TEXAS HOLDEM ONLINE POKER
TEXAS HOLDEM ONLINE POKER
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Horseshoe no longer down on its luck |
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LAS VEGAS - Venerable Binion's Horseshoe
casino, a place of
texas holdem
gambling lore that
had been closed since January, when federal marshals seized more than $1
million, reopened in April, spruced up and refurbished. However, the more polished Horseshoe on Fremont Street, in downtown Las Vegas, will be absent some of the appeal that made the gritty old version a favorite among folks whose preference was for no-frills gambling with some of the best odds in town. The casino, which has been bought by a West Virginia company and is being operated by gaming-industry giant Harrah's, was forced to close when the marshals did what gamblers had failed to do for more than 50 years - break the bank. However, the feds had an edge - a court order allowing them to take the money because the casino had failed to fund employee health-care benefits. The amount taken reduced the Horseshoe's on-hand cash below levels required by regulations to pay off gamblers, and, as a result, the casino that bore the name of the late Benny Binion, a Vegas gambling pioneer, closed. The reborn Horseshoe opened April 1 with renovated hotel rooms, new carpeting and a brighter look. Although the famous $3 late-night steak dinner is long gone from the Horseshoe's menu, there are $7.95 steak-and-shrimp, $8.95 steak-and-lobster and $9.95 prime-rib specials at the coffee shop. The legendary casino will continue to be the setting for an event popularized there, the World Series of Poker, which runs through May and culminates with the No-Limit Holdem championship during the last full week of May. What the Horseshoe will not have are the single-deck blackjack games that featured rules so favorable to the player that Binion's consistently was voted one of the best places to play in local newspaper polls. The casino still has a handful of single-deck games, but there is a key difference. The house pays winners 6-to-5 rather than the traditional 3-to-2 on a blackjack - when the first two cards dealt to the player are an ace and a 10 or a face card (which counts as 10). Although the difference may seem small, blackjack observers say the change takes away a game that had been nearly an even-odds proposition (when played correctly), and gives a decided advantage to the house. Other blackjack games at the Horseshoe now are two- or six-deck versions. "We're getting some feedback that the 6-5 game would make old Benny Binion roll over in his grave," said new general manager Wade Faul. "But the truth is that the tables are occupied." And, Faul added, the single-deck game recalled by the Binion faithful is nearly extinct in Vegas. Such a game attracts skilled blackjack players who can shave the house edge to a sliver or even gain an advantage, and casinos can't make much money. "It's not realistic," Faul said. "You just can't offer that game anymore." In addition to the World Series, the Horseshoe has been the backdrop for some of the city's most storied texas holdem gambling events. Perhaps most famous is the true tale of a man who nearly 25 years ago bet $770,000 on one roll of the dice, won and walked out the door with a suitcase full of cash. The same fellow, William Lee Bergstrom, returned to Binion's and won similar all-or-nothing bets of $590,000, $190,000 and $90,000. In time, Bergstrom lost a one-roll bet of $1 million. He committed suicide a few months later. His death was never linked conclusively to the loss. |
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