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Goodbye Amarillo Slim Preston! You will be greatly missed by the poker community.

Amarillo Slim, World famous gambler, 83, died overnight in hospice care in Amarillo. He leaves a legend bigger than Texas when it comes to tall tales and tall mountians of chips he won in poker games, ping pong matches, pool halls and dance halls. The man never met a bet he didn't want to find a way to win. He bet on everything and anything, as told in his memoir, Amarillo Slim In a World of Fat People.

A long-time pool hustler and poker player (who partnered with Sailor Roberts and Doyle Brunson in the 1950's), Slim was well known in the poker world when he won the WSOP Championship in 1972. He wasn't known much beyond the Texas circuit of poker games and Las Vegas, however. But after the championship win, the never-at-a-loss-for-words Preston became a favorite on TV shows after stories of his championship ran in Parade magazine, which was inserted in millions of Sunday newspapers across the country.

Afterwards, Preston was a regular on The Tonight Show and was seen on 60 Minutes, Good Morning America, To Tell The Truth and even What's My Line. He was colorful, brash, funny, and a perfect ambassador for the poker world. He will be missed.

This year's WSOP starts on Sunday May 27, 2012 with the $500 entry Casino Employee, No-Limit Hold'em tournament. It's a great kick-off for the summer.

Besides the WSOP, I'll be heading to Lake Tahoe for a few weeks of R&R, and maybe back east for the Atlantic City Food and Wine Festival. If you haven't been to Caesars Entertainment's properties during the last week of July to drink down your share of the wine and feast on dozens and dozens of food station goodies, you just don't know what you are missing.

The festival starts July 26.............don't miss out!

Goodbye Amarillo Slim! originally appeared on About.com Casino Gambling on Sunday, April 29th, 2012 at 17:49:45.

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If you love playing Pai Gow, things may be looking up for you as more properties add linked jackpots to their game mix. I've enjoyed playing Pai Gow since Washington State legalized mini-casinos (15 table games max) about a dozen years ago. Each little casino around Seattle had $5 games and seats available during the two years I lived there, ruining my life by becoming a Mariner's baseball fan, but that's just another bad-beat story.

As for Pai Gow, many casinos now offer the game with a $1 bonus bet on a progressive jackpot, and I always get interested in those when the numbers get over $200,000. I figure that's just high enough for me to really scream about my tax bill ( a few years back, a player at Northern California's Thunder Valley Casino hit a 7-card straight flush for over $500,000). Recently the Gila River casinos in Arizona linked their Pai Gow tables (Vee Quiva, Lone Butte, and Wild Horse Pass) and now their jackpot is $252,000. That's worth a shot!

In Las Vegas, Cannery Casino Resort Properties (CCR), including The Rampart Casino, Eastside Cannery Casino & Cannery Casino, has also linked their tables. Last month they had a $262,000 winner! In addition, the CCR (No, not Creedence Clearwater Revival) group offers a new Pai Gow version called EZ Pai Gow .

EZ Pai Gow is a game with no commission. Instead of taking the extra time to collect commission, EZ Pai Gow uses another revenue source to get the same edge in the game. Each time the dealer makes a queen-high Pai Gow, all bets are a push! It's a great idea, and you'll get more hands per hour. It's win-win as far as I'm concerned.

Got a high progressive jackpot at a casino near you? Drop me a line. Pai Gow players have to stick together!

Pregressive Pai Gow Jackpots Grow originally appeared on About.com Casino Gambling on Saturday, May 12th, 2012 at 16:55:27.

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A hapless bandit lost his wig, sunglasses and $115,000 worth of casino chips when security wrestled him to the floor during a botched weekend heist at a posh Vegas Strip resort, authorities said Monday.

Ever go to a bad movie? When I don't like a movie I walk out. Same with the "vibe" in a bad casino - out I go. When I find a place I'm comfortable gambling I'm ready to play plenty of hours. In fact, once during a points/hours poker tournament I played 38 hours straight. Of course by the end of the tournament the dealer had to wake me up between hands.

Now I love playing table games, but I still have one favorite place at every casino: the Casino Cashier. If you haven't gotten friendly with the cage, you simply aren't cashing out often enough. That's a problem. I even heard a floor person answer the question, "Where'e the cage?" with the response, "I'm sorry sir, I don't know. Nobody has ever won here before." Whoops.

Personally, I tend to take trips to the cage in-between sessions. Sure, I color-up my chips to higher denominations, but when I stop playing a video poker game and have a ticket or extra chips in my hand I like to get cash. That allows me to head out the door at any time, but it does something else. It forces me to keep track of where I am for the day with my gambling.

I don't write every play down on paper like I used to (cough - what a geek - cough), but I do make a mental note of how I'm doing. That helps me budget my gambling bankroll and also forces me to slow down and be smart with future decisions. Occasionally I'll find that I've reached a pre-set goal and then I'll go to movie or have a meal. There's nothing more satisfying than finding my wife and saying, "Lets take a break and go to a nice restaurant."

During that timel I'm on an emotional and bankroll high, and even if I take a beating later, that meal or movie is always very nice. You should try it, even if you don't stop at the cashiers cage first! A night at the casino should include more than gambling. Enjoy.

My Favorite Place at the Casino originally appeared on About.com Casino Gambling on Saturday, April 28th, 2012 at 15:05:00.

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I spent some time today with Bill Zender, gaming consultant and previous co-owner of the Aladdin casino in Las Vegas. After several decades working in the casino industry and writing books, Bill spends most of his time doing private consulting and seminars for gaming managers. His firm, Bill Zender and Associates and Last Resort Consulting have developed a strong reputation as more than a last resort; they teach all types of gaming protection, but specialize in the finer points of card counting and advantage play. That's something he knows very well after working as a dealer, learning to count cards, and spending hundreds of hours practicing and playing.

Bill learned early how much you can make counting cards, and realized that for his bankroll size there was more money on the casino side of the table teaching casino owners how to protect their most precious assets, their bankrolls. I was surprised when he said he felt there are less than 100 truely professional card counters who spend all of their time playing blackjack now in the US.

He bases this on several issues, but I have to agree with him that many card counters moved over to the poker rooms when the boom started in about 2003. For ex-counters there is something quite refreshing and relaxing about playing in a game where you don't have to worry about being thrown out for exhibiting skill.

Zender also feels that most of the remaining counters have moved on to forms of advantage play (to earn even more money than they ever could following the count) such as ace tracking, a system of following clumps of cards that include one or more aces and taking advantage of poor shuffling techniques by sloppy dealers. This type of advantage play may be overlooked by casino floor supervisors because the trackers' large bets often take place on the first hand of a deck or shoe. Otherwise, the large bets may involve spreading to two hands in what appears to be a random fashion in the middle of a shoe. Clearly not moves made by a card counter.

Of course if you can manage to play as a competent card counter at the same time you are tracking aces and playing perfect basic strategy, well, that's the old triple threat. You'll have to master each phase of your blackjack play individually, but if you learn any part of it you'll likely retain it your whole life and will only need a few minutes retraining before you hit the tables in the future. It can certainly be rewarding, if you have the desire, drive, and the ability!

As a Last Resort - Hire An Expert originally appeared on About.com Casino Gambling on Wednesday, April 25th, 2012 at 22:53:11.

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"Nick the Greek" said, "the only thing better than betting and winning, is betting and losing." Well, I hate to lose, so I say the only thing better than betting and winning, is getting a bunch of freebies. If you haven't joined a player's club or slot club, you won't be able to take advantage of all the deals out there right now, so join the fun!

I spend more time in Nevada than in casinos on the east coast, so I'm used to getting all my drinks for free. Sometimes I even get a bottle of apple or orange juice for later. And since the drinks are free, I don't mind tipping the cocktail servers because they deal with crazy gamblers all night. That can't be easy.

Drinking alcohol and gambling is like those rear view mirrors with the sticker that says "objects in mirror may appear larger than actual size," your bankroll may appear larger than it is if you drink, so be careful with those free cocktails. Beyond the drinks though, it's always nice to grab some freebies. Look for clubs that offer double points or even 5x points on certain days. The South Point Casino in Vegas has a 5x slots points and 2x video poker points day on the 28th of May. They also have $49 room rates and $59 2-night packages. You can probably pay for that with your points if you put in the hours! At the South Point, 1000 points are worth $3 and every $1 in action gets 1 point.

At Station Casinos like Fiesta and Boulder, 1000 points are worth $1, but you get 3 points for every $1 in action. Several of the Station casinos have room rates as low as $39 a night, and points can be used for cash back, food, movies, bowling, etc.

At Coast Casinos like the Orleans and Gold Coast have room rates right now from $26 per night. With the Coast's B Connected club, earn 25,000 points and then you get 2x points all the time!

The Aquarius offers loyal players double points and energetic players can increase their points to 3x and even 4x.

The Riverside offers Bonus Points for cash. Every $5 coin-in earns you 1 point. Every 1000 points receives $10 cash, and room deals (often free) are offered to all club members.

The Colorado Belle and Edgewater offer $5 in slot play to new club members and an incentive of up to $250 for 48 hours. Earn 1000 points and receive $25.

The Avi casino has 2x points every Thursday.

The Tropicana and River Palms have 5x points on video poker and 15x points on slots for new members.

The Pioneer offers 5x points for new members and 3x points on special days.

At Harrah's, you can see Sheryl Crow in concert for $179 with a 2-night stay package for two guests.

Don't settle for just a free drink. Go out and get some real freebies!

Where's My Free Drink? originally appeared on About.com Casino Gambling on Saturday, May 19th, 2012 at 18:58:24.

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