BJ21.com Newsletter
August 26, 2010       100826

Presented as a public service by 
BJ21.com, the leading source of accurate information about casino games and conditions. Our free weekly newsletter archive contains back issues of our weekly newsletters.

Compiled by Al Rogers
 Al@bj21.com


Blackjack payouts drop, but oh, those dancers! -- Casinos moving to 6:5 ratios, but ‘party pits’ proving profitable

Few things raise the hackles of loyal blackjack fans more quickly than casinos cutting back on what they pay gamblers for hitting 21. But an increasing number of casinos are quietly doing that, reducing blackjack payouts by 20 percent.  

Cosmopolitan CEO plans to steal customers from Strip competitors ...

LAS VEGAS - The CEO of the soon-to-open Cosmopolitan must convince skeptical and recession-weary consumers that his ritzy, $3.9 billion resort offers something different from the myriad attractions built during the most expensive and ambitious growth spurt in local history.

... Cosmopolitan, Marriott International announce partnership

The under-construction Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas resort has entered into an agreement with hotel giant Marriott International to help funnel Marriott customers to the $3.9 billion property.

Harry Reid's support of online poker worries some Nevada gaming officials

RENO - Some gaming executives in Northern Nevada said they are concerned with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s position of supporting the legalization of online poker, saying it could harm their businesses and cause layoffs in Nevada’s resort industry.

Caesars Palace to pay $250,000 over baccarat player’s table walk

CARSON CITY – Caesars Palace has agreed to pay a $250,000 fine for allowing a man to walk and dance on a baccarat table while the game was being played.

8 facing theft, embezzlement charges over Hopland casino slot machines ...

UKIAH, CA - Eight people face embezzlement and grand theft charges after allegedly participating over the last three years in a scheme to rig slot machines at the Sho-Ka-Wah Casino in Hopland, according to authorities.

Arrests made in Sho-Ka-Wah Casino embezzlement case  

HOPLAND, Calif. – State officials have arrested seven individuals and are seeking an eighth in connection with an alleged embezzlement from Hopland Sho-Ka-Wah Casino.

Latest data provide little optimism for gaming

The June results are in, and whatever the national economic picture, one thing is certain: Nevada gaming remains moribund. The figures released by the Gaming Control Board aren't much cause for optimism, though things look a little better for Southern Nevada than for the north.

Analysts tell Dennis Gomes he needs to reinvent Resorts Atlantic City

ATLANTIC CITY — One of the executives who oversaw Resorts Atlantic City during its 1970s heyday said the money-losing casino should transform itself into a convention haven as part of its turnaround strategy under new ownership.

Cycling toward cashless: ATM provider tests linking bank accounts, player cards


We live in an increasingly cashless society where consumers use credit cards to purchase just about everything — including a gambling jag at the casino.

Pa. casinos deal with lack of dealers ...

ALLENTOWN — Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate might be more than 9 percent, but the jobless rate among blackjack dealers in the state is probably close to zero.

... Five week blackjack course offered at Luzerne County Community College

With the unemployment in Pennsylvania at a whopping 9%, the jobless rate of blackjack dealers in the state is close to zero.

Gambling in Delaware: Table games draw a new crowd -- The new breed of table game players are young, male and eager to win big


Wearing a Pearl Jam T-shirt, camouflage shorts, flip flops and a backwards Hurley baseball cap, Shane Engrem is busy gambling with a group of buddies on a recent Friday night at Delaware Park.

Masked men steal $250K from Puerto Rico resort casino

Four men wearing black masks strode into a resort casino on Puerto Rico's north coast and held tourists and employees at gunpoint while they stole $250,000 in less than 10 minutes, the casino said Tuesday.

Gambling website has merit: N.S. minister


Nova Scotia may launch its own online gambling website to protect gaming addicts who are at "the mercy" of unregulated, offshore sites, the province's finance minister says.

Fortune Valley, Central City's largest casino, sells for $10 million

DENVER - A bankruptcy court judge in Delaware on Wednesday approved the sale of Fortune Valley Hotel & Casino, the largest casino in Central City, for $10 million to Luna Gaming Central City.

Gambling and lottery expansion failing across the U.S., non-starter in Idaho

BOISE - Some state legislatures across the country reacted to downturns in tax revenue by trying to raise more money from lotteries and other forms of gambling.  The Idaho Lottery doesn’t support that idea, and efforts in other states have been largely unsuccessful.

New casino ship antes up to resume where SunCruz Casinos stopped

JACKSONVILLE - Gambling cruises will return to Mayport this fall, filling the void left when SunCruz Casinos abruptly stopped sailing and sank into Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

'Duke' calls attack just a bad hand -- Two suspects held in beating of poker player at Primm hotel

Professional poker player Ron Wall is used to defending himself at the tables. But the man known as "The Duke of Fremont," who makes the rounds at Las Vegas poker rooms dressed like a 1930s gangster, found himself fighting for his life on June 26 after he was ambushed in a Primm casino hotel.

Harrah’s pools bad-beat jackpot among its four Atlantic City casinos

Harrah’s Entertainment debuted its citywide bad-beat jackpot Tuesday morning, with a starting amount of $524,045, casino officials said. When this jackpot hits, anyone playing Texas Hold’em at the four Harrah’s properties in town — Harrah’s Resort, Bally’s Atlantic City, Caesars Atlantic City or the Showboat Casino-Hotel — gets a share.


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



How to Beat Casino Surveillance e-book by Vinny DeCarlo

    Tapping into his 27 years in the casino industry, many in surveillance, DeCarlo unveils behind-the-scenes information on the strengths and weaknesses of TWENTY-FIVE Las Vegas casinos AND their ability to catch card counters. A master card counter himself, DeCarlo knows how to take advantage of casino loopholes to avoid detection while beating them at their own games. Now you can too with the never-before-published information contained in his book.      What You Get:
    1. Twenty-five specific casino reports summarizing the strengths and weaknesses of each casino's surveillance and security departments, including the casino supervisors working in the pit. With this inside information, you'll know when to play and how to play to avoid detection. (click here for a list of the 25 casinos).
    2. Over two dozen solid tips on how a card counter should play to "fly under the casino radar."
    3. Exclusive insider information on what casino surveillance employees look for when confronted with a suspected card counter.

Note:This is an "e-book" and not a regular paper book. When ordered it will come via email in PDF format.

The price is $99.00.  Green Chip members get their normal 10% discount.    
Order How to Beat Casino Surveillance e-book


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.


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.

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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 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 $13 for electronic or $16 for regular mail.  Sample issue of  Current Blackjack News.

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