Internet Casinos

Pai Gow Poker is an American card-playing derivative of the centuries-old game of Chinese Dominoes. In the early nineteenth century, Chinese laborers introduced the game while working in California.

The game’s popularity with Chinese gamblers eventually attracted the attention of entrepreneurial gamers who substituted the traditional tiles with cards and modeled the game into a new form of poker. Introduced into the poker rooms of California in 1986, the game’s immediate acceptance and popularity with Asian poker players drew the attention of Nevada’s casino operators who quickly absorbed the game into their own poker rooms. The popularity of the game has continued into the 21st century.

Pai Gow tables accommodate up to six players and a dealer. Differentiating from traditional poker, all players play against the dealer and not against each other.

In a counterclockwise rotation, each player is dealt seven face down cards by the dealer. Forty-nine cards are dealt, including the dealer’s seven cards.

Each player and the dealer must form two poker hands: a high hand of five cards and a low hand of two cards. The hands are based on traditional poker rankings and as such, a two card hand of two aces would be the highest possible hand of two cards. A five aces hand would be the highest five card hand. How do you get five aces in a standard fifty-two card deck? You are actually playing with a fifty-three card deck since one joker is allowed into the game. The joker is considered a wild card and can be used as another ace or to complete a straight or flush.

The highest two hands win each game and only a single player having the two highest hands simultaneously can win.

A dice throw from a cup containing three dice determines who will be dealt the first hand. After the hands are dealt, players must form the two poker hands, keeping in mind that the five-card hand must always rank higher than the two-card hand.

When all players have set their hands, the dealer will make comparisons with his or her hand rank for payouts. If a player has one hand higher in rank than the dealer’s but a lower second hand, this is considered a tie.

If the dealer beats both hands, the player loses. In the case of both player’s hands and both dealer’s hands being identical, the dealer wins. In casino play, ofttimes allowances are made for a player to become the dealer. In this case, the player must have the funds for any payoffs due winning players. Of course, the player acting as dealer can corner some large pots if he can beat most of the players.

Some casinos rule that players cannot deal or bank two consecutive hands, and some poker rooms will offer to co-bank 50/50 with any player that elects to take the bank. In all cases, the dealer will ask players in turn if they wish to be the banker.

In Pai Gow Poker, you are dealt “static” cards which means you have no opportunity to change cards to possibly improve your hand. However, as in traditional five-card draw, there are strategies to make the best of what you have been dealt. An example is keeping the flushes or straights in the five-card hand and the two cards remaining as the second high hand.

If you are lucky enough to draw four aces and a joker, you can keep three aces in the five-card hand and strengthen your two-card hand with the other ace and joker. Two pair? Keep the higher pair in the five-card hand and the other two matching cards will make up the second hand.

It’s no fun rooting for Goliath.

I mean, yeah, sure, it’s always fun if you win. But especially when you’re betting college football, there’s a guilt associated with sitting down in front of your television, flicking on the remote, and hoping that one set of 20-year-olds, who have been privileged and praised as the best athletes in the world their entire lives, will pound the living hell out of another set of 20-year-olds, who’ve shown pluck and determination just to get where they are today.

Think about it. Do you really want to be that guy? The sycophantic little weasel in high school who trailed after the ever-popular, ultra-advantaged jock? The stiff who does the jock’s homework, who polishes the jock’s car, who hopes the jock will discard one of the B-list coeds in time for you to pick up some sloppy seconds? I mean, when you think about it, rooting for college football studs is like rooting for Microsoft to devour another mom-and-pop software company. It’s like rooting for the Yankees.

But sometimes, we’ve got no choice.

Ohio State is big, brawny, powerful and on a collision course with Michigan in three weeks. There’s little chance either team will lose between now and then, at which point it will likely be #1 against #2 in the Horseshoe in Columbus, the Game of the Year, between two sets of spoiled kids you wouldn’t want anywhere near your daughter. The only question now is whether these titans of the Big 10 will cover what will be no-doubt-immense point spreads over the next few games. For instance, this week the Buckeyes host the 3-5 Minnesota Golden Gophers, a team that hasn’t won a Big Ten game (they’re 0-4), and who last week struggled to beat I-AA North Dakota State at home, 10-9 (and had to block a 42-yard field-goal attempt at the gun to do so). These are not the Gophers of Marion Barber and Laurence Maroney; those backs’ early departures left the extremely cool-named Amir Pinnix as the primary guy, and he’s having a fine season (93.4 yards per game, 5.2 yards per carry, six TDs). But he’s not Barber, and he’s definitely not Maroney. Note that many of Minnesota’s team and individual stats were padded by 44-0 and 62-0 wins against Kent State and Temple, respectively; this is a team that got torched by California, 42-17, and lost at Wisconsin last week, 48-12.

Into the breach step the Buckeyes, with a national-best 15-game winning streak, an obvious Heisman frontrunner in QB Troy Smith, and a home-field advantage like almost none other. Ohio State is very good on offense; they score nearly 35 points a game, rack up more than 410 yards a game, and can rush or pass, whichever you please. Defense (and particularly linebacking) was where the Buckeyes were supposed to struggle, because of the departures of A.J. Hawk and Bobby Carpenter, but Ohio State is a top-20 defensive team nationally stopping the run, and they’re top-40 stopping the pass. They allowed only seven points to then-#2 Texas in Austin, and haven’t given up more than 17 points to anyone. Skill guys like WRs Ted Ginn Jr. and Anthony Gonzalez make headlines, but LBs James Laurinaitis and Marcus Freeman and CB Malcolm Jenkins are as responsible for this Ohio State run as anyone.

Most problematic in this trip to Columbus for the Gophers is their defense. They’re giving up 167 yards per game on the ground, and 4.3 yards per carry, which is sweet music to OSU RB Antonio Pittman’s ears. Frankly, Minnesota hasn’t been that much better against the pass, allowing a whopping 223 yards per game via the air. That’s a lot of yards. Let’s see: OSU averages 410 yards per game on offense, Minnesota allows 390 yards per game on defense. Yeah, that doesn’t sound so good for David against Goliath.

Are 27 points a lot to give? You betcha. But Ohio State has made mincemeat of Big 10 opponents over the past couple seasons: they’re 15-2 against the spread in their last 17 conference games. They’re 21-5 ATS overall. They’re 13-3 ATS at home. They’re 8-1 ATS in games as a double-digit favorite. Minnesota is 1-4-1 ATS in their last six overall, 1-4 ATS on the road, 0-5-1 ATS as an underdog, and 0-5 ATS as a double-digit underdog. Minnesota coach Glen Mason is an OSU alum, and he loves getting his troops motivated for this game; as recently as 2000, the Gophers went into Columbus and shocked the Buckeyes, 29-17. (That was the year that got John Cooper fired.) Still, the last time Minnesota came to the Horseshoe, they lost 34-3. That sounds about right this time, too; the Gophers simply don’t have enough on defense. I’m taking Ohio State (-27) against Minnesota, and I’ll grit my teeth rooting for Goliath.

Last Week: It was close, but Texas A&M went into Stillwater and did what we needed them to do. Down seven with 3:24 left, the Aggies drove the length of the field and scored on a two-yard pass with three seconds left in regulation to tie the game, scored in overtime, then blocked an Oklahoma State extra point to win by one. A&M was a 3.5-point underdog, so that couldn’t have worked out much better. That last-minute drive in regulation and brilliant special-teams maneuver created a precarious cover that puts us at 5-3 against the spread so far this season.

Ever wondered what happened to Frank Solich?

You remember that guy: he was the coach at the University of Nebraska for six seasons. He was the loyal lieutenant who took over the Cornhuskers from Tom Osborne, proof positive that it’s never a good thing to be the guy who takes over from The Guy. After compiling a 64-19 record as Nebraska’s head man, Solich was callously and controversially fired in favor of Beau Bridges. (Okay, no, it wasn’t Beau Bridges; it was Bridges-look-alike Bill Callahan.)

Solich took a year off, then in 2005 took over the moribund football program at Ohio University (which is, if you’ll allow the digression, quite a long way in prestige, if not geography, from THE Ohio State University). Jim Grobe turned Ohio into a good-not-great MAC team after taking over an 0-11 program in 1995, but Grobe jumped to Wake Forest after the 2000 season (and let’s face it, he didn’t exactly have the greatest record at Ohio: 33-33-1). Between Grobe and Solich came four years of Brian Knorr, who undid just about everything Grobe did, to the tune of 11-35. Solich took over last year, and went 4-7.

Things have gone better in 2006. Ohio is 6-3 overall and 4-1 in the always-exciting MAC, currently tied with Kent St. in the MAC East (and they own the tiebreaker, having upended the Golden Flashes on the road last week). It’s not a great team by MAC standards, but it’s won a conference-high four straight, including an upset win at the University of Illinois just three weeks ago. What’s gone best for the Bobcats has been their defense: they’re currently 15th in the nation in terms of passing yards allowed per game, and have picked off seven passes compared to allowing eight TDs. Ohio has traveled to Rutgers, Missouri and Illinois (as well as a silly game against I-AA Tennessee-Martin); if you just count the team’s five conference games, they’ve allowed just over 15 points and 278 total yards per game. In the typically-high-flying MAC, that’s pretty darn good. The Bobcats have eight returning starters on offense, and seem to be gelling there as well, especially on the ground: during this four-game win streak, Ohio is averaging 26.5 points scored and 210 yards rushing per game. At the same time, they’ve got the 108th-best passing offense in Division 1 football; this truly is a mini-Nebraska circa Three Yards And A Cloud Of Dust.

On the road against Eastern Michigan this week, I think that’ll work. The Eagles are 106th nationally in rushing yards allowed per game (a whopping 181), and also give up 4.9 yards per carry. As far as I’m concerned, that’s a blinking red light. Eastern Michigan allowed 178 rushing yards to Western Michigan last weekend, 175 to Toledo before that, 159 to Bowling Green before that, 179 to Louisiana-Lafayette before that, 176 to Central Michigan…oh, heck, you get the point. This huge rush-defense number is no outlier: the Eagles are challenged on the defensive side of the ball. Plus, on offense, Jeff Genyk’s team has scored a MAC-worst 16 points per conference game. Three different quarterbacks have started for Genyk — Andy Schmitt, Tyler Jones and Dontayo Gage — but the team’s sacks and interceptions outweigh their touchdown passes. Overall, Eastern Michigan is 1-7, and 1-4 in MAC games.

Ohio has probably been better at home than on the road, though their only conference loss did come in Athens. Eastern Michigan has only hosted two games so far this year, and will play three of their next four in Ypsilanti. This line opened at Ohio by 4.5, but zoomed quickly to 6.5. But the trends look good for the Bobcats, too. They’re 4-0 against the spread during this modest winning streak, and 4-1 ATS in their conference games this year. Eastern Michigan, for their part, is 1-4 ATS versus winning teams, and 2-5 ATS as a home underdog. Most of all, I like the Solich running game, paced by Kalvin McRae and his 11 touchdowns, to dominate the clock and the scoreboard against the rush-defense-challenged Eastern Michigan. The march to the MAC title game continues this weekend, and I’ll take Ohio (-6.5) at Eastern Michigan.

Last Week: Ohio State didn’t even bother making it interesting against Minnesota, shutting out the hapless Gophers, 44-0. Taking the Buckeyes and giving the 27 points was the right thing to do, and thus I’m exceedingly glad I recommended that you do it. That cover puts us at 6-3 against the spread so far this year.

What’s the first thing that enters your mind when you think of MIT, the world-renowned Massachusetts Institute of Technology: engineering genius, mathematical wizard, visionary, geek, hacker? If you chose any one of those, you would be correct. Mix them all together, add some smoke and mirrors, big-time anonymous investors, a dash of anarchy for good measure, and you get one of the best scams of all times—the MIT Blackjack Team—the ultimate in high stakes, genius-backed hacking! Infamy is nothing new to MIT. Some of the world’s wiliest hackers hailed from the hallowed halls of MIT; but when one gifted math professor and six gifted students banded together, they propelled organized hacking to dizzying heights and snookered organized gambling to the tune of millions! That was sweet music to the ears of millions who have left behind small fortunes in their quest to beat the casinos.

After school club

The MIT Blackjack team began as an after-school club held in campus classrooms where students assembled to apply their genius to card games, unwind (at least, by MIT standards), and have fun. The club eventually evolved into serious business. The team set up a complete underground system of casino mock-ups spanning apartments, warehouses, and classrooms scattered across Boston where they worked diligently to perfect their scheme. Before advancing to live play in the casino, each player had to pass a rigorous battery of tests encompassing all of the roles under simulated casino conditions, including distraction and harassment. Still, they were not ready for the big league until further honing their skills in Boston’s Chinatown before heading to Las Vegas.

Card Counting

Card counting, the heart of their system, is a proven winning technique. Blackjack odds offer the one opportunity for those with skill, dogged determination, and discipline to consistently beat the house. The casinos know that Blackjack is vulnerable (that smart, disciplined players actually have a fighting chance of winning), and that is why they ban the big winners and harass and threaten potential big winners.

Casino management further understands that it takes only one or two mistakes to turn a player’s winning system into a house win, and that is the only reason that they tolerate card counting—until it turns against them. They rely on human frailties, such as lack of discipline and distraction, to return the advantage to the house.

The MIT team used card counting as the foundation of their system; it was only one among a number of tools in their magical tool box, and even then, it wasn’t traditional card counting. It added a high-low system, based on the statistical probability of receiving high or low cards, and they added an additional technique for cutting the cards that further skewed the odds in their favor.

Team members traveled together, seemingly as total strangers. Each assumed one of a number of well-crafted fake identities, the teams included several types of players, each member playing a well-defined role. Anonymous investors provided the stake and expected a return on their investment. One such outing netted a 154% ROI after expenses. Transporting huge amounts of cash back and forth was another obstacle they overcame with ingenuity. Cash traveled in every conceivable manner: strapped to bodies, on “mules,” in hollow crutches, just to name a few.

High Tech vs Low Tech

Their reign spanned a good part of the 1990s when they traveled the casino circuit with total abandon. Their $400,000 winning weekend in Las Vegas is legendary. Casino technology was not yet at a stage where it could match wits with MIT genius. At least, it had not made its way to practical application in Las Vegas, Ironically, it would be low-tech sloppiness that brought the team down in the end.

The casinos had learned to deal with the card counters long before the MIT pikers hit the scene. When they identified a card counter, they would ensure that his play at the tables was a living nightmare, and should the card counter take the house for a large sum, they would immediately ban him. Technology in the 1990s had matured to a point where bad news traveled fast. When the card counter was detected at one casino, it became nearly impossible to escape detection at any other casino.

Profiled MIT Blackjack Team

Las Vegas casino bosses relied on a long-established profile of the Blackjack card counter, but since the MIT team ran counter to the profile, that also worked in their favor, helping them to escape detection. The profile assumed one lone card counter. The team’s nonchalant, seemingly random style of play also ran counter to the profile. But they were crazy like foxes—until they were no more.

Finally, sloppiness brought them to their knees. Eventually, they lost their discipline and their cool; the well-oiled machine built with the precision of a Swiss watch began to fall apart. They began to fraternize, and not just with the usual Las Vegas temptations, but with each other—in public. A total chance spotting of the teams relaxing and playing at a Las Vegas pool blew their cover. The tale of their unraveling wound its way back to the back streets of Boston before they finally disbanded. The odds had finally turned against them, and the stakes were far too high for even the geniuses from MIT.

The last remaining team player was escorted from the table with the parting words, “You can’t play here. You’re too good for us.”

Blackjack Team in the News

The tale of the MIT Blackjack Team doesn’t end with its demise. ABC, CNN, History Channel, and CBS’s 60 Minutes all picked up the story. Bringing Down the House : The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions (Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group, 2002), by Ben Mezrich, chronicles the escapades of the team from its inception to the end of the line through the eyes of team member, Kevin Lewis (not his real name). One enterprising former member currently offers seminars based on the system.

The final irony has yet to play itself out. Kevin Spacey is producing the movie version of the book, due to be released by MGM sometime in 2006. One has to wonder if the movie will help MGM recover its losses to the MIT Blackjack Team.

High profile Las Vegas sports gambler Lem Banker has wisecracks for every occasion, including the Super Bowl:

“The best proposition I ever got was the $200 hooker who gave it to me for half price.”

Or:

“The whole of North America — the ‘uncivilized world’ — is abuzz over the Super Bowl; a few billion Chinese don’t give a damn.”

Deposit this one in your nearest “lock” box: Banker won’t be sending NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue any Valentine’s Day cards this or any other year.

Never a big NFL admirer, he fully appreciates players’ abilities and the efforts of other personnel.

Banker, however, warns Canadians and Americans to enjoy watching the league’s annual showcase gratis while they can, as he thinks it’s only a matter of time before the loop starts airing the game on pay-per view — perhaps the entire schedule.

“They (the league) want to control everything,” Banker said, noting how the NFL has effectively put an end to Las Vegas’ public casino bashes by theatening to sue those which charge an admittance fee to watch the contest.

“They want all the money themselves.

“What you pay for when you go to these things (Super Bowl parties) anyway is food and drink.”

Super Bowl XL between Seattle and Pittsburgh could become “one for the ages,” Banker believes, despite its lack of luster and a “marquee team.”

The Steelers are 4-point favorites and apparently also the people’s choice.

“This actually shapes up as a great battle,” Banker said. “You have two good coaches, two good quarterbacks.

“Hopefully I’ll be on the right side.

“It’s just too bad the Colts didn’t make it because they were the team everyone wanted to see.

“I guess the long layoff and problems surrounding Tony Dungy’s son were just too much.

“Peyton Manning is still looking for that big fish, but it keeps getting away.”

Banker freely acknowledges his preseason pick, 6-10 Baltimore — a 14/1 shot at season’s start — failed to ignite; he also concedes his big playoff wager, Denver, got devoured in the AFC title game.

Consequently, Lem’s taking his own sweet time in publicizing his Super Bowl pick.

The dilemma in trying to figure this one out early is Banker always has been an underdog player, but, having a family that admittedly is part of the Raider Nation, he also has strong AFC leanings.

“It’s a tough call,” he said. “The team that has fewer turnovers will win this game.”

Banker will release his Super Bowl selection at mid-week, but says he’ll likely “invest” more in propositions than on a side.

“That’s where the money is today,” he said. “That’s where I make my profit.”

Banker offers this note to prop players:

“People ask why so many Super Bowls (the last two being exceptions) are blowouts; I tell them to pay close attention to what goes on late in the third quarter and early in the fourth.

“If it’s the fourth quarter and fourth and 8, the offense is going to go for it because there’s no tomorrow.

“They’ll get a first down about 25 percent of the time.

“Otherwise, it’s a great spot for the defense, which puts its side in great scoring position.

“If a team is down by 10 points or more going into the fourth quarter it’s going to be a blowout.”

During his heyday, when Banker was penning a column and appearing daily (he still surfaces on the Las Vegas CBS affiliate each week) on TV and radio, he once strung together 13 straight Super Bowl victories ATS, starting with the 1973 game.

He remembers that one well.

“Miami went 16-0, but I was going to bet Washington,” Banker recalled.

“My friend Larry Merchant was in town researching his book, ‘National Football Lottery.’

“He asked why I would go against an unfeated team that had been getting the job done all year.

“Larry got me thinking and I changed my mind.”

The Dolphins won (14-7) and covered.

“That started the string,” Banker said. “It’s all publicly documented.”

As he combs through pages upon pages of Super Bowl propositions, Banker keeps one thought in mind.

“The great W.C. Fields was an atheist,” Banker said.

“He was reading a Bible on his death bed when someone asked what he was doing.

“Fields replied, ‘I’m looking for loopholes.’

“That’s what I’m doing: Looking for loopholes.’”

Many experienced live poker players rely on “tells”, an action by the opposing players that will help tip their hand. I am sure you have seen players wearing sunglasses at a live poker game, this isn’t due to the bright lights in the casino, it is avoid any chance of another player picking up on a widening of the eyes or any other habitual gesture that will give away a strong or weak hand.

There are a few virtual tells that can help tip the hand of those you are playing against. A beginners tells are always easiest to spot. They will bet with a weak hand and hold with a strong hand, taking note of their behavior early will help you take later hands. Once you have spotted a beginner at the table you can use their behavior to help build the pot on your strong hands, allowing them to try their strategy on your refined play style and maybe helping fish in a few players along with him. An ideal situation would see you at an online table surrounded by novice players all using the same tactics to help build the pot for you!

Speed of play is another factor to help you spot the tells of other players. Quick bets are often a sign of weakness while a delayed bet is a sign of strength, Typically the delayed bet tells you the player is calculating his strategy for his big hand. Always try to make a note of the hand a player hand when he quick bet and what cards he held when he made a series of slow bets.

Auto Plays are another ways to sports virtual tells. Online casinos make use of check boxes such as “fold”, “raise any” or “call any”. You can spot auto plays as the bet comes in seconds after the player before him. What should you be looking for? “Raise Any” bets denote a strong hand, “Check” denotes a weak hand while “Call Any” will usually denote a player waiting for the miracle hand. As with other strategies discussed here you should follow this behavior for a few hands and be aware of betting patterns of certain players. Novice players may be using the “Raise Any” checkbox to scare away other betters and trying to take small pots.

While tells are never an exact science, they will help give you an advantage at the online poker table, where every little advantage makes your game stronger.

Going to Kansas City? Kansas City calls itself the “City of Fountains” and with good reason. It has more fountains than any city except Rome, and talk about competing with European cities, KC ranks second only to Paris in the number of miles of its grand Boulevards.

Located near the geographical center of the country, you’ll find KC to be a surprisingly sophisticated and self-assured city. Though, no longer the “sin city” it once was, Kansas City offers adult entertainment in the form of big time casino gaming. Locals call the Casinos “boats” even though they are not boats and never move. You can play Las Vegas style games and slot machines at any of Kansas City’s four casino’s which are a short drive from, and very convenient to the downtown area.

Gaming in Kansas City, Missouri is not only big business it’s big fun. Don’t expect a rinky-dink, small-time operation. These Casinos are the real thing and almost rival anything found in Las Vegas. The major difference however, is in a Missouri Law that stipulates a maximum loss limit of $500 (per 2 hour session), per person. You can stay in the Casino as long as you want, you just can’t lose more than $500 in a session.

If slot machines are your passion, you’ll be in heaven. Each of the Casinos offers hundreds if not thousands of slots. You’ll find the standard reel type “one armed bandits” along with plenty of the new video slots. They come in all denominations from the very popular penny machines, to infrequently played $50 dollar machines. The majority of the slots in each of the casinos are now coinless. Winnings are dispensed via tickets, which can be placed in any other machine of your choice, redeemed at the cashier or cashed-in at kiosks throughout the casino floor.

In addition, all of the casinos offer video poker machines along with a full assortment of standard table games. Three of the casinos offer Live Poker rooms where you can play Texas Hold-em and other poker games against a table full of like minded players.

In Addition to gaming on the casino floor, all of the properties offer unique and popular amenities. You’ll find themed restaurants, all-you-can-eat buffets, clubs and lounges, movie theaters, gift shops, Child Care, and various entertainment venues’.

Where to Go? Each of the properties is unique and is worth a look-see if you have the time. Listed according to size they are:

Ameristar Kansas City, features more than 140,000 square-feet of gaming space contains 2900 slots and over 100 table games, including the largest poker room in the Midwest. Listed as one of the 10 largest casinos in the U.S. The property features over 10 diverse dining venues and a Brew Pub on site.

Harrah’s Casino North Kansas City, recently remodeled and bringing you exciting nightlife and great new restaurants. With two floors of casino action, Harrah’s offers the most popular slot machines, table games and a live poker room on the second floor. On weekends checkout the Voodoo Lounge for non-stop excitement.

Argosy Casino, This 62,000 square foot casino boasts 1762 state-of-the-art slots and 40 tables of gaming excitement all on a single level, new VIP lounge area and five new food and beverage areas. Recently remodeled and themed as a Mediterranean village with charming streetscapes the casino emotes the warmth of old-world architecture and has a distinct European feel.

Isle of Capri Kansas City Plenty of Gaming Action with this casino and located the closest to Downtown Kansas City. The feel of an old time riverboat on the outside and a tropical player’s paradise on the inside. Look for the newest and hottest slots, your favorite table and poker games as well as the Isle of Capri’s signature restaurants. On weekends, live entertainment on the casino stage adds to your excitement!

Additionally, Kansas City offers many other things to interest the tourist. A few of the more popular are:

The American Royal Museum- See the significance of agriculture in the history of Kansas City.

The Country Club Plaza- Designed in the early 1920s, the Country Club Plaza is billed as the nation’s first suburban shopping district.

Crown Center-You’ll discover world-class shopping, extraordinary restaurant options, theatre, movies, special exhibits, and much, much more.

Hallmark Visitors Center- Located in Crown Center the showcases the exploits of the world’s largest greeting card company.

Historic 18th & Vine District- American Jazz Museum pays homage to Kansas City’s strong history in Swing and Bebop jazz. The 18th and Vine district is also home to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.

Kansas City Zoological Park and IMAX Theatre- The Zoo is open daily year-round, except Christmas and New Year’s Day.

Kansas Speedway- The 1.5-mile track will play host to events from racing’s top sanctioning bodies. The Woodlands Complex nearby offers Horse racing (seasonal) and Greyhound racing (year round)

Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art-One of the premiere art Museum in the United States,

Starlight Theater- Kansas City’s premiere outdoor venue for Broadway-style musicals and concerts.

Steam Boat Arabia Museum at City Market-The museum also features the largest collection of pre-Civil War artifacts anywhere.

Truman Presidential Library & Museum- The life and history of the 33rd President of the United States, Harry Truman.

Science City at the Union Station- is a state of the art interactive learning experience for young and old alike

Worlds of Fun-175 acres of amusement park excitement!

Oceans of Fun- a 60-acre water park, a place to beat the heat during the summer months.

Today, the outgrowth of Kansas City’s colorful history radiates energetically throughout the city and in it’s populous. If you are up for an exciting weekend or need a break from the “monotonous” and are looking for a special vacation city, head for Kansas City.

To write this article saddens me greatly. It is a story of great heart break and pain. And all because of a poker chip.

Many years ago when I left my village and traveled to the new world I vowed that I would work hard, save my money and send for my father. My father was a very proud man who loved life and lived it to its fullest. He taught me everything I know.

When I arrived in the new world I quickly learned the language and got a job in a casino. At first I cleaned the washrooms and vacuumed the many splendid and expensive rugs that draped the casino floors. Soon I worked my way up to dishwasher then busboy and finally I became a croupier.

It was at this point I had saved enough money to send for my beloved father. When my father arrived he was very proud of me. Especially when I was decked out in my croupier outfit.

The first night that my father arrived in this wonderful new land I had to work. I did not want to leave my father alone so I brought him with me to the casino. I was working the Blackjack table so I decided to give my father some poker chips to play with so he could amuse himself while I worked.

Now, my father is a very simple man. He is not a worldly man as he comes from a small village that does not have computers and television sets.

My father had never seen a poker chip before. He did not know what it was. He must have thought it was food as he took a poker chip and put it in his mouth. Then he bit down hard.

The pain on my father’s face sent me into hysteria. It reached into my heart and sent tears down my cheeks. My father’s knees buckled and he fell to the floor. My helpless hands reached out to him and I yelled “Papa!”

To make a long story short my father needed a root canal. And he needed one fast. In the end it cost me $1,332.14.

And lucky for me I had just learned some of the greatest gambling systems for sports betting, Blackjack, Texas Holding and horse track betting. I quickly won this money back.

Now, if my father needs a filling it is always a gold filling. He has a beautiful smile.

And I owe it all to this great new world.

(c) Giancarlo Casio. All rights reserved.

The Incredible drive in the popularity of poker over the last few years has increased the awareness in the e-marketing of online poker rooms through affiliate programs. By referring players to these poker sites (ex. Partypoker, FullTiltPoker, just to name a few) you can earn money or a share of the profit generated by those players. Referring poker players may sound simple, but getting them to deposit and actually play is a totally different story.

There are many diverse ways to promote and advertise online poker rooms, but the most common way is by placing information, links and banners for that poker room on your web site. Potential players click from your site to the poker room, and in turn you receive credit when they sign up to play. The amount you earn is based on the kind of program you signed up for when you began. Most poker affiliated offer two variations for earning, I will discuss them below:

* Revenue Share (MGR)

Rake is taken from every pot in ring games and is in the form of entry fees in tournament play. (ex. In a ring game of 2-4 NL, the max rake from every pot will be around $1. In a tournament for $20, the rake might be $2 or it would say $20+2) If the players you refer to the room play extensively you can earn a nice residual income, as you will carry on to profit as they continue to play. To follow through with our example, if a player you refer generates $100 in rake the first month, you would receive $25 in commission. If they generate an additional $200 in the second month, your commission would be another $50. Generally the higher limit players tend to produce the most revenue, simply because the rake amounts will be higher.

* Cost Per Acquisition (CPA)

Under the CPA model, you receive a payment up front for the players you refer, and do not earn anything else from them as they continue to play. In this case, some players will earn the poker room more than you, while at other instances they will earn you more than they would have under the revenue share method above. An example of CPA would be earning $75 for every player you got to deposit on Partypoker.

Not to blaspheme the Gods and Goddesses of Las Vegas to whom we pay tribute but one cannot win at the game of 21. Shortly you will understand why. In the meantime does Blackjack refer to the Jack of spades or the Jack of clubs? Why does the Jack have 2 heads? Was the name Jack derived from the name John and how did they get from John to Jack? Poor little John John. His mommy wouldn’t let him marry Darryl Hannah. “I’ll be damned if I have a mermaid for a daughter in law”, said Jackie Kennedy as she sipped Ouzo aboard the Christina, her husband’s 532 foot yacht cruising the pearl blue seas of the Mediterranean one hot July afternoon in 1969. “But she’s not a mermaid mom, that was just a movie.” “Movie Shmoovie”, said Jackie O, “She’s beneath you.”

The road to Hell is paved with bad intentions. John the Baptist was doing fine until he laid 3 to 1 on a young Jewish Prince overthrowing the husband of Herodius, which bet caused his head to roll at the behest of a 14 year old lap dancer named Salome who preferred the Royal Palace to a dirt hole in Iraq. Imagine little George “the drinks are on me” Bush captured in a dirt hole in Nevada by 5 Iranian soldiers. Don’t worry. It’s not going to happen. We have the family guarding Las Vegas, not Fema. Hollywood has hypnotized us with James Bond movies giving us the illusion that our leaders are invincible and will always protect us. That’s why 30,000 men, women and children starved to death like Ethiopians 300 miles from Houston for 5 days. When 100 Megaton Muslim Nuclear suicide bombs start raining down on Las Vegas like hail in a Kansas tornado, be sure to call Fema when 10 square miles of the strip are turned into a radioactive parking lot instantly. “Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry, singin’ this will be the day that I die, singin’ this will be the day that I die.”

Before we get into the reason that the house has you dead to rights at the blackjack table, let me ask you a question. Yes, you, the person staring at your computer monitor’s white light wishing that I would get to the point already. That is the point. There is no point. “The point is 12, come on shooter, we’ve got a hot shooter tonight ladies and gentleman.” Why do the bells go off and the lights flash when someone gets 2 cherries at the slot machine? Instead of heralding the winners, what would happen if every time that someone lost a bet to the one armed bandit, funeral dirges blasted out over the Pioneer speakers? What if instead of naked women serving free screwdrivers at the blackjack tables men dressed as terrorists served Jimmy Jones Kool Aids? The point is we all die sooner or later so why do we spend our lives terrorized that we or our children will die? Anyone with even one quarter of a brain who pays attention to what’s going on in the world today has to be on at least 2 major tranquilizers. And this is an unobvious reason that you cannot win at blackjack. You aren’t there to win; you are there to escape into the drunken frenzy of flashing lights and naked women hoping against hope for the big win, so that for once in your life you can be the big hero.

O.K. Lets get serious for one moment. Here comes the reason that you cannot win at blackjack ever. Imagine this scenario. 7 people are sitting at the blackjack table. The dealer is showing a Queen of Hearts just prior to ripping out your heart and eating it. Players number 1 through 6 all bust. The dealer, the house, the casino, Steve Wynn, he shortened it from Weinberg, or Weinstein, or Weinrib or something so that Sheiks would come to “his” resorts, and the family thought that it would be good marketing for Las Vegas to be named after the word “Win”. So 6 people have now busted, lost lets say $60 to the house, the casino, and the dealer has done absolutely nothing except stand there silently like a guard outside of Buckingham Palace. Player number 7 has 17. The dealer turns over a 5 for 15 then gives himself a 10 for 25. So he pays out $10 to player 7 who cannot believe that he just won with 17, and the casino just won $50 at this one table on this one hand.

How can this be? How can the dealer beat 6 people with 25? “Elementary my dear Watson, the dealer always plays last. The dealer always plays last. The dealer always plays last.”

Imagine the Super Bowl. Dallas is playing New York. The final score is Dallas 21 New York 15 and New York wins. You drew 22, the dealer drew 25, and he won your 10 dollars. He busted out and he beat you because? The dealer always plays last.

Did I mention that the dealer always plays last? This is how the owners of the casinos have managed to build lavish 3,000 room hotels for a hundred years on sand dunes and give away free screwdrivers. If for one night the dealer went first, every hotel in Las Vegas would join General Motors and Ford on the bread lines. China pays its workers 23 cents a day. This fall China is introducing a car into the United States of America called the Gigli. The Gigli looks like a Toyota, sells for $9,000 and gets 218 miles per gallon. It runs on rice. Short GM and Ford with every dime that you had planned on investing in Las Vegas. You will become an overnight zillionaire.