Tag: Survival Strategies
View All TagsGambling / Tips / Casinos / Survival Strategies / → All Tags
The House Advantage
Casinos have the edge in every game we play. We know this going in and, for the majority of people, gambling is more for fun. While mathematic probability can be used to determine the house advantage, players won't experience that in the short term. The math behind the house advantage isn't realized through a half-hour session, but through thousands of games. UNLV Gaming compiled a basic chart looking at the house advantage with different games in the casino:
Depending on the game and player, the casino edge may be larger than what the data typically suggests. As you can see from the chart, there are plenty of different house advantages for blackjack with stats based on three types of games when played with perfect basic strategy. The house advantage in those games can be lessened by learning advanced strategy. Similarly, the house advantage may grow based on rule changes like paying 6:5 for blackjack instead of 3:2.
Fight Night / Dining / Drinking / Betting / Sportsbooks / Survival Strategies / Tips / → All Tags
A Guy's Guide To Fight Night In Vegas
The city of indulgence and home of the 24-hour assault on the senses receives a Pulp Fiction-style adrenaline shot to the heart this Saturday night as pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather, Jr. takes on Robert Guerrero at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in a 12-round tilt for Mayweather's WBC welterweight title.
When Mayweather fights in Las Vegas, the world takes notice. This is so much more than 36 minutes of stepping and counterpunching. It's a spectacle that draws people from across the globe to the entertainment capital of the world for a weekend that rivals any 48-hour stretch Sin City has to offer.
Tips / Survival Strategies / Nightclubs / Nightlife / Club Kid / → All Tags
When You're In The Club Doin' Things That You Should Not Do
We can probably all agree that clubs are filled with enough douche bags so here's our best advice on how not to be one of them. Got another tip to add to the list? Share it in the comments below!
Be Respectful To Your Host
Whether via email or text, communicate back in a timely fashion and be honest. Don’t tell him (or her) that you can bring 10 girls with you when in reality you can bring four. Or, that your party will be there at 10:30 when you know you’ll arrive at midnight. And if, at the last minute, you change your mind about going to the club, let your host know. Hosts get paid by the amount of people (more so, girls) they can bring in so keep that in mind before you flake out.
Don’t Lie Or Make Up Excuses
“The other girls in my party are still in the bathroom. Can you let us in, anyway?” “I’m best friends with Jesse Waits.” “He’s my designated driver, he doesn’t have to pay cover, does he?” It's all been heard before. And, it gets lamer every time.
Players Cubs / Comps / Gambling / Tips / Survival Strategies / → All Tags
Don't Get Lost In The Multipliers
We don't gamble for comps, but it's nice to know what is available to us. Some day, we may earn enough points to get that awesome satin jacket from Luxor. If casinos continue to offer point multipliers -- like the email pictured above from Boyd Gaming -- we might just get that jacket.
Players club points are a funny thing. The casinos want to draw players in with their offers, but they don't want to offer too many points to just anyone. When you live outside of Vegas, you'll receive more room offers and free play to draw you in. Once you're in town, you may end up at a casino for one of the random point multiplier days. The locals casinos (Boyd, Station, etc.) offer different kinds of point multipliers just about every day while the national casinos are will have specific offers tailored to the individual player. For example, Caesars Entertainment will send out point multipliers only good for a specific player on a specific day at a specific casino.
Cabs / Taxis / Tips / McCarran Airport / Long Hauling / Survival Strategies / → All Tags
Still Being Taken For A Ride By Some Vegas Cab Drivers
By definition a long haul is traveling a long distance or time. Hauling is usually used when discussing freight, not humans. Like everything else in Vegas, a long haul is slightly different. In Vegas, long hauling is the process of cab drivers taking customers for a longer distance so they can charge more without telling said customer. Long hauling has been around Vegas for years, but it's been in the mainstream news a lot lately because it's happening more than ever before.
A press release sent out from the Nevada Legislative Counsel Bureau last week says that over 22% of 2,370 cab rides to and from McCarran Airport took a longer trip than necessary. According to this study, long hauling totaled up to almost $15 million in over-charges last year. Here's an example from last night:
Events / Boxing / Treasure Island / Tips / Survival Strategies / Fight Night / → All Tags
When Fight Night Is At Treasure Island
They fight in a second-floor ballroom at the Treasure Island, a hotel-casino that spends working hours housing a percentage of the business conventions which descend upon Las Vegas each year. It's an intimate setting for an intimate sport. An opulent, gold-colored chandelier hangs from the ceiling in the center of the room, directly above the ring in which the combatants, shirtless and chiseled, will engage in the art known to many as the sweet science. The air is heavy with both anticipation and excitement.
It's a fight night in Las Vegas.
VegasChatter Questions / Pool Scenes / Safety / Survival Strategies / Tips / → All Tags
A Do Not Do Reminder For Vegas Pool Season
With the 2013 Vegas pool season upon us, a reader reminds us that it's not always a wet n' wild, sexually charged up time. We need to protect our belongings and not just our dignity while we're splashing around. But, how should we do this? We give some tips below. But first, here's what reader Ashley wrote to us:
In the past I've traveled to Vegas with my husband or my sister. Generally when relaxing in the pool we would leave our things, phones, money, IDs, in a bag under a chair. For whatever reason I have never felt unsafe doing this. Looking back it seems foolish. We were asking for someone to take our loot! Do you know if the MGM pool complex offers lockers? Or any pool safety tips? I'll be there in a couple weeks with my friend who's never been. Also being two girls in our mid 20's and petite we wouldn't scare off anyone trying to nab our things.
Total Rewards / Players Clubs / Tips / Survival Strategies / → All Tags
Total Rewards Offers New Diamond Levels
Every players club changes. That's evolution. Total Rewards changes for Caesars properties were announced earlier this year, but didn't take place until April 1 which is the new year for Total Rewards. It now takes more points to jump status levels (Gold to Platinum to Diamond to Seven Stars), but there are bonus points that are supposed to help you along. While other players clubs coldly remove perks without giving the appearance of adding anything at least Total Rewards is giving the impression that they're giving more with their increases.
It now takes 15,000 tier credits to reach Diamond level, but there are tiers within Diamond status that never existed before (kind of like the hotel-within-a-hotel concept at Caesars Palace with Nobu Hotel). Diamond level is the second highest tier status and it takes 10x the points (150,000) to reach Seven Stars (the top tier). The three levels are simply broken down by aspiration level:
Gambling / Poker / Survival Strategies / Tips / Vegas Rants / → All Tags
Don't Be That Guy (Or Gal) At The Poker Table
Poker used to be like golf. It was a gentleman’s game, set around tradition and honor. A game to share with friends over a stiff drink and a cigar. It was an excuse to forget the dullness of the 9 to 5, to get away for a few hours to turn cards and laugh over dirty jokes.
As televised poker gained popularity, the game started to change. We watched Mike Matusow talk about his “cojones,” we saw Shaun Sheikhan act like a jerk. With cries of “AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE,” (Salty) Joe Hachem’s fans inappropriately (this Chatter'er feels, anyway) brought the energy of a soccer (football) game to the televised final table at the 2005 WSOP. From kitchen table to card room, people started to emulate the behavior of these “famous” poker players. If everyone could just cut it out, we could get back to the awesome game that we all love. In response to all the bad behavior, here are the five most obnoxious things people do at the poker table that grate on us most. Don’t be this guy or gal.
MLB / Baseball / Betting / Tips / Survival Strategies / → All Tags
Major League Baseball Betting Primer
Baseball fans were teased with full-time professional baseball players playing in the World Baseball Classic earlier this month and, now that it's over, it's time for real baseball. The Major League Baseball season begins on Sunday, but kicks into full gear Monday, April 1.
Betting on all sports will be different this season as sportsbooks continue to release prop bets on individual games, players and various statistics. Baseball is the most statistic-driven sport so expect there to be new prop bets every time you head to the book. You can also expect "alternate run lines" to make betting on baseball seem more similar to other sports, but until now, that's not how baseball is usually bet.
Tips / Vegas Mistakes / Survival Strategies / Vegas Observations / → All Tags
ABLALV: Always Be Learning About Las Vegas
Las Vegas is constantly teaching us something. What? Thought it was all debauchery and blackouts? Nope, here are just a few of the things we have recently learned from our favorite city. Add your own lessons in the comments below!
THE UPGRADE LESSON
Recently, we booked a room through HotelTonight at Caesars Palace for just $91. But, thanks to another writer's coverage of the woeful Roman Tower rooms, we asked for an upgrade to a different part of the hotel. Lo and behold, we were sent to the all-new Octavius Tower. Granted it was an extra $60 a night, but we thought it worth it, especially when we laid our drunken heads down at 4 a.m. on a nice, soft and, most importantly, clean pillow.
We also learned that we weren't able to upgrade to the Nobu Hotel because the rest of Caesars Palace operates on a different reservations system from Nobu. If we wanted to spend the night with Nobu (for just $189 on that particular night), we would have had to cancel our HotelTonight booking, schlep over to the Nobu check-in, and start anew. And, now you know, too.
Resort Fees / Treasure Island / Tips / Survival Strategies / → All Tags
Getting Out Of Treasure Island's Resort Fee
Caesars Entertainment's newly instated resort fees don't apply to everyone. And, in case you weren't aware, neither does Treasure Island's.
@TIVegas told us on Twitter recently that there are ways around its $25 a night (plus tax) resort fee. And, it's sharing the news with others, too:
