In Part I we had a look at sixteen casinos where you can play craps for a buck or even less.
Keep in mind that “off” hours at these places usually brings the cheapest rates, while “peak” hours and weekends may bring higher ones. Here are a few more casinos where you can expect to find those $1 economy-priced tables.
Slots-a-Fun
Most talented craps players who frequent Vegas DO NOT frequent this particular tourist-grinder. It’s small, smelly and smoky, and that’s the GOOD part.
The bad part is that they do not like savvy players, which includes regression-bettors, “big” bettors who wager more than $25 at a time, Don’t-Pass players, and especially Precision-Shooters.
The Slots a Fun $1 minimum (sometimes $2 min.), 2x-Odds, carnival-game atmosphere, and “on the sidewalk” table-location should tell you that they are geared to attract and shake-down unwary tourists from Greater Metropolitan Podunk (population: 7, animal population: 42).
These are the same visitors who managed to find their way OUT of Circus Circus, all slack-jawed and agog at the sights, sounds and smells of a neon city that unbelievably finds both a color TV AND a flush toilet in every hotel room. These tourists are the ones who butter the casino-bread and thinly-spread the cash-flow jam that continues to make Slots-a-Fun’s business-model prosper for its Mandalay Bay Group parent company.
Can a savvy player make money on the Slots A Fun table?
Absolutely.
Would a savvy Precision-Shooter really want to?
Absolutely NOT!
Fiesta-Rancho
This is the sister property to Fiesta-Henderson. It is also the “original” Fiesta that was developed by George Maloof and his energetic family (builder and owners of the new Palms Hotel-Casino across from Gold Coast and Rio). The Fiesta is now part of the Station Casino family of gaming-houses that cater to local-players.
The food is excellent, the staff is excellent, and their $1 tables are also excellent. They offer 10x-Odds and their skillful dealers show outstanding appreciation for frequent tokers (tippers).
There is a handful of Vegas-regulars who call Fiesta-Rancho their “home”. This posse is usually found camped out in the cheap seats from 8 am ‘til about 2 pm. The tables really start to fill up around 10:30 am, so you may want to arrive early to stake out your favorite spot.
If early-morning is not your cup of Macchiato double-foam, half-skim latté, then a late-night visit after 11 pm will bring out more thinly-populated opportunities.
Tipping at Cheap Tables
I want to interject here, that your dealer-tips do NOT have to be large. In fact, if you put the dealers on the Pass-Line when you (and only you) have the dice, then they will quickly catch on to your goodwill, especially if your Precision-Shooting skill in on the positive-side of the bell curve.
If you back their PL-bet with perhaps 2x Odds, then you can pretty much expect that they will accommodate your Precision-Shooting needs as much as possible, and not interfere with your rolling when you start stringing together a decent hand.
In most cases, their PL-bet has a better chance of ending up in the toke-box, than a higher paying, but lower chance Prop-bet. However, if you normally hit a lot of Horn bets, then you can piggy-back a bet for them on top of your center-of-the-table action. If that is the case, then for example, you can add $1 or $2 for them onto your Horn bet. YES, they will do the math and they will still appreciate a 25-cent (or 50-cent) X 15 or 30-to-1 payout on a winning hit.
You have to remember that dealers at $1 tables do not make life-changing tokes from the players, so they appreciate any action that you put out on their behalf. On top of all of that, you do not want your dealer-tip expenses to dilute or substantially diminish your Precision-Shooting profits when you are playing at the low-rent tables.
Cheap TWO-DOLLAR Craps
It’s time to raise the sperm-count on this subject. I’ve run out of $1 tables, so we have to move up to the next snack-bracket…the still highly desirable $2 table.
Binion’s Horseshoe
Okay, first things first. The ‘Shoe is still open for business. Despite every conceivable effort to screw this place into hellish oblivion, founder Benny Binions daughter, Becky Binion-Benhan, has kept this place open, but barely surviving.
Yep, despite her gargantuan struggle to piss away and deconstruct all of the great things that made the Horseshoe the epicenter of the gambling universe, it continues to limp and stumble along. All of the “good gamble and good eats” goodwill that the old man built-up over half a century is pretty much gone now.
In its stead are dealers who strong-arm for tips and have a siege-mentality. Most of them have a “let’s-rip-and-tear-for-all-it’s-worth-‘cause-I-may-not-have-a-job-here-tomorrow” philosophy.
One good thing they still have going for them is their cheap tables. I put Binions in the $2 category because the table-minimum policy currently changes from day to day. Some days you can go in there, and the place is hopping with full-tables that range from 50-cents all the way up to $3. Other days, the place is emptier than a Chernobyl nuclear-reactor and all of the tables are set at $5. Two hours later, a revisit will find three tables open and fully-engaged at a $2 price.
The same “Policy…what policy?” attitude towards table-minimums also pertains to their allowable Odds. Binions fabled 100x-Odds are as out-of-fashion as Hula-hoops, Milli Vanilli, pet-rocks, and Micheal Jacksons nose.
The current limits are $500 maximum bets, with 2x-Odds, and no pay-off can exceed $2000. About the only thing that is still predictable and reliable about Binion’s Horseshoe are the snack-bars in the old Mint Hotel section of the casino. The corned-beef, pastrami or tuna sandwiches could feed a family of four, while one order of their ham and beans with corn bread is rumored to be able to feed that whole “golly-gee-thays-got runnin’-water-here-too-Ma” family from Podunk.
Four Queens
You’ll either love it here or hate it here. I rank these tables in my all-time Top Five in the WORLD for primary-set on-axis dice performance. They are simply spectacular.
However, if you are part of a dice-setting “team”, or they suspect that you are part of some grassy-knoll-group of skilled dice-conspirators; then you can be totally assured that you and your compadrés will be treated like pure c-r-a-p.
While the dealers and box-man treat most players with jaded indifference, they have a particular hard-on for members of a certain dice-setting religion. I’m told that this policy is due to large flocks of newly-graduated disciples who descended on the 4Q tables, and didn’t show any kind of mature restraint when it came to “raiding the bank” over the past couple of years. There is always a price to be paid when unbridled greed is allowed to rule the day.
Nowadays, the casino-troops keep a sharp eye out for organized teams who descend on their tables, en-masse. Even if you are alone, but you handle the dice or shoot like one of their “one-set, one toss” brethren, then you can expect a decidedly frosty, “let’s-distract-and-aggravate-the-player-while-he-is-shooting” reception from all table-staff.
I want to send out a big wet and sloppy kiss of thanks to those who took a nice long piss in this particular sweet-water well of Precision-Shooting profit.
To those disciples who haven’t had a chance to drink from this fount…well all I can tell you is that when your anointed patriarchal-leader hands you a tall glass of purple Kool-Aid, you might want to take a pass on it. It’s usually a good idea to THINK before you mindlessly drink it all in. Blind devotion and a “don’t-worry-the-casinos-will-never-catch-on-to-what-we’re-doing” attitude may be harmful to your Precision-Shooting future.
You can read all about that entire subject in my two Okay, Who Cooked the Golden Goose? articles.
At the Four Queens, you will find 10x-Odds, relatively low rails (2.5” lower than normal, just like a couple of Fremont Hotel-Casino tables) and two tables that are near-perfect in their neutral, non-splattering dice-reactions.
I toke a little more generously at 4Q’s, especially if I am a solo player. There is a sweet spot (actually a sweet “band”) that is about four to eight inches from the back-wall. The “band” extends almost from the deep outside corner of the table to just past the middle of the table. Again, this is a four-inch wide band that is about 4″ to 8” from the back wall, and forms a two-foot long strip of Precision-Shooting perfection.
Minimal backspin and a low landing-angle (25 to 30 degrees) generally brings in consistent on-axis, primary-set performance in the 85% to 90% range for me on the table that is parallel to the stairs leading to Burger King.
If your fine lady accompanies you on your next dice adventure, I would heartily recommend Hugo’s Cellar for dinner. It’s not just the long-stemmed rose that each lady receives, and it’s not just because they have table-side cooking or made-to-your-wishes salads; it’s because the food is superb and the service is impeccable.
Suncoast
From the day it opened, their four $2 tables have only offered 2X-Odds. While that may be a turn-off for some folks, the real attraction at Suncoast Hotel-Casino is the good-rolling tables.
Although they seem too long to suit most people’s tastes, they actually roll like they are much, much shorter. This is due to a very thin and forgiving underlay beneath the felt. When you press your fingertips into it, you’ll barely notice that it is there, but the deadening-effect on the dice is definitely noticeable.
When you first toss, you will think that the table-felt is too “lively”, but in fact, it is just the opposite. Because of the table-length, people have a tendency to “over-throw” the dice with too much energy, and the dice react as though they have been hurled by a random-rolling Major League pitcher.
If you s-l-o-w down your throw, all of a sudden you’ll find that this isn’t the wild-monkeys-having-sex kind of table that you thought it was. In fact, it is quite tame when you take about 50% of the heat out of your normal throw. By “normal”, I mean that you can throw the dice like you are on a 12-foot table, despite it’s nearly 18-foot actual length. The one piece of advice that I would give to you is, “Don’t worry, the dice WILL reach the back-wall.”
Orleans
This is one of the sister casinos to the Suncoast. It’s a busy craps joint that has a tendency to “sweat” the money BIG TIME!
All of the west-side locals flock to this place. I’m pretty sure that each one of them is a shareholder of RJ Reynolds, British-American Tobacco, Brown & Williamson, Lorillard, Commonwealth Brands, Liggett Group, and Philip Morris because their cigarette consumption alone pretty much guarantees a steady stock-price in those companies for the foreseeable future. This is one smoky casino, especially during prime “local-player” hours from 11 am to 11 pm.
You will find their half-dozen craps tables set at the $2 mark. Again, in keeping with Coast Casinos policy, they only offer 2x-Odds. I do not play here very often because the tables are almost always busy, and the dice don’t advance around the table very quickly.
There are lots of “regulars” who have their mail forwarded to their very own personal zip-code positions at the rail. Your favorite spot is also usually their favorite spot, which leads to very little player-position turnover.
The tables here roll fairly smoothly, but new felt-layouts age rapidly due to a clientele that doesn’t seem to wash their hands with any sort of hygienic frequency.
One other thing that newcomers find un-nerving at Orleans is the non-stop PA announcements. Many people liken it to gambling in a busy bus station.
In “Part Three”, we’ll continue our review of fourteen more $2 craps-destinations. Until then,
Good Luck & Good Skill at those cheap tables…and in Life.
Sincerely,
The Mad Professor
