The Dealer is There to Help
On a $2 crap game with double odds, why can't I just bet $4 in odds
on the six or eight instead of the dealers harping on me to bet $5? Are
they trying to cheat me out of an extra buck? Philip G. Madison, WI
Quite the contrary, Philip. Your friendly dealers were actually looking
out for your best interests.
That $4 double-odds bet you were making on the six or eight pays off 6 to
5-which amounts to $4.80. But because crap tables don't carry dimes on the
game, you get gypped when they round down and pay you $4 or $4.50. This
is why casinos allow you to take 2.5 times odds ($5) if the point is six
or eight. By taking $5 odds on your $2 bet, when you make your point, you're
paid off a nice round $6 on your odds wager.
In the future, Philip, anytime you have trouble figuring out odds, ask the
dealer. He's there to help, not harp.
I know you can bet on the horses, but can you bet on motorsports in
Nevada? I would really have liked to place a bet on my favorite driver in
the recent Daytona 500. Dave, Internet
Quick rule of thumb, Dave. If a professional sporting event is preceded
by the national anthem, by golly, you can get action on it in the Silver
State. Besides major racing events like the Daytona or Indianapolis 500s,
many sportsbooks will take wagers on the whole NASCAR and CART season.
In Montreal, the dealer gets only one card on the deal. Does this change
that delicate balance of the game, particularly when you are on third base
sitting with a hard 16 and looking at a dealer's up card of 10? Tom M. Montreal,
Quebec
Nay, Tom. The main reason the dealer recieves just one card is strictly
for casino security.
Dealing one card averts both the unscrupulous dealer from tipping off customers
to their hole card, or when checking the ten/ace, inadvertently flashing
what's hiding in the hole to an over-observant card sharpie.
Prior to reading your column, I only knew of baccarat in the James Bond
movies. How long has it been a game played in U.S. casinos? Kurt R. London,
Ontario
The first baccarat game was introduced at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas in
1959.
Many wish they were in action that first day duplicating the moves of a
couple high-rollers from Texas. They beat the game for $250,000 in the opening
hours of operation.
Before I Shuffle: I've got a sneaky suspicion that Steve Wynn, owner
of Mirage Resorts, recently changed toothpastes to one that contains those
extra whitening ingredients. You need a cunning pearly white smile when
you dupe patrons who once paid $3 to view the hotel's captive dolphins to
now fork over ten bucks-although he threw in a few white tigers as a bonus.
Whoopie!
The point I'm trying to make here is that if you're coming to Las Vegas,
you better be prepared to spend moocho dinero. Bargain lodging and $2.49
prison chow buffets are becoming an endangered genera.
With more than 40% of the total revenues on the Strip now coming from non-casino
sources-and growing five times as fast as the casino take-plan on casino
operators reaching into your wallet for any, and every, thing.
Got a question about gambling? Write to: Deal Me In, 774 Mays Blvd.
Suite 10, Incline Village, NV 89451 or e-mail:winners@winner.com
· To order Mark Pilarski's "Hooked on Winning" audio cassettes-laminated
win cards package ($12.95 plus $2. S&H) call (800) WINNERS.
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