How gambling and Arby's
are historically related
14 May 1999
By Mark Pilarski
Dear Mark,
My friend and I are long-time day trippers to
Atlantic City. We have a couple of sandwiches
riding on the outcome of this wager. As you can
tell we're not big bettors. Our question is; who
was the first player to make a wager in Atlantic
City? I believe it was Frank Sinatra, whereas my
friend thinks it was another member of the Rat
Pack, Dean Martin. Who's right? Marvin K.
Neither of you wins the light repast. It was a
$10 pass line bet by Steve Lawrence that made
Atlantic City gambling history on Memorial Day,
1978.
Incidentally, did you know that the invention of
sandwich is directly related to gambling? No
kidding! The next time you're enjoying a double
cheddar, large fry and an Oreo cookie shake,
thank the Earl of Sandwich (1718-1792). He loved
to gamble so much he had his cortege bring him
meats, bread and cheese so he wouldn't have to
abandon the gambling parlors. Hence, the
sandwich.
Dear Mark,
Is blackjack still the number one game in Las
Vegas? It seems I'm seeing fewer and fewer 21
tables and more and more slots. Grant G.
If I could be "Gambling Czar" for just one day,
collecting casino profits on just one game, it
would not be the casino win at blackjack but of
the 25¢ slot machine. Yes, the quarter machine
takes in more in net profit for the casino ($2.6
billion in Nevada) than blackjack, baccarat,
craps, roulette, keno and the sports books
combined.
Yes, Grant, you are astute in you observations.
Vegas is becoming an adult pinball palace.
Dear Mark,
When you have a 16 in blackjack, would you
advise surrendering against a face card? Also
could you please explain the difference between
early and late surrender? Sara G.
Surrender is an option in which the casinos
allow players to "surrender" half their original
bet total after they have examined their first
two cards and have viewed the dealer up card.
If the casino's blackjack rules permit
surrender, jump on their offer. Let's face it,
Sara, a 16 is a garbage hand faced off against a
10. The best move when dealt dealer debris is to
relinquish half your bet. Never, Sara, think of
surrender as giving up half your wager, just
getting back half your probable loss.
Early surrender permits a player to relinquish
half her wager even if the dealer has a
blackjack. With late surrender, if the dealer
possesses a blackjack, the player loses her
complete bet.
Dear Mark,
With all the different types of video poker
machines to select from, how's a customer to
choose which machine to play? Gerry B.
There are more than a hundred different video
poker machines to choose from. Games like Joker
Poker, Louisiana Jacks, Gator Poker, etc., offer
you a supermarket selection, but all have
different paytables needing distinct playing
strategies.
I recommend learning and limiting your play to
two, like my favorites, Deuces Wild and
Jacks-or-Better.
Dear Mark,
What are your thoughts regarding those shuffling
machines found on blackjack games? Carrie C.
No aficionado of shuffling machines here, in
spite of these shuffle mechanisms finding wide
acceptance by casino operators and players
alike. With a Shufflemaster, a leading industry
shuffle machine, dealers do not have to waste
time manually shuffling cards. From the casino
perspective, time is money. The more hands per
hour the better. From a player's perspective
speed kills in a casino environment. The more
time you are exposed to the house advantage, the
more it will wreak havoc on your bankroll.
I recommend finding a table with the fewest
decks possible. This forces the dealer to
constantly shuffle and not expose you to any
casino edge while shuffling.
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