Online Casino, Gambling News, Sports News

Archive for March 10th, 2010

There’s one game that will forever be associated with casinos – it’s not called the “king of casino games” for nothing. The reason? Perhaps it’s the simplicity. Someone spins the wheel, releases the ball, “Where will it fall? No-one knows!” There’s the noise as the ball is thrown against the direction of spin. It rolls around the wood framing the the wheel, slowly losing momentum, edging down toward the whirling blades of the slots. Then, with a clatter, the ball is caught by the wheel. It bounces, suddenly caught up and thrown in the opposite direction. There’s a hypnotic quality about how the ball moves. Everyone watching feels they can reach out with their minds and will it to land in their numbered slot.

As the wheel slows, the ball bounces up and down a few times, then finally gives in to a combination of friction and gravity, and is caught in one of the slots. It is a wonderful moment of theater, followed by the “instant” gratification of the win for those with the luck. For some, this is the perfect game of chance to play. In the real world atmosphere of a casino, the crowd always gathers round the wheels first among all the games. It has a compelling fascination. Strip away the real world and play online, the experience on your computer can never really be the same. There are good graphics and the sound effects are reasonable. All you are left with is the game itself.

Is it strong enough on its own? Almost certainly. Little changes about the game. The rules are the same, the odds and betting are identical. So should you play it? Well, so long as you know the rules and the odds, it remains a good game. The only difference is the loss of atmosphere when you play online. So you are sacrificing all the travel, inconvenience and expense by staying home and switching on your PC. You can play when you want, for as long as you want from the comfort of your own home. Think how much you might spend on a real world trip in gas, drinks at bar prices (assuming no comps), and so on. That’s why you stay home. You will find bonuses and spot prizes to replace the comps. You have more money to play through as a result.

One gentle reminder – there’s a myth to dispel. Many try to sell the idea of a strategy to win. In reality, the house has an edge no matter how you play roulette. Never be deceived if you have a hot streak. You might get ahead in the short term but the house will always win in the end. There are no professional players who make a living out of playing this game. You can do many things to keep your losses small, but roulette should really be for fun and excitement. If your luck is in, you can have the satisfaction of beating the house. But always be disciplined. If you have a good win, quit while you are ahead. Make your fun go a long way by coming back another time.

The legislature in Delaware has just approved a new law expanding the gambling opportunities in that state. It was almost immediately signed into law by the Democratic Governor who is looking at a major hole in the state budgets and needs additional revenue to help fill it. The new law is intended to allow table games, i.e. blackjack, craps and the “King of Casino Games”, to be played at the casinos sited on the state’s three horse racetracks.

As soon as the revenue splits are agreed with the casino operators – the legislature has allowed 75 days for the consultation – the final approval will be given by the legislature. The games should be in play at the racetracks early 2010. The law also helps prop up the horse racing industry which has been feeling the pinch in the current recession. The move is controversial in Maryland because their attempts to collect revenue through exploiting betting on slots will be marginalized. But tax payers in Delaware are giving their full approval. They accept this source of state revenue even though it is, in effect, a tax on gambling which, research shows, tends to have a prejudicial effect on lower income families.

As a state, this is elevating Delaware to one of the leaders in the gaming industry. As it stands, the state is one of the four, i.e. Delaware, Montana, Nevada and Oregon, exempted from federal laws prohibiting sports betting. At a federal level, Barney Frank recently introduced a new Bill which would keep sports betting illegal online in all but the four exempted states. This means Americans can only legally bet on professional sport in one of the four states or by getting on a cruise ship that sails out into international waters off the US coast. Quite why something should be lawful in four states and a few miles offshore, but not at home when someone switches on their computer, is a mystery no-one has been willing to explain. The law is as the law is. Interestingly, New Jersey is challenging the state exemptions on the ground it is unconstitutional to allow sportsbooks in some states and not all states. If this challenge is successful, federal law will change to open the US to betting or force all gamblers out to sea or back into underground betting which, more often than not, is run by organized crime. By comparison, Australia permits all betting where there is an element of skill, and more strictly regulates games which are purely based on luck. The Australians think it takes skill to handicap football games.

So, as it stand, Delaware is set to create gambling honeypots where people can come to the racetrack to bet on the horses, use the sportsbooks and play roulette, craps or blackjack. There are no residence requirements. As with Las Vegas, people can come from anywhere in the US. This despite the mounting evidence that gambling is highly addictive and can seriously damage the health (and wealth) of the families it touches. But, as it stands, Delaware is pushing ahead enthusiastically to enhance its facilities with online roulette and draw all gamblers.

Tommy started playing blackjack professionally in 1978 while still in college. That was also the year he started his first informal “team.” He’s never looked back. For more than twenty-five years, he has been running the longest-lasting and most successful blackjack team in the history of the game. He and his teammates have played in casinos all over the U.S., Canada, and the world. He has used big player techniques, concealed computers (when they were legal), and had one of the most successful “ace location” teams ever. He has personally been barred, back-roomed, hand-cuffed, arrested, and even threatened with murder at gun-point by a casino owner he had beaten at the tables. Every year, the Hyland team players take millions of dollars out of the casinos. And even though Tommy has had his name and photo published in the notorious Griffin books more times than any other player in history, he continues to play and beat the games wherever legal blackjack games are offered. He has also fought for players’ rights by battling the casinos in the courts.

Despite his fearsome reputation, Tommy is polite, soft-spoken, and always a gentleman. He is as loved by players as he is feared by the casinos. In an interview conducted by Richard Munchkin in 2001, Tommy said, “If someone told me I could make $10 million a year working for a casino, I wouldn’t even consider it. It wouldn’t take me five minutes to turn it down … I don’t like casinos. I don’t like how they ruin people’s lives. I don’t think the employment they provide is a worthwhile thing for those people. They’re taking people that could be contributing to society and making them do a job that has no redeeming social value.”