Casinos Books

I get this book every year and find it to be a great source of savings. However, this years edition requires you when using the coupons to comply with a new condition printed on the coupon. It states: "Offer void if detached from book. This coupon should only be removed at the time of redemption." The author states in his remarks in the book as well as his remarks here on Amazon that this was done as a reult of abuses and counterfeiting of the coupons. I can understand this and have no problem with this. My problem is the fact that there are three coupons per page and the coupons do not have preforations to easily remove the coupon at the time of use. This is especially hastlesome if you need to use the middle coupon, as you usually end up ripping the top and bottom coupons trying to evenly remove the center coupon. A little common sense and forethought should have been used when designing the coupon section of the book......maybe next year's issue will come with a pair of mini scissors. Other than this years coupon 'preforation oversight' this book is well worth the money.

Everything you need to know about casino gambling is contained in this fine book -- many informative articles about the best way to play all the games, excellent commentary by many of the world's leading gambling authors, complete discriptions of most every casino in the country, and over 140 coupons with a cash value of over $1,000! If buying this book on an annual basis isn't in your plans, you're making a big mistake!!

1. Found the same coupons being handed out on the street
2. Unless you are traveling to different states & towns so you can use the coupons, its not worh the hassle.
3. Found that the hotels/casino's offered better deals and the same offers as in the book.
4. A few places would not accept the coupons.
Save your money, It's not worth the hassle to carry around the whole book just to save a few bucks.

Sorry, but as the author of this book, I couldn't let Mr. Davis' comments go unanswered.

He wants to know what the abuses were? Well, the problem was that the coupons were being counterfeited. That's what happens when you have such great coupon offers in a book that sells for only $14.95

There are 147 coupons in the new 2004 edition and it has even better offers than were in last year's book. If you use just one of the 2-for-1 room offers you can easily save $50. If you use all of the matchplay coupons you can get more than $100 in FREE gambling money!

Of course, there's also great information from America's finest gaming writers on the best strategies for all casino games, plus maps and details on more than 600 U.S. casinos in 33 states.

The book is one-of-a-kind and truly a bargain. That would also explain why it's consistently ranked in the top 10% of all books sold on Amazon.

I used to love this book for its coupons. Somehow saving a few bucks on lunch made the gambling trip more of a bargain hunt.

Now, because of "abuses", you need to have the book present to use a coupon. The idea is annoying and certainly alters the sense of a fun outing.

What were the abuses anyway? Someone traded coupons with a neighbor, or handed them out at church? So what. They're coupons!

Keep your book.

I love to watch the poker shows on tv. But I was very unclear as to what and why the players were doing. Just in reading part of one chapter I understand atleast what they were talking about. Big Blind, the button, and so on I am not planning on playing "Professional" poker or spend my money at a casino any time soon. But this book shows you how to not be stupid. If you are a "pro" you are not going to be interested in this book.

The book is definitely for beginners and thats what I am. I have read other introductory books which, while good, left out important details about how actual play progreses This book gores through gameplay, step by step. The book explained things about poker, for example, which I was confused about. It quickly summerized how to make the best of your poker hand. Recommended.

if you can spell "casino" you are much too advanced to waste time reading this. the author is apparently targeting the most uninitiated of casino visitors; however, it is difficult to imagine, with the proliferation of legalized gaming in this country, that any reader could be this wanting. all information in this book is readily accessible in any legalized gambling establishment free of charge and this author must certainly be aware of this fact. spend the $10 on a buffet when you get to Vegas!

The previous reviewer is correct when he says this a basic book for the first-time gambler. However, this is what the "Everything" series tries to do. These books will not make you an expert in any particular field. If you know someone who gambles occasionally, for them, this book is perfect. It covers many games and while not getting too in depth, tries to bring up the areas of each game in which to be concerned. Show me any other beginner's gambling book that covers every game any better than this one.

This book helped me plan a wonderful trip to Las Vegas. I didn't hit it big at te casinos (oh well), but I had a great time! This book was very informative.

This book has it all and more.... broken down by each hotel and includes the attractions/food/shops/gaming/shows available at each location, along with information on the hotel's rooms and rates. Doesn't skimp on knowledge, for example, there's 16 pages on the MGM Grand Hotel alone!! It's somewhat larger than most guide books, so don't think you'll be carrying it down the Strip with you but it's great for gaining an insight to what is available for the tourist at each hotel. The only drawback is that there aren't any color pictures or maps. Other than that, it's perfect!!

This book is not worth the money. The book does not cover downtown and is only broken down by hotel names. No break down of catagories such as restaurants, buffets or other items of intrest. There are much better travel books available! This book was very disappointing.

I'm going to Vegas for the first time very soon, and I admit, I had high expectations of this book. Maybe too high, because the book fell well short of what I was expecting.

First off, it was published in 2000, when the world as a whole was a very different place, not to mention all the changes to Las Vegas since then. Next, yes, it does give very in-depth descriptions of the hotels it covers (which is really only those on the Strip), and the dining options in them. But if you're a Vegas virgin trying to decide where in Vegas to stay based on this book, you'll have a tough time, since all the hotels are comfortable, luxurious, and tastefully decorated, and all the dining is top-rated and cutting edge. As for attractions, those attached to the Strip hotels are given a decent enough description, but the free-standing places are pretty much given just a quick once over.

If you're web-savvy at all, there's no information here that you couldn't get yourself -- and what you'd find online would probably be much more current. If you just HAVE to have a Vegas guidebook, go with "The Unofficial Guide to Vegas." That book is everything I was hoping this one would be.

I really wanted to like this book. However, I found it increasingly difficult even to keep reading it. It has a cast of such hateful, self-interested and/or depraved characters; it has so much racism and violence, that it's not even a remotely pleasurable reading experience. Add to that, many anachronisms ("good to go" and "gone south", for example, are two very modern terms not in common usage in the mid-50s) and sloppy copyediting (Spike Lee instead of Spike Jones, names misspelled, countless extra and/or misspelled words) along with famous names repeated over and over, and you have a book with a good premise that simply isn't sufficiently compelling or believable to hold one's interest. Graphically ugly sexual scenes and scenes of horrific racism further detract from what might have been an interesting examination of an era. It may well be that Las Vegas was every bit as crooked and racist as described by author Fleming but without any likeable characters, it's not possible to care much about what happens in this book--particularly with a drug-and-alcohol-addicted hero who seems always to do the wrong thing and who never becomes entirely real. That's unfortunate, because Fleming's pedigree is impressive. But a good book requires more than just a lot of research. It also requires a beating heart and The Ivory Coast's major failing is its lack of that very thing.

I was impressed by some of the historical detail and entertained by the setting and some of the sleazy Vegas characters but mostly I felt dissapointed. The last 40 pages are a convoluted mess and the "big secret" that was alluded to all along turned out to be a dissapointing dud straight from a bad parody of a Fellini film.

But Flemming does have a good writing style and I did care about most of the characters for a majority of the narrative.

Definitely undone by "Third Act Problems".

Fascinating story in an exotic setting. Fleming takes us to the world inhabited by Blacks in 1950's Las Vegas. Here we find the entertainers forbidden to drink at the hotels where they work and the whites who follow them to their after-hours haunts. However, this no set piece of charicactures. Each denizen of Fleming's world has a purpose, and it is bound to collide with someone else. The story moves, ducks, and jives like a manic dance, all leading to a conclusion that is as interesting as it is disturbing. Fleming is a masterful storyteller.

In 1955, trumpet player Deacon rides the bus from Chicago to Las Vegas. He barely disembarks from the bus when Mo "the man" Weiner pages him. Deacon knows you always respond when someone called "the man" wants to see you and immediately does. Mo orders Deacon to drive two hours to Shipton Wells where he is to warn someone to go back to Los Angeles. Deacon does the job, but someone else shoots the man anyway. Deacon grabs the man's suitcase and asks Anita, a waitress he just met, to stash it for him.

Deacon realizes everyone in Vegas tries to manipulate the odds. Mo is the front for the Chicago and Los Angeles mobs and plans to make a killing on a new casino, THE IVORY COAST, that he will open in the Black West Side of town. Worthless Worthington Jones is his front with his own contrivance for a killing. Police chief Haney has his schemes to trump everyone else. All three intersect with Deacon and that suitcase he lifted, making life dangerous for the horn player.

Though Deacon trusting Anita with the booty he snatched seems strained, readers will find Charles Flemming's debut novel a fascinating look at 1950's Las Vegas. The story line is so rich with history that it makes it possible for the audience to roll with high rollers and observe the Black stars unable to eat or sleep where they performed. THE IVORY COAST is a tremendous historical intrigue that is at its finest with its fifties texture that fans of mid-twentieth century tales will enjoy.

Harriet Klausner

This is a sweet book! It is beautifully written by a guy that obviously has had many years of experience in casinos. The advice on money management is right on, though different from most gambling books that advise you to budget your losses! This author says it is better to manage your money plan to win. The stories of his visits to casinos around the world are fun and insightful. And the words on casino psychology may well turn a disasterous visit into a profitable experience. He demonstrates why you should ONLY make bets with the lowest casino advantage. This is a different kind of book!!! You will love it.

50 Years At The Craps Tables by gambling expert Malcolm Jay is a hands-on, "reader friendly", personal account to the nature of the game of craps and the house odds that back it. Written by a veteran casino-goer who has indeed spent a full five decades observing craps play and how to shave the casino edge, 50 Years At The Craps Tables offers a fascinating wealth of insights as to why noisy tables are best to play; why one must never play simply because of "comping"; and much more. A fascinating read from first page to last, 50 Years At The Craps Tables is very strongly recommended for any casino patron interested in playing the game of craps and/or improving their skill at this particular form of gaming.

The 131 pages tell you little about playing the game other than to "bet the pass line and take full odds" and if the table is really good "make a couple of come bets with full odds".

Stories of casinos are generic in nature.

In one section the author talks of two casinos in Elko Nevada and the fact that neither had a craps table. He missed the largest casino in Elko (Red Lion) which does have a craps table. This was the only inaccuracy I knew of for sure but questioned a lot of other ststements.

Thumbs down on this one!

When I first purchased the book, it was only because it dealt with the mob and Las Vegas. Once I began to read the book, it really made me think and the really great part of the book is that it examines each person and the reasons that they were included in the black book. If you like the mafia and you love Vegas, then you ought to read this one.

(The numerical rating above is a default setting within Amazon's format. This reviewer does not employ numerical ratings.)

The authors, criminal justice professors at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, argue that the "Black Book", (the list of persons excluded from participation in legal gambling), is maintained by the State of Nevada for symbolic purposes, to assert an image of control and propriety.

The Black Book is further tainted by its focus on stereotypical ethnic types, largely Italian Americans, to the exclusion of others, like the Mormans, who actually wield great power in Nevada gaming but suffer no opprobrium as a result.

Interesting reading.

The book written to show prejudice and a white wash of Nevada's casino industry instead showed the lack of research of the authors. The question asked apparently is should Frank Rosenthal or Carl Thomas be in the "Black Book"? My answer is why are so few others included. A review of those included in the "Black Book" show an unusually high number of convicted skimmers and bookmakers. Wouldn't these be the people most likly to cause problems within the casino industry. As for the case of poor Frank Masterana-he ran the largest bookmaking operation in the Dominican Republic until he was closed down and then moved to Latin America where he continues to operate an illegal establishment. I agree that there is a high number of Italian-Americans in the "Black Book" but most bookmaking throughout the US is controlled by those of Italian desent so of course they would represent a high number of gaming offenses and the related extortion and loan-sharking.

Great stories related by chandler of the vegas high roller comp system and the clebs he incountered.Do not miss.

I have never submitted a review, but feel compelled to do so after reading this book. I am a huge fan of John L. Smith's writings and have purchased and read every one. This book, however is NOT, repeat - NOT - written by him! In the preface, the real author, Dan Chandler, says this book is written in his (Chandler's) own words and, clearly this book is. It is not up to the usual very high standard of Smith. It is a rambling, name dropping, everybody loves me chronicle of Chandler's relationships with known personalities and leaves the reader with a sense of how important Chandler thinks he is (or was - he's dead now). If you even think this is a biography (or autobiography) of Chandler's life you are wrong. Even though he brags about being employed by Caesers Palace seven times and working several other casinos as a casino host, there is not one sentence about how he got fired and rehired seven times. He only wants people to know how many of the rich and famous were his "best friends" or in his words "my man ..." What Smith's role in the book is unclear, except to think that he somewhat edited Chandler's words. Very disappointing book "authored" by a great writer with a biting, humorous way with words. I will still by Smith's books, but this one is a stinker!

In John L. Smith's latest book, Bluegrass Days Neon Nights, he travels through the life of Las Vegas casino host Dan Chandler. The son of Kentucky Governor and Baseball Commissioner Albert "Happy" Chandler, Dan Chandler often joked that he started at the top and spent his life working his way to the middle. His rise or descent can be argued but as a casino host in Las Vegas Chandler led a riotous life filled with the greatest celebrities of politics, sports, music and movies.

I have recently read Scott A. Miller's review of my book. Yes, I am the Author. While I appreciate all comments, I would like to point out that Scott is writing a review of a 1994 book with a 2001 view. Things have changed. That's why I now have a new series of books, starting January. I would also like to point out that Scott probably missed the point of that book. It was designed as an entertaining guide to a form of adult entertainment, and not a book for someone like Scott, who obviously feels he is more like a professional gambler.

If you also read the review by Evan Salas, you will know exactly what I mean. Evan perfectly captured the point of that book, and why it was written in the way it was.

My new series of books takes a more detailed approach in many respects, and should satisfy even the diehard believers in the mathematics of gambling. This new series, from Kensington, starting January 2003, and continuing through 2004, focuses on teaching the games simply, while also serving the needs of those who wish to experience more in-depth details. Not all readers will like this, because I tell the truth of the reality of gambling, as opposed to those nice, easy, and very comfortable statistics that gamblers like Scott Miller seem to live by.

Here, I wish to let all readers know that the purpose of this 1994 book was to accomplish exactly what Evan Salas wrote in his review, and not what Scott Miller apparently thought the book should have been. Over the years, I have received hundreds of letters from readers all over the world who found my book informative, easy to understand, and helpful in learning what the casino games are, and how to enjoy them better.

Thank you to both Scott and Evan for your kind efforts in reviewing my book. I hope to offer my readers even more in my new series of books.

Sincerely,
Victor H. Royer
Author

THis book is the best way to learn how to play your favorite casino games! Keno is my favorite but I stuck at it. So I bought this book and I am pretty good but not the best. With a little more practice I can be the best with this book and my side! A great book for casino lovers. Buy this book. {You can also play like James Bond at this favorite games.} Good luck!

If you are looking for a brief description of how various casino games are played, this book does provide that information. However, I still recommend avoiding this book because it contains numerous gamblers' superstitions that are quite simply wrong.

For example, Royer indicates that at a Black Jack table, the "Third Base" player helps determine whether the dealer will bust. Smart play by the 3rd baseman will help the other players at the table, while mistakes will hurt. Ridiculous!

The author describes a situation where the 3rd baseman has a 16 and the dealer shows a 6 with a 10 as a hole card. The 3rd baseman "stupidly" asks for a hit, and is dealt a 10 causing him to bust; then the dealer draws a 5 reaching 21. Thus, the 3rd baseman's draw causes the other players to almost certainly lose the hand. If the player had not hit, the dealer would draw the 10, bust, and everyone wins.

While this certainly could happen, it's just as easy to imagine the 5 and 10 being reversed in the deck. In this scenario, the Third Base player "stupidly" hits, stealing the 5 from the dealer for 21. The dealer will deal himself 10 busting with a total of 26. Our jerk 3rd baseman is now the hero.

(The only exception is if the player actually knows the next card in the deck. This would happen if the card is accidentally drawn from the shoe and flipped over. It could also happen if the player is a cheat or scammer.)

The author does at least indicate that with games like Roulette, the gambler's decisions have no impact on the game's outcome. Royer correctly explains that with the exception of a few very lucky gamblers, these games are a losing proposition in the long run. However, that doesn't stop him from sharing some bad advice.

In his chapter on Roulette, Royer advises splitting a bet between two numbers -- instead of betting 35:1 on one number, he suggests a 17:1 bet on two numbers. "The trick to winning in Roulette is not in maximizing your potential wins but in minimizing your certain losses." The truth is that with or without the split, the game's average payout remains the same (approx. 94.7% with a 38 number wheel). Royer gives the false impression that the gambler is playing "smart" and has increased his/her odds of walking away with a fortune; in actuality, nothing has changed. These are the kind of dumb players the casinos love.

Based on these and other bogus statements, I don't give this book any credibility. If you are looking for good advice on gambling, do not read this book. There are many better books out there, so don't put up with this rubbish.

This book is purely fantastic from start to finish. The author clearly speaks from experience and explains the very basics of casino gambling AND builds on the basics by giving practical advanced techniques. Best of all, this book is a fun read! (not at all what I expected). You'll want to keep reading and you'll want to head straight to Vegas when you're done.
After reading this book, I was more knowledgable than, literally, all my Vegas-regular friends.

Be sure to check out the sections on Black Jack and Craps!

Learning how to actually play the games is all you need to know. Why waste money on this book when you can waste it in Vegas? There is no magick you will be given by this book to make you win every game you play. Don't waste you stupid time!

Don't confuse this book with the multiplying "Complete Idiots" and "Dummies" guides currently flooding the market. Darwin Ortiz's take on the ins and outs of popular casio games is highly readable in the best "you are there" style. He completely demystifies table games for people like myself who may have seen scared away from plucking down our chips due to the mistaken belief that you have to be a math whiz to figure out Craps. With the skill of travel writer who daps about plenty of color, Ortiz repeatedly hammers home that most casinos offer exotic bets that are a complete waste of your wallet. Just skip the bells and whistles and play to form. While the book is lacking in illustrations, each chapter consistantly does the job of taking you from Vegas chump to wordly shark (or the belief thereof).

I bought this book some time back -- but it was mistakenly thrown out, so now I'm buying another copy. It's a great book, not only for informationm, but for dreaming about going to casinos outside your local area...(WAY outside your local area!)

The info COULD be a bit more complete, (how many roulette tables ARE there in EVERY casino?)....but it's a lot better than nothing! There is a page inviting readers to send in extra info....but as this excellent guide is no longer being published, (at least at this date), it seems pointless for readers of the book to send in the info....unless, of course, it is included with a letter asking that this guide be republished and updated!

A book for info, a book for dreaming....and why not?

Please update this EXCELLENT guide!!!!!

Casinos - The International Casino Guide is the best researched guide ever published covering legally operating casinos, resort casinos, indian casinos, riverboat casinos and card rooms in the USA and around the world. Information is detailed including address, phone, fax numbers, size and style of casinos, games played, number of slot machines, largest jackpot paid etc. A true gold mine of information for serious gamblers and reserchers. Casinos - The International Casino Guide (6th ed.)

I was going to plan a gambling excursion around the world and bought this book as a reference guide. I was very excited when it came, it listed more casinos than I ever dreamed existed. As I got to reading it, I have never seen more typos in my life: wrong phone numbers, misspellings, and it continues. I am disgusted with it.

I tried to contact the publisher on the web for a refund, and found their site is down. I would not be surprised if it is a sign of things to come for the company.

Very hard to read: even just for reference. Look elsewhere!