Cannery Hotel-Casino
One of the newest casinos in North Las Vegas offers a cheap $2 game at their two craps tables. You’ll find a good number of budget-minded players at this ’40s-themed property. You won’t find any tourists to speak of, but there is a lot of off-duty military personnel from nearby Nellis Air Force base and a bunch of near-locals who like low-stakes action at a casino they can call their own.
The “curiosity” factor that initially attracted new patrons from across the greater Las Vegas Valley has pretty much subsided, inasmuch as there isn’t really much to see here.
Their upcoming entertainment schedule looks ambitious, but it hasn’t hit its stride yet. The food at their Victory Café is acceptable, but isn’t worthy of further mention. However, I will tell you that Casa Cocina’s menu has an emphasis on dishes from the Michoacan region of Mexico, and their unlikely hit of New York steak finished with a Coca-Cola sauce is definitely worthy of trying.
The craps tables at The Cannery start to clear out after 10 pm. They keep the table-felt in good condition, and as the dice “age” during each eight-hour shift, they tend to slide (upon touchdown) a little more than usual (3” to 5”) if you land them at less than a 35-degree angle. It’s an interesting effect that increases on-axis performance by a further 5%-to-10%.
Terrible’s Hotel-Casino
This casino is a wet-dream for players who require MAX-comps for MINIMAL-play. You’ll find their one (1) craps table is great for straight shooting, however it is almost NEVER empty. That means that the low $2 “entry-fee” table-minimum attracts and keeps players at the rail for most of the entire playing-day.
On the other hand, the table rewards the PATIENT and disciplined Precision-Shooter with sufficient profit-opportunities when the dice circulate around to your position. The dice tend to cycle back to your position a little faster than normal due to the number of non-shooting DP players who call this place “home”.
However, that higher proportion of Don’t Pass players tends to be of the older, more bitter variety, and they seem to resent anyone who sets the dice. While most casinos-management may not believe in Precision-Shooting YET, the old guys who reside at these tables sure believe that dicesetting can imperil their DP bets, and they don’t want any part of anything so evil to be employed against their bets. They certainly don’t mind telling you that you are endangering their money…however they don’t use such long or delicate words in doing so.
There aren’t many places where you will encounter as many “dicesetting-doesn’t-work-but-don’t-do-it-while-we-have-a-Don’t-Pass-bet-out-there” players like you’ll find at Terribles. Maybe they belong to their own exclusive branch of the Fraternal Order of Darksiders.
These players become even more bitter and resentful when you start to string together a decent precision-based hand. They seem to await new “fresh-meat” Pass Line random-rollers who they can count on to continually fill their DP coffers. However, if a dicesetting-shooter starts to pick-off their DP and DC bets with any lukewarm-to-hot regularity, then they start to cackle like a bunch of barnyard hens.
It’s quite humorous, but in an ironic sort of way. They won’t use Precision-Shooting to MAKE money because they don’t believe in it, but they certainly don’t want Precision-Shooting used against them either just in case it DOES work.
Okay, let me put Terrible’s tables into useful perspective.
Their table-min is indeed two bucks, and they offer “Strip-Odds” of 3x, 4x, and 5x. Their table is a little hard and the dice will veer in radical directions if they land “off-square”. Simply stated, if the leading-edge of each dice does not land squarely inline with the backwall; then they veer off in the OPPOSITE direction from the corner of the dice that first made contact with the felt.
If on the other hand, you manage to land the dice flat, square and truly in line with the backwall; then the reward is nice, reliable on-axis rolls. If you can further CAREFULLY reduce the roll-out speed of the dice once they land; then you can enjoy a very high percentage of on-axis “primary-set” outcomes. The “primary-set” is the four faces that you originally set before you threw the dice. We’ll explore this whole subject in much greater detail in an upcoming “Shooting Bible” article.
The casino rewards frequent players with everything from free gasoline, car washes, cartons of Pepsi, cases of Budweiser, free rooms, free food, free off-road racing tickets, free Terrible Herbst racing-apparel, etc. They literally inundate regular players with tons of “loyalty” freebies. You can read all about this comp-players paradise in my Great Time At Terrible Casino article.
COMPS and Profit Calculation
As always, I DO NOT suggest that you play for comps. However, if your NORMAL play (normal bet-size, bet-spread, bet time-exposure, win-goal, loss-limit, and session length) brings in the comped-bounty; then by all means TAKE IT!
Oh, one more thing. I do not count comps towards my actual casino-winnings. I only count net-profit in the form of cold, hard cash. While comps are very valuable especially if they offset money that you would otherwise spend, they tend to cloud your judgment about how much “profit” your Precision-Shooting efforts are really generating. I do keep a separate running count of accumulated comp-benefits, but I certainly don’t want that misrepresenting how much CASH profit I actually put into my pocket at the end of the day or accumulate on a yearly basis.
Whichever method you use, it is important that you keep track of your TABLE-PLAY profit-and-losses on an ongoing basis.
I just don’t want you to use tainted logic and a gamblers-rationalization by saying, “Well I lost $200 at the tables, but I got a free $150 room and two meals worth $150, so I made a $100 profit”.
While the math may be correct, the end result is that you have $300 LESS in your pocket, not $100 MORE. Don’t use “Comp-value” as a rationalization that your Precision-Shooting is “working”. If you consistently make NET-PROFIT at the TABLES, then it is working. If you are losing money at the tables and using “Comp-value” as a way of offsetting those losses, then your cash-bankroll may still be shrinking, albeit at a much slower rate.
Castaways Hotel-Casino
Okay, there’s only one cheap table here as well, but it can be a sweet little money-maker. While the clientele is a little on the older side, the table offers up some soft landing spots and ideal playing conditions. This combination usually results in sustainable profit for me. I haven’t seen any hint of heat from the Castaways crew, and they are especially good-natured if even the most meager of dealer-tokes make their way into the Toke-box. With a $2 minimum and 2x-Odds, you won’t find any high-rollers here, but that’s okay too. It gives the Precision-Shooter a bit more latitude when it comes to extracting consistent profit from this table.
Speedway Casino-Ramada Hotel
I’ll have a full report on the one “tub” table here at the Speedway in an upcoming “Mini-Table Tub Tour” article. In the meantime, I’ll tell you that they offer cheap $2 minimums, but only 2x-Odds.
Now here is something that you won’t hear me say very often:
“It is better to play at this casino when it is busy.”
That’s right, you can extract MORE profit off of the Speedway Casino table when it is busy. Here’s why:
- When it is busy, it is much easier to shield your Precision-Shooting skills and profit.
- When you are a solo-player, the Table Game Supervisor for the craps table has just one player to watch…YOU.
- When the table is fuller, he is busy filling out Rating Cards, supervising other tables, getting comps and generally doing Pit-Guy stuff.
- The table has a max-bet of $200, but I would recommend that you not go over a $25 flat-bet with $50 in Odds.
- On the Place-bet side of the equation, anything over $50 or $60 usually brings closer scrutiny from the Pit.
- Anything below those amounts generally keeps you “under the radar”, and keep the steady profit rolling in at The Speedway.
I’ll have a few more $2 tables in “Part Five”. Until then,
Good Luck & Good Skill at those cheap tables…and in Life.
Sincerely,
