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Keep
Your Volcano and Pass the Dice We
are in downtown Las Vegas, the epicenter of the Precision-Shooting universe. Were playing craps
having a great time,
and making some very decent money
all is right and good in the
dice-influencing world. Since
several readers have asked what the title of this piece means, Ill explain. When
you play on the Strip in Las Vegas, you have Pirate Battles (or at least laughingly-staged
B-movie clashes between whorish seaside wenches who have defiled the
pirates-of-questionable-sexual-persuasion and turned them into beach-blanket-bingo Kato
Kallin look-alikes), Dancing Fountains (replete with a Gene Kelly soundtrack, albeit
without the Clockwork Orange footwork), Venetian Canals and Gondolas (fortunately
without the requisite flotsam and jetsam of human-waste that authenticates the real
thing), and of course a Lava-spewing Volcano (with the appropriately scented pineapple
mist to mask the rawness of the natural-gas fumes). The
thing is, the Strip has all of that and so much more; that the slack-jawed tourists who
are all agog over the eye-popping wonders of gamblings Mecca; dont know and
dont care that theres a more traditional, less-Disneyfied old-Vegas style of
gaming taking place just a couple of miles away in Downtown LV. Most
of Las Vegas 38-million tourists never venture off of the Strip, and thats
certainly okay with me. Though
I love playing and staying in the mega-buck, mega-toilet, mega-resorts on the Strip (and
making some not-so-mega, but still sizeable amounts of profit off of each and every one of
them), some of the best Precision-Shooting opportunities are found OFF of the Strip. To
that I say, Keep your volcano, pass the dice, and welcome to Downtown Las Vegas. So
lets continue our look at what downtowns Casino Center/Glitter Gulch/Fremont
Street Experience has to offer in terms of this dicesetting thing that we do. Fremont
Hotel-Casino
I
can start by saying that the Fremont is one of my favorite places to play
when it
isnt busy. If I find a
sparsely-populated or (rarely) an empty table, I can usually spin enough gold (profit) so
that by the time the table fills up and the dice have moved on to the next shooter, I am
happy to color out my winning proceeds and seek a fresher opportunity elsewhere. Their
tables are generally very easy to adapt to, but they also tend to fill up very quickly
once everyone sees that you are stringing together a good hand. It tends to happen quicker here than at comparable
casinos for two reasons.
Ø
The
first reason is that the electronic roll-counter in the middle of each table gives the
casual observer enough pertinent information to see how far the current shooters roll is
progressing; and as a result, for the in-tune bettor, this often represents a GREAT
betting opportunity.
Ø
The
knowledgeable Asian, Hawaiian and local players who haunt the Fremont are amongst the
savviest gamblers around. Now youll
notice that I didnt say, the best Precision-Shooters
around, although there are quite a few of them who call the Fremont their
home casino as well. What you
will see is an ample number of gamblers who hang around waiting for a good hand to
develop. Theyll play as cheaply as
possible, biding their time and watching intently for anyone at any table to get hot;
then they are all over the layout with bets that would make even a high-roller do a
double-take.
Ø
Sometimes
when I walk in there, a number of the regulars recognize me, and I swear they start
salivating at the prospects of a hot hand. Its
not like Elvis has just entered the building for gawdsake! Im here to make some money just like
everyone else, but you dont start pissing all over the carpet in nervous
anticipation like a newborn puppy! We
first explored this hunting for hot shooters phenomenon in my Trends,
Streak & Opportunities - Part VII article.
Ø
To
my observation, the number of players who look exclusively for the extreme
far ends of dominating trends (the hottest of the hot or the coldest of the cold
streaks); are increasing in number on a daily basis.
I would guesstimate that their numbers have increased exponentially,
especially in the Downtown LV area, where there are 40 tables all within close proximity,
to shop-for-trends and streaks. Well
be exploring this hot shooter hunting process in much greater and
up-close, play-by-play detail in my upcoming Hawaiian Joe Says Hello
piece. For now, Ill simply add that the
ability to get in on any hot rolls is radically improved by using the techniques that we
discussed in my Fremont
Hot-Table Method. So either a
lot of savvy players read that article and have followed up by making it into part of
their permanent day-to-day playing style; or a lot of guys got very smart all of a sudden,
because there are now probably three or four dozen guys playing full-time EXACTLY
as I suggested in that piece, and the number who appear to be doing it on a part-time
basis is incalculable. To
have a look at just how far this streak-betting-only phenomenon has increased, you
can compare what was happening just a few years back in my The Pied
Piper of the Pass-Line to the current number of hot-hand hunters,
to see what Im talking about. In
any event, as I mentioned and as Im sure youve already figured out; I love
the Fremont tables.
Ø
As
a side-note, youll want know that if the table-minimum is less than $5, and you are
betting under five bucks on the Pass-line (or the DP) when you are shooting; then you
arent eligible for their ongoing Sharpshooter craps promotion where your tracked
rolls beyond 15-tosses, earns you some Fremont logo-wear or other merchandise
and
some well-earned bragging rights. I know a
few players who keep the time-stamped, but cancelled Sharpshooter roll-chits as
bragging-right souvenirs to show off when they go home to Kenosha, Dayton and Galveston.
Ø
On
the other hand, a number of talented players who frequent the Fremont try to fly under
the radar of those hot-hand hunters, because they look at them as
opportunistic vultures who draw additional attention to Precision-Shooting by betting in
such large denominations, that it almost always elicits extra scrutiny from the Pit.
Ø
With
that in mind
since the boxman only activates the electronic display if you are
betting at least five bucks on the Passline (or DP) when you are the shooter
one way
to keep the table fairly empty during your long rolls, or at least to draw less attention
to them; is to simply pass up on the Sharpshooter-roll promotion (by keeping your PL-bet below
that $5 threshold if the table-limit permits it), or by not handing in your Players Card,
or by simply asking them not to track your rolls (by using the it always
brings me bad luck excuse). While
it doesnt guarantee that none of the streak-searchers will notice; it does
make it a little more difficult for those that are hanging around and waiting to bet-it-up
on a good hand, to sniff it out. The
extra table-length and lower rail-height (when compared to normal tables);
actually works out to be a plus on the Fremonts lower-knap felt layouts. When you combine the length, the table bounce and
forward-carrying speed of the felt, with the rebound you get off of these particular
backwalls; then I find that the Fremont tables are actually MORE forgiving than the
ones at Golden Nugget, or most other tables for that matter. Though they APPEAR to be much more
difficult (because of the extra length, added wear, worn felt, high-rebound, etc.), they
are WAY MORE tolerant of imperfect throws. You
know those tosses that you sometimes make, where one die will do one last slow-motion,
death-rattle flop into a 7-Out? Well, to a
greater extent, the Fremont tables seem a bit more forgiving and therefore
appear to cough up a few less last-second (bad-beat type) heartbreaker 7-Outs. Though youll still get your fair share of
both on-axis and off-axis 7-Outs, youll probably notice less of those most-annoying
last-second, looks-like-a-good-outcome-oooooh-it-flopped-into-a-7-Out-bad-outcome
results. By imparting just a bit LESS lively
influence on the dice, these layouts tend to let the true influence of your dicesetting
efforts shine through. Yes
the Golden Nugget tables are perfect when your throws ARE perfect, but the Fremont tables are more
accommodating, lenient, and forgiving when your throws ARENT! Although
the tables here are substantially longer (by up to ~two feet) than GNs, and the felt
is left on the tables much, much longer than its brass and creamy-marble neighbor across
the street; the potential for profit is still quite excellent. In fact, I find the whole shooting experience to be
less intense (and substantially friendlier) than the Golden Nugget, and therefore,
Ive empirically observed that MORE Precision-Shooters have MORE good (and longer)
hands on these tables than at the GN. Now
maybe my not-so-scientific observation is just a slanted and slightly jaundiced opinion. However, I have been doing this dice-influencing
thing long enough to understand that my shooting instincts and dice-awareness are finely
developed enough to know when Im seeing dicesetting excellence unfold in front of
me. To
my view, Precision-Shooting results are more consistent on these tables. That equally applies to both good and bad
shooting. If its good
it stays
good. If its bad
it continues to
stink. Further,
I respect my abilities enough to comprehend when a good hand, or an exploitable streak is
unfolding before my eyes. While I keep
accurate and detailed notes about how I did at a particular table at a particular casino
on a particular day; I only note the more unusual results of other like-minded players. Of
the downtown casinos, two of them stand out in those notes more than the others. While
I have had some truly outstanding hands at the GN, its rare that a number of skilled
dicesetters will have back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back excellent hands at the GN,
whereas, at the Fremont (and its sister property, The California), that seems to be
more the norm. Again, that may just be my
intuitive sense of it, but for the decade or so that Ive been tracking my results
and only noting the unusual results of others; those two downtown properties shine as the
ones where longer hands just seem to appear more often (and in a more sequential way). While I dont think that this is attributable
to selective memory, it may be an aberration that only holds true while
Im there (but I sincerely doubt it). In
any event, the Fremont Hotel-Casino is no stranger to long and outstanding rolls on a
highly recurrent basis. If I had to pick just one table to shoot on at
this joint, I would pick the left-most table in the row closest to the Fremont Street
Experience. My second favorite would be the
left-most table in the second row. These two are probably the easiest to conquer. The right-most table on the farthest row
(from FSE) appears to enjoy the longest rolls (as recorded by their electronic
roll-counter), but it also has the most unforgiving surface of these four. I suspect this
particular table is a holdover from the ones that were brought into the Fremont when Boyd
Group took it over from Frank Rosenthal and the boys (Frank is the real-life character of Sam
Rothstein as portrayed in the movie, Casino).
The alligator-bump pyramid-walls that line these tables are EXTRA bouncy,
and youll find the curved (hook) portions of the back/side wall are
bounciest of all. Most shooters find that even small indirect (unsquare)
ricochets off of the backwall results in HUGE and random deflections. Now again, were talking about craps
tables that are ideal in that they are neutral in their bounce-characteristics on the
initial dice touch down, but not for the backwall rebounds. It also does not mean that you will automatically
make a pile of money off of them. Rather, it
means that the dice will hit, bounce and roll truer, or in a more natural, neutral way
than they will if thrown on a bouncy, trampoline-like surface. You still have to dial each table in, and
obviously you should not throw out big bets until you do.
Otherwise, you are taking just as much risk as if you were betting on a
random-roller. Or as Caesars renowned general of the Roman
army, Gaius
Marius, used to say: Caveat aleator (Let the dice-roller beware). Speaking
of caution
A
Word About the Candy-Store Table
A
highly-skilled player (as well as being a well-known Message Board contributor) and I,
were having a candid discussion the other day about various things, including one of the
tables at the Golden Nugget that has come to be known as the candy store. This
is the short table that is closest to Claudes Long Bar. That
table earned its name and reputation from the fact that a number of us have used it for
more than a decade now as our very own personal ATM bank-machine. That should give you some idea of how it got its
reputation, and why it got its name. It is
one sweet table IF you play responsibly on it.
You have to get used to it BEFORE you start throwing bets at it in
the hopes of a big payday. It
takes much more than a couple of simple rolls of the dice before this table starts puking
up Precision-Shooting profit like it just ate at the CircusCircus buffet or an entire
Ho-dog (the infamous mega hotdog from Westward Ho)
it takes much, MUCH more
than that. Which
brings me back to the conversation I was having with this skilled dicesetter. He
said that despite his success on various other craps tables in the downtown area, he was
continually stymied in trying to make any money off of this particular layout, despite its
widely held reputation. He reported leaving a
considerable amount of his hard-earned Precision-Shooting earnings (from all the other
downtown tables) at the candy-store table, due to his many failed attempts to profit from
it. He
was frustrated, as have been a number of other players who specifically sought out this
particular table, with the express hope and intent of making a killing off of it. As
far as Im concerned, I think the "candy store table" at GN is a little over-rated
from a semi-skilled dice-shooters stand-point. Heres
why:
Ø
Many
players read various Message Board posts and glowing Trip Reports that chronicle the great
rolling conditions on this one particular table.
Ø
When
they make their own trip to our Mecca (Las Vegas), they have unreasonably high
expectations that this one table out of all the hundreds that they can choose from, will
be the one that will let loose with pimp juice profit as easily as Madonna deep-throats a
one-quart bottle of water.
Ø
They
reason that if several highly-regarded individuals can consistently make outstanding
profits on this layout; then theyll have an improved opportunity to do the same
thing.
Ø
Now
to be fair, thats not an altogether wrong way of thinking. In fact it does make quite a bit of sense
to
play on tables that many others have found reliable success on. However, where the logic falls short, is with
their subsequent difficulty in adjusting their throw to match the performance
characteristics of this individual table, along with the disproportionate amount of money
that they spend trying to master this one table.
Ø
Reasoning
that its worth the extra time, effort and money especially since a number of others
have done so well on it before; they end up spending way too much dough, trying to conquer
it. That is, the reputation that precedes it,
keeps them playing at it long past the point where common sense tells them to take a break
or even to just try another table.
Ø
By
setting their performance expectation so high; many aspiring dicesetters
will play beyond their means in an attempt to replicate what some of the masters of
dice have reported doing. That is where
the deepest of dangers lay, and that is why I can say that the table is somewhat
over-rated as far as its easy-to-make-a-killing reputation is concerned.
Ø
While
I include myself in the large handful of players who continue to master this layout, the
fact that I, or others do well on it; in and of itself should not be a compelling enough
reason to make the trek out to LV with the primary purpose of tackling this one table. It is an equally bad idea to use a
disproportionate amount of your bankroll in a desperate attempt to get the same kind of
results. Let
me give you an example of how normally sane and somewhat sober adults can get caught up in
the zeal and fevered rhetoric that surrounds this one table.
Ø
I
saw firsthand (from a clear vantage point at an adjoining table), a group of heavily-advertised-as-highly-skilled
shooting-instructors lose hand after hand after hand after hand on the candy-store table,
yet they STILL continued to throw cash at it in their own vain attempt to make it
live up to the reputation that they had heard about even in their cloistered gotta-sign-a-blood-oath-to-be-part-of-our-cult
certified, sanitized, sterile-thinking world. What
kept them staying and playing at the candy-store table way beyond the point where common
sense and good judgment should have told all of them to accept their current
mega-losses
to stop re-buying-in
and to leave immediately?
Ø
They
were willing to suffer humiliating losses on it, because they had convinced themselves
that if guys like the Mad Professor, Heavy, Irishsetter and other inhabitants of the
free-thinking world could do it; then surely they too in their logoed Im a
licensed and certified professional dicesetting instructor because my diploma says I am
shirts could kick some serious casino-ass up and down Fremont Street.
Ø
Instead,
the blood-letting was excruciating to watch
like a slow-motion train wreck that
unfolds before your very eyes. I
couldnt turn my head despite the mayhem and pathetically sad tragedy I was
witnessing. I kept thinking of a hangmans
noose that didnt break the neck of the guy dangling from the end of it. Instead, the gathered crowd had to watch as he
slowly choked
and gasped
and frantically tried to grab for breaths of air as he
wet his pants in fright and anguished horror during his last few seconds of life
THAT
was what it was like to watch those guys continue to lose, yet continue to throw money at
it in a last-gasp desperate hope of capturing some Precision-Shooting salvation from the
candy-store table.
Ø
If
they had bothered to look, they would have seen that there were a couple of other tables
that were either completely empty or sparsely-populated (like the moderately hot one I was
at), yet those guys tried to force a win off of that one table simply because of its
legendary reputation, and the fact that their egos seemed as highly invested as their
dwindling bankrolls.
Ø
I
get absolutely no pleasure from watching (or telling you about) a gory blood-letting like
that, but somehow I couldnt look away from that pitiful display of poor judgment and
damaged, but still over-inflated pride either. At
its basest element, THAT is why some people drive into town in a fully-paid-for
$70,000 car, but end up leaving as a ticket-buying passenger on a $300,000 Greyhound bus. Yes,
the candy-store table at the Golden Nugget is one fine layout, but you cant imbue it
with heavenly-powers all on its own. If
your dice-shooting is crappy in the first place, it doesnt instantly become
incredibly great the moment you pick up the dice at this table. Rather,
if you are able to dial it in quickly and inexpensively; then it can pay some handsome
dividends. But having said all of that, I
actually prefer the two other tables that are adjacent to the candy-store layout. The two tables nearest the support columns
(opposite from each other) are just as good, IF NOT BETTER than the candy store
table. The dice roll just as well, AND
youll usually have less Ive come-to-Mecca-to-seek-my-fame
and-fortune-at this-table PARR and GTC players crowding around and jockeying
(sometimes angrily) for prime shooting-positions on it.
Ø
By
having a reputation of urban-legend proportions, this table can disappoint you just as
easily as it can reward you. If your shooting
is already great, then the candy-store table can make you look like a dicesetting wizard. However, the very same table can make you look
like a blithering (and rapidly losing) idiot if you fail to make the necessary
toss-adjustments to it. On
top of all that, many skilled dicesetters will flock to this one particular table based SOLELY
on the supposed mythical and sanctifying powers that surround it. Based on those reports,
many players tend to OVERBET on their own yet-to-be-qualified hands or any other allegedly
semi-skilled shooter who picks up the dice. All
too often, they completely abandon their usual discipline, and try to force a win that
frequently ends in disappointment rather than profit. Now
that is NOT to say that I haven't made a TON of money off of it, or that a good
portion of that reputation isnt well-deserved...it's just that I've seen normally
sane Precision-Shooters bet the entire farm along with their prize-winning
cow, BASED SOLELY ON THE REPUTATION THAT PRECEDES IT! That's NOT how successful
dicesetting works. You have to adapt to each table first...and THEN
bet it up...NOT the other way around. Yes,
tremendous money CAN be made off of it, but FIRST you have to adapt to it.
Many people get that equation backwards when they bet on "reputation" (of other
players as well as other gold mine type tables) rather than the here and now CURRENT
skills of other shooters, or in this case, a particular table that has acclaimed
"king-making" power. As
to how I conquer this particular candy-store, well in most cases, you have to reduce the power
(force) of your throw quite bit, and increase your trajectory. You may be surprised at how much energy and bounce
that the tables will actually absorb; so the further out you go (from the backwall of the
table), the more backspin and trajectory that it can handle. Over-throwing
is overkill on the GN tables, just as over-betting before you have a profit locked up is
sheer insanity on ANY table. The
lower your throw-trajectory, the more forward-speed that it carries. So while a Low, Slow & Easy toss
(see my Mad
Professor's Shooting Bible Part III
and
Part IV)
will work quite well from the SL-1 or 2 or SR-1 or 2 positions, you really have to
modulate the force of your throw as you bear down to precisely target the dice. Loosen your grip, relax your focus, and toss the
damn dice, THEN re-adjust, and do it all over again.
Just dont over-tighten your grip and over-throw your toss. Over-throwing
on these tables makes about as much sense as using Botox on a Shar-pei. Guys,
its the SHOOTER who predominantly influences the dice outcome. The candy-store table is just an inanimate,
neutral-bounce facilitator. Its a nice
little dice-throwing arena, but dont give it too much credit. It can only VALIDATE your skill; it
cant IMPROVE it! Confirm
your advantage BEFORE you throw down the ownership of your vintage 69 Ford
428 CJ Talladega or Camaro 427 CoPo as an appropriately-sized wager.
Ø
YES,
the candy-store table is neutral to positive for accurate Precision-Shooting.
Ø
NO,
it is not akin to a trip to Lourdes where you and your bankroll will miraculously be
healed.
Ø
YES,
I have made obscene amounts of money off of this table, as have quite a few others.
Ø
NO,
that is not the only table in Las Vegas that rolls just as good.
Ø
YES,
I will be writing about all of my other gold-mine type tables in the future.
Four
Queens Hotel-Casino
This
place, like the Plaza Hotel-Casino at the end of Fremont Street, falls into the LOVE-it or
HATE-it category. You
can put me into the LOVE IT category. Unfortunately
its mostly an unrequited love. Although
their tables are excellent for winning, and most skilled dicesetters LOVE them; the sad
fact is that the denizens of the Four Queens pit, along with most of their dealers,
HATE big winners of any kind; and most especially, the dicesetting kind. A
sour attitude pervades this property like the bad stink that accompanies rotting human
flesh. Bad attitude hangs in the air heavy,
like a fog, that blinds their vision and impairs their bearings. As their player-base erodes, their attitude and
grind them up at any cost outlook accelerates as quickly as this
casinos fortune declines. That
sort of attitude engenders a self-fulfilling prophecy in many failing businesses
regardless of the industry they are in, and it holds true for this one as well. The
new owner (Terry Caudill, owner of 15 video-poker
bars including Magoos, Loose Caboose, Chicago Brewing Co. and
Hurricane Harry's) does not appear to have been able to stem the attitude-rooted bleeding. Hes left the same soured-outlook front-line
employees in place; and therefore even though he himself has a better sense of customer
care; employee antipathy blocks that warmth from trickling down to the players. The
same old management with the same tired ideas, and the same stinking
attitude
prevents player-loyalty (in the form of re-visits) as well as dissuading new
players from trying their luck for very long (if at all) at the Four Queens. Having
said all of that
I
still continue to play there on a regular basis, but nowhere near as frequently as before;
nor do I haul out the same amount of cash from their tables as I did previously. Currently
I restrict my wins to no more than $300 or $400 on any given day, and I time my sessions
so that Im not showing up to play on the same shift all the time either. That way, the same Pit Boss, Table Game
Supervisors, Boxmen and table-crews may only see me once every week. Its all part of not having them
associate the disappearance of THEIR money with MY face.
Ø
Doing
so helps them endure my presence, and the fact that I restrict most of my good shooting to
an empty or barely populated table also guarantees that they dont get taken overall
for too big of a bite (from the collected number of players at the table when my shooting
gets hot).
Ø
Instead,
when the table fills up, that is my cue to leave. Ive
done my job
Ive taken a few bucks off of their table, but I havent taken
so much that theyll resent or discourage my presence in the future.
Ø
Yes,
my tokes soften their attitude a bit, but nowhere in proportion to the actual expenditure. Im going to have to rethink my position
regarding toking at this particular house in the near future.
Ø
A
good hand usually increases the table-population with new players who may not necessarily
bet in accordance to what I am throwing. To
my way of thinking, its a sustainable and symbiotic relationship that gives the
casino a chance take their usual pound of flesh off of the random-rollers who continue to
play long after I leave with my profit.
Ø
Though
Im not saying that they welcome me with open arms, they do tolerate my winning ways
for short periods of time, provided that I dont get all greedy-like about it. On top of that, they tend to reward my never-greedy-enough-to-hurt-them
behavior with enough comps to keep my belly full (I suppose, as an additional way to
compensate me for under-stuffing my pockets).
Ø
Granted,
Im not going to get rich off of making three or four C-notes from them while
limiting my 4-Q sessions to an every-other-day basis.
However the reality of Precision-Shooting is that you should only extract
winnings that are within each casinos comfort-zone. At
the Four Queens, I understand where their tolerance-level is, and I make sure that I
always stay under it.
Ø
As
a small side-note, if you are wondering just WHY a small under-performing
casino-property like Four Queens can get uptight over dicesetting, and STAY
upset for years at a time
well it all goes back to a PARR Weekend event a
couple of years ago that I chronicled in my Okay, Who
Cooked the Golden Goose? Part One and Part Two.
Ø
Up
to that point the 4-Qs was one of the best places to shoot at
then a 10
person-strong PARR raiding-party came along and denuded this casinos craps-table landscape
of nearly all of their chips. On the surface
that may seem like a pretty neat thing to do, but it had the effect of poisoning the Vegas
dicesetting-well at a number of casinos which literally outlawed ANY SORT OF DICESETTING
for an entire weekend.
Ø
Things
settled back down to normal at all the other casinos after the PARR-posse left
town
except for the Four Queens, where theyve remained hyper-vigilant to
Precision-Shooters who look like they might take the casino for more than a few shekels. If youve ever stopped to wonder just why I
strongly urge you to keep a low profile and NOT flaunt your skills too much at any one
joint, especially if they are loss-intolerant
hopefully
the reason is a bit clearer now. Okay,
back to the subject of actually throwing the dice
I
want to give you a bit of insight into how I use my good shooting at the 4-Qs to
turn it into a much bigger craps-score just down the street. The
two tables at Four Queens are VERY SIMILAR in bounce-characteristic and dice reaction as
the candy store at the Golden Nugget that I just finished telling you about (even
though they APPEAR to be quite different). Now
weve also just finished talking about how you have to zero in on your shooting
skills BEFORE you start throwing a lot of cash around on the GNs candy store
table (or ANY table for that matter). Well,
one way to warm up to it is to do some cheap practice tossing on the Four
Queens tables. Even
though their dimensions are somewhat different and the felt is DEFINITELY different; the
dice seem to react exactly the same
soooo, the 4-Q tables offer an opportunity
to get good, before you try to get rich on the GNs candy-store table. Even
though they are not tolerant of big winners at 4Q's, the fact that they have less players
and a lower bet-minimum lets you zero-in and perfect your toss-mechanics on these tables
before walking a few steps over to GN to whack them for a much larger amount of money, and
believe me when I tell you that the Golden Nugget is VERY loss-tolerant. By
the way, this is the same approach that I recommend for Precision-Shooters who play at The
Mirage. I tell them to "get good" at the Gold Coast tables (especially
the $5 layout closest to the bar) and then "get rich" at the
higher-value, higher-tolerance Mirage tables. On
4-Q tables, the throw does not require a lot of power to get the dice to the other end of
the table either. I use a 40-45-degree
landing angle at a spot where the Pass Line curve starts to re-straighten as it heads
towards the base-dealer. I simply make sure
that the dice, my hand, my arm and shoulder are square to the back wall. On these tables from the SR or SL-1, 2 or 3
position; this can be accomplished by "pointing" your elbow at the boxman or
dealer directly across from you. Even though
the tables arent very long, I havent found very much sustainable success from
the end-of-table S-O (straight-out) position on either these or the candy-store table. I
find it fairly easy to get my shooting dialed-in on the first couple of tosses of the
dice. If not, with less players at their
tables, the dice cycle round back to you in fairly short order for a second try. For me, if the dice arent doing what I want
them to do by the end of the second or third go-round, it means that I should take a break
from shooting. In
most cases, Ill just ask for and receive a comp, instead of abandoning the place
altogether. Usually after a short break,
Im able to get my shooting back on track. Ill
make some bread, and then head over to another casino, which in this case will probably be
the GN if my shooting is really firing on all cylinders and I feel very positive about
being able to continue my good shooting on the Golden Nugget tables. Speaking
of comps
To
my mind, the Four Queens is synonymous with Old Vegas gourmet dining in the
form of Hugo's Cellar. If you
go past the flashing signs for Burger King and Subway and head down the brick-lined
stairway, you've arrived at the curtained-booth hideaway of Hugos. The
ladies tend to like this place, and if you are looking to score a few extra points in the
gratitude, graciousness and good husband category; then this place fits the bill.
Its made all the better if you are enjoying it on a not-too-difficult-to-get comp. The
evening starts off with a red rose being presented to your lady (every woman in here gets
one), and then continues with a breadbasket overstuffed with Armenian crackers; toasted
Russian rye covered with a spicy Eastern European cheese; and a crusty baked egg-white
French loaf; followed by Hugos famous 30-toppings at-your-table salad cart. Although
food served this way is a throwback to the heady Rat Pack days of the early
60s; I still like the retro look of this place which feels like Sammy, Frank
and Dean could wander in any minute now. Of
course I get that same feeling at the Gold Coasts Cortez Room, Pietros at The
Trop, Ristorante Italiano at The Riv, THE Steakhouse at C-2, Phils at The
Frontier, William Bs at The Dust, Ballys Steakhouse (the old
Barrymores), Micheals at Barbary Coast and even the reborn, relocated, renamed
House of Lords at The Sahara as well. To
me theyre old-school mob-fancy, but I still like them
or maybe thats WHY
I like them! A
few of my favorites at Hugos are the eight-chop Rack of Indonesian Lamb (with a
ginger-spiked peanut sauce), and the Tournedos
Hugo (medallions of beef with foie gras, Bearnaise sauce and artichoke hearts). Both of
them taste much better than they sound. Suffice
it to say that the food is good, the retro roll-and-tuck leather ambiance is great; plus a
comp makes it economical as well. Your
romantic evening ends with a
dessert platter of chocolate-dipped fruit for the two of you to share. Its just one more way to show your
appreciation for all your lady does, and to thank her for allowing you all the time spent
on that darn practice rig. If
all of this sounds as though I love food as much as I love dice-setting; well you
wouldnt be too far off the mark on that assumption. A
Note About Crowded Tables
The
resurgence in popularity of Downtown Las Vegas, especially at the Golden Nugget, the
Plaza, Fremont and Fitzgeralds, means that the crowds are coming earlier and staying
later. As
Heavy, Irishsetter and I have continually pointed out; the off-hours are the best times to
find uncrowded conditions. The
rule of thumb is generally:
Ø
If
you are playing when everyone else is out and about playing too...then the tables will be
crowded.
Ø
If
you play when everyone else is in town...on the weekends and during convention
periods...then the tables will be crowded.
Ø
If
you want more shooting opportunities, then either play when most others aren't, which
means from 2 a.m. to 10 a.m. during the week, and 4 a.m. to 9 a.m. on the weekends.
Ø
For
many more inventive ways to get the dice in your hands more often, even during the busiest
of times, I would recommend Creating More Shooting Opportunities - Part One
and Part
Two. There
is still a number of my favorite downtown casinos left to discuss. I hope youll join me when we take a look at
the rest of them in Part Three. Until then, Good
Luck and Good Skill at the downtown LV tables
and in Life. Sincerely, The
Mad Professor
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