There is nowhere in the world quite like Las Vegas.  When this Nevada city calls itself The Entertainment Capital of the World, it is not exaggerating. 

This is the home of gambling and can truly be called the city that never sleeps.  Casinos and hotels remain open for 24 hours, every day of the year. 

An international destination renowned for its fine dining and heart-stopping casinos, this is the destination of choice for anyone with a love of glitz, glamour and gambling. 

At the heart of this incredible gambling capital lies The Las Vegas Strip, with the four-mile stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard packed with the world’s largest hotels, casinos and resort properties.

The hot desert sun ensures that visitors have the feel good factor both inside and outside of the city’s amazing array of casinos.  The Las Vegas Strip alone has 67,000 rooms and has nineteen of the world’s biggest hotels. 

Casino favourites like Casino Royale and Caesar’s Palace have become world renowned for their high-end approach to gambling and entertainment, but that is nothing compared to the overall spectacle of this amazing electric neon strip of road, with its incredible sidewalk with show stopping facades. 

Each new casino works hard to earn its dazzling place on the Strip, making this a must-see location for gamblers after dark. 

The skyscape of the city is one of the most incredible man-made displays ever created.

Oct 15 2011

Although most commonly played in bingo halls or online for money, the game of bingo is employed in a number of other situations for other means. Two of the most common are just for fun at camps and holiday parks, and for charity.

Charity bingo games are exceedingly popular thanks to both the ease of arranging charity games and the simplicity of the rules of bingo itself. Bingo balls and a tombola are often very cheap to rent or buy, while bingo tickets themselves can usually be bought from any party shop. A charity bingo night will generally see a set number of games take place, with players buying their tickets for a small fee which will be donated to charity. Instead of winning money, players who win games are generally rewarded with prizes donated by either the institution running the charity game, the players taking part, local businesses or a combination of all three.

Bingo is also a very popular game at holiday camps and parks, again thanks to the relative simplicity of the game and the ease with which it can be organised. However, one of the main reasons why bingo is often on the activities sheets at parks across Britain during the summer is the nostalgic value the game has. Most parents can remember playing the game and shouting out the numbers’ nicknames when they were children, and many are keen to share the experience with their own children.

Oct 13 2011

Poker is a set of card games that share the same hand rankings.  There are many games under the poker umbrella, such as Texas hold ‘em, five card draw, and stud poker.  Learning the poker hands is the first step anyone should take when playing poker.

Poker Hands

A poker hand is always five cards.  Any cards that are not within the hand have no ranking in the game.  If two players have the same hand, then the highest card within the given hand wins.  For example, a straight of K, Q, J, 10, 9 would beat a straight of 10, 9, 8, 7, 6.  If two players have the same hand with the same ranking numbers, then it is a tie and the pot is split.

In poker, hands are as follows: one pair, two pair, three of a kind, straight, flush, full house, four of a kind, and straight flush.  The highest possible hand in poker is called a royal flush.  This hand is an ace high straight flush.

Individual Cards

If none of the players can form a hand out of their cards, then the winner is determined by whoever has the highest card.  If two players have the same high card, then the next highest card will be ranked.  This continues until there is a winner. If the players have exactly the same hand, then a tie is declared, and the pot is split.

Oct 10 2011

The popularity of online poker has been one of the major contributors to the huge growth of online gambling over the past decade or so.  Starting with free games in the late 1990s, online poker has developed to the stage where players who started out playing online have graduated into “real life” tournament players, winning against the top professionals in the world.

Poker, with its combination of chance, skill and drama, gives the competent player a good opportunity to earn substantial money from their play.

While the physical poker table allows players to measure their opponents by their physical “tells”, voice, and general demeanour, the online arena is more about determining other players’ betting, bluffing and folding patterns.  The games tend to run between three and five times faster than what is offered in physical poker rooms.  It is also possible to play on multiple tables at once, which is impossible in a physical poker room.  Some players can effectively play up to eight tables at a time, enabling them to maintain a reasonably stable income by spreading the risk around and taking advantage of less competent players.

Online poker is legal in the United Kingdom, and online poker rooms generate income in a number of ways.  Unlike physical games, there are no dealer tips or other expenses, but there is the traditional, bricks-and-mortar practice of the rake, in which 5% to 10% of the stakes up to a pre-determined limit are paid to the poker room per hand in a cash game.  Otherwise, for pre-scheduled games or tournaments, a 5% to 10% entry fee may be charged.  Additionally, some sites offer side bets, where the players play against the house for real money, with the odds in favour of the poker room. 

Oct 08 2011

A casino may be defined as an establishment that offers a variety of forms of gambling, although now the use of the word has been extended to include online sites as well as actual brick-and-mortar buildings.  Casino games include a large variety of games of skill and/or chance that can be played for as little as a few pennies or for seriously high stakes; some of them even offer a chance to win jackpots that could total literally millions of pounds. 

All manner of games, from bingo to keno and other lottery-type games, through to blackjack, roulette and poker can be found in a typical casino, although it is often the slot machines that bring in the largest amount of revenue.  Casino games are now as likely to be played in online gaming rooms as they are offline, with many sites offering all the usual games alongside chat rooms and incentives to join; some online casinos offer generous bonuses for creating an account, or rewards for loyal players.

Casino games offer a unique blend of social intercourse, skill, chance and, above all, the opportunity to win money.  Online and offline there are endless options to suit virtually any budget and temperament; if you believe yourself to be a highly skilled game theorist you may wish to play in a high stakes poker game, while if you simply like to gamble for small stakes while enjoying friendly banter then bingo may well be the game for you.

Oct 06 2011

With a backdrop of glamour and gambling, casinos have been making the movies come alive since the 1960s, when the original James Bond movie Casino Royale burst onto the big screen. 

The 1967 version is a classic in its own right, though with Peter Sellers in the lead it was never going to be the classy affair it has now become, since its 2006 remake with British actor Daniel Craig in the title role.  However, it did set the bar for some of the most nail biting casino table action.

There are countless movie directors who have chosen casinos around the world for their films, but can any be as classy as Oceans 11? 

The first, 1960 version with original Rat Pack: Peter Lawford, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Joey Bishop became the benchmark for casino heist movies.  It was slick and glamorous just like the casinos it was based around. 

Surprisingly the remake in 2001 was an excellent updating of the original with an ensemble cast of Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Julia Roberts capturing the beating heart of Las Vegas gambling.  The Bellagio features heavily throughout the film, showcasing one of the world’s most beautiful gaming rooms. 

The darker but ultimately finer Casino from 1995 pits Robert De Niro against Joe Pesci, set against the glorious scenery of the world’s highest octane gambling city, Las Vegas.

Oct 04 2011

Roulette is a game where it is possible to win or lose a large amount of money in the blink of an eye and as this is largely down to luck it may seem like there is little that you can do to improve your chances of success.  There are, however, some useful tips that can help you to play sensibly and may increase your chances of leaving with your finances in good shape.

First of all, decide in advance how much you plan to spend at the roulette wheel.  This will prevent you from getting into a downward spiral of losing more and more money in a bid to win it back.  Also, choose a table where the betting limit is affordable.  It is better to be able to bet less and have enough funds to get you through an unlucky streak, than to blow everything on a few bad spins. 

Only play at a casino where the payout rate is a decent percentage.  This means that you will get more return on your stake if you win, so you could end up better off if you are lucky.  You could also try choosing outside bets such as red numbers or even numbers, rather than inside ones like picking a single number.  Although these bets pay less, you stand a much better chance of winning. 

If you do win, it is important to know when to walk away from the table.  It can be very tempting use your winnings as another stake to try and get even more money, but this could result in you losing everything that you just won. 

Oct 02 2011

Bingo was invented by the Italians.  It was not called bingo though, instead it was known as Lo Giuoco del Lotto d’Italia and was a large-scale numbers-based lottery organised by the government after the unification of Italy in 1530.  The Lotto d’Italia has been played every Sunday since then and is worth more than a staggering $75 million to Italy’s economy.  One thing is for sure, the celebrations of a 15th century lottery winner would have been as enthusiastic as the modern day bingo player following a big prize.

Following the Italian example, the French elite adopted ‘Le Lotto’ in the late 17th century and created a game more akin to the bingo of today.  Classic Le Lotto was played with numbered cards and wooden chips.  Each player was dealt one card each, the chips were drawn from a cloth bag and they would cover their numbers when they were called out.  Lotto cards had three horizontal rows and five vertical rows of random numbers between 1 and 90, with four blank spaces and five numbers on each line.  A player won when they had filled a horizontal line.

Throughout the next few centuries, lotto games became increasingly popular throughout Europe and developed many variations, including counting games and other educational games for children.

Bingo and its ancestors have always been popular throughout history and thanks to the modernisation of bingo halls and the increase in online bingo sites like Gala Bingo and Xbingo.com, the game has a wider and more varied audience then ever before.

Sep 30 2011

Poker has exploded into pop culture during the last decade, with countless televised tournaments across the UK, Europe and worldwide, both in casinos and online. The most popular version of the game is Texas Hold ‘Em, which is simple to learn but difficult to master.

At the start of a Hold’em game, each player is dealt two ‘hole’ cards. Then, in the centre of the table the dealer adds the community cards, which all players can use to make their hand. First the dealer will turn three cards over (‘the flop’) followed by one more, (‘the turn’) and a final fifth card (‘the river’). Players must make the best possible hand from any combination of the five community cards and their two hole cards. For example, a player can use two, one or none of their hole cards with three, four or even five community cards. At the end of the hand the winner is the player with the best hand.

Hands are ranked in the following order. 

Royal Flush (the best hand in poker, 10-J-Q-K-A all of the same suit)
Straight Flush (a run of five cards of the same suit in order)
Full House (three of a kind combined with a pair e.g 7-7-7-J-J would be Sevens full of Jacks)
Four of a kind (a set of one card e.g four aces)
Flush (5 cards of the same suit in no particular order)
Straight (5 cards of different suits in order)
Three of a kind (3 cards all the same e.g 8-8-8)
A pair (two cards the same)
High Card (None of the above where the highest card trumps)

If it comes down to a tie, which often happens due to the shared community cards, then the hands are separated by ‘kickers’ – the highest card of the remaining five. For example, if two players have a pair of Kings then the player with the next highest card in his hand will take the pot. Similarly, flushes and straights are ranked by the highest card in the set. If the hands are identical then the pot is shared.

Sep 28 2011

Online gambling offers the chance to win large sums of money by making the right bets.  However, in the end many gamblers find that they just break even.  Matched betting is a technique for taking advantage of some of the systems of online gambling.

The key to matched betting is to find online gambling sites that offer new players a free first bet.  Two different sites are needed to make a matched bet.  Apart from an online bookmaker offering a free bet, the player must sign up with a betting exchange.  A betting exchange allows bettors to lay bets just like a bookmaker would, offering other bettors their own odds. 

After opening an account with both websites, the free bet must often be unlocked by placing a bet with your own money.  In order to do this without losing any money, first make a bet on the bookmaker’s website.  Then lay the bet on a betting exchange.  Laying the bet ensures that no matter the outcome, you will not lose any money.  Calculators are available on many forums to help calculate the ideal bet to lay.  After completing this process, zero money should be lost no matter the outcome, and the free bet is unlocked.

The process can now be repeated, but this time using the free bet as a stake instead of personal cash.  This time, the ideal outcome is to win the whole of the free bet value as cash.  Depending on the exact odds, and commission  taken by the betting exchange website, the actual earnings can be a little lower.

Sep 22 2011