Buffets are a Nevada State treasure
Dear Mark,
I enjoy going to Las Vegas not only to gamble but to feast on all the different buffets. Why do you think they don't offer buffets with the same fanfare in the Midwest casinos as they do in Las Vegas? Chuck M.
On those days, Chuck, when you have to try as hard as you can to keep up with the losers, your only salvation is to get up from a losing table and enjoy the comfort cuisine of a rich bounty buffet.
Casinos here have long realized that the formula for success
in a casino is to attract as many people as possible, with
the least amount of marketing costs, and keep them in their
facility for as long as they have money in their pocket. A
buffet is one of the best ways of doing that. The Rio Hotel
and Casino in Las Vegas is a perfect example of a casino whose
tremendous success is rooted in its Carnival World Buffet.
Why the chow-line dining experience hasn't caught on at all
the heartland casinos, where eating quantity over quality
has always prevailed, is beyond my grasp.
Dear Mark,
When making a bet on the "bank hand" in baccarat,
why do they charge a 5% commission? Wouldn't this make it
an inferior wager compared to a "player hand" bet?
Bradley G.
Based on the mathematics of baccarat, the player hand should
win 44.6% of the time, the bank hand 45.8% and the tie 9.6%.
If we discount ties, the player hand statistically will win
49.3% of the time and the bank hand 50.7%.
Because the bank hand wins more than 50% of the time, the
casino neutralizes this edge you would have over the house
by charging a 5% commission every time you win a bank hand
bet. By charging this hidden tax, the casino's advantage is
now 1.17% for bank hand and 1.36% for the player hand. But
even with the commission added, you can see that the bank
hand is still a slightly better bet than the player wager.
By the way, Bradley, the above wagers are some of the best
bets you can make in a casino, but the tie bet should always
be avoided: house edge, 14.1%.
Dear Mark,
I understand most of the logic behind basic strategy, but
one play always makes me nervous and that is doubling down
on a 10 against a dealer's 10. If I assume the dealer has
a total of 20, then only a ten card or ace will allow me to
win. Am I right to assume that there are more chances I'll
draw a 2-9 card than a 10 or ace? If so, why double my bet
in such a risky situation? Allen H.
Blackjack is a game in which the proper hit, stand, splitting
and doubling decisions are necessary to cut the house edge
down to a minimum. These proper decisions are called basic
strategy and have been arrived at by computer simulations
of millions of hands.
Your case in point, doubling down on a 10 against a dealer
10 is NOT one of those times. Basic strategy dictates you
hit your hand, not double down. This stratagem is the same
for both single and multiple deck games.
Dear Mark,
You have mentioned in previous columns both your favorite
books and movies on gambling. Do you have any favorite songs
on gambling? Stathis Z.
Hmmm. A beloved song on gambling. Yes I do. Two actually.
There's A Place in the World for A Gambler by pop singer Dan
Fogelberg and Luck be a Lady by Frank Sinatra.
There's a place in the world for a gambler
There's a burden that only he can bare
There's a place in the world for a gambler
And he sees
Oh yes he sees.
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