If you don’t wanna be an average tourist when you visit Las Vegas make a trip to the Double Down Saloon… across the street from UNLV. Try the “ass juice” enjoy the atmosphere…breath in the smoke and thank Jebus places like this still exist.
Archive for Tom Recommends
The Happiest Place on Earth
The Flamingo Hotel and Casino “Go Room”
The Flamingo Hotel and Casino is one of my favorite places to stay while in Vegas for many reasons. First, it’s in the center of the busiest and most exciting intersection on the strip. It’s located walking distance from The Bellagio, Ceasars Palace, Bills, Ballys, The Reprehensable Imperial Palace, Harrah’s, Paris and many others.
Also, it’s a very good value. Being in the middle of this great intersection it’s still possible to stay here for $60 a night. AND.. if you’re part of the Total Rewards club you’ll stay for free … A LOT! Usually, I’ll log into Total Rewards and get 5 nights free. So what I do, is schedule the 5 nights free in the standard room… then when I check in, I upgrade to the “Go Room”
which they offer at a discount at the front desk.
If you know what the $20 trick is, forget about it… it won’t work here. But, if you’re spending $25 a night for a “Go – Room” you’re getting an exceptional value.
NOTE: Next door is Bill’s… check it out. Also, right around the block from The Flamingo are 2 great places to check out. If you walk 1 block behind the casino there is a strip mall that has a great, relatively unknown Italian restaurant called Battista’s. Definitely a favorite for me. Right next door to Battista’s is a little bar that serves a Miller Light in a bottle and the best hotdog ever for $2. This is the place to be if you need to eat cheap.
Check out The Flamingo Hotel’s Facebook page
The Flamingo Hotel and Casino “Go Room” from Tom Meny on Vimeo.
Winnersbank 200, revisited
As promised… I said before that I would review the WinnersBank200 after returning from Vegas. And as I predicted, I have nothing but great things to say about it.
(check out how it works here before reading on)
I first used the WinnersBank200 on day 1 of my trip. A co-worker of mine was also in Vegas and he hadn’t been to Fremont before so we decided to go over to the Golden Nugget and get some lunch. After eating the $20 buffet (which was only mediocre) we decided to play some 3 card poker. We found a $5 table and started playing.
Dave had won several hands and I wasn’t having much luck. I told Dave “I’m not having any luck so it’s time for me to go…….. ” and after about a 3 second pause “but first I’m gonna do this” and I upped my bet from $5 to $10 on each (in 3 card poker you can make between 1 and 3 bets). It was then that I hit my straight flush (which pays 40 to 1 in the pair plus bet and I’m not exactly sure what the 2nd and 3rd bets pay out)… this was good for over $500. Immediately, I put that $500 chip in the winners bank200. With the key safely placed in my hotel room back at the Luxor, there was NO WAY I could lose that $500 profit during this outing. I would need to go all the way back to my hotel room to get into the handy little safe.
My budget was $500 per day while in Vegas. This would include food, tips, and gambling. I would use the WinnersBank200 on each of my 7 days while in Vegas. On day 2, I won two $300 jackpots on the slots and would immediately put that money in the WinnersBank200 and therefore had $500 essentially to blow.
Later, I would win $1000 on a slot
and that too would go into the personal safe.
Even while playing craps, I would “go south” (going south means to take wi
nnings off the table and put them in your pocket, this is generally not acceptable in poker but ok in games where you play against the casino like blackjack, craps, and other table games). Everytime I won another hundred I would put more chips into the bank. EVERYBODY wanted to know about the Winners Bank200. The pit bosses would give me an akward stare as I safely stored green chips in my handy little safe. Had I taken 50 of those banks with me I could have easily made $40 a pop right there in the casinos. I explained to curious onlookers what the bank was a minimum of 20 times during this trip.
I cannot stress enough how much I recommend this little invention to ANYONE planning a trip to a casino. I am sure that I will be buying a few as gifts for my family and friends.
Real Poker Training
Real Poker Training is VITAL to all intermediate and advanced hold’em players. Todd Arnold (NSXT1 and NSXT2 depending on which site he is playing on) gives you an inside look at being an uber-successful online poker player. Todd has placed in the money in World Poker Tour tournaments and is a regular columnist for Card Player Magazine. Todd Arnold has won numerous big money online tournies and he lets you watch online as he plays them. There is a fee to be a member of his site, but I assure you I recouped that fee within hours of watching his videos. Nowhere else will you get to watch along as a pro player wins a big money tourny. As you are watching he is commenting on his plays and his strategy. As much as I want to keep this site a secret, I know it will benefit you if you become a member.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE use the link below if you want to join.
Cheapo Vegas
You all know that I am a Vegas addict. That being said there is one website that I religiously visit any time I plan a trip to LV. CheapoVegas.com is a website that will tell you EVERYTHING you need to know about Sin City. The boys at CheapVegas pull no punches when doing reviews of virtually all Las Vegas casinos, eateries, entertainment etc. etc..
They catagorize hotels by location, swank factor, food and much more. Their warnings about certain locations are very up front and not hidden. Many travel review sites will try and sugarcoat less than ideal locations by using phrases such as “the room is very intimate and rustic” which really means the room is tiny and is a shit hole. CheapoVegas on the other hand will tell you how it really is and will outright tell you to stay away or give it a try. One example of this is with their review of the Western Hotel and Casino in downtown LV. Basically they come right out and tell you it’s a death trap and even include a several page trip review of their stay. I was particularly amused by this review and you can read it here.
I think CheapoVegas is becoming a standard starting point for anyone planning a trip to LV as more than one of my friends have recently suggested it to me. I’ve known about it for a couple years now and have consulted the reviews to decide on every hotel i’ve stayed at for the past 4 trips.
The restaurant reviews are particularly useful as there are many places in vegas that aren’t worth a dime. They also tell you about the table limits of many casinos and where the best odds are.
Without a doubt, CheapoVegas is the best website to go to for all of your Las Vegas hotel and restaurant inquiries.
DVD: The Cooler
The Cooler starring William H. Macy is by far my favorite movie of all time. Ya, I know, my Las Vegas addiction might have something to do with it. But, if you are a Vegas lover and have EVER dreamed of moving to Las Vegas, this is the movie for you.
This is the story of Bernie, a las vegas casino cooler who’s job is to end the streak of anyone that’s getting lucky. The movie takes place at a Fremont Street casino in n downtown Vegas. Bernie, who’s down on his luck meets a coctail waitress played by Maria Bello and things start to change for the better.
The reason I think I like this movie is because it has the look and feel of old Las Vegas. One of the sub plots of the story is the battle between Fremont and the new Mega Casinos on the strip.
The soundtrack is fantastic and has a very jazz-like old-school Las Vegas lounge feel.
I HIGHLY recommend this movie to anyone that loves Las Vegas. You can purchase it by clicking below for as little $1.50
The Cooler
Unforgivable Cologne by Sean John
There are 2 reasons why you should buy this cologne:
- This is by far the best cologne i’ve ever smelled.
- Apparently nobody knows that this cologne exists. So you won’t be 1 of 20 guys wearing this cologne, all at the same party.
On a whim I bought a sample off ebay because I came across it while looking for other colognes. As many people who know me are aware, I am a cologne fanatic. I have 7 different bottles on my dresser. This one stands out. I HIGHLY recommend it.
Super Casino by Pete Earley
Super Casino by Pete Earley is a chronicle of the creation of Las Vegas’ super resort casinos. He Begins the book by detailing a scenario of a card counting black jack player. He even goes so far as to describe in a nutshell how to do it. After a historical background of early Las Vegas, Earley begins to focus on the Circus Circus corporation and its importance in the evolution of the super casino and how it changed Las Vegas forever.
Super Casino includes chapters written from the persepctive of Las Vegas card dealers, pit bosses, cheats, prostitutes, hotel maids and more. It is a very interesting history of the NEW Las Vegas and I believe it is a must-read for Las Vegas addicts like myself.
I recommend this book. You can purchase it below for as low as $1.31.
[The Poker Aficionado] by Peter Thomas Fornatale
The Poker Aficionado by Peter Thomas Fornatale is an inexpensive must-have gift for any poker player. This book reads more like a collection of short stories, poker facts, tid-bits, trivia, and excerpts from other well-known poker books. Included are poker tells by Mike Caro, poker tips by Phil Gordon, and stories from Amarillo Slim.
It is a perfect coffee table book or great for bathroom reading (not that I would ever read a book while on the pot). If you’re looking for a cheap but very good gift for your poker playing loved ones I highly recommend The Poker Aficionado. You can purchase it by clicking below for as low as .78 cents!
Poker Nation by Andy Bellin
I purchased Doyle Brunson’s Super System about 2 years ago. I still haven’t read it. I did actually read about 20 pages, but I got bored. I know I know, it’s heresy to say something like that, but I’m not foolin anyone. I probably haven’t completed an entire book since I graduated from high school in 1993. Sadly, that is the truth.
Recently, I decided that I wanted to seriously make an effort to improve my poker game. Short of moving to Vegas or commuting 5 hours to the nearest casino, I decided to start a poker library and read each and every book. Online I found several sites that rank poker books. So far, I own about 14. Today, I finished the first.
Andy Bellin’s Poker Nation is the perfect book to pull you deeper into the poker fantasy world that we all thrive to live in. This book is not a step by step how-to book on what hands to play and how to play them, but more of a look into the life of a professional poker player in the New York underground club scene. While getting a glimpse of what the life of a “rounder” is really like, without the glitz and glamour of what we see on TV, you also are exposed to various life-lessons of poker.
I highly recommend this book to ANYONE who, like me, dreams of living the lifestyle of a professional poker player. Even after the realities of the lifestyle are exposed in this book, the dingy clubs, the nefarious characters, the incredible financial swings, the solitude, some of us strive for this life. Most of all, some of us strive for exaclty what Andy Bellin is seaching for in this story about his life….. the pursuit of becoming a GREAT poker player.
