbors bets should be made in multiples of numbers in your segment. If the table minimum bet is $1, then a three-number neighbors combination requires wagers of $3, or $6, $9 or some other multiple of $3.

In online casinos, you sometimes can find minimum bets as low as 10 cents, so your three-number combo can be 30, 60 or 90 cents, or $1.20, $1.50 and so on.

If any of the numbers in your combination wins, it is treated as a single-number payout. In you bet $7 on the segment of 20-14-31-8-22-18-29 and the ball lands on any of those numbers, you get a 35-1 payoff on $1 if your bet. You lose the $6 earmarked for the other six numbers, but you win $35 and keep the $1 portion of your bet that applies to the winner.

At wizardofodds.com, Michael Shackelford offered a breakdown of the math on neighbors bets that show a 2.7% house edge, the same as on single-number bets on a single-zero wheel. You'll win 8.1% of the time on a three-number combination, 13.5% on a five-number segment and 18.9% on a seven-number neighbors bet, but in each case, the house edge remains at 2.7%.

Other Possibilities

Several other bets can be made in the space at the center of the racetrack in Roulette Advanced. 

Serie 5/8

The long-form name of this wager is Le Tiers du Cylindre, and you'll sometimes find it just written as "Tiers." In the Roulette Advanced racetrack center, it's just labeled "Serie 5/8."

It's a 12-number bet that's made of up of six split bets. The splits cover 5-8, 10-11, 13-16, 23-24, 27-30 and 33-36.  You could make such a combination on a standard roulette game by making those splits, but the racetrack layout enables you to be the combo all at once. It's really six separate bets, so you need to bet in multiples of six betting units – multiples of $6 if there's a $1 minimum.

Any winning split gives you a 17-1 payoff on that portion of your bet, though you lose the other five wagers.

As with the neighbors, the house edge is the 2.7% that's the norm at single-zero roulette.

Voisons De Zero

In English, that's "neighbors of zero." On the Roulette Advanced racetrack, it's labeled "Serie 0/2/3." This enables you to cover the 0, the eight numbers to its left and the eight numbers to its right as they appear on the wheel. They range from 22  to the left to 25 on the right.

Bets should be in multiples of 9, so if the minimum bet is $1, bets should be multiples of $9.

That bet is then broken down into one unit each on the two-number splits 4-7, 12-15, 18-21, 19-22 and 32-35; two units on the three-number trio of 0, 2 and 3, and two units on the four-number corner 22-26-28-29.

Any winning split is paid at 17-1, a winning trio at 11-1 and a winning corner at 8-1. As you'd expect by now, the house edge is the standard 2.7% for single-zero roulette.

Jeu Zero

Shortened to "Zero" on the Roulette Advanced racetrack, the English translation is "game zero." It's a seven-number bet that covers the segment from 12-15 at they appear on the wheel.

You wager represents four bets: two-number splits on 0-3, 12-15, and 32-25 along with a single-number bet on 26. The bet should be made in multiples of four, or at least $4 with a $1 minimum bet.

Any winner on a split is paid 17-1, with 35-1 if the single-number bet on 26 hits. The house edge is 2.7%.

Orphelins

"Orphans" in English and shortened to "Orph." at the racetrack center, this bet covers numbers not included in the other advanced combinations.

It is composed of five bets, so bets must be multiples of five, or $5 with a $1 minimum wager. Component bets are a single-number bet on 1 along with the two-number split 6-9, 14-17, 17-20, 31-34.

As we've seen, winning single-number bets pay 35-1 and winning splits pay 17-1. The house edge? You guessed it: 2.7%.

Conclusion

When a roulette number has come up multiple times in a short period, many roulette players like to bet it and its neighbors. Problem is, the neighbors on the standard betting layout can be far removed from your number on the wheel.

The Roulette Advanced combinations give you a way to bet nearby numbers in wheel order. If the ball bounces from you number to one next door, it's the wheel order that matters.

Be cautious. As long as the wheel is balanced on a live game or the random number generator is in order online, betting wheel segments doesn't give you any real edge. But it doesn't increase the house edge, either, and it can be a fun way to play.

Like many companies around the world, the casino and gaming industry has been forced to deal with a growing technological concern over the last few years – cyber attacks. Cyber security has never been a bigger concern as casinos around the world have experienced breaches in recent years.

Harvard Business Review recently reported a 20% increase in data breaches from 2022 to 2023 and that looks to continue going up.

“For many years, organizations have struggled to protect themselves from cyberattacks: companies, universities, and government agencies have expended enormous amounts of resources to secure themselves,” the report noted.

Casinos have also seen a major uptick in cyber attacks in recent years, including some major cases in 2023 with a couple of cases drawing some major headlines.

MGM Resorts

In September 2023, MGM Resorts experienced a cybersecurity attack that left many of the company’s computer systems down. The outage affected company websites, email accounts, reservation systems, and even slot machines at casinos across the U.S.

“MGM Resorts recently identified a cybersecurity issue affecting some of the company’s systems,” the company said in a statement at the time. “Promptly after detecting the issue, we quickly began an investigation with assistance from leading external cybersecurity experts.”

The company notified law enforcement and also consulted with outside security experts to combat the cyber attack. However, the breech greatly affected the company with casinos reverting back to operations one might have seen years ago – with many transactions and reservations conducted by hand rather than computer. Slot payouts were even made in cash for a time.

After several days, the company began to get things back to normal, but that came with considerable costs financially, with a drop in earnings for the third quarter of about $100 million. Hotel occupancy dropped to 5% compared to September 2022, which actually may not be too bad considering the issues the company faced.

MGM’s Securities and Exchange Commission filing reported that MGM also saw a $10 million one-time expense for technology consulting services, legal fees, and the use of other advisors during the cyber attack. Several lawsuits were also filed against the company.

MGM also said in the filing: “While no company can ever eliminate the risk of a cyber attack, the company has taken significant measures, working with industry-leading third-party  experts, to further enhance its system safeguards. These efforts are ongoing.”

The FBI said the attack was the work of a group called “Scattered Spider,” which has cost companies millions of dollars since it began operating in 2021.

Caesars Entertainment

MGM wasn’t the only company to experience an attempted cyber attack in 2023. Caesars Entertainment, the company that operates numerous major casinos including Caesars Palace, Paris Las Vegas, Flamingo, Harrahs, and numerous others, also experienced a cyber attack around the same time as MGM, with hackers demanding a ransom.

The company took a different route to getting back control of the companies’ system, according to the Wall Street Journal, and ultimately paid a $30 million ransom. The high-tech bandits used a similar scheme as with MGM to initially gain control of the company’s systems.

“Hackers used a social-engineering scheme, in which a person pretending to be an employee contacted the company IT help desk to have a password changed,” the Wall Street Journal reported. “Caesars said that the incident resulted from a social engineering attack on an outsourced IT support vendor, without providing further detail on ‘the unauthorized actor’ responsible for it.”

The company quickly activated response protocols for this type of situation and enacted containment and remediation measures for Caesars computer systems. Management was able to gain back its systems completely after paying the ransom, according to reports.

The Journal noted: “Hotels and casinos are potentially lucrative targets for hackers because of the amount of personal and financial data they collect from customers.”

Shutting Down in Canada

American gaming companies haven’t been the only gaming and casino operators affected by cyber crime and a major case in Canada offers a look at how these cases can hurt employees. In April 2023, Gateway Casinos and Entertainment shut down casinos all across the province of Ontario after undergoing a ransomware attack.

The shutdowns lasted two weeks and greatly affected Gateway employees in the province, who weren’t able to work. The company operates gaming properties in British Columbia, Ontario, and Alberta and has annual revenues of more than $200 million. Management brought in outside experts to help regain access to computer systems and to protect customer data.

Some of the recent cyber attacks against gaming firms point to what should be a growing concern, according to a report from web performance and security firm Cloudflare.

“Over 5.41% of the total DDoS attack traffic recorded by Cloudflare in Q3 (2023) targeted gambling and gaming sites, taking over the cryptocurrency sector that was previously the most targeted,” Canadian Gaming and Business noted. “Looking at specific regions, Cloudflare reported a 10% increase in Canadian cyberattacks year-on-year. Canada ranks fifth globally for DDoS attack traffic, behind the US, Singapore, Vietnam, and China. In total, Canada is responsible for a 1.687% share of all DDoS traffic globally.

Other Hacking Cases

There have been more casino and gaming-related cyber security breaches in recent years as well. In February, Arizona’s Casino Del Sol in the U.S. was the victim of an attempted cyber attack and faced serious disruptions to the property’s computer systems. The attack affected the casino’s phone systems, bingo operations, rewards club, and more.

As noted, online operators have not been immune to these types of attacks as well. In September 2023, CoinTelegraph.com reported that a major crypto gambling site lost $41 million after being hacked.  The site reported that the gaming site was drained of three different cryptocurrencies to an account that had previously seen no activity.

“Crypto gambling site Stake experienced $41 million in withdrawals on Sept. 4 in what blockchain security analysts have called ‘suspicious outflows,’” CoinTelegraph reported. “The withdrawing account has been labeled ‘Stake.com Hacker’ by Etherscan, implying that the drained funds may be the result of a stolen private key.”

In November 2023, Mexican online gaming operator Strendus allegedly left open access to numerous users’ personal data in what some media reports have called a “rookie mistake.” Cybernews reported that the “data was likely compromised by unauthorized actors.”

The site reported that significant personal data was available including names, home addresses, phone numbers, government ID numbers, email addresses, IP addresses, and more.

In 2002, one of the world’s largest online poker operators also experienced a serious setback after being cyber attacked. The attempted hack occurred during a major online poker series and left the company forced to reschedule many events.

No doubt casinos and other gaming entities will be targets in the coming years and technology staff members must remain vigilant in the war against these high-tech criminals.

“As the technology we use advances and progresses, the enormous potential for cyber crime also grows,” business insurance firm Embroker notes. “Not only is the number of cyber attacks growing, but incidents are becoming more sophisticated and dangerous. Cybercrime costs are on the rise, and it is expected to cost the world more than $24 trillion by 2027.”

The competition (and bragging rights) for the World's Greatest Blackjack Player (aka Grosjean Cup) was significantly different than previous years at this year's Blackjack Ball.

Instead of the usual 21-question "test," this year's blackjack competition was implemented in a sudden-death format where you had to answer each question to advance correctly. You were eliminated if you had an incorrect or no answer to a question.
 

Max showed the first question on the big screen. If you answered it correctly, you raised your answer card. As expected, quite a few contestants raised answer cards. Those who didn't get the correct answer placed their answer card on the table, and they were eliminated from the competition. This process was repeated for questions 2, 3, and 4. Below are the four questions.

(Note: Click here to read Part 1 of this article.)

Grosjean Cup Questions

1. It’s a double-deck live game in a casino, face up, first round. Who should take insurance?

2. It’s a double-deck game, dealer stands on soft 17 (s17), and a blackjack pays 3-2.  According to Peter Griffin’s Theory of Blackjack , before you look at your hand, what is your expectation with the dealer showing a six upcard?

3. Which player’s hands are NOT one of Don Schlesinger’s Illustrious 18?

4. Four-deck game, dealer hits soft 17 (h17), and doubling down allowed after pair splitting (das). Indicate what the basic playing strategy is for each hand. If you miss one, you are eliminated.

(Note: The answers to the questions are at the end of the article.)

After the fourth question, there were only seven contestants with raised answer cards. They were invited on stage for a tiebreaker question.

Tie Breaker Question

"Name a Las Vegas casino with over 2,000 hotel rooms." Each contestant went in turn and named a casino. If they repeated the name of a casino or named a casino with fewer than 2,000 rooms, they were eliminated.

The three players who survived the tiebreaker were:

• Barry Meadow
• Michael Kaplan, and 
• Stan

They joined John Chang, winner of the World's Fastest Card Counter (WFCC) contest, on the final table for the skills competition. This involved:

• Correctly playing your hand if you can see the dealer's hole card.
• Memorizing the sequence of cards spread on a table.
• Estimating the number of cards in a stack of cards.
• Inserting the cut card exactly at 17 cards.

 Here are the result of the competition:

• John Chang won the Grosjean Cup and bragging rights as "The World’s Greatest Blackjack Player." 
• Steve won the Munchkin trophy for second place 
• Barry Meadow came in third place.
• Michael Kaplan finished in fourth place.

 John Chang won both competitions this year: World’s Fastest Card Counter and the Grosjean Cup.

Winning Teams in Pari-Mutuel Competition

Based on the above winners, players in the Pari-Mutuel contest cashed in if they wagered on the three teams listed below.

• WIN: Hall of Fame Team #4 (included John Chang)
• PLACE: The Field Team #1 (included Steve)
• SHOW: Gambling Writers Team #10 (included Barry Meadow)
• FOURTH: Gambling Writers Team #10 (included Michael Kaplan)

Answers to the Grosjean Cup Questions

1. Nobody
2. $24
3. 8-8
4. 1-SR, 2-D, 3-D, 4-SR 

Acknowledgments

I want to acknowledge that assistance of Michael Dalton (blackjackreview.com) for formatting that images, photos, and slides, and Max Rubin and Don Schlesinger for reviewing the article and providing me with some additional information prior to its publication.

Henry Tamburin is the author of the Ultimate Blackjack Strategy Guide. To read more of his articles on blackjack and video poker click here.

Another year, another Blackjack Ball. But wait … this year's 27th Ball was slightly different from previous years. Co-hosts Max Rubin and Richard Munchkin implemented some exciting changes and additions that included:

• The first-ever "World's Fastest Card Counter" competition
• Revamped Calcutta team betting
• Speech by Dr. Edward Thorp
• Different procedures to determine the winner of the Grosjean Cup, and a 
• Bingo game. 

This is the third consecutive year the Blackjack Ball has been held at the unique and spectacular Lou Ruvo Center in Downtown Las Vegas. Its large ballroom easily accommodated the 150 invitees, who included some of the most dangerous advantage blackjack players from here and abroad and others who have contributed to the craft. Guests paid $350 to attend, or they could purchase a table for $5,000 or $10,000, with premium reserved seating. 

 The Blackjack Hall of Fame (BJHOF) became a non-profit corporation in 2022, which allowed it to have a charitable objective. In 2022, $25,000 was donated to the University of Nevada Las Vegas Gambling Policy and Health, which is dedicated to studying problem gambling and developing policy recommendations for regulators and the industry to help minimize the harms of problem gambling.

In 2023, the BJHOF donated $37,500 to the National Council on Problem Gambling. As of this writing, the BJHOF committee had not decided how much and to whom would be donated based on this year's Ball. However, according to Max Rubin, "it will be substantial."

Additionally, Keith Whyte, executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling, gave a brief talk at the Ball. His message was clear ... casinos target losers. Last year, there were 300,000 callers to the group's helpline, a substantial increase due, in part, to more players falling under the spell of online gambling.  If someone you know has a gambling problem, speak to the person directly or a family member for help or treatment. There are plenty of resources at www.npcgambling.org.

A Look at This Year's Blackjack Ball

Last year, the Blackjack Ball was held in the fall, and guests wore formal attire. This year's Ball was held in the summer, and the dress was "business casual." Upon arrival, guests were escorted to an outside garden with an open bar to obtain a libation of their choice and hors d'oeuvres. Here, we all chatted with each other and met old friends we hadn't seen in a while.  Jason England, an unparalleled master of the dark arts of taking down casinos from the outside, inside, and through cyber hacking, demonstrated some sleight-of-hand cheating moves that baffled even the best card counters. 

At one point during his demonstration, I asked England to shuffle the cards, cut them, and deal three hands, with one being a blackjack on my spot. His sleight-of-hand casino cheating moves were accomplished flawlessly as I gazed at the blackjack hand he had dealt me.

Card Counting Competition

The first "World's Fastest Card Counting" (WFCC) competition began as soon as guests arrived. The WFCC was a single-elimination, "March-Madness" style competition where one player competed against another to determine the fastest and most accurate card counter. 

"Anyone with skill, luck, or guts necessary to stand up to the hired guns of the game is welcome to play," Richard Munchkin said.

Guests placed their names on a board  and when their name was called, they stepped up to the blackjack table to compete against other players. Each contestant was given a single deck of cards, and one card was randomly removed.

Cowboy Buzz was the dealer, and Max Rubin's daughter, Megan, kept time with a stopwatch. Contestants were allowed to hold the deck face down. When Buzz said, "Start," each competitor rapidly counted the 51 cards using a method of their choice. The first player who finished had to say whether his missing card was either a low, neutral, or high card. If correct, he advanced to the second round to compete against another round-one winner.  However, if he misidentified the card, his opponent would automatically advance to the second round.

When the first round was completed, the second round began with the same rules, except two cards were removed from the single deck. The first player to call "Stop" had to say what the two cards were (low, neutral, or high).

Winners of the second round advanced to the third round, where three cards were removed from the deck. The semifinal round had four contestants: John Chang, Stan, Nick "the Greek", and Justin.  After the WFCC, the following winners received their medals. Here are the winners:

• Gold Medal – John Chang (legendary former manager of the MIT Blackjack Team)
• Silver Medal – Stan (Blackjack Apprentice Pro)
• Bronze – Justin (co-manager of the Greek Team)

Since Chang won the WFCC contest, he was automatically awarded a seat for the subsequent Grosjean Cup competition (World's Greatest Blackjack Player).

(Note: The gold medal award for the winner of next year's WFCC will be renamed the "John Chang Medal" in honor of beating a very skillful group of competitors in this year's competition.)

Most players used the High-Low count during the WFCC competition. Therefore, they had to identify whether a low card was in the range of either 2-6, a neutral card (7-9), or a high card (10-Ace).  Players were not allowed to use the Ace-5 count. Most competitors counted down their deck in 10-20 seconds.

In my first round, I feverishly counted the cards in my deck, but with only a few cards left my opponent Cody finished before I did. However, he misidentified the removed card. I advanced to the second round to face off against my friend Rick "Night Train" Blaine. Again, I was down to a few cards when Rick yelled "stop" ahead of me. He correctly identified the two missing cards this time, so he advanced to the next round, and I was eliminated.

Blackjack Bingo

During dinner, a fun bingo game was conducted by Dr. Ed Thorp. We were given a bingo card , and Dr. Thorp called random numbers, which we marked out on our card. When the 11th number was called (G-54), I filled a row and yelled, "Bingo." However, so did a surprising number of other attendees. The joke was on us, however, Dr. Thorp made a good point when he said, "You are all winners."

According to Mark Billings, author of The Ultimate Edge and one of the Blackjack Hall of Fame nominees, "All of the bingo cards did not have the same numbers, nor did they all win in the same way. Some won vertically, diagonally, or horizontally, with different columns or rows filling in.

Four or five numbers were required to win (some winners go through the middle "free" square). Nine numbers had to be pulled, with G-54 the last number. We pulled 11 numbers. The extras were specifically chosen, so they did NOT cause anyone to win. There was a total of 10 unique cards.

Not accidentally, no table at the Ball had more than 10 people. That way, no two people at the same table would win similarly. I know this because I set up the bingo game. I've done this only twice in 20 years, but involving the inimitable Ed Thorp was a coup I'll never forget.

Hall of Fame Tribute

Max paid tribute to Blackjack Hall of Fame member Frank Schipani (aka Al Francesco), who recently passed away at 90.  Al was a frequent participant at the Blackjack Ball, a true gentleman, and highly respected by everyone in the room for creating the "Big Player" concept of team play.

Just about every one of the members of the successful blackjack teams present in the room (Hyland, MIT, Czechs, Greeks, Washington State, Florida, and others) owe their careers to Al. Bill Erb also eulogized Francesco with stories of how he and Al attacked Panama casinos. Al Francesco will always be remembered as "one of the greatest blackjack players there ever was."

Joanna (Queen of Spades) then spoke highly of Maria "The Greek," a Blackjack Hall of Fame member and co-founder and one-time manager of the successful "Greek Blackjack Team."

Maria recruited only the top talent who had to pass a notoriously difficult set of tests to get on the team. She was also the first woman to have ever won the title of "World's Greatest Blackjack Player" at a previous Blackjack Ball.  She was inducted into the Blackjack Hall of Fame at last year's Blackjack Ball. Since she couldn’t attend last year, she gave her acceptance speech at this year's Ball. 

Dr. Ed Thorp also gave a short speech. He credited Max Rubin for the idea to create the Blackjack Ball (the first Ball was held in 1997) and for keeping alive the memories of all those who have beaten, and are still beating, the casinos with legal advantage play blackjack.  Thorp wrote his best-selling book Beat the Dealer in 1961 while teaching at MIT.

"The press thought I was a fool for writing the book," he said at the time. "I was a math professor, not a gambler. And I wrote the book to create ‘a team of card counters.'"

Mission accomplished as over 100 card counters in the room gave him a standing ovation. 

Modified Calcutta 

This year's Calcutta, where you can bet on which team you believe will win the Grosjean Cup contest, was modified to pari-mutuel wagering.

Each player was slotted into an appropriate grouping (team seed), and you could place a wager on one or more seeds (see photo at right). For the first time, everyone received a free $5 wager on the team of his choice.

A betting window was set up with the odds posted for each seed. A total of $18,240 in bets was made. I usually wager on the "Gambling Writers" team (of which I'm a member), but for some reason I passed and placed a wager on another team. (Keep reading for the results.)

2024 Nominees for the Blackjack Hall of Fame

One of the highlights at the Ball was the voting for the newest inductee into the Blackjack Hall of Fame. Every guest who was either a member of the hall, a skilled blackjack player, or a contributor to the craft voted for one of the following seven nominees.  (Note: Every person cast one vote, and the vote of Hall of Fame members present or absent counted as three votes.)

After you read each nominee's accomplishments, whom would you have voted for?

Bill Erb

Mentioned in Ken Uston's books, Bill was trained by Al Francesco as a card counter and became the first Big Player (BP) on Al's blackjack teams — essentially, the first BP in history. In 1974, over 10 days in the casino at Dieppe, France, Al and Bill literally put the casino out of business.

Bill also became an expert hole card player and may have been the first blackjack player to get a significant edge on the house by milking loss rebates. Bill was creative, courageous, and ahead of his time. According to Al, Bill and Blair Hull were the two best BPs he had ever worked with in terms of total money won.  

Bryce Carlson

Bryce Carlson is widely recognized today as one of the world's top authorities on advantage casino blackjack. The subject of a 1999 feature article in the Los Angeles Times by Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Michael Hiltzik, Carlson burst on the scene in 1992 with his book Blackjack for Blood, which not only showcased an extremely strong, practical, and readily-playable system (the Advanced Omega II ) but also included a detailed presentation of camouflage and betting techniques designed to make it very difficult for pit bosses, the "eye-in-the-sky", and other "counter catchers" to detect winning play.

Blackjack for Blood has now sold over 100,000 copies and has gone through many printings and editions. With each new edition, Carlson carefully updates the book with new material that reflects current changes in the casino game.  

Carlson's playing career spans several decades now, and he's still active as a professional player, with a solo career win estimated by those in the know of more than $750,000 (and growing). But for Carlson, it's not just about the money; it's also about thoroughly investigating and understanding the game from a practical and mathematical perspective.

As a noted player and author, he's also a researcher who has published several important papers on the mathematics of casino blackjack and advantage play in general.

In addition to extensive contributions to Blackjack Review, BJ21.com, and Blackjack Forum, Carlson has also published several important papers documenting his discoveries regarding incomplete multiple-deck shuffles (The Card Clumping Myth), multiple-hand play (Risk, Ruin, and Trip-Stake Wipe-Out), modified Kelly betting (Kelly Betting vs. Real-World Betting), and the potential (or not) of beating casino craps (Why Casino Craps Can't be Beaten).

Colin Jones 

Colin founded and co-managed "The Church Team," one of the most prominent and prolific card-counting teams in the 21st Century. In 2008, Colin began building BlackjackApprenticeship.com, which has grown into the premiere blackjack training and community worldwide. It regularly graduates professional blackjack players to winning careers and costs casinos millions of dollars each year.

BJA's secretive and infamous boot camps have sold out for the last seven years and counting. Colin authored The 21st Century Card Counter: The Pros’ Approach to Beating Today's Blackjack and continues to be the voice and leader for the next generation of card counters.

Mark Billings 

Starting in 1981, Billings enjoyed a blackjack career that included many usual suspects (counting, shuffle-tracking, steering, etc.). In addition, he traveled the world as one of the very early computer players. He was instrumental in pioneering advanced non-counting methods of getting an edge.

Many of these exploits are recounted in his book, The Ultimate Edge. Roulette was next, taking over where Doyne Farmer and the Eudaemons had left off and succeeding in a way that had to be seen to be believed. That adventure can be found in his latest book, Follow the Bouncing Ball. Throughout a 26-year career, Billings has played in over 500 casinos on six continents and has been thrown out of some of the best of them.

Norm Wattenberger 

Norm is the foremost blackjack software developer in the world today, and his line of Casino Vérité products has come to be known as the quintessential tool for analyzing virtually any problem associated with the game of blackjack.  The incredible graphics and the realism of the practice modes of CV have received the highest praise from the thousands of satisfied customers who have honed their skills on this magnificent product. 

Norm has made many of his computer studies and applications available free of charge on the Internet, and you will be amazed at the sophistication of his analyses when you visit his website at www.qfit.com.  A consummate programmer, Norm is an industry legend who continues to provide computer simulations and studies to answer problems on his blackjacktheforum.com site while continuing his blackjack research.

His two-volume Modern Blackjack is perhaps one of the most original and comprehensive treatments of the game in print and represents hundreds, if not thousands of hours of computer-generated insights into the game not to be found anywhere else.

Rick Blaine 

Rick Blaine, known throughout the elite blackjack circles as "Night Train," is a skilled, disciplined, and winning blackjack player. Rick has taken professional play as a part-timer to new levels while staying under the radar.

During his career as a high-powered executive in the financial world, Rick was introduced to winning methods in the 1980s. While traveling worldwide, Rick mastered the art of expense-free play by combining business trips on corporate America's dime with profitable casino visits.

After being recruited on an existing high-stakes blackjack team, Rick learned the ins and outs of team play. That experience and managerial expertise prompted him to organize teams in the late 1990s.

Sharing his unique insights, Rick authored Blackjack Blueprint: How to Play Like a Pro … Part-Time, which many consider the most comprehensive book on the game. At the Blackjack Ball in 2015, he won the intense competition to claim that year's title of World's Greatest Blackjack Player. He's appeared as a guest on the Gambling With an Edge podcast hosted by Richard Munchkin and Bob Dancer.

Night Train is still active and is often sought out as a player by high-stakes teams due to his low profile. 

Robert Loeb 

"Bob" Loeb is a criminal defense lawyer, law professor, successful card counter, and lawyer for the AP community for over 25 years. He is the co-author, with I. Nelson Rose, of Blackjack and the Law. This original book covered the legal issues of card counting, countermeasures, barrings, arrests, searches, chip and cash seizures, civil forfeitures, taxes, Indian gaming, and Internet gaming.

Bob first became an advocate for APs in a case involving a bogus airport seizure by federal authorities of over $100,000 from a Tommy Hyland team member. Since then, Bob has represented dozens of players in cases, resulting in the recovery and return of over $1 million illegally seized or which casinos have initially refused to redeem.

He has defended APs against numerous serious criminal charges. One case involved five defendants who won $1.2 million in machine play and were charged with 84 counts of cheating, computer fraud, computer tampering, theft, and structuring.

At trial, Bob obtained findings of not guilty on all 84 counts. He has also defended criminal charges for hole-carding. Except for one misdemeanor conviction in a tribal court, he has won every hole-card case he has tried in state courts.

Bob has also been a consultant with attorneys on several civil and criminal gambling cases in several states and has been an expert witness for attorney Bob Nersesian in a case regarding the right to play anonymously. He has regularly fielded hundreds of calls from the blackjack community over the years, counseling them at no charge on their legal rights in casinos.

After the votes were counted in the Blackjack Hall of Fame voting, Max announced that Rick Blaine had garnered the most votes, and he was thus inducted into the Blackjack Hall of Fame. The updated Hall of Fame members list and the year each person was inducted are listed below.

• Al Francisco (2002)
• Peter Griffin (2002)
• Tommy Hyland (2002)
• Arnold Snyder (2002)
• Edward O. Thorp (2002)
• Ken Uston (2002)
• Stanford Wong (2002)
• Max Rubin (2004)
• Keith Taft (2004)
• Julian Bruan (2005)
• Lawrence Revere (2005)
• John Chang (2006)
• James Grosjean (2006)
• Roger Baldwin, Wilbert Cantey, Herbert Maisel, and James McDermott, collectively known as the "Four Horsemen of Aberdeen" (2008)
• Richard Munchkin (2009)
• Darryl Purpose (2010)
• Zeljko Ranogajec (2011)
• Ian Andersen (2012)
• Robert Nersesian (2014)
• Don Schlesinger (2015)
• Bill Benter (2016) 
• Don Johnson (2017)
• Wally Simmons (2018)
• Rob Reitzen (2019)
• Anthony Curtis (2020)
• Blair Hull (2022)
• Cat Hulbert (2022)   
• Maria "The Greek" (2023)
• Rick Blaine (2024)

Rick Blaine had only two more votes than Colin Jones. You can view the Blackjack Hall of Fame at the Barona Resort and Casino in San Diego, California.

Part 2 of this article will contain the World's Greatest Blackjack Player competition –  who won it and received the Grosjean Cup.

Acknowledgments

I want to acknowledge that assistance of Michael Dalton (blackjackreview.com) for formatting images, photos, and slides, and Max Rubin and Don Schlesinger for reviewing the article and providing me with some additional information prior to publication.

(Note: To avoid the awkward use of "his or her," I referred to attendees at the Ball in the masculine gender.  Rest assured, there were some brilliant and very successful female blackjack players present. Additionally, a pseudonym was used to protect the playing careers of some of the players mentioned in the article.)

For Part 2 of this article, click here.

Henry Tamburin is the author of the Ultimate Blackjack Strategy Guide. To read more of his articles on blackjack and video poker click here.

Will it be prime rib or crab legs? Or maybe some Italian dishes are in order tonight? And don’t forget dessert, the key lime pie looks great but a bit of chocolate cake is pretty enticing as well. These are just a few of the thoughts that gamblers may be considering when heading to a casino buffet.

These expansive smorgasbords literally offer something for everyone and have become staples in today’s mega-resort gambling houses. Worked up an appetite? Today’s modern buffets can fit the bill – and possibly help pack on some pounds.

But why have buffets become synonymous with casinos and Las Vegas? Keep reading to learn a bit of the history of these food fiestas.

After-Midnight Sandwiches

For years, Las Vegas boasted plenty of budget meal options – from cheap steaks to shrimp cocktail to free drinks. Visitors enjoyed a great but low-cost meal with their gambling. The city’s first all-you-can-eat option debuted at the El Rancho casino in 1945.

A visitor to the property, which was the first to open on the Vegas Strip in 1941, named Herb McDonald was looking for a late-night bite to eat, so a helpful employee brought out some cold cuts, cheese, and bread to make a sandwich at the bar. Other hungry casino guests began stopping by and asking for a sandwich as well.

The casino’s owner, Beldon Katleman, apparently realized this could be a good idea that could keep gamblers at the casino. The property’s Buckaroo Buffet soon became a regular option at the casino and came with a price of just one dollar.

“When the fixed-price all-you-can-eat midnight feast proved to be a roaring success, it was quickly adopted by operators all over town, keen to keep hungry patrons gambling on the graveyard shift without having to cover the expense of a full-service restaurant,” the Las Vegas Advisor noted.

Food and Wine magazine also added: “The casino lost money on its buffet (for the most part, they still do), but profits weren't the point. The whole objective was to keep patrons inside and gambling as long as possible.”

More People & More Meals

With more casinos adding buffets of their own, casino management realized how popular these dining options could be. In the 1950s, other properties also began offering buffets during more normal hours. The Frontier and the Dunes began offering breakfast buffets for those looking for eggs, sausage, and other options to help kickstart a day at the slots or blackjack tables.

By the 1960s and ‘70s, as more visitors came to gamble, the buffets also expanded across Sin City to offer dining for all three meals. The quality greatly improved from that original El Rancho offering with many more options and trained chefs looking to whet any possible appetite.

For hotel guests, the buffets offered an easy and speedy way to grab some grub to suit any taste and not have to worry about actually placing an order. A buffet also still offered plenty of bang for the buck. Even into the 1970s, a plate at one of these colossal cornucopias could be had for just a few dollars. The buffets were “loss leaders,” meaning the casinos would take a loss but keep visitors happy – and keep them gambling as well.

However, that began to change in the 1980s as properties ramped up the food offerings even more. Diners could now find carving stations, steak dinners, lobster, omelets made to order, delectable desserts, champagne brunches, and almost any possible food combination one could think of.

More buffets also began offering Asian, Mexican, and other cuisines from other parts of the world. All these expanded eating options began to include higher prices as the quantity and quality of food began to go up.

A Look at Today’s Buffets

Decades later, the buffet remains a key amenity for hundreds of casinos around the world. While COVID saw many buffets shut down, a large number have returned offering just about anything a hungry gambler might desire.

As legalized casino states also expanded across the U.S. and around the world, the buffet also became more popular in other states as well. From Oklahoma to Atlantic City and everywhere in between, gamblers continued lining up to grab a plate and pile on the meats, vegetables, desserts, and more.

Despite Las Vegas seeing an elevated culinary reputation over the last couple decades, the buffet remains at many casinos – but now often with higher-quality options than those early feeding frenzies.

“Eighty years later, the buffet remains a popular commodity — often located just off the casino floor,” Eater.com notes. “While the house is poised to always ‘win,’ the buffet offers a tantalizing opportunity for travelers to succeed in getting their money’s worth by eating their weight in low-margin proteins. That’s only part of the appeal, though. While Las Vegas is home to some of the most esteemed restaurants in the country, the sheer volume of choice can easily overwhelm, especially when contrasted with the seemingly infinite possibilities of a buffet line.”

Today’s buffets don’t come with those bargain-basement prices from the ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s, but they also usually come with better-quality options are can be more higher-end experiences. Eater recently rated some of Vegas’s best buffets with some insight on what diners can expect when dishing out some food on their plates.

The 12,000-square-foot Market Place Buffet at Rampart Casino rated well and offers some insight on how some buffets now feature themed nights to serve guests with some unique options. For $31.99, hungry guests can enjoy a prime rib dinner on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday. Champagne brunch is served on Saturday and Sunday and is priced at $32.99. An Hawaiian-themed dinner also is scheduled on Saturdays for $31.99.

The Wynn remains one of the most luxurious casinos in Las Vegas and the property’s buffet ranks high among diners. The eatery features 16 cooking stations with rotisserie grilled steakhouse cuts, a wide variety of seafood, an eggs Benedict station, and a “Latin Street Food” station.

Those hitting the Wynn buffet have plenty to choose from – withmore than 90 dishes available. The establishment also follows a newer buffet trend with many choices made to order. Brunch is also a popular option, starting at $54.99 with extras like unlimited mimosas, wine, and beer starting at $32.99.

Conclusion

Casino buffets have been popular through the years for many reasons, including the low cost, numerous food options, usually short wait times to get a table, no ordering involved, and the ability to serve yourself.

Today’s buffets still attract plenty of people looking for a few minutes away from the casino floor. At Wynn, this food option is so popular that waits can get up to an hour and a half. But like other aspects of buffets, this element has also changed. Guests can reserve and prepay for a meal online to steer clear of the rush.

Diners getting in line for a meal at many casinos will find some excellent culinary options. The casino buffet looks like it’s here to stay. These eating options have come a long way from that first sandwich bar at the El Rancho and will continue to change and adapt. Working up an appetite? Grab a plate and get in line.

I am sure you know the fable of the tortoise and the hare. They were in a race and the hare ran rings around the tortoise who slowly moved towards the finish line which was far, far away; while the hare danced, ran really, really fast, visited friends, partied, and I assume drank gallons of rabbit juice.

And the tortoise slowly, ever so slowly, kept inching towards the finish line which was a little closer now. 

After a long while, the hare had to finally take a nap and when he was happily snoring the tortoise slowly finished the race and beat the depleted hare. And there’s a lesson to be learned there.

And thus ends the tale, at least my version of the tale. The tortoise won because he took his time and headed slowly for the finish line, while the hare went nuts, spending his energy fruitlessly.

Roulette and Blaise Pascal

Blaise Pascal, a noted scientist, and philosopher of the 1600s, wanted to build the world’s first perpetual motion machine. He worked hard on that day after day. He failed as so many others before him and since him have failed.

But he did invent something that lasted from his time right up to our time and probably after our time. The roulette wheel. Maybe that wheel will continue to spin as long as humankind plays the very simple game Pascal created.

I am sure that if Pascal is in heaven, a place he truly believed in, he is looking down at Earth and is very, very pleased with himself. Heck, he’s won some people much money. Those people are, of course, the owners of the roulette wheels and today the casinos and churches that offer the game to gamblers.

The Two Types of Roulette Players

There are actually more than two groups of roulette players. You have shades and shadows of them up and down the line. But to write about that would take, oh I don’t know, perhaps a massive number of books. So, I am going to divide the groups in two but I want you to realize that the shades and shadows count. Indeed, you can add those to mine to get a fuller count.

Group One: Contains the hares, wild players looking to make a good score. They play recklessly, always hoping for the big hit, the big win. They use their energy and ultimately collapse from exhaustion. Recall the movie The Hangover where a group of friends head to Las Vegas where they go literally berserk and wake up not knowing what happened the night before.

Too many players do something such as that in the pursuit of fun. Why oblivion is fun I have no idea but there it is.

That is close to the hare syndrome. “Let me play like a maniac and I will beat this game or die trying.”

How do the hares play? They make large singular bets directly on the numbers. Yes, they are looking for that 35-to-1 payout on a hit. But the casino has a pretty good chance to wipe these players out. Watch how that is.

There are three roulette games in today’s casinos. The best game is the single-zero one (called the European/French game) which has one green zero that can be wagered upon. Here’s the rub. 

There are 36 numbers, 1-36, with that single green zero (0). The payout for a win should be 36-to-1 but for the casino to make money it reduces the payout to 35-to-1. That gives the casino an advantage of 2.7%; relatively low in the gambling scheme of things.

Then there is the American game, called the double-zero game, which added a 0 and a 00 to the mix. There are now 38 pockets in this game but the payout for a hit is still 35-to-1, when in true terms the payout should be 37-to-1. The house edge on this game goes up to 5.26%. That is a serious house edge indeed. It still has the numbers 1-36. 

Now the casinos have started to bring in a third roulette game – one I call the “YUCK” game that has 39 pockets with the numbers 1-36 with three added zeroes (0, 00, 000). And guess what? The payout for a win is still 35-to-1!

The house edge on this monstrosity is 7.69%. What do these edges mean in terms of money? 

The single-zero European/French game will cost a player an expected $2.70 for every $100 wagered. This is not too bad. There are plenty of other games that have much, much larger edges. 

You can find many of those larger edges at craps. Or at games with multiple bets, the games we call the “new” games. Almost all side bets tend to be bad.

The double-zero American game has a 5.26 percent house edge and that translates into an expected loss of $5.26 per $100 wagered. This is a so-so game, midstream I’d say.

And now for the “YUCK” game. You have to thank the churches and non-profit organizations for this game. The casino bosses were looking to increase the take on roulette players and boy did they. You still have the numbers 1-36 and those three types of zeroes, (0, 00, 000).

That house edge is now 7.69%, an expected loss of $7.69 per $100 wagered. This house edge is edging towards the ridiculous in this game. The casinos will advertise it as a game where you can get more in comps. Certainly. Why? Because you are expected to lose more money!

How the Hares Play Roulette

Playing one number means you have a one in 37 chance of winning in the single-zero game, a one in 38 chance on the double-zero game and a one in 39 chance of hitting that single number in the triple-zero game. These are not great odds and the house edges on all but the single-zero games simply grow larger and worser (is worser a word?).

The hares really don’t consider the games they play. In fact, they let it all hang out. Okay, maybe some of them choose the better games if they are offered them. Otherwise, so what? “I am here to run around and play, play, play! That’s my gambling philosophy.”

And many of them probably drink their fill. “Drink up. I’m treating!” says the hare as the cocktail server comes by with the free drinks. Okay, our hare will probably tip the server. He (or she) will also continue to consume large quantities of booze. Hey, he (or she) is here for a good time, like the characters in The Hangover had.

Now he or she bets one bet hoping to cash in. Now he or she has a one chance in 37 or 38 or (heaven forbid) 39 to make a winning bet. What does that mean? It could mean long losing streaks and more booze.

If the bet wins? Just more similar bets. In a pinch our hare might bet two or three inside numbers (maybe more!) – which merely means the expected loss is two or three times more. He or she isn’t going home with more money – at least that is the prospect. He or she is going home with less; much less.

Can our hare ever win? Maybe on very, very rare occasions; perhaps on those rare times when he or she didn’t get totally smashed.

The hare might go from casino to casino sampling the many wares of Lady Luck’s palaces. “The drinks are free so who cares that the roulette game has three different zeroes? [Hiccup!] I will be getting more comps, right?” 

So, our hero hare now heads home. He or she might not even remember how much he or she played or lost or drank.

And he or she has over time lost many, many races with chance. He or she is, after all, the hare of our story. The horrible, humble hare.

How the Tortoise Plays Roulette

Now we come to the tortoise. How does our tortoise play roulette? Slowly and carefully. Does our hero have an edge based on how he or she plays the game?

No. Definitely not. Sorry. All players have to face the house edge when they play. What our hero has is the ability to keep the roaring emotions under control. Even more, he or she is aware of how to avoid long losing streaks. How is that so?

Simple. Make bets that will stop really long losing streaks from occurring and there are such bets. You see there are roulette bets that can allow the player to stop long losing streaks to be a thing of the past (mostly things of the past that is, depending of your definition of “long”).

First, our hero, our tortoise, will have a certain amount of money set aside with which to play. Should that be lost, then the session is over. The trip might not be over, just that particular session. But quit our tortoise must do. He or she hasn’t lost the race. This is just a pause in the action.

What bets does the tortoise make? Ahh, here’s the rub! (A very good rub for the tortoise!)

If you look around the outside of the layout, you will notice bets that are called proposition bets such as the columns, the dozens, and the even-money bets. There are even other bets that allow the tortoise to select groups of numbers to play with only one chip!

The best of these bets are called the even-money bets. The bets pay even money. They are not (sad to say) 50-50 bets in terms of the odds. Still the tortoise will generally go back and forth, back and forth, between wins and losses.

On the single-zero game, the tortoise will face 18 wins and 19 losses. On the double-zero game the tortoise will have 18 wins and 20 losses. It’s 18 and 18 with the two green pockets being losers.

On the “YUCK” game the tortoise will have 18 wins and 21 losses. It’s 18 and 18 with the three green zeroes as losers. (You can see why this roulette wheel is a poor game.) 

Now, what are the actual even-money bets? They are red/black, odd/even, and high/low. Look at the scoreboard and you can plainly see that there are 18 reds and 18 blacks, 18 odds and 18 evens, and 18 highs and 18 lows – with the green pockets being losers at all three games. 

So, a single chip can cover quite a lot of numbers. You won’t win every spin of the wheels, but you will win a lot of them and you won’t go into many extended losing streaks as you can with inside betting. 

You can take your time too. The hare players will be raging during their betting choices; many of them covering the layout with their wagers. You have plenty of time to get your bets down.

Advice for Tortoises

• If you play the single-zero European/French game good for you. As long as you don’t have to play for much higher stakes, you should be in good shape. If you have to play higher stakes, then sit out a spin or two.
• On the double-zero American game, just relax and take your time. 
• On the “YUCK” game – come on, try a different casino. We don’t want to encourage casinos to offer bad games.
• Some good news. On the single-zero and double-zero games some casinos offer options that can cut the edges in half on the even-money bets.
• On the American double zero wheel, if the green numbers show, you do not lose your bet. You get it back. This called surrender.
• On the single-zero game if the green zero shows the casino will lock up your bet for the next spin of the wheel. This is called en prison. Generally, in Europe en prison is the rule.
• The house edges go down to 2.63% on the double-zero game and to 1.35% on the European/French game. That low house edge is a terrific bet!

All the best in and out of the casinos!

It’s 4 in the morning at Durango Casino and Resort. You’ve been riding the gambler’s roller coaster all night long, swinging between wins and losses, pressing bets and taking walks when they seem appropriate. Between it all, you capitalized on a comped dinner at the absolutely fantastic Nicco’s steakhouse. 

Unable to decide between fish or beef, you opted for both: citrus fed filet mignon for the entrée and a few langoustines as an appetizer. The warm butter toffee cake was impossible to resist for dessert.

But that was hours ago. In the gambling pit of recently opened Durango, you ran the gamut, going from slot machines to blackjack to craps. Then there were the pre-season football games you bet on – plus a futures bet for the Super Bowl champion in 2025. You started out with a crew of four friends. One by one, they disappeared – sick of gambling, having won enough or lost too much, and just plain tired.

Hero that you are, you kept going, loving the action and hanging on for the swings, until you are finally satisfied with your starting stake and a pocket full of multi-colored chips – including a couple of purples – for your trouble.

You could go to sleep. But, why? Instead, you repair to The George, Durango’s 24-hour eatery, for steak and eggs – more beef, but you are in Vegas and that seems like the right thing to do – and a reckoning of the night’s results. It is the perfect way to end your gambling spree.

The Durango, which opened late last year, is not the most obvious place in which to try your luck in Las Vegas. Located away from the neon drenched Vegas Strip, it stands on its own and is a luxurious, elegant, comfortable option for gambling as well as sleeping (the rooms are large and welcoming, with high ceilings and comfy beds). Great for those who want to avoid the bustle and congestion of what we think to be Vegas proper, it is a great alternative spot in which to get down and enjoy the action that defines Sin City.

 “You come into town and get here 80 percent quicker than you get to a place on the Strip on a Friday night,” Durango’s general manager David Horn tells 888casino. “For a lot of people, it’s refreshing to avoid the craziness and stay here.”

Luxury Away from the Strip

Gaming rules at Durango lean toward the liberal (which means that you win more or lose less, depending on how things shake out at the tables), all of the newest slot machines are in place and the crowd – many of whom are locals on nights off of working in other casinos – provides a nice change from the touristy throngs that dominate gambling joints on the Strip.

“We’re creating unique experiences,” says Horn. “We’re doing that with natural lighting, keeping the casino bright and being easy on the eyes [in terms of décor]. The idea is to make it feel tranquil in some places and high energy in others.”

The Durango has long been in the making, and the finished product ranks among the nicest casinos in Leas Vegas. The place has a clean, California-style aesthetic. All the standard games are there on the casino floor. High limit gaming areas for slots and table games both rank as showstoppers.

“We make sure high-limit is inviting,” says Horn of the table-gaming enclave where betting minimums begin at $100 per hand and go as high as $300 on busy nights. “There’s a nice bar in there – where players can relax and feel like they are in a bit of a hideaway. There’s a private cage” – for cashing out discreetly – “and TVs all over the place so that you never miss a game.”

Slot players with deep pockets do not exactly get the short shrift.

“The chairs are comfortable, and the room feels good, but customer service is key,” says Horn. “We swap out machines, set up requested machines ahead of a player’s arrival, move things around if need be. We have quite a few machines that are first to brand.”

Keeping Gamblers Happy

Because the casino is not on the Strip, where visitors to Vegas make a pastime of roaming from casino to casino, Durango has to be enticing enough to keep guests in house and occupied. Right now, the pool – “It’s set up,” says Horn, “so that you go there and feel like you are getting away from everything” – is one way of making visitors stick around. The sportsbook is another. No ordinary sportsbook, The George Sportsman’s Lounge is built into the aforementioned George.

“It wraps around an experience that is not just for the sports bettor,” says Horn. “You can come here, bet on the games, enjoy dinner and make a night of it by finishing up with a UFC party on the back patio.”

And if you get hungry during the day – of course you will – a well-thought-out food hall replaces the more standardized food court that has long been a staple of casinos aimed at locals. But in Durango’s iteration, there is no McDonalds in sight. Instead, there are Vegas outposts of cool local restaurants from around the United States as well as some unique to Durango.

As a New Yorker, it did my heart good to see Prince Street Pizza, a downtown Manhattan staple. And, like at the original, there was a line to get a slice. As always, the wait was worth it.

Other spots worth checking out for a quick bite: Irv’s Burgers, Uncle Paulie’s Italian deli and El Pono Café with Hawaiian street food. 

Plus, occupying a middle ground between gourmet and everyman is Fiorella, a pasta joint that comes courtesy of Italian food maestro Marc Vetri. 

More formal, after the sun goes down, are options that include the market-driven Summer House and Mijo Modern Mexican Restaurant, which lives up to its name.

High Rollers

Then, of course, there are the gamblers who never have to wait on lines for anything, the ones who gamble so high that the casino completely rolls out the red carpet for them. They take their shots in Durango’s private gaming rooms.

“We have three salons here,” Horn says, referring to the refined spaces for discreet gamblers who like to play behind closed doors – often with friends and karaoke machines and a selection of top shelf liquor to help things along – and wager between $1,000 and $10,000 per hand. “Games being played in the salons tend to be split between blackjack and baccarat. Maximum limits are discussed with the guests.”

Back inside The George, your chips are organized and you’re ready to cash out with a tidy profit. Your steak and eggs are finished off and you just found out that tonight the spot will feature live entertainment, right outside, on the patio – plus sports to be wagered on and watched on the big screen monitors.

It’s a good bet that you’ll be there to take it all in.

The “don’t” side of craps is usually given short shift when gambling writers delve into it. Why is that? Because it is (seriously) considered the “dark” side of the game. It is the side that should be avoided at all costs. It’s as if you are throwing your lot with the devil.

How so? Well, most craps players prefer to play the “rightside” of the game and they look at the “don’t players” as if they are the betrayers of their fellow craps players. After all, the “don’t” players are somewhat similar to Satan, as they are more than likely hoping the opposite hopes of the “rightside” players.

Often the “don’t” players are betting that the “rightside” group of the players will lose when the horrible 7 is thrown by the shooter. That is an awkward time at the table. At least, I find that so. I like to think of craps as “we are all in this together.”

Yes, on some occasions that 7 helps both the “rightside” player, who is betting on the “come” which wins when a 7 is thrown, and the “don’t” player. 

The “don’t” players are often referred to as the “darkside” players or simply as the “darksider,” who wants the point number or any number they are betting against, to be knocked off the board when the 7 thrusts its ugly self onto the layout. And obviously the seven can come up a lot.

The rightside players consider this a betrayal of the game and they don’t like the don’t players, those beastly darksiders, and would prefer that they don’t play at the same table as they do. In fact, some rabid rightside craps players (and there are plenty of those) wish the darksiders didn’t even exist. (I’m ending using quotes for the groupings from here on in.)

If you know the game of craps, you are certainly familiar with darksiders. On the rightside, the come-out roll wins for the player if a 7 or 11 appears. But for the darksider those are two losing numbers. The darksider wins if a 2 or 3 is thrown which loses for the rightsiders. The 12 is a push.

The come-out roll is good for the rightsiders but bad for the darksiders. The rightsiders will win eight times and lose four times. After that it is all in the darksiders’ favor because the 7 wins the game for the darksider as that number has 6 chances to hit. That is more than any other number in the game. On the come-out roll, the darksider loses three times and does not have an edge.

The house edge against the darksider is 1.36%. The edge against the rightsiders is 1.41%.

Playing the Game

From this point the game gets slightly more complicated. When the point number is established; the rightsiders will win if that number is rolled but the darksider will lose. But if the 7 is rolled, more than likely it will be, the rightsider loses and the darksider wins.

If the rightsider is betting on a lot of numbers, either through come betting and/or place betting, a 7 will wipe him or her out. That’s a big hit. And a big win for the darksiders.

About 95% of craps players are rightside players and only about 5% are darkside players. These are approximations. I never took a real survey.

The Odds

Now there is a little bit of a wrinkle here as both rightsiders and darksiders can make use of a bet called “the odds.” This bet is made after the point is established (it can also be made on the come bets and don’t come bets). Come odds are used by the rightsiders; don’t come odds are used for the darksiders. In addition, odds also apply to the point bet. 

Overall, taking or laying the odds are good bets. The house has no edge on these bets.

The rightside player puts however much the casino allows behind his “line” bet – the “line” is the pass line. He will be paid the true value of the bet. So, if a 4 is the point, the payment will be 2 to 1 on the odds bet; if the point is a 5, he or she will be paid 3 to 2; the 6 and 8 will pay 6 to 5; the 9 will pay 3 to 2 and the 10 will pay 2 to 1.

The darksiders can lay the odds, that is they can take the long end of the odds bet. The darksider would have to place twice as much money behind his or her bet if it were a 4 as the 4 has two to one odds against it. (The 10, 5, 9, 6 and 8 can also be wagered this way. Come and don’t come bets can also use the odds.)

You can see that as the game shifts towards the point number and the come bets, the rightsider is behind the eight-ball a little. But the darksider is in good shape. He or she has a slight edge at the game.

Now, when those sevens roll, the rightside players will groan or curse and if a darksider is at the table, well, many rightsiders will tend to be irritated or angry at the darksider winning money while the rightsider lost his or her money. 

Projection is a powerful instinct and many rightsiders project on the darksider the bad luck they are experiencing. The darksider caused it. This is, I guess, a normal reaction. There is no cause for it.

The Captain’s Take

My mentor, the great legend of Atlantic City, the late Captain, first introduced me to the darksiders. I was in the process of learning the game of craps and how to shoot the dice. The Captain said, “See that guy over there?” I looked. 

A short man was making a bet, a don’t bet on the line when the shooter got the dice.

The Captain explained that this man, a short, squirrelly type of guy, was carefully making his bet. I noticed that he didn’t look at anyone at the table but some of the players were grunting. Remember this was 1990 and the table had many World War II and Korean War veterans. They seemed upset. You could see their lips snarling. Nothing like a snarl to alert you to the inner feelings of someone.

The Captain explained that this individual was a darksider, a player who played the opposite of most players, as he was betting against the dice. He didn’t want the rightside players to make any points or numbers. He wanted a quick seven-out. And the rightsiders knew this.

This was probably my fourth or fifth visit to Atlantic City. It was my first sight of a darksider. I didn’t know such a bettor existed, although I know I read about them but they were outside my conscious perception. I was kind of singularly focused on my craps education.

The Captain explained that the majority of darksiders played alone and would furtively come to the table and quietly place their bets. You’d usually notice them up in the corner of the table. They really didn’t bother him one bit.

Welcome to the New World

Now, the Captain’s sense of things was true for the 1990s but I once was at a table that was crowded with darksiders. Maybe six or seven of them. This was at Bally’s in Atlantic City. It was the late 1990s. Maybe, 2000.

You have to realize that Atlantic City had a lot of characters who played in the casinos. Some of these characters were interesting and worthy of a kind of appreciation, maybe even respect. Others certainly were not.

The group at the table playing the darkside were loud. They all sounded something like a poor version of Robert DeNiro. In short, they were true lowlifes. They would make anyone uncomfortable.  

There were a couple of other players who were trying to shoot. “Come on fella,” said the guy who appeared to be the leader of this mob. “Let’s see what you can do.” And they all placed don’t pass bets.

The new player shot the dice and established a point and then sevened-out. “Oopsy daisy!” said the leader. His gang laughed derisively. I was just standing watching but the other two guys at the table didn’t shoot. 

The problem was that there were only two tables opened at Bally’s, and one was full of players; the other was the table I was looking at. This was about two in the afternoon. The casino was not crowded at this time of the day or this day of the week. I was waiting for the Captain but I was a little early.

“Hey, buddy,” said the leader who was lighting up a cigarette. “Why don’t you shoot? You shoot; go ahead. You might get lucky, right? Make some money.”

“No thanks,” I said. “I don’t know the game,” I lied. “I’d hate to make you lose.” 

“We ain’t losing,” said the leader. The others laughed. Half of them were smoking. They were an annoying bunch for sure. I walked away. Being near these players was off-putting. 

That gang were the most obnoxious players I think I ever encountered. They were out of a Scorsese movie doing the worst parts.

Soon after, the Captain arrived with several of his crew. The casino opened another table and the Captain took his spot, as did the Arm, and Jimmy P. There were a couple of other players who came to the table too. So, we had a session. 

The Scorsese gang then came to our table. We had a pretty high minimum bet ($25, which was high in those days) but no one cared about that.

All of them made their don’t pass bets. The Arm was shooting. She rolled several sevens in a row. The gang guffawed. 

“Keep that up and we’ll lose,” laughed the leader, lighting up another cigarette. It was a non-filtered cigarette I noticed. In fact, his fingers were somewhat yellow from the nicotine. Figures.

“You might want to leave,” laughed the Captain. “This lady can shoot.”

Now while “this lady can shoot” was a true statement, she told the Captain she didn’t feel like shooting after she sevened-out. And we left. The obnoxiousness of the gang was too much for her. By this time, she was hitting 80 years old. So was the Captain.

After this, the Captain and the Arm passed away. I wish this story would have ended with the Arm destroying the Scorsese gang but, well, it didn’t. Sometimes the good guys lose. And that’s the way it was and is.

Did Anyone Else Play the Darkside?

In my craps career, I never played with a friend who was a darksider or even stayed at a table with one if that person was loud. Usually, darksiders stayed quiet. Today, you do get some players who cheer if the dice clobber a rightsider but these people aren’t legion.

The concept of going against people who were rooting for me to fail turned me off. I wasn’t superstitious but shooting at a table while other players were hoping I would fail just didn’t sit well with me.

Once at the Venetian in Las Vegas I went to a table and had a great roll with two darksiders at the table. They left. I stayed.

I don’t have too many great stories about knocking out darksiders. I may have done so a few more times than I didn’t do it, but still, I didn’t want to play with players who were rooting against me. 

In the End

The darkside isn’t for everyone and that is why most gambling writers aren’t all that interested in writing about it. Still, it should be covered, at least superficially. Well, I did it!

All the best in and out of the casinos!
 

The best time to leave a casino is … when? I have not done a study of casino players on this topic, but it is my belief that most of them have no idea when the best time to leave a casino is for them personally.

They may bring along a certain casino playing stake (or, worse yet, choose to hit the ATM for their playing cash) and have some general idea how much they are willing to lose before giving up the quest for riches and heading home. 

It is a sad fact that most gamblers do not have any plan regarding when they will leave the casino. Most will play as long as they are able based on how they feel and how long their money lasts. Some of them will play even longer by hitting the ATM to replenish the initial (and then ultimately lost) bankroll.

When is the best time to leave the casino? This article explores the topic.

Contents

1. Types of Casino Player
2. Good Times Charlie
3. Ima Got-rocks
4. Careful Carl
5. Summary

Types of Casino Player

It is very difficult to provide the best time to leave the casino that covers all types of players. Each type can have a different answer. This article will cover the following types of players. 

• Good Times Charlie - Players who come to the casino strictly for entertainment. They have a somewhat limited gambling budget. They may know the rules of how to play the games they play, but they know nothing about things like basic strategy in blackjack or strategy for optimum play in video poker.
• Ima Got-rocks – Money is the least of this player’s concerns. The money they win or lose means nothing. It is a contest between them and the house. They may or may not know they best bets or games with the best return. They are in it for the action all the way.
• Careful Carl - Players who know the proper strategy for playing the games they like to play. They make low house edge bets such as the line bet – possibly with odds at craps. They know how to determine the video poker games with best return and know the proper way to play them. They bring gambling funds that are strictly reserved for playing and are not need for living expenses.

Good Times Charlie

Most players who fall into this category tend to leave the casino when they run out of money. Upon hitting a big win, most of this class of players will continue to play hoping for another big win. Most Good Times Charlies are focused on playing as long as they can. Far too often, even with big wins, “as long as they can” is until they run out of money.

There is technically nothing wrong with this approach – if they are playing with money they can afford to lose. That is, money that has been set aside and is reserved for casino play.

If this is the case, these Good Times Charlie players may go home depressed, but there is no long-term impact. The best time to leave for these Good Times Charlie players is whenever they like. They will be happier leaving if they are ahead, but they came for entertainment. Entertainment costs money and they are willing and able to pay the price.  

Most Good Times Charlies have a different style, however. They may bring what they feel they can afford to lose, even though it may be needed for rent or groceries. These players hope to win to help with upcoming expenses. Worse yet, some of these players will run through everything they brought and then hit the ATM for additional funds. Rather than quitting when they are lucky enough to score a big win, they play until this is also lost.

Unfortunately, the best time for these players to leave the casino is – before they arrive. The casino has a house edge on everything. Players who don’t have the discipline to amass the funds to play plus stay within that budget should not tempt themselves.

Ima Got-rocks

Obviously, the best time for this type of player to leave the casino is whenever he or she wants. The money does not matter. They are playing for fun and/or excitement. Let them have it. They can certainly afford it.

Careful Carl

For Careful Carls the best time to leave the casino is a bit more complex. They are doing everything properly to give themselves the best chance of winning or playing for the maximum time possible.

Obviously, they will leave when they lose their bankroll. They will not hit the ATM. Leaving then will not hurt them. But, what about leaving when they are ahead? Many pundits promote this.

Sounds like a good idea, doesn’t it? The problem is, how do you define “ahead?” If they win the first hand of blackjack, they are ahead. Is this the best time to leave? They may never be ahead after this win. Leaving now would not make the trip worthwhile. One hand and quit? Really?

No, there needs to be a way to balance leaving when you are ahead and playing for a reasonable length of time. 

Some authors promote trying to reach a certain win level of perhaps 10 units before calling it quits. 

One method I like is locking up a percentage of each win. With each win, put 30 to 50% of it aside. This is not to be touched. This is profit to be taken with you with you when you leave. Continue playing with the remainder of your allocated bankroll until it is gone or are ready to leave for other reasons. Using this method, it is virtually impossible to leave the casino empty-handed. 

For Careful Carls, this is the best time to leave the casino.

Summary 

The best time to leave a casino depends on the type of player. 

• Undisciplined players should leave before they come. 
• Those with (nearly) unlimited resources can play all they want before leaving.
• Disciplined players should set aside a portion of each win to be taken with them when they leave.

Giving slot players fresh ways to play is bread and butter for online casinos, live casinos and game designers alike. What better way to keep players engaged that with new experiences.

Among the new experiences recently added online are games from Betsoft, ELK Studios and Pragmatic Play. Let's take a peek at what they have to offer.

Tiger's Luck Hold and Win (Betsoft)

Hold-and-respin games are among the most popular around today, regardless of whether you're playing online slots or in live casinos.

Betsoft puts a couple of twists on the format with Tiger's Luck Hold and Win. It has five reels, each four symbols deep, and 100 paylines. 

The Asian-style images are set in a bamboo forest with animal symbols including tigers, crocodiles, bears, red pandas, lanterns and gold coins with red ribbons, wild symbols, big gold coins without the ribbon as feature trigger and red collection symbols. The a usual collection of low-payers with 10, J, Q, K and A also are part of the symbol mix.

As with other such games, a bonus is triggered when six gold coins land on the screen. Each coin displays a credit award. Those symbols lock into place for respins. You spin as long as you keep collecting coins and credits until you go three spins in a row without landing another on the reels. Then the round ends and you collect all the credit awards.

One twist: If the red collection symbol appears, it collects all the credits on your gold coins. It deposits those credits on your meter, but the amounts remain on the gold coins and you win them all again at the end of the bonus. The red symbol disappears and your round resumes.

The collection symbol can appear several times in one respin round, giving you the chance at really big wins as you collect all the credits several times over.

Another twist: if you choose, you can buy the hold feature without waiting to trigger it with a reel spin. For 30 times your regular bet, you can buy a bonus, but it takes only one miss to end the round. For 40 times your bet, you get at least two respins, and for 50 times, you get the usual three.

That's pricey at $30, $40 or $50 for someone who usually bets $1. Bonus return can fall short of those bets, but the chance the payoff will far exceed the bet lures jackpot hunters.

The main game has a twist, too. Wild symbols in the base game are sticky. Land wilds on the reels, and they not only help with that spin, they lock in place for the next two.

On average, you'll see a respin bonus about once per 92 spins, and sticky wilds once per 26. It's a high volatility game with a lot of intrigue as you twist through that bamboo forest.

Squeeze (ELK Studios)

On a sandy seaside beach, lies a grid of fruit-like symbols all ready to be squeezed. The grid is six symbols across and seven symbols deep, and though each symbol is a rounded square, they're very like fruit cross sections.

Small-paying symbols are just colors – blue, green, yellow and red. Higher-payers come in the same colors but have pulp lines or sides. A green square with white pulp lines and black seeds looks very like a kiwi cross section. 

In that way, Squeeze is similar to cascading reels games where winners disappear and new symbols drop from the top to fill vacant spaces. But here, the squeeze comes from the sides and only the winning spaces are affected. Symbols already in place don't drop down, or move in from the sides.

The squeeze remains on as long as new winning combinations appear. There's a chance at a long winning streak on a single paid spin. A really big win with 17 symbols of the same type can pay up to 250-1, and with bonus features, there's a maximum win of 10,000 times your bet.

There are lots of potential bonuses. To the left of the reel grid are four feature meters. Fill the blue meter to get the swap feature, where symbols swap places to potentially create wins. The yellow meter yields a "make big" feature that supersizes a symbol to either 3x3 or 4x4 to create at least 9- or 16-symbol winners.

The green meter brings the upgrade feature, which upgrades winners to the next higher symbol value. And the red meter brings "spawns wild" to replace six symbols with wilds.

Sometimes you'll see a "bounce back" feature where squeezed symbols return in place, multiplying the win. 

And for fans of free spins – and that's just about every slot player – there are a couple of levels. Three scatter symbols trigger five bonus games, and on each the squeeze mechanic applies so you could win several times on each game. If at least one of the scatters is a "super scatter" symbol, you get the super bonus. You still get five free games, but on each game, one of the bonus meters is filled and you get the corresponding feature.

That leaves a lot of ways to win in a fun, attractive setting. Be aware that Squeeze is a high volatility slot. You can win big, but the losses can also come fast. Take your shot, but stick to your bankroll limits.

Running Sushi (Pragmatic Play)

Those who love sushi bars in Japanese restaurants will instantly recognize the situation here. As reels spin, a conveyor underneath brings sushi pieces into view. You get the chance to collect value on the sushi pieces as well as any winners on the reels.

Running Sushi has five reels, each four symbols deep, and is a 1,024 ways to win slot. Instead of traditional paylines, any path across the reels from right to left can form a winning combo.

Reel symbols include sushi pieces, chefs and servers as well as low-paying heart, club, diamond and spade icons. As you spin, the conveyor brings anywhere from four to seven pieces of sushi into view. Above each piece is a multiplier, so a roll with 2x above is worth two times your bet, a 5x roll is worth five times your bet, and so on. Winning those values takes landing three "Take Sushi" symbols depicting female servers. When that happens, you win values of all the sushi on the conveyor.

Three scatter symbols consisting of a sushi chef in white hat launch a round of 10 free spins. An extra in the free spins can bring big wins. A gold-clad chef serves as a "Take All" symbol and he also appears to the left of the reels. Under him to left, values are tallied of all sushi pieces you see on the conveyor for the free spins.

Then if you land three Take All symbols on the reels, you not only win the sushi on the conveyor, but all from earlier in the round that have been tallied on the left. Those are the moments for Running Sushi players to savor.

Free spins are such an important part of the game that you can add an extra 25% to your bet to increase their frequency. On average, you'll launch the freebies once per 298 spins. Bet the extra, turning a $2 bet into $2.50, for example, and you'll get the feature about once per 149 spins.

The extra bet does not increase the payback on any winners, but it does get you the potentially lucrative free-spin round more often. It adds to volatility but not to payback percentage. Whether you bet the extra depends on whether you'd want to risk more and increase frequency of losing sessions in order to increase the possibility of a big win.