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Collecting Casino Memorabilia

Photo Courtesy (Nevada Casino History)

Collecting Casino Memorabilia - What's Inside:

Collecting Casino Items

Casino Gambling Spotlight10

If I Ran My Checkbooks Like Some Casinos...

Monday July 4, 2011
null Highlight of Tonopah

Tonopah used to be the most prosperous town in Nevada. Now with the mines played out and the gambling mostly gone it's just a stop on the road between Vegas and Reno. The statue outside the Tonopah Station (the casino still has a few slot machines and a bar, restaurant and hotel) was the town's highlight for my daughters.

Las Vegas and Reno aren't in any danger of becoming ghost towns, but the gaming industry isn't out of the deep water yet. And, it's mostly their own fault. The properties that expanded slowly while keeping most of their debt in check and building with revenue are doing well. Others, well, they are in trouble still.

Moody's Investor Service paints a bleak picture of Nevada's minor recovery in gaming revenues this past quarter. Not so much about the uptick, but about the fact that just a minor hiccup with our equally weak national economy could causing major financial problems for many Las Vegas casino companies. Sure, the Fed's Open Market Committee report of June 22 cited high unemployment and the housing recession as continuing problems, but hey, that's old news. And, the fact that Nevada's gaming industry has gone through bankruptcy filings and billions in debt restructuring plus the inherent job losses doesn't help.

On a larger scale, the two largest gaming corporations in the world have plenty of work to do as MGM's $12 billion debt and Caesars $18.5 billion debt translate to more than a boat-load of cash. In fact, that's a whole flotilla-load of cash. Moody's noted that the current ecconomic problems could prompt ratings downgrades for casino companies, which would in turn hamper their ability to borrow money. If only I could look at a low balance in my checkbook and just keep writing checks. Hmmmm.

When I was younger, I would write a check at my local Gemco store for cash on Friday afternoon, knowing it wouldn't hit the bank until Monday or Tuesday. I would play poker all weekend and get the cash to the bank on Monday. And, you all know how well that worked. Eventually I took a bad hit over a lost weekend and couldn't cover the float. My boat-load was small. I made it up the next week and stopped the borrowing cycle. Big businesses can't necessarily do that, but it is sad to see a company like Caesars riding out the storm.

On the other hand, don't feel bad if you happen to win big at your local Caesars or MGM property this week. They'll probably be fine.

124 Degrees is Too Hot - Leaving Scottsdale

Friday July 1, 2011
null Beat the Heat - Laughlin, Nevada

Yes, you read that right. 124 Degrees a few days ago. Now I know the poker games are great and the casinos are nice in Scottsdale, AZ - but come on. Yes, it was 124 degrees as I rode from one casino to the next. I'm surprised my tires didn't dissolve. Laughlin, NV wasn't much better. It was 110 degrees and no, I wasn't surprised that the poker games were bleak. The rooms are free to about $29.95 a night right now, but the poker rooms are nearly empty. Trying to find a $1-2 NL game at Harrah's and the Riverside was a no-go.

Blackjack is available for $5 at most of the clubs and they have gone away from the terrible 6 to 5 payout for blackjack that threatened to take over the industry here in Southern Nevada.Smaller clubs started offering single deck $5 games with the lousy blackjack payoff, but many have gone back to simply offering the regular 7.5 to 5 or only having $10 games. The lower payoff is a killer for blackjack players and I'm happy to see fewer properties using that gimmick. There are plenty of decent games to beat in the south right now. So many I can't even list them all. Just make sure you are getting good deck penetration. I had to move from one game to another quite often because many dealers have been instructed to just deal two rounds and shuffle. With six players I can manage, but with three or four players this is fine for basic strategy players, but if you are counting, forget it.

With the WSOP going there are good games all over Vegas. Sure, the side games at the Rio in the convention area with the WSOP tables nearby are great, but there are a lot of good players. I'll be back next week to hit 'em again and photos will be available. I need the cool calm weather right now. Lake Tahoe got snow yesterday. That's very wierd for June, but I'm still heading there.

Thank You

Thank you to the Highway Patrol for passing me and giving me the "thumbs down" signal to slow down as I passed at 85 mph, instead of a ticket that would have wiped out my meager Thursday win. The simple warning worked and I drove just five miles over the limit after that, all the way to Reno. I'm so proud of myself, especially since that is a really long and boring 450 miles from Vegas to Reno.

In Reno, the Peppermill just got awarded the AAA Four Diamond award. I called to check on the no-limit games tonight but no answer in the poker room. Back to the operator, back to the poker room...........no answer. Oh well. Nice room, usually a couple good $1-2NL games and maybe a $2/3 NL. Not for me tonight. Headed instead to Harrah's. Smaller room, less tables going. Two decent $1/2 NL games. Money to be made.

Las Vegas Plaza Hiring Week

Monday June 27, 2011

The Plaza casino at the end of Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas has been undergoing what Play LV Gaming Operations, LLC is calling a "recent property reinvention." The company also operates the Las Vegas Club and the Western Hotel and Casino.

The original Plaza was built in 1971 and most recently needed some work. I'm happy to hear the 1,000+ room hotel casino is being jazzed up!

A soft opening is planned for Aug. 24 for the Plaza's annual $150,000 Super Bingo event. The remainder of the casino and hotel will open on September 1.

Casino jobs are tough to come by right now and the good news is that the Plaza is holding a job fair to fill 800 positions, right now. The event runs today through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. across Main Street from the Plaza at the Las Vegas Club Hotel and Casino, 18 East Fremont, in the banquet rooms on the third floor of the North Tower.

Jobs available are entry level to management positions in hotel, food and beverage and gaming. Applications are available on site and also at the Plaza web site. Good Luck.

Disappearing Comp Points

Friday June 24, 2011

My mailbox always heats up (literally) during the summer. Clubs in Laughlin, Nevada send more liberal deals to me because the sun is set to London Broil down there right now (yeah, 117 degrees is all right since it's a dry heat, right?). The average temp in July is 110.

It's only 107 degrees in Vegas, guess that's why I only got a few notices from there; and Reno clubs only hit me with two specials, probably because it's a comfortable 88 degrees this whole week.

So much for my casino gambling deals. E-Trade sent me a nice note that said, "For your convenience, your account has been closed."

I don't know how that was convenient for me, but I guess they couldn't collect my quarterly fee since my account had only worthless securities in it. Yup! I've picked some great stocks.

E-Trade isn't the only gambling (I'm sorry, investing) group that might vacate your account. You should know that many casino player's clubs delete your points and comp earnings each year if you don't use them.

Player's Club Points Expire!

Always read your club news and the terms for your earned points. Because casinos (and the tax man) consider your points to be a liability (once issued, they owe you something in return for them), most clubs have them expire so they can drop them from the year's ledger.

Some clubs do this every year. Most let them expire if you don't use your card or accumulate any points for a six or 12 month period. Check with your casino!

I know that I was surprised when I stayed and gambled at Caesar's Palace several times over a two-year period and then didn't hit a Caesar's Entertainment property for 13 months and my points were gone. My mistake, but I would have loved to have been comped to a few meals "on the house."

Read the rules - stay informed, use your points!

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