BJ21.com Newsletter
October 16, 2009 091016
Presented as a public service
by BJ21.com, the leading source of accurate
information about casino games and conditions. Our free
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Compiled by Al
Rogers
Al@bj21.com
Indy
blackjack player fights casino ban
“Why not put a sign up and say, ‘Losers welcome?’” asked Judge James
Kirsch. “Isn’t that what we have here?”
Mohegans review debt situation as profits slide
MOHEGAN, CT - Reporting steep declines in revenues and profits, Mohegan
Sun's operator announced Wednesday it intends to restructure nearly
$200 million worth of debt.
Figure in Abramoff scandal gets a year in prison
WASHINGTON - The former top procurement official in George W. Bush's
administration was sentenced Friday to a year in prison for lying about
his relationship with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
Fontainebleau
president among execs leaving project
As developers of the bankrupt Fontainebleau Las Vegas resort attempt to
sell the unfinished project, the company continues to trim its staff
and most recently revealed the departure of its top local executive.
Unpaid bills may deter a bid for Fontainebleau
The bills amount to more than likely offer; Penn National exec says
building worth ‘about zero’
Philip
Satre named chairman of International Game Technology
The appointment of Philip Satre on Thursday as chairman of
International Game Technology’s board of directors completes a
corporate makeover of the slot machine manufacturing giant that began
last year.
Rendell:
Table Games Could Soon Be OK'd -- Atlantic City Bracing For Pa.
Gambling Expansion
PHILADELPHIA - Table games, like poker and black jack and roulette, may
soon be legal at Pennsylvania slots casinos.
CCC
lifts suspension of ex-casino worker
ATLANTIC CITY - A former casino employee indicted in an alleged plot to
steal a secret list of high rollers at Tropicana Casino and Resort can
work in the gaming industry again after he had his record wiped clean.
Official: Lift ban on child care in casinos
LAS VEGAS - MGM Mirage lost a $5 million convention recently. No one
blamed President Barack Obama’s remarks about frivolous travel for
scaring off the desperately needed business. Rather, it appears county
ordinances were to blame.
Many locals casinos choosing familiar chain brands over traditional
coffee shops
We've said goodbye (or nearly so) to dressing up for a night out,
all-night buffets, free lounge entertainment and 99 cent shrimp
cocktails. The latest Las Vegas icon to fall victim to changing market
conditions: traditional coffee shops in locals casinos.
Former casino executive forms advisory business
LAS VEGAS - The Partner House is a byproduct of the gaming industry's
economic meltdown. Financially troubled casino operators are seeking
ways out of their revenue-depleted quagmires.
Nevada gambling revenues in free fall
Nevada gambling revenues continued their slide in August...
Blackjack win statewide was off 23 percent while craps generated 47
percent less than a year ago. ... The state’s 183 sports books reported
winning $4.8 million from gamblers, about 38 percent less than a year
ago, despite a nearly 80 percent increase in baseball win.
MGM Mirage faces fifth shareholder suit over stock price
A fifth shareholder lawsuit has been filed alleging investors were
harmed when MGM Mirage executives touted the company's prospects in
late 2007 and early 2008, allegedly inducing investors to buy the stock.
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
You've Got Heat Volume
II e-book by Barfarkel
Barfarkel is the pseudonym of a skilled card counter who treats card
counting as an avocation. His card counting trips to Las Vegas and Reno
are quite detailed, and show how grueling it can be to take on the
casinos at their own game. Barfarkel began his card counting
journey in April 1999 with a $2,000 playing bankroll. Four years later,
he was able to grow his bankroll to $10,000. This part of his playing
career is fully documented in his first book, You've Got Heat.
You've Got Heat Volume II encompasses the subsequent 20 trips
that Barfarkel took to Las Vegas and Reno during the period of October
2003 through October 2007. During this time, Barfarkel played 643 hours
of blackjack, and his bankroll took some wild swings (from a high of
$17k to a low of $7k). How this happened makes for fascinating reading.
As usual, Barfarkel prefers to write as he speaks, directly and to the
point. So don't be surprised if you find some abbreviated sentences and
unorthodox phrasing in his narratives. Each of the trip reports in
this book was originally published in Blackjack Insider Newsletter.
They were updated and most of the repetition was removed from chapter
to chapter although some was left intact to maintain the original style
of each trip report.
Blackjack players will get inspiration from reading Barfarkel's
story. He shows that you can win money playing blackjack using the
principles and techniques of card counting. Is it easy? Hardly, as
you'll discover when you read this book. Barfarkel started his card
counting journey as a red chip player, with the desire to become a
green chip bettor. After he started winning, he accomplished this goal.
He then set his sights on winning more to allow him to become a
high-rolling black chip player. Did he achieve this goal? We'll let him
tell the story.
Note:
This is an "e-book" --
not a regular paper book. When ordered, it will come via email in PDF
format. Order form.
Risk
Reward Probabilities for Poker, by George C
The author of Shuffle Tracking for
Beginners and The Unbalanced Zen 2 covers the relationship that
relationship that expectation and standard deviation have on your
bankroll. In George C's typical style, this booklet is all "meat
and potatoes" with no fluff. It is only 32 pages, but is packed
with useful charts and includes a helpful Excel program on a CD-Rom. Risk Reward Probabilities for Poker
is a comprehensive study with a number of informative statistics that
will help clear up some poker-related misconceptions.
The price is $19.95 (plus sales tax if sent to a Nevada address).
Green Chip members receive a ten percent discount. There is no
shipping charge for this item.
Order Risk Reward
Probabilities for Poker, by
George C
Weighing the Odds in Hold'em Poker
by King Yao
King Yao explains how to play hold'em poker. Topics covered includes
sizing up your opponents, counting "outs", figuring pot odds, the value
of position, determining when to raise, call, or fold, bluffing,
semi-bluffing, slowplaying, check-raising, regular games, shorthanded
games, and playing poker on the Internet. View
a sample chapter from the book.
The price is $24.95 plus shipping (plus sales tax if sent to a Nevada
address). Green Chip members receive a ten percent
discount. Order Weighing the Odds in Hold'em Poker.
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. Beat the Players
was the subject of a
feature in USA Today.
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 .Order Beat
the Players.
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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
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