GamingTips

Slots-A-Fun is located on the far North end of the Las Vegas strip, in the parking lot of Circus Circus.  It is actually owned by MGM Mirage (Circus Circus’s parent company), and considered to be part of Circus Circus.  In fact, within the last year, they have stopped producing and using their own chips, and now use Circus Circus casino checks.

Slots-A-Fun is a taste of old Vegas on the strip.  They have 99 cent jumbo hot dogs, $3 blackjack, $3 craps, and $1 roulette.  These limits were raised about a year ago.  Slots-A-Fun is far from the cleanest, brightest, or newest casino on the strip.

Other than the lowest table limits on the strip and the foot long hot dogs for under a buck, Slots A Fun’s claim to fame is that it is home to the closest dice table to the Las Vegas strip.  The entire casino entrance is open to the strip, and the dice table is not more than 5 feet inside the door.  While playing craps, you can watch the action on the strip (albeit on the seedier North end of the strip).  Unfortunately, the table only allows double odds (although they do let you round up to the next $5 increment on the 6 and 8).

The low limits, and the proximity to the strip, make this a vulnerable place for your chips, so make sure you keep them guarded, although Circus Circus security has a heavy presence at this casino.

Overall, this is a great place to gamble on a budget, as well as get a taste of what Vegas was like before the glitz and glamor.

I’m going to start reviewing casinos I’ve been to on the blog.  These reviews will have some objective information and mostly subjective information.  They are intended to give visitors an idea of what each casino offers, and are not a complete picture.  If you are in the area and have time, you should, of course, check out all of the casinos!

O’Shea’s is a Harrahs property, located on the Las Vegas strip, right next to Harrahs.  It is a small, presumably Irish themed casino.  It features relatively low limits (for a strip casino) on table games.  It has $5 blackjack and craps, around the clock, which is always nice, however, beware of the blackjack tables.  All tables in this casino pay 6:5 on blackjack.  while the difference between paying 6:5 and 3:2 may not seem huge, it is the 3:2 payoff on blackjack which is largely responsible for the low house advantage in blackjack.  If blackjack is your game of choice, and you are serious about making money, you might be better off going to a different casino.

If, however, a fun, party atmosphere is what you are looking for, O’Shea’s is the place to be.  The entire casino is like the party pit at the major casinos.  Beer is $2 if you are not playing.  The back bar, just before the food court, has a large space set aside with beer pong tables, and the casino often has live entertainment.  They also have several low buy-in poker tournaments daily.  the music is always loud, and this place is always packed.

O’Shea’s is also fun in that almost all of their blackjack tables have some kind of bonus or side bet.  These games are sucker bets, but if you are out in Vegas for the weekend and looking for a new twist on blackjack, one of these bonus bets is sure to hit the spot.  O’Shea’s also has a full range of “carnival games,” such as Let it Ride and Three Card Poker.

This is my personal favorite place to pre-game on the strip, between the overall fun atmosphere and the beer pong.

The Fire Bet is an interesting proposition bet in craps.

The bet is that the shooter will make at least four individual points.   The key word is “individual.”  If a point is re marked, it does not count.  In general, this bet has limits of $1 to $5.  It pays either 25/250/1000 to 1 on four, five, or six individual points, or 10/200/2000.

Although hitting the fire bet even once can easily make a dice session, the bet is actually one of the worst on the table, with a house edge of 21-25%.

There are several reasons casinos like fast dealers.  Here are a few that have to do with customer satisfaction:

*Fast dealers portray confidence.

*Fast games are fun games.

*Many big players are superstitious.  They believe that the game, especially in dice, cools down if the game moves slowly.

A few more reasons are in the interests of the casinos:

*When players are confident and having fun,  they are more likely to stay.

*Moreover, they are less likely to see an opportunity to get up and leave the table

*Quick dealing pressures other players into quick play without pressuring them.

*When people play quickly, and games are dealt quickly, they have less opportunity to think.  This may make them make mistakes.  Even the best strategies require perfect adherence to minimize the house edge.  Thus, even small mistakes matter.

*Quick dealing on Blackjack tables deters card counting.  Quick dealing at all games also deters any actual forms of cheating, by allowing less time for players to tamper with cards or dice, and dealers less time to signal players.

*Finally, the law of averages. When played well, most table games have very small house edges.  And we’ve all seen that lucky winner break the house, or that hot dice roll.  The reality, however, is that the odds are always (except when players count cards) in the house’s favor.  In the end, the more hands are played, the better the house will do.

Good luck!

This is far from an exhaustive list.  In fact, with a few exceptions, I will not name or list specific casinos or their odds.  This is more of a general breakdown of minimum bets and odds allowed at various Vegas casinos.

In general, the minimum bet at any Las Vegas dice table will be $5.  Slots-a-Fun, in addition to having the closest craps table to the Las Vegas Strip, is the only exception I know of, with a $3 table.  On the other end of the spectrum, the higher end casinos will go up to a $10 minimum on Friday and Saturday nights.

In terms of odds, most strip casinos are now 2x.  A few strip casinos and most downtown and locals casinos offer 3x,4x,5x odds.  That means they allow 3x on 4 and 10, 4x on 5 and 9, and 5x on the 6 and 8.   The two most notable exceptions that I know of are the Canneries, at 100x, and Main Street Station, at 20x.  If you are serious about dice, and have the bank and the nerve to do so, I highly recommend playing these tables.

A question that a lot of people have about online poker is if it is legal or not.  Well, that largely depends on what state you are in.  Most gambling activities are covered by state, and not Federal, laws.

There was, however, a federal law passed specifically related to online gambling. This law affects the websites, though, and not the consumer.  In short, the federal laws make it illegal for a business to accept funds for a gambling activity which is illegal under state or federal law.  This explains the brief pause at many poker sites on accepting funds from U.S. customers.  From a consumer standpoint, however, the law did not make online poker any more or less legal.

According to this article, Pennsylvania may soon have full-on casinos.  This bill will allow poker and table games, as well as the already-permitted slots, into the state’s casinos.  Welcome to the good life, Pennsylvania!

Gambling winnings are a form of income, and as such are taxable.  So does the average gambler need to be concerned?

Not necessarily.

Casinos, sports books, gaming bars, and tracks are required to provide and receive the appropriate paperwork on taxable wins and losses before paying out large jackpots.  This form is called a W2-G, and is required on lotto and race betting (horse or dog) where the win is at least $600, and at least 300 times the original wager.  The w2-G is also required for payouts of at least $1200 on bingo and slots, and at least $1500 on table games.

Are these the only taxable forms of gambling income?  No.  According to tax law, all gambling income is taxable.  However, casinos do not have to get W2-Gs on other forms or amounts of gaming payouts.

Once you have been taxed on gaming income, however, all wins and losses are taxable or deductible.  Winnings include all winnings (including comps), regardless of if they required a W2.  Losses can only be deducted up to the amount of the winnings, excluding comps, and cannot be carried forward or backward.

In the case of an audit, gamblers must have documentation, including a log of all wins and losses; receipts and bet tickets; and documentation of any ATM/bank/credit card transactions related to their wins and losses.

Anyone filing as a “professional gambler” will report as self employed.

Additionally, casinos are required to report any cash transactions over $10,000 to the IRS, and may report any transaction over $2,000 if they believe it is suspicious.  This applies not only to gaming areas, but also to hotel, retail and food and beverage outlets within gaming-licensed establishments.

In short, if you win a jackpot, start tracking all of your gambling for the year.  Once you fill out a W2-G, the easiest way to offset the tax hit will be to deduct your losses.  And the easiest way to get audited will be to deduct all losses, and only those wins for which a W2-G is required.  Also, remember that technically, all gaming wins are taxable.  So even if you only play poker or table games (and thus will not receive a W2-G even on large wins), or if you never hit the jackpot, you should consider reporting your gaming income, especially if it is positive over the course of the year.

One easy way to track gambling income/loss for tax purposes is to sign up for players clubs.  Most slot clubs can pull your win and loss data from their database and provide an annual statement for you.

Just as a final disclaimer, this is intended as a brief overview of tax laws as they relate to gambling.  This is not tax advice, and I am neither a CPA or a tax attorney.  In fact, if you have questions about your particular situation with taxes, you should consult a tax professional.

The Even Bettor Coverall is  a bonus game played at some bingo halls.  In particular, Coast and Boyd Gaming casinos play this as their 8th game.  Also, the multi-property Jumbo Bingo which is Game 1 at Station properties is an Even Bettor Coverall game.

In this game, players begin with all odd numbers marked on their cards.  Only even numbers are called by the callers.  This is a countdown coverall, where covering all numbers within a certain number of balls pays a progressive jackpot.  It is important to note, however, that the game starts with 37 numbers already “called,” so the first ball out is actually the 38th number.

The super coverall, or countdown, is a popular bonus game.  This game is usually purchased in a 3-on strip.  It is in play at the same time as the card for the coverall.

The main attraction with this bonus game is that it has a count down featuring one or more bonuses (often $10,000), if the coverall is hit within a certain number of balls.

The other benefit, often overlooked, is that the bonus strip gives the player three extra cards for not only the coverall, but also any other games played on this card.  This usually includes single and double hardway bingo, plus the coverall.  The strip pays as a blue card (other than the jackpots).  While three blue cards may not be much, it really is quite a steal at just $1.