BJ21.com Newsletter
October 25, 2007 071025
Presented as a public service
by BJ21.com, the leading source of accurate
information about casino games and conditions.
Compiled by Al
Rogers
Al@bj21.com
HARRAH'S INVESTIGATION
CONTINUES: Harrah's named in contractors board complaints --
Builder also cited in county investigation
Clark County names Harrah's Entertainment as the contractor in three of
its complaints recently filed with the Nevada State Contractors Board
for failing to follow state law. Ford Contracting, a local company, is
named in the county's fourth complaint.
Fire sealant added at
Rio -- Wing closed two
days for vital fix
The repairs affected about 360 rooms. This potentially life-threatening
deficiency was not found in the Ipanema's two other wings, except on
the 18th and 19th floors, Welling added. Those two floors were ordered
closed early in the investigation.
Harrah's: Rio
tower ruled safe -- Report from engineers due today
The concrete floor on the 19th floor of a Rio Hotel tower is safe and
has not been compromised by holes drilled during controversial
remodeling, according to word that Harrah's Entertainment received from
engineers Monday evening.
County files four
complaints -- Contracting board actions concern work at Rio, Harrah's
LV
Clark County has filed four complaints with the Nevada State
Contractors Board related to improper hotel remodeling by Harrah's
Entertainment. But the board cannot acknowledge the complaints exist
because of a recent change in state law. "The county filed four
complaints last week," Clark County spokeswoman Stacey Welling said
Tuesday. She did not know the parties named in each complaint, but she
said the county would provide copies of them today. The board is the
appropriate agency for disciplining contractors, she explained. A
spokesman for the contractors board would not confirm that the
complaints exist.
County to order audit of process -- Complaint about Rio to be examined
Clark County commissioners are expected to hire outside auditors next
month to conduct an extensive review into how the county handled a
complaint about remodeling work that was completed at the Rio without
permits or inspections.
Collapse of piece of ceiling closes Caesars garage entrance
It wasn't the empire that fell at Caesars Atlantic City, only a chunk
of the ceiling. A 20-by-20-foot piece of drywall dropped from the
ceiling at the Caesars garage at about 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to
Harrah's Entertainment spokeswoman Alyce Parker. It dented a mirror on
an SUV, but otherwise did not cause any serious damage.
Indian-gaming
official disputes report on tribal difficulties
As one of many Native Americans in this state working to promote tribal
self-sufficiency, I was appalled by the recent articles printed in the
Arizona Daily Star about the impacts of Indian gaming in Southern
Arizona.
Thanks to Green Chipper Flatpick
for sending this link.
From Casinos to Counterterrorism -- Las Vegas Surveillance, U.S.
Security Efforts Involve Similar Tactics
Every time a player registers for a loyalty card or a hotel room, Jonas
explained from his lab near the Strip, the player's name, address and
other data are sent to NORA. Also in the casinos' NORA database is
information about employees and vendors.
Thanks to Green Chipper toddler
for sending this link.
Demand for experienced casino workers may take toll on overall
industry; more jobs than workers expected
Gaming properties throughout Clark County have long faced shrinking
pools of qualified workers in all areas: from casino floors to
restaurants, from the kitchen to the hotel rooms, from the reservation
desk to technology support, from valet to management.
Casino
owner pleads guilty -- Medina deducted more than $1.1 million for false
expenses
The owner of Lucky Chances Casino, the multimillion dollar card club in
Colma, pleaded guilty Thursday to three counts of tax evasion in U.S.
District Court. Rene Medina, 62, deducted more than $1.1 million in
bogus business expenses from the income of Lucky Chances to reduce his
business taxes and pay for personal items, including more than $200,000
worth of furniture for his Atherton home and a new Mercedes Benz.
Barbour
Says NO To Choctaws
There will be no gaming in Jackson County if Governor Haley Barbour has
his way. In just a few weeks, Jackson County residents will vote
on whether or not they want the Choctaws to build a casino on Highway
57. Governor Haley Barbour says he's already made up his mind.
Station
Casinos informs stock exchange of delisting plans
Station Casinos plans to delist its shares from the New York Stock
Exchange as it prepares to become a private company.
Casino chops three executives
Three vice-presidents at Casino Windsor were dismissed as the gambling
palace deals with a drop of $120 million in revenues due to the high
Canadian dollar, the smoking ban, confusion over passport requirements
and perceived border backups.
Houses
worth less; gamblers stay home
Several local analysts have drawn the conclusion that the local housing
slump has hurt Nevada's casino revenue, which was down 4.4 percent in
August. The declines for both Las Vegas and the state are from a year
earlier.
The exotic dancer, the police chief and the dividing line
When she faces drug charges, he loses his job - and a storm of
cross-border politics is stirred up in Wendover.
Jeff Haney talks shop with a former offshore sports book pioneer on the
Internet, the mob and the future of sports betting in Nevada
Within a few years, Budin projects, Nevada's big gaming companies will
begin taking sports bets from gamblers online via a legal, regulated
Internet-based national sports book.
A giant 'Help
wanted' window -- More than a dozen hotel-casinos under construction
will mean jobs to fill in Macau
Today, gaming has taken on a Las Vegas feel in Macau. Large
hotel-casinos operated by Nevada-based companies have provided jobs for
thousands of workers since 2004, all but eliminating unemployment in
Macau. Meanwhile, casino workers have garnered benefits similar to
their counterparts in Las Vegas.
The Bear Growls
Long-time Las Vegas-based advantage player, casino critic, and frequent
BJ21.com
contributor LVBear offers his opinions on things that sometimes go
wrong in the world of casinos.
Current and past growls can be read and comments posted at LVBear's
website, TheBearGrowls.com
Weighing the Odds in Sports Betting
by King Yao
Sports betting can be attacked intelligently. Smart sports bettors do
not gamble the same way as tourists play roulette or retirees play the
slot machines. Instead, smart sports bettors are making bets that they
have thought through carefully with supporting logic and/or research.
The purpose of this book is to give you tools to succeed at sports
betting, to show you how to evaluate, compare and view sports betting
from an analytical perspective, not from a gambling perspective.
The price is $19.95 plus shipping (plus sales tax if sent to a Nevada
address). Click here to
order.
SharpSportsBetting.com
2007-08 Box Seats on sale now
Click
here to
find the football, basketball, and hockey pricing for the 2007-2008
seasons. All packages are on sale now! You can subscribe via the
online
order form or by contacting the office at orders@sharpsportsbetting.com
or (702) 579-7711.
MVP
subscribers will have access to all five hosted football, basketball
and hockey pages, as well as the MVP General forum. If SSB offers a
hosted MLB page, there will be a separate charge. The MVP
price has been lowered from $2299 to $1999 this year in order to
provide a greater discount to those who are interested in the whole
package and/or have been long-time, valued MVP subscribers.
BJ21.com
Blackjack, Poker, Craps, other casino-related free
message board and Green
Chip
membership
If you are serious about beating casinos, you like to talk about it
once in a while. You like to discuss strategy, and you like to discuss
what is going on in casinos you plan to visit. If you are like most
of the gamblers of the world, your family and neighbors and coworkers
prefer to talk about things other than casino games. If
you want to broaden your circle of friends to include more people
willing to discuss real casino winning principles, Green Chip is for
you.
Click here to
request a copy of our free catalog of products and services.
Green
Chip members receive complimentary three-month memberships
to Blackjack Insider, a
blackjack newsletter published monthly by e-mail since 2001, and to The Dice Institute's Members Only
Forum and Message Board.
Current Blackjack News
On the 1st and 2nd of every month, a couple dozen Pi Yee Press
reporters visit casinos around the United States to check on the
blackjack rules and playing conditions. Five of those reporters split
up Las Vegas and visit every casino in town. Any changes in rules and
playing conditions that they find, they email to the CBJN editor, who
compiles them into a newsletter that is published late in the afternoon
on the 3rd. That report is available as a single issue, your choice of
e-mail or regular mail. The price of a single issue is $12 for
electronic or $15 for regular mail. Sample issue of Current Blackjack News.
You can subscribe to download CBJN from the BJ21 web site. The price is
$25 per quarter (three issues) or $79 per year (twelve issues) by
Visa/MC/AmEx with automatic renewal. Minimum subscription is one
quarter. To order Current Blackjack News, click here.
Poking
Surveillance in the Eye, presented by BJ21.com
This
eighty-two minute video contains excerpts from a BJ21.com seminar
presented by a long-time casino surveillance professional. It gives
tips and information on how to avoid attracting the unwanted attention
of pit personnel and surveillance. Every level and type of skilled
casino patron should be able to benefit from the knowledge and wisdom
of the seminar presenter.
A
full-time professional player commented that something he learned in
the seminar changed one of his standard operating methods in a casino,
and has already been validated by his avoidance of a backoff that
otherwise would have occurred.
The price is $29.95 plus shipping (plus sales tax if sent to a Nevada
address). To
order Poking Surveillance in the Eye,
click here.
NEWSLETTER
DVD SPECIAL: Order Poking Surveillance in the Eye
and get the DVD of Casino Abuse of
Skilled Players for half-price, only $14.95. In the Special Instructions section of the
order form,
specify Newsletter
DVD special.
The two DVDs will be shipped together, for a total price of only $44.90
(plus $5.00 shipping to U.S. or Canada, $10.00 per item shipping
elsewhere).
Beat the Players - Casinos, Cops and the
Game Inside the Game, by Bob Nersesian
This
book should be read by everyone who sets foot in a casino: average
casino patrons, skilled players, casino employees, and anyone else. It
should be required reading for police officers, regulators, other
public officials, and attorneys who may represent any of the
aforementioned.
Bob
Nersesian is an attorney who represents victims of casino wrongdoing
against patrons. In an enjoyable writing style, he takes a look at the
often too-cozy relationship between casinos, police, and regulators. He
discusses specific cases and dispenses sound, practical advice that
patrons, casinos and public officials would be wise to heed. Cases
discussed are from Nevada and other jurisdictions.
Chapters
include: Your Money or Your Liberty; Scary Cop Statements; They'll Take
Your Liberty Anyway; Gaming Agents Speak; The Take of the State; Rules
for Casino Patrons; Gambling at the Legal Limits; Cops Hate Card
Counters; Griffin Investigations; Casinos Cheat With Impunity; A
Judicial and Government Overlay; Finding a Nickel Brings Trouble; Names
and Aliases; The Security Office and Surveillance Functions, and
Casinos and Cops.
Appendices
include Nevada Cheating and Detention Laws with Commentary; Other
Nevada Gaming Laws of Interest; Gaming Cases of Interest, and Nevada
Gaming Regulations with Commentary.
The
320-page book includes a bibliography and an index.
The
price is $19.95 plus shipping (plus sales tax if sent to a Nevada
address). Green Chip
members get their normal 10% discount.
To order Beat the Players, click here
This free newsletter has been sent to you by:
Pi Yee Press, 4855 West
Nevso Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89103, phone 702-579-7711.
Our free
weekly newsletter archive contains
back issues of our weekly newsletters.
Don't want to
receive our newsletter? Click here!
Please send an email to
webmaster@bj21.com if you have
clicked on the link above, have removed
your email address, and are still receiving this newsletter. We
do not want you to receive our newsletter if you do not wish
to receive it.