NFL Week 16: Imperial Palace

Merry Christmas to all out there! It's Christmas Eve morning here, where everyone is late to wake up in the house. This is probably a bad idea since Santa needs everyone to go to bed early tonight so he can prepare.....or Santa can get up at 3 in the morning to wrap presents tomorrow....while the NFL is on! Hey, what an idea!

This is another weird week, getting me out of my routine. It's Saturday, we are at home, with no soccer games, and there will be NFL games tomorrow morning (instead of Monday morning). It's a weird feeling to adjust the routine after 15 weeks. We are actually going into work on Monday morning - this means I can actually be productive at work on a Monday instead of being hal asleep on 4 hours of sleep?

When I talk about weird feelings in casinos, there's one casino that stands out as one that I am very uncomfortable at. Kermit could guess this answer right away without looking at the title - it's the Imperial Palace. Wow, I do not belong there. It starts with the extra long craps tables - I think they are designed to fit 10 on each side. It's very hard to throw the dice all the way down and hit the wall on this extra large table. It's like asking Greg Maddux to now throw a strike from the mound that is 75 feet away, not 60' 6". Usually, I am close to drunk when I gamble there, and there is heavy smoke fog in the casino - so when I roll, I can't see the dice. It's like gambling on the 1988 Fog Bowl playoff game. I'm relying on Verne Lundquist, the stick man, to tell me what the result of the roll is.

And then we get to the blackjack pit. It's not gambling as usual there. Somehow we end up there on a Fri or Sat night - which is when the performers come out and sing/dance in the middle of the pit. They usually are cover bands for famous artists; Madonna, Elvis, etc. The one still seared in my head is the Freddie Mercury look alike singing "Bicycle" while a stripper does a pole dance around an actual bicycle.

And I'm supposed to decide whether to split 3's vs a 4 with this going on?

And, finally, it's impossible to get to. There's no direct entrance to the casino off the strip. (Is there?)

It's not like I hate the place - there are others that I dislike a lot more than IP - but I just don't feel 100% there. I'm out of my comfort zone - like doing the picks on a Saturday morning.

But here they are, anyway:

Bal 23, Cle 9. Tell me how we will stop a very angry Ravens team with Ray Rice in the backfield. He rushed for 200 against us a few weeks ago -without really even trying.

Den 31, Buf 20. I just can't see the Broncos blowing this one.

Car 27, TB 17. I can't trust the Panthers just yet to win convincingly, even over bad teams like TB.

Was 27, Min 13. I think the Vikes have packed it in for the year; Washington, somehow, is playing well - they remind me of the 2009 Mangini-led Browns.

Ten 24, Jax 17. What to think of the Titans after last week's loss to the Colts? They had a playoff berth in their hand!

Pit 23, StL 7. Let's see how Batch can play in this one.

Cin 24, Az 23. Again, I will say it: I don't trust the Bengals. They may win, but it will be down to the wire.

NE 27, Mia 24. Mia will be able to score on the Pats, and have some defense, enough to stay in the game.

KC 23, Oak 13. I think last week's loss is it for Oakland. They will pack it in.

NYJ 24, NYG 21. Does anyone outside of New York care about this game? Wow, what a dud this turned out to be.

SD 28, Det 24. I've gone back and forth on this one. Maybe - just maybe? - the Chargers have turned the corner (albeit too late)???

Dal 28, Phi 24. Just a hunch. Rob Ryan will figure something out after being embarrassed the last time he faced the Eagles.

Sea 27, SF 20. Seattle is too hot right now.

GB 31, Chi 10. The Pack have something to prove.

NO 34, Atl 23. Speaking of "hot" - I lost in my semi-finals last week due to Brees and his FIVE touchdowns.

Best bets: 15 of them. Last week: 8-5-1; overall: 128-99-11.

Bal -12
Den -3
Den/Buf over 43
Was -7
Az +4.5
Az/Cin over 41
Mia +9
KC -2.5
Oak/KC under 42
SD +1.5
Dal -1
Sea +1
SF/Sea over 37.5
GB -11.5
NO -7

Supercontest picks:
Bal -13
Den -2.5
Az +4
Mia +9.5
SD +2.5

NFL Week 15: Boomtown Casino

Good morning everyone! We are taking off for early this morning for Sanya, a resort town on the island of Hainan, located on the southern tip of China. (The best part, according to the kids? No immigration to travel through!)

Hainan island is currently the world's center for golf course construction; there are over 100 courses on the island, and more projects are underway. China is imposing strict regulations on the construction of new courses on the mainland; however, on the resort island of Hainan - go ahead! Knock yourself out! I think Nicklaus has multiple projects in progress now, as does Norman.....

Yes, I'm taking the clubs - and we are taking the boys' clubs as well. This will be the first time they will be golfing since we moved here; I'm sure they have outgrown the set we bought them in 2009. Freddie will be hitting my hybrid and then tossing it in the lake - just like his father!

I won't have access to the blog while I am gone, so I am up early this morning to post the picks. Getting up early to gamble is no big deal to me, but getting up early in order to post the picks before a morning flight requires a lot of logistics at 5:30 in the morning - very much like my degenerate travels to gamble in Biloxi.

There was one fall weekend in 2002 when I was in Albany, GA, for work - we have a paper plant there. I was there for a total of 9 days straight. Saturday we did testing on the line, and Sunday was a free day. What to do? I could go to a friend's bbq that evening (but I didn't know many people there); I could go to Friday's and watch the NFL games (but it was a dry country, so no beer), or......
I could drive 5 hours one way to Biloxi!

You know which one I chose. I left at 6; the first 2 hours of the drive was a trip going through the deepest of the deep south. (Find a map and try to find a route from Albany to I-10. It's very difficult). I arrived at the Boomtown casino around 11, where I gambled for 4-5 hours ($3 craps RULED!!!) and left around 5 to get back. I kept an eye on the Browns game while at the tables; the upset the Saints that day.

So today's small sacrifice for you, the dear reader, was nothing compared to what I did to get my fix 10 years ago. Ah, memories.

On to the games:

Dal 31, TB 14. The Bucs look like a team that has given up.

NYG 27, Was 17. I think the Skins will have a letdown, and the Giants know they have to keep going.

GB 31, KC 16. Orton is back! And lovable coach Romeo is back as well!

NO 27, Min 20. I neeed a big day from Harvin for one of my playoff games....

Sea 16, Chi 13. Chicago's offense still is struggling, and the Seahawks are on a roll.

Buf 27, Mia 23. Just a complete gut pick. I think Miami will lose a bit of their effort after Sparano was fired.

Hou 24, Car 23. Letdown for the Texans (just like the Niners let down last week).

Ten 20, Ind 13. The Colts are playing for Caldwell's job! That will give them the edge they need! (right? No...)

Cin 19, StL 16. I don't trust this Bengal team much anymore.

Oak 27, Det 20. Two teams imploding, so go against the dome team playing outdoors.

NE 24, Den 13. I saw the Broncos' game live last week, and I still don't believe it. How did that happen?

Phi 27, NYJ 24. I can't believe I am a sucker for the Eagles again this year.

Bal 27, SD 20. These are the games that the Chargers consistently lose under Norv.

SF 20, Pit 17. What a great measuring stick game for both of these teams.

Best bets: 14 of them. Last week: 12-7-1; overall: 120-94-10.

Dal -7
Buf -1
Mia/Buf over 41
Sea +3.5
Sea/Chi under 35.5
Car +5.5
Ten/Ind under 41.5
StL +7
NYG -6.5
Oak +1.5
NYJ/Phi over 44
NE -7.5
NE/Den under 46
Bal -2.5

Supercontest picks this week:
Dal -7
Sea +3.5
Car +6.5
Bal -2.5
And - for the first time this year! - Cle +6.5

NFL Week 14: Riverside Casino

It's going to be a relatively relaxing Sunday/Monday for NFL football for me, as the Browns have already gotten their heartbreaking loss out of the way on Friday morning. Thanks, guys! (I introduced one of our friends here to an impressive f-bomb rate in the 2nd half. I also have him convinced that all announcers are out to ignore/diminish the Browns. What's that saying? "You're not paranoid if they really ARE out to get you? That's how I feel....)

Anyway, (oh, by the way, how come I am watching the game 12,000 miles away, and I can tell that McCoy doesn't look right --- but Shurmur can't?)

OK, got that out of my system.

So now we head to week 14, and a plethora of games to focus on without the distraction of the Browns. Kind of like a relaxing buffet of games and 5 hours of the red zone channel.

And when I want relaxing gambling, there's no question what is #1 on the list - Riverside Casino in Iowa! $5 craps, $5 blackjack, $5 Pai Gow Poker, $5 roulette, and $5 UTH. What else can you ask for? It's fun, easy, and you can't get in too much trouble there in terms of losing a bankroll.

The clientele? Well, a mix of retired farmers and U of Iowa seniors. That's it - you are either 21 or 73 there. The 21 year olds are impressed if you double the table limit (ooooh! $20 odds?) and the 73 year olds are too into their own game and busy chatting with the dealers.

The dealers themselves are not very good - there were an average of 2 mistakes made every time I played craps, and UTH was a disaster - but most of the time they were friendly.

The picture above is the walkway from the parking lot to the casino (I think; I don't actually think I made that walk in the daylight). Most of the time that was made in 10 degree weather with 30 mph winds.

It's everything a non-stressful, low-intensity casino should be....just like a Sunday without Browns football. And I'm so glad (in retrospect) that it wasn't open when I lived there; with the boys being 4 and 2 years old, and Janice going to bed at 9:30 most nights, I would have made the 15 minute trip at least 3 days a week and become a regular. At least.....

On to the games:

Cin 23, Hou 13. The Bengals will take their Steelers/Ravens frustrations out on TJ Yates and the Texans.

NE 27, Was 16. I think Belicheck will get this team focused after a too-close win over the Colts last week.

NYJ 24, KC 10. I'll say it again, how does KC score more than 10 points?

Mia 23, Phi 16. I think the Eagles have given up.

Atl 27, Car 20. I believe in a very desperate Falcons team. Probably to my detriment.

Bal 28, Ind 13. Like the Pats, Baltimore will not show anything special this game, and (most likely) a back door cover will ensue.

Ten 23, NO 20. I don't think people realize how bad the Saits are on the road.

Det 33, Min 21. The vikings defense last week was awful.

Jax 16, TB 13. Another team that has quit - the Bucs! I think the Jags rally around their interim coach here.

Den 17, Chi 10. Boy, is Tebow catching the right teams at the right time.

SF 24, Az 23. Maybe a letdown for the 49ers as they clinched the division last week and the Steelers coming up next week.

GB 31, Oak 24. Another let down game - this time for the Packers after the dramatic win last week?

SD 31, Buf 13. Please just shoot me - why am I trusting this Chargers team again?

NYG 27, Dal 24. It's time for a Romo collapse in the 4th quarter, isn't it?

Sea 20, StL 6. The Rams remind me of the 2000 Browns with Spergon Wynn as QB. The Rams did not cross the 35 yard line last week.

Best bets: 20 (!!) of them. Last week: 10-7; overall: 108-87-9

Cin -3
NE -8
NYJ -10.5
Mia -3
Phi/Mia under 45.5
Atl -3
Ten +3.5
NO/Ten under 50
Min/Det over 46.5
Jax +3
TB/Jax under 40.5
Den -3
Chi/Den under 35.5
Az +4
SF/Az over 39.5
Oak +11.5
SD -7
NYG +4.5
StL -10
Sea/StL under 36.5

And for the Supercontest:
NYJ -9
Atl -2.5
Ten +3.5
Az +3.5
Den -3.5

NFL Week 13: Mandalay Bay

All the college football championship games (Clemson? ACC champions? Oh yeah, that Orange Bowl of Clemson vs TCU will be a real winner) remind me of a great weekend we had in Vegas for the end of the college football season – Layup’s bachelor party in 2006.

We didn’t technically go on Championship weekend – we went the week before Thanksgiving, which was then the end of the Big 10 season. There were so many games that Saturday, we camped out in the book for 12 hours placing bet after bet. It was awesome.

Mandalay is now one of my favorite casinos that I rarely go to anymore. The service seemed good, the table limits were high (although, looking back, were they really that high?), and the book seemed to have ample space to set up shop for the day. The games were normal – I don’t recall any carnival games – although I got killed at most of them. The restaurants were good, and (at the time) they had a good show in “Mama Mia”. ABBA music! What’s not to like?

The only problem is that you feel like you are on an island down there at Mandalay – if you want to leave the casino, there’s really nowhere to go within 10 minutes walk. You either take a cab or that stupid train to the Luxor. There’s no escape if you have a bad day.
Not much more to say about Mandalay – I would love to try it out again someday. But I’ll always have fond memories of the 2006 Ohio St- Michigan game, being in that book watching the last #1 vs #2 matchup (before this year).

On to the games.

NE 27, Ind 10. I don’t get the revenge angle here at all. “oooooh, Brady and Belicheck will pile up the score, and show the Colts who is boss!!! They will score 45 here!” Really? They’re going to rub it in to Jim Caldwell, Curtis Painter and crew? What’s the motivation here? They will run up the score – on purpose – against an 0-11 team? That smacks of weakness. This will not be the 45-3 beatdown that the Pats did vs. the Jets a few years back.

Ten 24, Buf 17. The Titans are still in it, and have the motivation.

Chi 19, KC 9. How many points will the Chiefs score on the road?

Atl 17, Hou 10. Again, how many points will the Texans score with their 3rd string quarterback?

Min 17, Den 13. If Tebow can do it AGAIN, this time in a dome….I don’t know. I am kind of a believer, but jeees – just put 8 in the box to stop the run! San Diego just plain quit last week, that’s how the Broncos won that game….

NYJ 20, Was 13. The Jets have to win out (or close to it). They won’t let the 2nd worst team in the NFC beat them.

TB 27, Car 17. Maybe Freeman is injured, maybe not. But I have enough faith in the Bucs defnse – and no faith in the Panthers D.

Mia 23, Oak 16. Oakland coming to the east, playing a 1:00 game vs a team that has 10 days rest.

Pit 24, Cin 20. I just think the Bengals will be in all these games coming down the stretch.

Dal 23, Az 20. A typical nail-biting win for the Cowboys in the desert.

GB 34, NYG 27. Does anybody really believe the Pack will lose a game this regular season?

SF 24, StL 6. Same comment above applies here – how many points do you see the Rams scoring? 6? 9? Maybe 10?

NO 34, Det 20. I think the Lions are in free fall.

SD 20, Jax 17. Maybe, just maybe, the Jags will be freed up and play loose after their coach got fired.

Best bets: 17 of them. Last week: 7-7; overall: 98-80-8.
Ind +20.5 (!!! I can't pass that up)
Ind/NE under 48.5
Ten +2
Chi -7
KC/Chi under 37
Atl -1.5
Atl/Hou under 38
Min +1
Den/Min under 37
NYJ -3
NYJ/Was under 39
TB -2
Mia -3
GB/NYG over 53
SF -14
StL/SF under 38
NO -8.5


For the Supercontest, maybe Tony Dorsett is the lucky charm we need (he looks good in person for being 50 years old!)

Ten +1.5
Atl -3
Mia -3
TB -3.5
SF -13