CASINO extra

JANUARY 20, 2002

Brought to you by TotalAction.com
WHAT ARE YOU PLAYING TODAY?

NEWS

* N.O. Times-Picayune: City, Harrah's finally make a deal
* El Paso Times: State moves to shut down casino quickly
* Baton Rouge Advocate: Gambling revenue up in B.R.
* Montreal: Chinese community rallies to derail proposed gambling club
* New Zealand: Betting exchange offers investors a safer punt
* Georgia: Judge rejects video poker ban
* AP: Moody's downgrades bonds for Vegas-based gambling corporations
* Buffalo News: Senecas' action buoys Buffalo, Falls officials
* Detroit Free Press: Casino ruling may deal city stronger hand
* South Carolina: Lottery's first week - state's greatest show
* Las Vegas Sun: Nevada gaming revenue declines


BETS AROUND THE 'NET
By CHARLES JAY, Editor/Publisher, TotalAction.com
Posted January 20, 2002

GROUNDHOGS AND GRAMMYS

Intertops is presenting a proposition on "Groundhog Day - Punxsutawney Phil's Prediction". On the 116th Groundhog Day from Punxsutawney, Pa., will Phil see his shadow. You can bet that he does, but you'll have to lay -333. You can get +250 that he doesn't. Of course, if he sees his shadow it's six more weeks of winter, if not, spring is just around the corner..............At SportingOdds.com, it's 10/1 that British pop star Robbie Williams and actress Nicole Kidman will get married some time in 2002........Irish-based Paddy Power is posting odds on the Grammy Awards, to be held February 27 in Los Angeles. India Arie's "Video" is the favorite for record of the Year, at 7/4, followed closely by Alicia Keys' "Fallin" (2/1), Train's "Drops of Jupiter" (3/1), "Walk On" for U2 (7/2), and Outkast's "Ms. Jackson" at 4/1. Arie is the favorite for Best New Artist (3/2), with Keys at 7/4, Nelly Furtado at 2/1, David Gray at 4/1, and Linkin Park at 5/1. For Song of the Year, U2's "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of" is the favorite at 7/4, and U2's "All That You Can't Leave Behind" is the even money favorite for Album of the Year..............Paddy Power also has its updated odds on the 2004 Presidential elections - George Bush is the favorite to win re-election, at 4/6 (-150), with Rudy Giuliani at 3/1, Tom Daschle at 7/2, Dick Cheney and Joe Lieberman at 12/1, Al Gore at 16/1, and Hilary Clinton at 20/1..........Ruslan Ponomariov of the Ukraine is the 1/8 (-800) favorite to win the world chess championship at BlueSQ.com, with opponent (and countryman) Vassily Ivanchuk at 9/2 (+450). Ponomariov leads the match by one point with four games remaining.



JAY'S WAYS - BLACKJACK
By CHARLES JAY, Editor/Publisher, TotalAction.com

WHY DO I PLAY DIFFERENTLY WHEN THE DEALER HAS A TWO SHOWING?

When the dealer has a 5 or 6 showing, the player has, basically, a very easy decision to make. If you've got a bad hand, you stand, banking on the hope that the dealer will bust. If you've got a good hand, depending on the nature of the hand, you will stand (if you are pat), double, or split. The 5 and 6 are the worst upcards the dealer can have, and if the opportunity presents itself, you have to get as much money on the table as possible to take advantage of your position.

But how do you approach the situation if the dealer has a two showing? Standard rules of the Basic Strategy dictate that there are two sides to the hitting/standing decision chart - the "low" cards (2 through 6) and the "high" cards (7 through Ace). An imaginary line is drawn between these two groups; for example, with those hands commonly known as "stiff" hands 12 through 16) you would usually hit against the high cards, and stand against the low cards. There is also no soft doubling against the high upcards.

There is one notable exception, however, and that is when the dealer is holding a two on top. The two is indeed in the "low card" group, but because it is the lowest of the low, it is the hardest to play against. A dealer with a five showing will bust 43% of the time, and with a six it will happen only 42% of the time. When a dealer has a two as his upcard, he will bust only 35% of his hands. Now the difference may not seem like a lot, but it really is when taken in this context - when we conceive theory in the game we speak in terms of how much each strategy decision will work out in the LONG run, since, of course, anything can happen in the SHORT run. Looking at it this way, the seven or eight less breaks per hundred hands add up big time over the course of a great many hands. It is a pain fact that the dealer with a two on top will usually have to draw two ten-value cards to bust out; anything less and the chances are great that his hand will be pat.

The strongest dealer upcards, in order, are the Ace, ten-value cards, nine, eight, and seven. Next in line is the two, and it is in fact such a respected and feared upcard that many count systems do not even include the two as a low card for the purposes of determining the plus-minus value of cards, preferring to leave it neutral instead, along with the 7,8, and often times, the 9 ("neutral" meaning, of course, that it is of equal value to both player and dealer).

To deal with the relative strength of the two, some subtle exceptions in the Basic Strategy are, of course, in order. For instance, when presented with a 12 against the dealer's two, the player will always take one hit. This play is also appropriate when the player has a three, by the way. Remember to take ONLY ONE HIT in this situation, though. Any denomination, even the lowest value (an Ace) would add up to at least 13, and, when this three-card is plugged into the Basic Strategy, the correct move is to stand against stiff upcards.

Also, the player's nine is doubled on the 3 through 6 upcards, but not against the two, however, because the nine is simply not a strong enough hand to make it mathematically feasible. And please - never, EVER double any soft hand against the dealer's two. Let a signal go off in your head when this situation arises.

Practice and learn how to deal with a dealer's upcard of two. It may be a small card, but can figure BIG in some important decisions if not played correctly.



GOLDEN GLOBES
In case you're interested, Intertops has posted odds on Sunday night's Golden Globe awards - Here they are:

BEST LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Russell Crowe -111
Will Smith +175
Denzel Washington +275
Kevin Spacey +700
Billy Bob Thornton +800

BEST LEAD ACTOR IN A MUSICAL OR A COMEDY
Gene Hackman -250
Hugh Jackman +300
Billy Bob Thornton +450
Ewan McGregor +550
John Cameron Mitchell +800

BEST LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Sissy Spacek +100
Nicole Kidman +180
Halle Berry +300
Judi Dench +500
Tilda Swinton +700

BEST LEAD ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL OR A COMEDY
Nicole Kidman -400
Thora Birch +300
Reese Witherspoon +500
Renee Zellweger +700
Cate Blanchett +1200

BEST PICTURE - DRAMA
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring -250
A Beautiful Mind +250
In the Bedroom +500
Mulholland Drive +600
The Man Who Wasn't There +1000

BEST PICTURE - MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Moulin Rouge +150
Shrek +160
Gosford Park +250
Legally Blonde +500
Bridget Jones's Diary +600

BEST TELEVISION SERIES - DRAMA
The West Wing +100
The Sopranos +140
Six Feet Under +400
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation +800
Alias +1000
24 +1200

BEST TELEVISION SERIES - MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Sex and the City +115
Friends +200
Frasier +300
Will & Grace +350


THE CHARLES JAY LINE
For entertainment purposes only

* Paul O'Neill to last through first Bush term -- YES -140, NO - Even
* John Walker - Guilty or Not Guilty? GUILTY -550, NOT GUILTY +450



SPECIALS

FLAMINGO LAS VEGAS -- ANNIVERSARY RATES AS LOW AS $55
The Flamingo is celebrating fifty five years of Las Vegas fun in the sun with weekday rates of $55. Included in this rate during this time are: 55-cent draft beers, 55-cent hot dogs, 55-cent entrées in any of four restaurants, 55-cent lunch buffets, 55-cent tickets to see "The Second City" or "Bottoms Up", and 55-cent spa admissions. Click here for reservations information


MESSAGE FROM SLOTLAND.COM
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WINTER IN NEW YORK-NEW YORK - OF COURSE!
Rooms at Las Vegas' New York-New York hotel/casino are available starting from
$59.99 per night (Sun-Thu) now through January 31. Upon check guests will receive a $250 Vacation Value Book with numerous dining and entertainment offers.
Call (888) 696-9606 and mention IJAN02.


SPECIAL OFFER FROM TREASURE ISLAND - LAS VEGAS
Room rates of $59 Sunday-Thursday and $89 on Friday and Saturday from January 22-28. Includes one breakfast voucher per person per day. Call 1-800-288-7206 and give code JAMDE2 to receive the offer.



PRESS RELEASES

POWERBALL JACKPOT REACHES $80 MILLION

DES MOINES, Iowa, Jan. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- The biggest jackpot in the country continues to grow. There were no Powerball jackpot winners Saturday night but 470,555 players across the nation won a total of more than $3.3 million in prizes.

Because no one correctly matched all six numbers in Saturday's Powerball drawing, Wednesday's jackpot will be an estimated $80 million. The cash option for the Wednesday, January 23 drawing will be an estimated $44.5 million.

The numbers drawn were: 21, 23, 35, 41, 49 and the Powerball was 5. The Power Play multiplier was 2.

Seven players correctly matched the 5 white numbers and won $100,000. The seven $100,000 winning tickets were sold in Colorado, Minnesota, Missouri (2), New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin. None of those players purchased the Power Play option for $1. If they had, they would have won $200,000.

Fifty-one players correctly matched four white balls plus the Powerball to win $5,000. One of those players had the Power Play option and multiplied the prize by two for a total prize of $10,000.

More than 27,000 winning Powerball players spent the extra dollar on Power Play and multiplied their prize by 2. With Power Play you can multiply your winnings, except for the jackpot. At the beginning of each drawing a wheel is spun to select that night's multiplier.

Players should carefully check their tickets after every draw. Even if there are no jackpot winners there are always tens of thousands of winners at other prize levels. Players purchased 16.9 million tickets between Thursday and Saturday night. Wednesday night will be the 15th draw since this jackpot run started on December 5, 2001.

The lotteries sold $1.3 billion in Powerball tickets in 2001. That translates into more than $400 million for worthwhile state projects. Powerball is played in 21 states and the District of Columbia. Pennsylvania will begin selling Powerball tickets in the summer of 2002.

For more information on Powerball, please visit our website at
http://www.powerball.com



FROM FEATHER FALLS CASINO - OROVILLE, CAL.

Exciting news from Feather Falls Casino . . .we are giving away 8 cars in 8 weeks! That’s right, 8 cars in just 8 weeks. We are giving one away every Wednesday starting January 23rd! “How do I qualify” you ask. It’s easy. Just come on in Monday through Wednesday and play your favorite slot . We are handing out entry tickets to all active slot players. We will start at 8am and continue until 12am. We will do this every hour! So the more you play the more chances you have to win.

In addition, we are also pulling entries every hour for a spin on our promotional wheel. Win cash and more entries! Every slot on the wheel is a guaranteed win!

The fun doesn't stop there. On Mondays and Tuesdays we will pull one lucky entry for a great prize valued at $1000. I can't say what it is… but I know you will love it! Then on Wednesdays, look forward to CARS & CASH! Drawings at 5:30pm, 6:30pm, 8:00pm and 9:30pm. And . . A Beautiful Brand New Car at 8:30pm!

So come on in and try your luck! Maybe you will be heading home in a new car!
Feather Falls Casino - Oroville, California


CONTACT US
casinoextra@totalaction.com


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