Trip Report: 21

My daughter turned 21 last month. The only time she's stayed in Vegas before, she was 8 years old. My wife and I took her to Vegas last week, hoping she catches the Vegas bug like I have (spoiler: she didn't). Here's the details, with her commentary in red italics.

Welcome to fabulous Las Vegas

Sunday, December 11: We're delayed two hours out of SeaTac due to some mechanical issues on an earlier leg of the flight, but that gives us extra time to watch the Seahawks' pitiful loss to Green Bay before we board. The flight is uneventful, but I've placed her on the right hand side, so she sees the lights of the strip as we land. At baggage claim, I surprise her with Presidential Limo. We stop by the "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign, drive up the strip (while I prattle off history and random facts about each of the properties we pass), and eventually finish at Elara, where I've gone overboard and booked a two-bedroom suite.

I try the $20 on the front desk clerk. "We don't have complimentary upgrades, sir, but let me see what I can do." I end up with a top floor suite, but no balcony, facing the south strip. The clerk describes the room as "slightly larger." It was certainly big enough for the three of us. Full kitchen, 6-seat dining table, projection TV, two bathrooms, jetted tub, and except for a few scuffs on the furniture and mis-aligned cabinetry doors, in perfect condition.

We ditch our bags and head over to Yong Kang Street at Paris. My daughter's a big fan of dim sum, and she declared that it was merely adequate. The dim sum she makes herself is a little better, and neither are as good as Din Tai Fung, but then again, what is?

Places like Paris are going to fail, because millennials don't appreciate the artificial themeing. It seems fake and insincere. Disney does it better and more classy.

On the way back out through Paris, she mentions how smoky it is. I didn't notice, but she's lived in a tobacco-free environment most of her life -- not at home, in restaurants, or in most public spaces -- so it's an unpleasant place for her. This revulsion continues throughout the week, especially at Flamingo, Mirage, and Planet Hollywood. Aria and Cosmo were OK, and Cromwell was well ventilated near the doors. I didn't even consider showing her Casino Royale, and threatened her with a trip to El Cortez's Home for Wayward Emphysema Patients.

Cigarette smoke is a huge turn-off for millennials, who grew up in a smoke-free environment. Weed, however, is somehow okay with us.

Monday, December 12: While my wife and daughter sleep in, I'm in Vegas mode (go! go! go!) so I head down to Planet Hollywood to play on the best 25¢ video poker machine in the Caesars empire: a 100-play Jacks or Better machine in the high limit room, on which I only play one hand at a time. About 20 minutes in, I hit quad 4's, which sadly ends up being the best hand of the trip.

French toast incoming

Once they're awake, we head over to Mon Ami Gabi for breakfast (tasty) and then to the Cosmopolitan for drinks and video poker at my happy place, Chandelier. My favorite bartender, Sone, is working, and she picks out a delicious wine for my daughter and makes an outstanding whiskey sour for me. Cosmo is on the drink ticket system now, and because my daughter is unemployed and frugal, she's betting small and not getting tickets. No matter; my wife and I are playing enough to hand some tickets off to her and keep a few extras for later.

My daughter heads back to Elara for a nap, and my wife and I head upstairs to China Poblano for a light lunch. It's one of my favorite restaurants in Vegas. Our waiter, Kevin, suggests the Tamal Roja, so we order that, a plate of lamb pot stickers, and a basket of chips and salsa. The chips are seasoned with a little black pepper, which somehow makes them seem a little crisper. I'm sure the lamb pot stickers were outstanding, but realized after my second meal of lamb in three months... I just don't care for lamb. However, the pot stickers' lacy coating had a surprising mild spiciness to them, which offset the earthy gaminess of the lamb a little bit. And the tamal roja? Wow. I know that chef José Andrés refuses to call this place a Chinese-Mexican fusion restaurant, but how else can I describe it? Pulverized pork, as one would find in a pot sticker or xing bao, is molded into a candy bar-sized loaf and cooked in a corn husk. It's served open-faced with a drizzle of salsa. It's so good.

Carbone:
arrive hungrier than I did

Back to Elara, my wife (tired) and daughter (refreshed) switch places. Daughter and I wander up to Cromwell, where she has what I think was her only winning video poker session. We've got reservations for three of us at Carbone, but only my daughter and I make it, and I wasn't that hungry. Oops. You're supposed to be hungry and carnivorous and pulling out the stops, but we order prosciutto with mozzarella, a side of meatballs, and split a mushroom fettuccine. No table-side flair, not to-die-for food, but it was good, elegant, and with excellent service. My daughter described the food as over-oily, and the fettuccine was a little watery, the cardinal sin of pasta preparation. Next time, I go in hungry and order a slab of meat.

We drop off the leftovers for my wife, and then head back out, catching an Lyft to Cromwell and then moseying back through Bellagio, Cosmo, Aria (with a stop for gelato and a macaroon at Jean Philippe Patisserie), The Park, and New York New York, Upon entering NYNY, my daughter points out one of the only millennials she's seen on our stroll. "What she doing here," she wonders out loud, then realizes, "Oh. There's her parents."

Wandering over the skybridge towards the Dismal Castle, I give her the option to check it out or head over to the Tropicana. She's got no interest in Excalibur, and the skybridge to Tropicana is still closed, so instead, we call it a night and Uber back to Elara.

I have negative interest in Excalibur after what I've seen. Another smoke-filled fake casino is not my idea of fun.

Drink tickets; boooo!

Tuesday, December 13: My new morning routine: while the family sleeps in, I play Jacks or Better in the Planet Hollywood high limit room. Once they've woken, I grab some water bottles from the ABC store and head up. It's late enough that we skip breakfast and catch a Lyft up to Lucky Dragon for lunch, which just opened 10 days earlier. Their food court is good, authentic Chinese food, but there's not much else there of interest. I knew going in that I wasn't the target audience, but I'm not sure I'll have a reason to come back. It's pretty, though.

We catch an Uber to Fashion Show Mall, check out a few stores, and then Uber back to Elara for wife and daughter to nap. I wander down to MGM, losing $20 on the Sigma Derby horses but winning double that back on slots. My daughter calls, and we meet back at Cosmo for more VP and drinks at Chandelier. I have a drink coupon left from yesterday, and use it without issue.

Down a little bit, we head out and pick up my wife, getting a Lyft to Battista's Hole in the Wall: classic Italian food, with photos on the walls and a roving accordion player and all-you-can-drink wine. So good. So filling. We wander back to Elara and tuck my wife in, and then we head back to Cosmo for drinks and video poker at Chandelier.

Pomegranate goodness, leading to hazy grins

I feel like it's a good idea to follow up my half carafe of Battista's wine with an old fashioned. My daughter has a Riesling. The bartender is hopping, making drinks non-stop and joking with the other staff. At one point, he pulls out a bottle of pomegranate liqueur and makes martinis for the cocktail waitress to deliver. My eyes widen; my daughter's jaw drops. "One of those, please," I request. "And a pomegranate Sprite for me," asks my daughter. The bartender makes them strong. I'm quite tipsy, maybe the second drunkest I've been in Vegas. "You're the best drinking buddy ever," I quip to my daughter. She grins back, through her intoxicated haze.

When we were there, another millennial ordering a drink leaned in to order a drink, and said to me "I don't know what I'd be doing playing video poker." I never saw anyone else my age playing any machines at all. I only really saw them playing craps and poker, and that was even rare.

Props to another Vegas photog for coming up
with the idea for this shot. I liked it enough to
try it for myself.

Wednesday, December 14: I'm up early, so video poker in PHo's high limit room. My wife wakes up, and we lose a big chunk of change on PHo's slot machines. Once my daughter wakes up, we catch an Uber downtown to Eat. Their pancakes are the best in town (sorry, DuPars lovers, but you're wrong). The cinnamon biscuits are as amazing as we remember. And my daughter's grilled cheese is a four-inch-thick block of gooey goodness. She's not feeling well, so instead of giving her a tour of Fremont Street, we Uber back to Elara for another round of "family naps while Travis plays." I mosey down to Excalibur and slowly whittle away my chip stack at the craps table until I get the call that they're awake. On a whim, I choose Uber Pool for the return trip. It's cheaper, and the app doesn't find any other customers on the way, so that's a great choice when it's not three of us in the car.

We stop by Urban Outfitters and Victorias Secret. I'd allocated a fund of daily "play money" to my daughter, thinking she'd use it for gambling, but shopping appeals to her more. I'm somewhat proud of that. Everybody does their own Vegas, and maybe shopping is her thing.

All you need is LOVE

The three of us are now in a happy rut: back to Cosmo for afternoon drinks and video poker at Chandelier. After a bit of play, we pocket our extra drink tickets and walk back to Elara to get ready for the evening. My wife's now feeling a little under the weather, so it's just my daughter and I catching a Lyft to see the dress rehearsal of Beatles LOVE. The show has a lot of new features since I last saw it, and its as amazing as ever.

As we exited the LOVE theatre, I couldn't stay in the Mirage. I nearly ran out -- the smoke made my throat feel as if it was filling with liquid and I couldn't catch my breath. 

My daughter and I wander back to Elara, checking out the Caesar's lobby and the Chihuly art in the Bellagio lobby.

Chihuly seems to be everywhere in Vegas, and it's unimpressive. We've got a ton of Chihuly works at home, too. It's like we can't walk down the street at home without tripping on a piece.

She's craving street tacos, my wife is, too, so we hop in a Lyft to Tacos El Gordo. Mind you, I know this is the slow time of year for Vegas, but I didn't expect to be one of the only customers in Tacos El Gordo. The line here is usually out the door. Our Lyft driver recommended the Abadabo fries, so that's what I ordered. They're really good, though quite sloppy. My wife and daughter have the steak tacos, and they're unimpressed (due to the amazing tacos at home). We hop in another Uber Pool back to Elara, with one brief stop at Morton's to pick up another passenger. Not too inconvenient for a super-low rate. Seriously: $6.37, Tacos El Gordo to Elara. Hope they didn't mind the taco smell.

Slow time of year

I tuck them in, and at midnight head out on my own, wandering up the strip, breaking even at the O'Shea's craps table, and coming out ahead at Casino Royale's slot machines. At Venetian, around 2 AM, I'm tired as well, and Uber Pool back to Elara. Again, no other passengers pop up, and the fare is $5.52. Cheap!

Thursday, December 15: It's our last day in Vegas, and although check-out time is 10 AM, our flight doesn't leave until 9:30 PM. Both wife and daughter are still showing signs of blah-ness, so I book a cheap $27 room at the Flamingo for the day ($66 with fees). We drag our bags over via Lyft, but know better than to eat breakfast at the Dirty Bird, so Uber back to the Miracle Mile Shops for a cheap breakfast at Blondies. We each order the $3.99 eggs, bacon, and hashbrown special. It's cheap and edible. Good enough. We then Uber back to Flamingo, where my wife naps, and my daughter and I head out to wander a bit. While I grab slices of pizza at Cosmo's Secret Pizza, she tries to redeem yesterday's video poker voucher for a drink. Sorry -- it's expired. They just started scanning the barcodes this week. Dang. After pizza, we head up to the pool to look at the somewhat unimpressive ice skating rink, then head over to play video poker at Cromwell. After an hour or so, my daughter she heads up to take a nap while I play craps, just about breaking even.

I wander a bit more, get a text from my family that they're awake, and head up to the room to see how they're doing. I pocket the soaps, pen, and notepad from the room, like I always do. My wife's still bleh, but my daughter's up to going out. I'd originally planned to catch the start of the Seahawks game at Westgate, but my daughter suggested we watch it at the Cosmo sportsbook bar. We play video poker through most of the first half of the game; I break even, she loses a little, but far less than she would have if the machine hadn't been offline for the first 10 minutes. Somebody stuffed pennies in the card reader. Who does that?

I love the Cosmopolitan because of its drinks and atmosphere. It doesn't feel like it's trying to be anything other than what it is, and I think people my age will appreciate it for that. The only other property close to feeling this way is Aria, but it feels more uptight and pretentious.

Another pomegranate and Sprite.
They won't take my expired drink ticket here, either.

I pointed out the nearby shuffleboard and pool tables, and joked to my daughter, "there's no cornhole. How do they expect to attract millennials?"

He jokes, but that's serious. Millennials want to game, but not lose money to games. We'd rather spend it on drinks. Games like cornhole and giant Jenga really do pull us in.

My Seahawks don't cover the first half spread, so I'm leaving town with a loss. We grab my wife and our bags from Flamingo, Uber to the airport, and watch the 'hawks cover the game spread. You couldn't have done that in the first half, guys?

The flight home is uneventful. All in all, a pretty good trip. Too bad my family wasn't feeling great, but there's always next time.

When we got home, I hated how the smoke seems to have clung to all my clothes. Everything, clean and dirty, goes in the wash.

If the casinos want to appeal to millennials, they'll need to improve their free wifi coverage. I only found it at Aria and Mirage. I'm more likely to go to a casino that has wifi than to one that doesn't.

Overall, I just don't think Vegas appeals to millennials. We're already looking at screens all day, and we vacation to escape that. We want what's real, and that usually involves getting outdoors, not staying inside with smokers.

Eight parts of my abandoned 18-part Vegas advice series

Nine months ago, I started writing what I anticipated would be an 18-part blog series on the basics of Vegas, alternating between general knowledge and gambling basics. After writing the first eight parts, I put it aside, and at this point, it looks like I’m going to be abandoning it. So, for what it’s worth, after a tiny bit of cleanup, here’s my abandoned draft.

1: Basic Vegas geography: The Strip and Fremont Street (“downtown” or “old Vegas”)

The Strip – Las Vegas Boulevard – is a four-mile long stretch of desert roadway fronted by 26 casinos with essentially four competing owners. The big two, Caesars Entertainment (mostly center strip, with 7 properties) and MGM Resorts (mainly south strip, with 10 properties), are frequently under fire for their tendency to nickel and dime you with fees being added and services being reduced several times a year. The next two, LV Sands (Venetian/Palazzo) and Wynn/Encore, tend to follow Caesars and MGM’s lead. A few more scattered independent properties exist (Stratosphere, SLS, Casino Royale, Cosmopolitan, Tropicana). The Great Recession hit Vegas hard, and several projects on the north end of the strip were delayed or cancelled (e.g., Fontainebleu), but some have started to show some activity (Resorts World, Alon).

A couple of miles north of The Strip, Fremont Street has seen a resurgence in the last decade, in no small part due to the arrival of Zappos.com’s headquarters and its CEO’s quirky philosophy about employees benefiting from community. The Fremont Street Experience light show at the west end of Fremont covers most of the tourist area, but East Fremont has really become less slummy and more hipster (or gentrified) since Zappos’ arrival. There are 11 casinos on or near west Fremont (13 if you count two tiny slot machine halls), and El Cortez on east Fremont.

The Strip is where you find the glitz, the luxury, the best restaurants, the fanciest bars, the most beautiful people, and the highest prices. Fremont Street is where you find the best gambling, the best deals, and the lowest table limits. Many years ago, someone told me that if you want to feel bad about how you look, hang out on the strip. If you want to feel good about how you look, hang out on Fremont.

A final category of casinos are considered off-strip: Palms, Rio, and the Hard Rock fall into this category. The Westgate (formerly the Las Vegas Hilton) could also be considered off-strip, but many categorize it as a north strip property. Unless you’re big into sports, you probably won’t go to any of these on your first Vegas trip.

2: Basics of gambling: Money Management I

No matter what you decide to gamble on or how good or bad the odds are, good money management will positively affect your gambling more than any other thing you do. I’ve heard that there’s few things worse than losing your entire bankroll on day one of a five-day trip (although compounding that by borrowing more money is still worse). Proper money management will allow you to have fun every day of your trip.

The most important rule of money management: never bet more than you’re willing to lose. I’d expand that further by saying that you shouldn’t bring more cash into the casino than you’re willing to lose. A bad session at the craps table can wipe you out quickly. A good session can turn bad as well. You should never put yourself in a situation where you look back and say, “if I hadn’t gone to the ATM, I’d be able to pay rent this month.” In the heat of the moment, you might be thinking, “I can withdraw a little more and get back to even.” That way lies madness and worse.

When you are winning – and it happens on occasion – some people bet larger: “I’m playing with the casino’s money.” Wrong. It’s not the casino’s money. It’s yours. You can pick it up, cash it in, and bring it home. It’s your money. If you’d walked into the casino with that money, would you be playing at a higher level? No? Then don’t do it.

3: Safety: Crimes and scams:

Vegas draws everyone, from high rollers with a big craving for action and very little sense, to convention attendees who disdainfully look upon the shenanigans, to college frat boys who are here to party until they pass out, to Mabel and Henry from Backwater Flats who arrive with big eyes and golly-gee attitude, to addicts with little self-control looking for their next hit. Vegas also draws the criminal element who preys on all of them.

The tourist areas of Vegas are exceedingly safe. The downtown streets back home are almost certainly more dangerous. Police are everywhere, and casinos have their own security staff (who work closely with police) to keep bad times to a minimum. After all, Vegas is dependent on bringing tourists in, and tourists quickly avoid areas where they don’t feel safe.

So, first, stay in the tourist areas. You could probably walk from The Strip to Fremont Street, but why risk it? You’re gambling enough in the casinos. Minimize your losses outside.

Secondly, realize that anybody you don’t know who talks to you is, most of the time, looking to get something from you. Costumed characters will demand tips if you take their photo. The guy handing you a “free” CD will demand payment. The guy offering free nightclub passes will also expect a tip, and the passes will probably get you in the same line to pay for admission as everyone else (if you’re a dude) or in the same expedited line you’d be put in without a pass (if you’re a hot female). You can get bottled water less expensively and probably less contaminated-ly from the drugstore on every corner than you can from the dirty cooler on the overpass.

Third, watch your stuff. Pickpockets work the crowds inside the casinos, on crowded sidewalks, and around the three-card-monte hucksters. If you set your purse down and look away, it could disappear. It happens.

Fourth, what happens in Vegas ends up on Facebook. What ends up on the internet lasts forever. Keep that in mind, Princess Selfie.

And finally, keep your wits. The people who wants to scam you in Vegas are some of the best in the world. Don’t give them an opening. Don’t engage in risky behavior. Don’t let the booze and the lights and the spectacle take control of you.

(Bonus tip: take Uber or Lyft, not a cab. Cabs are more expensive, and when going to or from the airport, they’re notorious for taking the longer route to increase their fares.)

4: Basics of gambling: House Edge

At the simplest level, the house edge is the price you pay to play a casino game. Imagine, if you will, a $1 bet on a coin tossing game using a perfectly fair coin. Heads you win $1, tails you lose $1. You have two possible results: you leave with $2 or you leave with $0. On average, you leave with $1. The difference between what you bet ($1) and your average expectation ($1) is the house edge: 0%. That means there’s no house edge. There’s no way a casino would actually offer this kind of game, because they have to pay for their employees, the free booze, and other overhead expenses.

So, say they offer a similar coin tossing game, but heads you win $0.95, tails you lose $1. You have two possible results: you leave with $1.95 or you leave with $0. On average, you leave with $0.975. The difference between what you bet ($1) and your expectation ($0.975) is the house edge: 2.5%. In other words, for every dollar you bet on this game, you can expect to lose 2.5¢.

Let’s look at a real casino game, roulette. There’s 38 spaces, you bet $1 on one space (go, lucky number 16!), and if it wins, you get $35 back (plus your original $1 bet). What’s the house edge? 37 times, you end up with $0. The 38th time, you end up with $36. On average ($36/38 spins), you end up with $0.947. If you bet $1 on one number, each spin costs you 5.26¢. There’s a 5.26% house edge to this roulette game.

Essentially, if you know the house edge to a bet (http://wizardofodds.com/gambling/house-edge/), and you play with proper strategy, you know how much it’s going to cost you in the long run. Interested in three card poker? The ante and play bets (two bets, $5 each) have a 3.37% house edge, and the Pair Plus bet (at $1) has a 7.28% house edge. Each hand will, in the long run, cost $0.337+$0.073, or 41¢ per hand. Interested in just playing the pass line in craps? A $5 bet has a 1.41% house edge, so each shooter will cost you 7¢.

So why play any of these games if it’s going to cost you in the long run? The same reason you buy movie tickets or a video game (a 100% house edge): you’re getting entertainment in exchange for your money. It’s fun. And, in Vegas, you’re also getting a little value from the free drinks being offered (but don’t forget to tip!).

There are three games and one other possibility where there can be a beneficial house edge (“player advantage,” or “+EV” as the cool kids say). Some video poker machines, when played with perfect strategy have a very minor +EV. If you play blackjack, and if keep a good count of what cards are left in the shoe, and if you bet big when it’s a +EV game, you can have an advantage (and then get backed off by casino management, and if you’re reading this, I guarantee you didn’t really count it right anyway). And if you’re a really good poker player, or at least a better poker player than 60% of the players at your table, poker can be a +EV game. Also, “free play” or “match play” coupons can make a single bet a +EV proposition.

House edge isn’t everything, though. Imagine a situation where you can bet $5 to have a 1-in-a-million chance to win a billion dollars. That’s got a 200% edge in your favor. You should bet every penny you have to win this bet, right? No. The variance will kill you, unless you’ve got millions of dollars to churn through until you hit the jackpot.  Many games with a small house edge have a large variance (like video poker).

5: Food

There are a lot of folks who come to Vegas to whom food is an afterthought – there’s a reason that the highest grossing Denny’s in the world is on The Strip – and I’ll admit that I’ve eaten a few meals from the Showcase Mall Wendy’s and the Fashion Show Mall food court. I propose, however, that food shouldn’t be an afterthought. Many of the best chefs in the world have signature restaurants on The Strip, as do many more well-known chefs. Sure, Jöel Robuchon and José Andrés’ Bazaar Meat are on many best-in-the-nation lists, but you’ve also got Gordon Ramsey Steak, deLaurentiis’ Giada, Todd English’s Olives, and more.

On the more casual side, Andrés’ China Poblano is one of my favorite meal stops at Cosmopolitan. Natalie Young’s eat. in east Fremont is one of the best breakfasts in town, and her Chow serves up a tasty blend of Chinese and American comfort foods. Top Chef Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken’s Border Grill has two delicious locations.

And getting super casual, Secret Pizza at Cosmopolitan serves up a great slice, if you can find it. Pizza Rock downtown does the same, and also has the best meatball I’ve ever vanquished. Also downtown, DuPars at the Golden Gate is somewhat overrated for breakfast, but that just means it’s really good, not super amazing.

Buffets are a Vegas staple, but I tend to avoid them. Wicked Spoon at Cosmopolitan is very good, and I’ve heard great things about Bacchanal at Caesars, but I always end up trying to eat my money’s worth, and they’re pretty pricey, meaning I eat one meal there, and I’m full for the next 24 hours. I’ve also eaten at Spice Market (Planet Hollywood), Bayside (Mandalay Bay), MGM Grand Buffet, and The Buffet at Bellagio, and while I don’t regret it, there are better choices if you plan ahead. Worth a consideration: the Chuck Buffet -- if you’re going to spend $X on a breakfast buffet, why not spend a third of $X on three different dining experiences: coffee here, a pastry there, scrambled eggs somewhere else? (Tip of the hat to the Trippies 2016 editors for this suggestion.)

Please, don’t eat at a major chain restaurant while in Vegas. I know there’s an In-n-Out over there, and there’s none of those at home, but you’re missing out on better choices. Also, don’t eat anywhere at Flamingo. Trust me on this one.

6: Basics of gambling: Money Management II, the envelope system

This doesn’t work for everyone, but it sure does for me. The basic envelope system works like this: before you leave home, allocate a portion of your bankroll for each day and place it in a sealed envelope labeled with the date it’s to be used. When you’re in Vegas, that’s the only money you have to gamble with that day, and when it’s gone, no gambling until the next day. If you have money left at the end of the day, it goes into a “bank” envelope that gets brought home. Never take money from the bank envelope.

I’ve modified this system a little bit. Depending on what I have planned for each day, an envelope will have varying amounts. Lots of meetups? Maybe a little less. Nothing planned? Maybe more. Arriving late that night? Maybe only a little bit. Also, money left at the end of the day doesn’t all go into the “bank” envelope – just half of it does. The other half gets placed in the next day’s envelope.  That way, if I have a big win, I can play a little more or a little bigger the next day while still banking a notable sum.

Others, more optimistic than I, have said they allocate $0 to the final day, but take half of each day’s leftovers and place it in the final day envelope. It seems to me that you’re risking having no funds for the final day, but it works for them, so that’s an option.

Obviously, self-control is needed for this system. But if you don’t have self-control, should you really be gambling in Vegas?

7: Comps

“Comps” are stuff the casino gives you in return for your gambling.  At my low-rolling levels, the only comps I ever see from Vegas casinos are a handful of points on my players card and discounted room offers (rarely, but sometimes at the low end joints, discounted to “free”).  A typical player’s card, the Caesars “Total Rewards” card, gives you one “reward credit” for every $5 you play on a slot machine. You can exchange 200 reward credits for $1. Thus, each reward credit is worth ½¢, so you’re getting 0.1% cash back.

Never play for comps. They’re a nice side benefit, and new players especially can get some nice “bounce back” offers the first few times, but playing a game with a -EV more than you normally would, just to get 0.1% of your bet back, is dumb.

At some places, playing a table game (blackjack, roulette, craps, but not poker) for a few hours might entitle you to a comped meal. Ask the pit boss. I’ve never played long enough in one place to ask. At the poker table, the best offer you’re going to find is $2 in food credit for every hour played.

8: Basics of gambling: Table games

It’s very, very rare to find a table game under $5. The most common table games are blackjack, roulette, craps, Ultimate Texas Hold ‘em, Three Card Poker, and Pai Gow Poker.

Cameras are everywhere in Vegas, and many of them are pointed at the table games. It’s where a lot of money changes hands, and where the opportunity for fraud is high. The casino is watching both you and the dealer. When you buy in to a table game, you can’t hand your money to the dealer. Leave it on the table instead. This prevents accusations of sleight-of-hand – passing something (like a chip or a high value bill) between the player and dealer out of view of the camera.           

Blackjack is everywhere in Las Vegas. Unfortunately, in the last decade, payoffs for a blackjack in most casinos have dropped from 3:2 ($15 on a $10 bet) to 6:5 ($12 on a $10 bet).  Basic strategy cards are available for free on the internet, and you’re allowed to print out and have a strategy card at the table with you.  Playing basic strategy keeps the house edge in blackjack well under 2%.

                [and that’s where I ended]

9: Etiquette: moseying, tipping, cameras, selfies,

10: Basics of gambling: Slot machines

11: Getting around

12: Basic of gambling: The long run

13: Shows

14: Basics of gambling: Superstition and betting systems

15: Nightclubs

16: Basics of gambling: Taxes

17: What to do besides gambling, eating, and shows

18: History