Well, the plane tickets are booked, and the Ms. Gulphphunger and I will be heading to St. Louis Thursday night for the 'Con.
Does anyone have any experience with the casinos in the area? If so, I have a few questions:
1) How far away are they from the con?
2) What are the general rules for blackjack at said casinos? Specifically: does dealer have to hit or stay on soft 17? Is there a limit to what pairs can be split? Can you double down after a split? 5, 6, 7-card Charlie (or none at all)? Is there a surrender option?
I'm already practicing in anticipation; it's been a long time since I've played. If anyone else is game for the game, let me know. Not looking to Wong the table or anything, just looking for a couple hours of fun at slightly better odds.
~Mike/player of Gulphphunger
LEMAGRAG
LOFTONM1
Re: Casinos and blackjack
04/10/2009 12:11 AM CDT
>>where the casinos at?
1)Missouri River (via I-70).
On the St. Charles side and formerly on the river itself (used to be a permanently-docked paddleboat casino) is the AmeriStar or whatever the new owners have been calling it since the buyout. It is now a boat-in-a-moat, meaning they built a new building and use a hydraulics system to keep the floor technically floating on water. Most of my casino experience was here, and the reputation it had when I was active was the best-paying house in Missouri. I didn't get much table time in before leaving, but it was easy more often than not to come away with more than I left.
On the St. Louis County side is the Harrah's, which was the original boat-in-a-moat casino. I hear people saying it pays well, but this was never the case when I or people I know go.
2)Downtown St. Louis (Mississippi riverfront on the Missouri side).
The President. This was was really just awful from what I heard. It recently had an accident a flood season or two back so it may have moved, and it was constantly plagued by bankruptcy. Converted from some sort of luxury pleasure-cruising paddleboat from the 70s.
Lumiere Place (what the hell? All our casinos are on I-70) is our newest addition. Opening day (about a year or two ago) was simply awful, nobody I know likes going there and would rather go to Harrah's instead. Aside from what happens on the tables/slots, the place is horridly overpriced.
Metro East (Mississippi riverront on the Illinois side).
Alton Belle -- never been. Don't really know my way around Illinois, either, but I believe this one's up by the Chain of Rocks bridge where 270 crosses into the Corruption State. If you get lost or arrive early enough to grab a bite to eat, Fast Eddie's is really highly recommended (no kids, though, everyone going in has to be 21 or older).
Casino Queen -- ditto about going to play there, but this one is right across from the arch and according to the ad guys they have the loosest slots in town (which is a good thing, because the other "loose slots" happen to be nearby as well if you desire them). Unfortunately, so is East St. Louis which has the dubious distinction of having something bad in the news happening there everyday. If you wanna go, go early while there's still daylight left because you don't want to ask for directions there. Trivia point: rap artist Nelly was once mugged there for a large payout he won.
As far as the games went? Eh, never really paid attention. Casinos are loud and energy-sapping as it is, and I was usually always winning.
DISCLAIMER: THIS POSTER IS NOT A MEMBER OF STAFF AND HIS INFORMATION IS/MIGHT BE WRONG.
1)Missouri River (via I-70).
On the St. Charles side and formerly on the river itself (used to be a permanently-docked paddleboat casino) is the AmeriStar or whatever the new owners have been calling it since the buyout. It is now a boat-in-a-moat, meaning they built a new building and use a hydraulics system to keep the floor technically floating on water. Most of my casino experience was here, and the reputation it had when I was active was the best-paying house in Missouri. I didn't get much table time in before leaving, but it was easy more often than not to come away with more than I left.
On the St. Louis County side is the Harrah's, which was the original boat-in-a-moat casino. I hear people saying it pays well, but this was never the case when I or people I know go.
2)Downtown St. Louis (Mississippi riverfront on the Missouri side).
The President. This was was really just awful from what I heard. It recently had an accident a flood season or two back so it may have moved, and it was constantly plagued by bankruptcy. Converted from some sort of luxury pleasure-cruising paddleboat from the 70s.
Lumiere Place (what the hell? All our casinos are on I-70) is our newest addition. Opening day (about a year or two ago) was simply awful, nobody I know likes going there and would rather go to Harrah's instead. Aside from what happens on the tables/slots, the place is horridly overpriced.
Metro East (Mississippi riverront on the Illinois side).
Alton Belle -- never been. Don't really know my way around Illinois, either, but I believe this one's up by the Chain of Rocks bridge where 270 crosses into the Corruption State. If you get lost or arrive early enough to grab a bite to eat, Fast Eddie's is really highly recommended (no kids, though, everyone going in has to be 21 or older).
Casino Queen -- ditto about going to play there, but this one is right across from the arch and according to the ad guys they have the loosest slots in town (which is a good thing, because the other "loose slots" happen to be nearby as well if you desire them). Unfortunately, so is East St. Louis which has the dubious distinction of having something bad in the news happening there everyday. If you wanna go, go early while there's still daylight left because you don't want to ask for directions there. Trivia point: rap artist Nelly was once mugged there for a large payout he won.
As far as the games went? Eh, never really paid attention. Casinos are loud and energy-sapping as it is, and I was usually always winning.
DISCLAIMER: THIS POSTER IS NOT A MEMBER OF STAFF AND HIS INFORMATION IS/MIGHT BE WRONG.
