leave the kids at home!

Oh for the love of Christ! From the Las Vegas Sun:

Parents arrested after 10-month-old abandoned at casino
By Mary Manning

Metro Police arrested the parents of a 10-month-old boy Friday after the baby was left in a stroller in front of the Imperial Palace hotel and casino for more than an hour.

Officers arrived at the hotel at about 5:35 p.m. Friday after two concerned tourists reported to security guards that the baby was alone in his stroller, police said.

Through video surveillance cameras, officers identified the parents who had abandoned the child, police said.

The parents were inside the casino gambling. When questioned, they told police they had left the baby after an argument. Both parents left the baby in his stroller on the sidewalk in front of the casino, police said. Read more.

And of course, it happened at the finest dump on the Strip, the ol' Imperial Palace. Lovely.

How many times do we have to cover this? Unless your children are legally able to get past a bouncer at ghostbar--or you're planning on selling them on the black market--DO NOT BRING THEM TO VEGAS!

Seriously, Las Vegas is NO place for children. Leave them at home!

You'd think this sort of thing is self evident. Apparently not.

will boyd's echelon ever open?

Things are not looking good for Boyd Gaming's mega-resort on The Strip, The Echelon. From Reuters:

Boyd Gaming sees Las Vegas project stalled thru 09

LOS ANGELES, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Casino operator Boyd Gaming Corp (BYD.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Tuesday it does not expect to resume construction next year on its stalled Las Vegas Strip project and declined to comment on its fourth-quarter earnings outlook.

Boyd said in August it expected to halt construction of the partially built $4.8 billion Echelon project for at least nine months.

Chief Executive Keith Smith, speaking on a conference call, said the company is now looking at alternatives, including opening the project in phases, modifying its scope or entering into other partnerships.

Chief Operating Officer Paul Chakmak, citing uncertainty in the current economic environment, said the company would not issue its typical quarterly earnings forecast. (Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

This is bad. Very bad. The Echelon was slated to open in 2010. When the credit markets went kaput, they halted construction for the rest of '08. Now all of '09 is getting wiped out? Opening in phases or modified scope?

So much for building a competitor to its neighbor across the street, The Wynn.

dear vegas...you want me on that dice table. you need me on that dice table.

While I'm keenly aware the Strip prefers its dealers to break in on the Strip, let me tell you firsthand the Midwest riverboats are not the minor leagues. I'm not arguing the action in Joliet is better than Bellagio, but the games, rules and procedures are taught the same across the board.

I've been a dealer for about two years total now (with a seven year sabbatical in between stints) and working the dice table on a riverboat is nothing to sneeze at. I've observed games at all levels and at several casinos and here are a few observations:

Riverboats Love Speed.
For better or worse (and I think it's worse), riverboat dice pits have an unhealthy obsession with speed. I know how it goes. More rolls = more money. But it's silly. Vegas dice tables move at a relaxed pace, but not too slow. The key difference is...

Midwest Dice Players Love Prop Bets.
Perhaps I'm not watching the right games at the right time in Vegas, but I have never seen the same sort of prop section on the Strip as I do at a Midwest riverboat. Sure, a Vegas game will have the obligatory hardway bets, a couple C/E bets, maybe even a Horn High 12. But come to the riverboat and you'll see one player simultaneously booking: $10 Horn High Yo, $9 hopping sevens and a $1 ace-deuce. THEN another player on the same game will have the easy eights hopping and a High-Low.

Every. Single. Roll.

Don't tell me Midwest games are soft. The players are prop action freaks...at their own peril.

Procedure Suffers Everywhere.
I know most dealers fancy themselves to be procedurally sound, but I think they all get bored. How many stickmen take their eyes off the dice? How many 21 dealers correct their own mistakes? This happens at EVERY casino.

Final observation...

I Can Deal Anywhere.
Let me tell you why: During my shift Saturday night I was dealing to every skill level of player, action from $40 buy-ins to players working black, all manner of prop betting and all manner of...well, etiquette.

While it was mentally taxing, it was not too much to bear. If I can deal that game in the Midwest, I could do it standing on my head at Paris, or Caesars or the Wynn.

Count it.