Check some holidays gifts off your shopping list early this season! If you’re looking for the perfect gift for the poker-loving, casino buff in your life, we’ve got you covered.
1. Custom Playing Cards – The best part about this gift idea is that you can customize it for any casino lover on your list. Best friend or significant other? Feature some of your favorite photos together. Cat-loving boss? Well, there are plenty of cat photos to go around!
2. A New Watch – It’s easy to lose track of time while hitting the tables, especially in a casino setting where time seems to always stand still. A shnazzy new watch is a great accessory for both everyday wear, as well as weekends spent hitting the Atlantic City strip.
3. Casinopoly – The Monopoly masterminds are back at it again with the latest game variation, Casinopoly! Your loved ones will enjoy all the classic fun and excitement of the original Monopoly, with some casino flair.
4. A Poker Set – Is there any better gift for a poker enthusiast than a new set of casino quality playing cards and poker chips? We didn’t think so!
5. Gambling Books – Help your loved ones brush up on strategies for their favorite casino games with some light reading. There are plenty of great how-to’s and handbooks out there to try.
What will you be getting the casino buff on your holiday shopping list this year? We’d love to hear all of your ideas on our Facebook page!
Casinos by M&M is a casino & DJ party company serving the Tri-State New York area. We specialize in authentic casino parties and party supplies. Our charismatic, professional dealers and exciting casino action will make your next party one to remember. For more information about our services, visit our website or dial 1-800-HAVE-A-BLAST!
Everyone walks into a casino thinking “today is the day my luck will change,” but unfortunately for most, it rarely does. But what if luck had nothing to do with your winning or losing? Here are six people who — either through great intelligence, practice or just plain cheating — knew they would be leaving a winner.
As the first person to exploit the wheel bias in roulette, Garcia-Pelayo was able to beat the odds. Wheel bias is the belief that every roulette wheel favors some numbers over others, because of minute differences in the internal gears and leveling. Using what he learned from studying hundreds of wheels, he bet on that wheels’ “hot numbers,” giving him a 15% edge over the house. For a decade he studied and hit every casino from Spain to America, earning a total of $1.5 million in winnings.
After decades of research and development, Taft created a wearable computer that helped him count cards. After just one week, Taft won $40,000. His other famous inventions include a belt buckle video camera, used to see the dealer’s hole card and a computer that could tell the positioning of cards in a perfectly shuffled deck.
Ida Summers’ good looks, small frame and social graces allowed her to pull off the most daring cons ever attempted at a casino. Summers was a pro at swapping out the dealer’s deck with her own pre stacked ones, known as a cool deck. After thousands of dollars won and even more people conned, her luck ultimately ran out when the FBI arrested her.
Also known as the man who could beat any slot machine, Carmichael made his fortune by hacking nearly every machine across Las Vegas. Carmichael created a “light wand” that he was able to insert into a machine, cut off the light sensor and drop the coins. Ironically, Carmichael now works with slot machine manufacturers to help make foolproof machines.
Unlike others who tricked the game in order to make money, Colavecchio went straight to the source. Throughout the 90’s, he created almost exact replicas of slot machine coins. He was not caught until casino managers realized there were thousands more coins in stock than were ever ordered by the casino itself. Like Carmichael, he too now works with law enforcement to prevent and catch counterfeiters.
Known as the father of card counting, Thorp not only used the method, he also created it. By essentially keeping track of what value cards were where on the table, Thorp and his friend, Claude Shannon, left the casino with roughly $70,000 every time. Because no one had ever heard of card counting, Thorp was never actually caught, but he was kicked out of every casino he entered because he was suspected of cheating.
Think you have what it takes to beat the house? To learn how you can face the dealer with family and friends on your very own blackjack table, visit Casinos by M&M online or dial 1-800-HAVE-A-BLAST.
Whether you’d like to admit it or not, you know you’ve imagined what it would be like to wager your life’s savings in a Las Vegas casino and come out a billionaire. While the prospect of winning millions in a matter of minutes might be tempting, most people resist the urge for fear of losing it all to the gambling gods. However, there have been quite a few times where people let their curiosity get the best of them, and for some it paid off in a big way!
William Lee Bergstrom – “Go big, or go home” was definitely the motto of the day when Bergstrom walked into the Horseshoe in 1980 with $777,000 in a suitcase and bet it all on craps in one sitting. Luckily, his risky maneuver paid off, doubling his money in seconds.
John Hennigan – What happens when you bet a high-stakes, Las Vegas loving gambler that he can’t last living six weeks out in rural Des Moines, Iowa? Well, in Hennigan’s case, that gambler loses a $100,000 bet in just two days.
Bob Stupak – In 1989, Stupak went down in history as the man to place the single largest bet Las Vegas has ever seen. A casino owner himself, Stupak had a soft spot for gambling on football games — a soft spot that made him a pretty penny after betting one million dollars on the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl that year.
Stu Ungar – A man of mysterious memory abilities! Ungar is noted as one of the best blackjack players of all time, due in large part to his ability to keep track of cards as they land on the table. Our football gambling millionaire friend Bob Stupak decided to challenge Ungar’s skills, betting him $100,000 that he couldn’t memorize three decks of cards in a row — and boy was he wrong!
Do you think you’re ready to risk it all for the chance to take home the pot? If you choose Casinos by M&M for your next party, you can — with funny money of course!
To learn more about the services and casino games we can provide, click here to view our website or call 1-800-HAVE-A-BLAST. Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Google+ and Twitter!
