Vegas Click newsletter | February 8, 2007

Vegas Click News

news about Vegas & gambling
from VegasReference.com

February 8, 2007

From the Editor

Last time it took me two years to get another newsletter out. This time it took only five months! I'm improving.

Vegas Click reader wins $50,000 jackpot at Bodog!

One of our readers hit the $50,000 jackpot on the "Stars and Stripes" slot machine at Bodog in December. Unfortunately I can't contact that player because Bodog obviously doesn't release the player info because of privacy issues. All I know is that the player's initials are "A. H." and s/he is from Los Angeles. If this is you, get in touch with me because I want to interview you!
I have a few more details about the playing session but I don't want to spoil it in case I'm able to get that interview. In the meantime, I'll just say that this was on a $5 denomination slot machine.

Results of the "Name the Website" contest

I recently spent a gajillion dollars to get the domain name VegasClick.com, thinking that readers would prefer that name to VegasReference.com. To make sure that was true in the last newsletter I asked you to vote on your preference, Vegas Reference vs. Vegas Click. The result was that VegasClick won, but not by as much as I expected, just a 60% majority. But that's good enough for me, so the site has been renamed: VegasClick.com! We're now sporting a new logo and everything, as you can see at right.
As promised, a lucky reader received $50 for voting: "W. H." of Canada, who signed up for the newsletter on 22 Jan 2006. His name was drawn from the 72 of you who voted. Incidentally, that made the expected value from voting $50 / 72 = $1.44. Anyway, congratulations to W. H., who hopefully already enjoying his largesse received via PayPal.

Results of the Bodog contest

The first time I ran a drawing for $50 in free casino chips at Bodog, not a single person entered. So I tried it again in the last newsletter, mentioning that not one person entered the previous time and so your chances of winning were pretty good. And how many people entered that new contest?
Three.

So I'm not gonna run that particular contest any more. But I did pick a winner from the three who entered last time. It was supposed to be $50 in free casino chips at Bodog, but in light of new U.S. regulations (more on that in a minute) it's cold hard cash instead, sent by PayPal. Congratulations to Paul G. from Boston!

Oh, to enter the contest you just had to go to Bodog, sign up for a free account, take a screenshot of the blackjack table, and email it to me. That was it.

New contest: Pick the roulette layout and win $50

Here's a new contest for you, and it's easy: pick which roulette layout you like best. See, I'm having a new free-play roulette game built that you'll be able to play right on Vegas Click, and since it's being designed from scratch I have to pick which perspective to use. And I just can't decide, because they all look good. That's where you come in: Tell me which one you like best, and one lucky random voter will win $50.

Big shakeup in online gambling

Back in October congress passed a bill making it illegal for banks to process online gambling transactions. Importantly, it doesn't criminalize online gambling itself, but the effect is almost the same: Online casinos and poker rooms have been abandoning the U.S. market in droves. Payment processors like Neteller have followed.
What does this mean for you, the player? First it means that there are a lot less places you can gamble online. But unless your favorite casino or poker room has left the U.S. market, that shouldn't affect you too much. As you know, rather than advertising a bunch of different online casinos I just promote the best one I could find, Bodog, and they're still serving U.S. customers. I just won $1000 there in blackjack. (More on that in a minute.)

But the second way it affects online gamblers is more substantial: There are now fewer ways to get money in and out of casinos and poker rooms. Neteller, which is like PayPal for online gaming, used to be the method of choice. Not any more, at least not for U.S. players. So how can you deposit without Neteller? At Bodog you have three choices:

Credit cards. Your U.S. credit card probably won't work, but it might. I just did a test and was able to successfully deposit with six of my 15 different cards. Curiously, after the first deposit none of them would work again, though.

eWalletXpress. This is a site similar to Neteller. I was able to easily register and get validated in a couple of days.

Western Union. This one's not as convenient, but it works. First you call Bodog at 888-263-0000 and get the "Beneficiary Name". Then you call Western Union at 800-225-5227 or go to their website to send money with your credit card or bank account. If you send $500 or more, Bodog will credit back Western Union's transaction fee.

As a test, I successfully deposited with all three methods, $1000 total. Further below I'll share how I did in my playing session.

Bodog discontinues reload bonuses

With the departure of Neteller, it now costs Bodog more to process deposits and payouts. They figured they could either pass the transaction fees along to the player, or keep the transactions free but no longer offer the 10% reload bonus. They chose the latter, and I think that's the right choice. So you can still deposit and cash out for free at Bodog, but you won't get the 10% bonus every time you deposit. You'll still get it on your first deposit, just not on future deposits.

Vegas Click editor wins $1000 at Bodog

Sure, it's not the $50,000 that one of my readers won (see the lead story above), but $1000 is $1000.
In researching the deposit methods for one of the stories above, I figured I would try to double my money. I deposited $1000 and tried to double it to $2000. I used the Wizard's bankroll-maximizing method of betting 1/4th of my bankroll on each hand. That way I'm betting more when I'm winning (so I can press wins), and bet less when I'm losing (to avoid overbetting). I played blackjack, and unfortunately with blackjack there's the chance you can lose everything in one hand. If you split and then double down on each hand and lose both hands then you're wiped out all at once. In fact on one hand I split and doubled down on one hand and did lose. At least I didn't double down on both hands!

At one point my $1000 was down to only around $300. Then I bounced back and made my goal of $2000. It was a wild ride. The screenshot shows $2100, not $2000, because that includes the $100 bonus I got for my $1000 deposit (right before Bodog discontinued reload bonuses). I'm not counting that $100 because I didn't meet the wagering requirement so I can't withdraw it. I can withdraw only $2000, so that's why I'm considering this a $1000 win.

Vegas news & tips

Trick to get a room upgrade for $20
Here's a super tip that a reader passed along: When you check in to your hotel, put a $20 between your credit card and your ID before handing it to the clerk, and ask if there are any complimentary room upgrades available. Doesn't work every time, but it works most of the time, according to FrontDeskTip.com.

The Stardust closes

The Stardust hotel/casino closed in November and will be imploded soon. It's slated to be replaced by Boyd Gaming's new resort complex "Echelon Place".

That's it! See you next time.

We believe everything printed in this newsletter to be accurate but sometimes mistakes happen. We're not responsible for any errors or omissions. Any play you make is at your own risk -- that's why they call it gambling. :)