With the kids out of school, we took a quick trip to Singapore this week. What a neat city/state. It's hard to get over the fact that the whole country is only 30 km x 40 km in size......but there's enough to do for a good 3 days. We went to the science museum, went snow tubing (there is a place called Snow City, a warehouse-size building that makes artifical snow and allows you to tube down a 60 foot hill), rode the big ferris wheel, and saw a movie! An actual movie! We haven't seen a movie in a real movie theater in .......2 years? 3? That was nice......
I have to include the famous pool picture..swimming on top of the world....
And oh yes, of course, gambling. We stayed at the Marina Bay Sands, one of only two hotel-casinos in Singapore. So of course I had to try out (every night...even had a good session with Janice!)
It's just a little different there - even different than Macau. First, you have to present your passport at the door - to at least 3 people. Foreigners can get in for free, but if you are a Singpore citizen, you have to pay a $100 entry fee just to get in. So there are multiple checks to make sure you are truly a foreigner.
The casino itself is amazing. It's two stories, with the main floor filled with tables. Filled. Blackjack, Roulette, Sic Bo, Baccarat - and two new ones, Pontoon and Three Pictures. I have no idea how to play those last two - Pontoon is sort of a blackjack variant. They also had the other Texas Hold em Table game, which I played a lot.
The whole feeling gambling there is just....a bit different. Dealers seem to change every hour or more, less frequent than most US casinos. There are a host of side bets on the blackjack table - there is a "lucky 8s" bets where you see if you can get a pair of 8's with your hand and the dealer's up card (or, if you are lucky, 3 of a kind). And the dealer does not deal himself two cards right away. He deals himself the up card - and that's it; normal play commences. Once all the players are done, then the dealer takes his second card. I don't like that.
About the side bets: it seems to be accepted that anyone can bet on anyone's cards. For instance, I was playing blackjack, and got a pair of Aces. Yes, split please! Play came to me, and the dealer split them - and then asked if I wanted to put a separate "any Pair" bet on the split aces.
Uh, no thank you. Just deal the card.
The dealer was about to pull the card out --when the guy 3 seats to my right leans over and puts a $25 chip next to my card. He wanted to play the any pair! The dealer pulled up a 7.
Then the next hand; the delaer paused again asking for the any pair bet; I didn't even get a chance to say no when another $25 chip came from the same guy. I got a 10, which was not a pair for him.
It is common to bet for other's hands. I can't get use to that.
In the end, it's still gambling, it's still fun, but it's just a bit different and you never know what unknown idiosyncracy you will bump up against.
It's kind of like week 17 in the NFL - it's still football, but the week is different; you don't know who is playing at full speed, who is mailing it in, who will sit the starters in the 3rd quarter and which 3-12 team will play full out to win.
Anyway, on to the games:
Chi 28, Min 20. I have to believe the Vikes will mail this in after the AP injury last week.
GB 20, Det 17. There will be a letdown factor for the Lions after the win last week; also, Flynn is not that bad as a backup.
Ten 16, Hou 13. Tennessee needs to win this game.
SF 24, StL 6. The Rams are already trying to figure out who will be their next coach; the 9ers still need to win to lock up the #2 seed.
Was 24, Phi 20. Why are the Eagles going to try hard in this game?
Jax 17, Ind 10. I can't believe the Colts will win this and lose the #1 pick.
NO 27, Car 24. The Niners will win, and that means the Saints will let up down the stretch.
NE 31, Buf 10. The Pats need this game and will try to gain some confidence - especially on D - after last week's Miami game.
NYJ 20, Mia 17, OT. Can't you just see theJets somehow sneaking in?
Atl 30, TB 10. Tampa has mailed it in since November.
Oak 23, SD 16. I just don't think the chargers have one more good game in them after they were eliminated last week.
Az 24, Sea 17. Who is the most unmotivated here?
Den 23, KC 13. Are we really going to deny Tebow a chance at the playoffs?
Bal 27, Cin 17. Baltimore needs a win to get the 2 seed and home field if they play pIttsburgh in the playoffs........I can't believe they will actually let this slip through their fingers.
NYG 27, Dal 20. Who will choke the most?
Best bets: we're ending with 20 of them! Last week: my worst week at 5-10; overall: 133-109-11
Chi +1.5
Chi/Min over 41.5
GB +4.5
Ten/Hou under 39
SF -10
Was +8
Jax -3
Ind/Jax under 37
Car +7
NE -10
Buf/NE under 49.5
NYJ +3
Atl -10
Oak -3
SD/Oak under 48.5
Az -3
Den -3
Bal -1.5
Bal/Cin over 38
NYG -3
And for the final supercontest picks:
GB +3.5
Was +8
Car +8.5
Bal -2.5
NYG -2.5
No comments:
Post a Comment