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Mad Professor's Mini-Table Craps Tour with the Vegas Ghost- Part X (Read
Part I
,
Part II,
Part III
or
Part IV or
Part V
or Part VI or
Part VII
or Part VIII or
Part IX)
Okay, I’ve taken you to some of my favorite mini-table haunts
both on and off the Las Vegas Boulevard Strip.
Today I’m taking you to one that is close to everything, but doesn’t usually
register on the gaming radar. In fact, it barely even shows up on the
pro-players sonar screen. That’s
all the better for those who like to make their money out of the limelight, and
in the casinos at the actual tables. So strap your ass into the backseat,
‘cause Mel, the Vegas Ghost and I are taking you for a crapshooting ride to: Ellis Island Casino & Brewery
Where Is It?
It is located behind Bally’s and Paris
Hotel-Casino, on Koval Lane. Koval
is a popular short-cut for taxi-drivers, road-savvy tourists, and locals.
It runs parallel with the Strip, and allows rear access into a good number of
the mega-resort properties (from MGM Grand in the south to the Venetian in the
north), while avoiding most of the gridlocked tourist traffic. From Bally’s backdoor to Ellis Island’s
front door, a pedestrian would need about 12 minutes and one bottle of water to
make the 108-degree walk. The Casino
Ellis Island Casino is the gaming and
restaurant portion of the world’s largest Super 8 Motel.
While I’ve never actually stayed in one of their rooms, I understand that they
are of Super 8 quality, which is to say, better than a Motel 6, and not quite as
nice as your local Ramada. While the motel has been around for
more than 34 years, the casino is about one-third that age.
At ~36,000 square feet, the EI has enough room to hold a large number of
relatively new slot machines, but only about seven or eight gaming tables.
Thankfully, one of them is now a craps table. Ellis Island’s Mini-Craps Table
There hasn’t always been a craps table
here, and I can’t guarantee that there always will be one in the future, but
it’s here now, and I like to play it on a semi-regular basis. In fact, the one full-size table that
they used to have here in the early 90‘s went missing in action for more than a
decade. Fortunately, increasing motel,
restaurant and casino traffic has meant that their gaming-business warranted a
new, albeit much smaller craps table. Bet minimums are usually $3, and they
RARELY raise it to the $5 mark.
Once in a while they MAY lower the limit to $2, but I haven’t seen it that way
in several months. In any event,
they offer 3x, 4x, and 5x Odds. The 9-foot table sports a good layout
that has a few miles on it, but the felt is relatively new, and they do change
out the dice every day. They
chemically steam-clean the felt once a month, which tends to subsequently slow
the dice-energy down quite a bit.
The more recent the cleaning, the slower the dice go.
You can gauge how recent the cleaning has been by the remaining odor of the
residual solvent that smells like a combination of stinky feet and LysolÔ.
As the residue fades and gets replaced by dirt and natural skin oils, the dice
speed up. You will notice that despite the short
9-foot length of the table, you still need to throw with enough force so that
the dice have enough speed AFTER their first bounce to make it to the other end
of the table. Most short tables require a minimum of
throwing effort, while this table requires about 30% more.
To put that into perspective, you have to throw the dice as if you are on a
12-foot table. CONSISTENT Shooting
This table is totally predictable IF the dice land
squarely to the backwall. However, if you tend to land them
unevenly, the dice may make sudden and ACTUAL 90-degree off-axis turns upon
initial touchdown. The table is very, VERY touchy that way. It is imperative that your throwing
motion and the angle of the dice at their release point is aligned as squarely
as possible; otherwise this table makes them quite susceptible to random
“walkabouts” and sideways hopping and popping.
I also found that if I restricted the amount of post-release
follow-through of my arm, the dice would leave my hand at the correct upward
angle, yet the natural backspin and sharp, steep descent would bring the cubes
down exactly where I wanted them, and their unused forward-rolling energy would
dissipate within three or four inches of rolling TO the backwall.
To read more about this type of technique, I would invite you to read the first
four chapters of my ten-part
Mad Professor's Shooting Bible
series. Who Plays Craps Here?
Depending on your outlook on life in general, and craps in
particular, I have good news for you, or perhaps you’ll take it as bad news.
It’s a small table that accommodates eight people and I can tell you right now
that most of them will be NEW players.
Since this
place hardly even registers on anyone’s sonar, especially serious craps players,
you will rarely find any seasoned pro’s in these waters. Rather, the game is played in a less-intimidating, fun
atmosphere that encourages newcomers, neophytes and curious tourists who never
had the courage to join in the more frenetic, more expensive, full-sized,
traditionally-crowded mega-hotel tables.
You are likely to find your table-mates are comprised of a few
blue-collar locals and a couple of mid-America tourists who like the friendlier
and slower-paced ambiance of a very relaxed, lower-cost gaming experience.
Ellis Island’s mini-tub does not have the party atmosphere of
Casino Royale (Mad Professor's Mini Tub Tour - Part II)
or the gritty and dusty corral feel of the Wild Wild West Casino (Mad Professor's Mini Tub Tour - Part IV),
yet you will find an easy-going, medium-paced game where your Precision-Shooting
efforts are never discouraged, and your skills are profitably rewarded. Our Session
I’ve got to tell you that this was one interesting session. Both Mel and I had decent hands, but none of them were
outstandingly long. In fact, most of them never exceeded
twelve or fourteen rolls, but the great thing was that Inside Numbers
constituted almost all of them. Despite the
whooping and hollering that the new players (recently converted FORMER blackjack
players) were making over the unleashed enthusiasm (and profit) of their
newfound game, I was surprised that the two remaining open spots at the table
stayed empty for more than half the time we were there.
That would tend to indicate that you should be able to find an open spot even on
a relatively busy weekend evening, as we did when we were there.
I have made several subsequent visits and confirmed that fact.
In each visit, my Precision-Shooting has remained steady in that 12 to 14-toss
category. While that is
significantly lower than my benchmark, it is nonetheless acceptable and
definitely still quite profitable.
My approach for this session was pretty simple.
Using the $3 Pass Line minimum, and some very steep Place-bet regressions after
their initial hits, the money tumbled in with good regularity.
I backed all of my PL-bets with full Odds, but more importantly,
the real profit came from those steeply regressed Place-bets where I had our
dealer set up $88 Inside bets (or $64/$68 Inside depending on the Point number),
then reduce them to $22 after one hit. The
steadiness of profit that this type of betting approach brings in when your
shooting is up to par, never ceases to amaze me. Why Short-Hands Can Still be VERY
Profitable
If you have read my article entitled
Can
Frequency Compensate For Shortness?
, you will know EXACTLY how Precision-Shooters take advantage of
even the very shortest 3 or 4-roll hands.
Once you surpass the standard 1:6 Sevens-to-Roll ratio, AND you are aware of
your Signature Numbers, AND your betting-method is tailored to take
maximum-advantage, and minimum-risk of your SN’s, THEN you are well positioned
to make some VERY consistent money off of your own skill. “I’d Like to Hop Every Possible
Place-Bet Combination Please” That is
EXACTLY what one local player said after watching me shoot for the third time. I did a double-take when he said that,
since my brain couldn’t quite believe what my ears had clearly heard. Thankfully, the dealer told him that
“Hop” bets weren’t allowed at Ellis Island.
Although he seemed disappointed, it didn’t seem to daunt his
betting as he made $50 bets on each of the Hardways, and $3 bets on all of the
box-numbers. He parlayed every single bet that won,
and for the rest of his time at the table, never collected one single, solitary
dollar to put in his rack. Every
buck that he made, got plowed right back into a much larger bet.
I looked at Mel without changing my facial expression, and he simply said, “Now
there’s a casino managers wet-dream”.
Once my hand was finished, Mel wanted to make a bet with me as to
how long this guys bankroll would actually last.
Mel’s forty-odd years of experience in casino-management paid-off as he was much
closer to the mark than I was. Mel
chided, “It looks like the Mad Professor is picking up the steak and beer tab
after this session”. I replied that, based on our play, Ellis
Island was going to be picking up that particular tab tonight.
The fact that this guy stood there watching me throw and marking
down every combination that I was throwing for three hands in a row, made me
wonder if perhaps I was missing something about my own Signature Numbers and
further possible profit-potential that they held.
I made a mental note to take a closer look at those 24 Place-bet
combinations (only 14 actual individual Hop-bet possibilities) to weigh their
merit. Mel must have seen that curious look in
my eye, and he added, “Forget about it.
You’ll only dilute your own winnings, by trying to outguess your already good
performance. Plus they’ll be so wrapped up in setting
your Hop-bets, that your hourly win-rate will drop because you’ll be throwing
the dice about 70% less per hour.
You might as well go and play at a crowded table instead of solo, ‘cause you’ll
be throwing just as often”.
Another Word about Hops and
Props
While higher-edge Prop and Hop bets may look more appealing, they
also tend to bring more scrutiny from the Pit.
While the table-game supervisor may not necessarily be interested in your actual
shooting, he will be interested in ensuring that the dealer makes the correct
payoffs to you when it wins.
If a shooter is receiving a lot of high-paying Props, then
naturally the Pit-guys are going to take more notice of the player doing the
“bettin’ n gettin’” than they will of more normal action.
I realize that some players like to draw attention to themselves at the tables
and make themselves the center of any particular universe that they are in.
I also understand that their egos crave adolescent attention and positive
affirmation that makes them feel loved, adored and worthwhile.
However, winning parlayed Prop and Hop action may bring attention
that is a pleasure to bask in right now, but as more and more notice is focused
on dicesetting, that ego-satisfying attention that some people crave, may bring
about undue changes to the game as we know it.
Obviously, one winning session will not bring about changes.
However, you have to consider the cumulative effect that it has on the Pitbulls
who keep seeing the same parlayed winning Hop bets get paid over and over again. Only the truly naïve or truly greedy
would refuse to admit that big parlayed Hop-bets will bring closer scrutiny to
this craft that we call Precision-Shooting. Just in Case the World DOES NOT End
Tomorrow
Playing sensibly and taking moderate profit from a large number
of casinos is probably the best way to maintain a low profile, and ensure that
you aren’t spoiling it for other Precision-Shooting students of the game that
come along after you. I know the urge to rape, pillage, burn
and ravage the earth with wanton disregard is the ego-maniacal code that some
people choose to live by, but sometimes it’s best to play like there just MAY be
a tomorrow, and possibly even a tomorrow after that. The Rest of Our Session
Mel and I ended up staying at Ellis for just over three hours.
Normally, I’ll make a quick Hit ‘n’ Git, but with the increasing number of
players that eventually filled up this lone table, it made it easier to go in
there, take some of the casinos bucks, and not overexpose MY face to the
disappearance of THEIR money.
Again, although my shooting was less than stellar, it was good
enough to derive some decent profit.
I always find it mildly amusing that sometimes the short tables are the hardest
to adapt to. Well, I find it
mildly amusing when I am WINNING, and mildly frustrating when I am LOSING.
In either case, it is always important to keep your bets within a
comfort range where you are not forcing your throws or over-thinking your toss. Even at a cheap $3 table, you can still lose a ton of
money if your shooting isn’t dialed-in. The E.I. Players Card Just like
nearly every other casino in North America, Ellis Island has it’s own players
card, called the Passport Players Club.
As with most places, it’s intended for use by slot and table game players alike. This
yellow-colored beauty not only lets them track your casino action, but it allows
you to print out your own comps at their new self-serve Passport Central kiosk. No need to even ask for a comp. You just insert your card, and punch in
the restaurant of your choice, the number of people in your party, and the
printer does the rest.
Of course, you
can use the more conventional, ask-the-table-game-supervisor method. Either way works well, although the kiosk is faster if you
are in a hurry, while the old-fashioned human-approach locks your face, name and
award-winning personality into the mind of the somewhat over-worked Pit
Supervisors who tend to increase the rating of people that they have come to
know and like. What Is Compable? Don’t be afraid
to ask for a comp whenever you play here.
The worst they can say is “No”, and at Ellis Island, I’m not sure that that word
is even in their comp-dictionary.
From comped micro-brews and steak dinners to free rooms and gratis slot, BJ and
roulette tournaments, the EI has a liberal comp policy that puts the major
casino-corporations to total shame.
There are always plenty of freebies and giveaways for locals and
anyone else who is on their monthly mailing list.
The Brew
That Puts “Brewery” into Ellis Islands Name Yea, yea, I
know that some people would consider it a sacrilege to talk about a casino that
has its very own brew-pub without talking about the beer. Okay, I’ll sum it up in four words…I DON’T LIKE IT! While the
original Ellis Island in New York’s Harbor quenched the thirst for freedom of
the poor, tired and huddled masses, it was not known for it’s fine libations. Unfortunately, neither is Ellis Island Casino & Brewery! Okay, if you
took some of them old 78-rpm shellac-based phonograph records and melted them
down, then filtered the resultant liquid through a week-old loaf of bread, the
taste would be the same as Ellis Islands Gold Ale, but why would you even want
to try that. Their beer could turn a heavy drinker
into a tee-tottler in less than 20-ounces.
What is redeeming is that their brewed-on-premises root beer is a
little bit of sarsaparilla-heaven here on earth.
Yes, the cocktail waitress will bring it to you at the craps tables, and YES,
they will definitely appreciate your generous tip for that particular service. A Word About Their Food
It would be unfair to talk about Ellis Island without mentioning
their food, and their 24-hour $4.95 steak-dinner special.
It’s garnered a Las Vegas Advisor Top Ten placing for close to 40 months
in a row. In the “It’s-been-four-hours-since-our-last-price-increase”
world of Las-Vegas, forty months is definitely a long time.
It’s a 10-ounce top sirloin which comes complete with rolls, soup or salad,
green beans, choice of potato, and garlic toast.
It IS NOT listed on the menu, so you have to ask for it like you’re a member of
some secret Carnivore Society.
Don’t worry, the waitress will know exactly what you are talking about.
Okay folks, that’s it for this venue.
Until we meet up at the next mini-table on this tour,
Good Luck and Good Skill at the tables…and in Life.
Sincerely,
The Mad Professor
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