SoCal Desert & SD Casinos

I'm living part time in Palm Desert and I would like all MEANINGFUL info/recon about these casinos.

I've only ever played Spa, AquaCal, Viejas, and Barona, and its been 4-years.

What if anything is happening in SoCal? zg

I don't now about the Inland Empire, but San Diego is jumpin'.

Lot of expansion going on in Indian land. I can think of three casinos doing construction projects in San Diego county.

I assume you've got the info you'd get from trackjack or CBJN. The only legitimate single deck game is at Barona (which I, as a peon, haven't actually seen). Double deck games generally start at $25-$50 mins (which limits my knowledge). Good luck finding a S17 game, the only one down here is in Campo (Golden Acorn), and penetration wasn't so hot when I went last week.

With bets under $100, I hadn't really noticed any heat from anywhere. But $100 might be an important threshold at some low-roller places (Valley View, Golden Acorn, maybe Pauma). The bigger joints (Barona, Viejas, Sycuan) see a bunch more action. (Although just last week, I did see a PB at Viejas really eyeing a dude who was betting about $500 a hand at a $10 table, until he finally busted out). Barona seems to cater most to the high-rollers.

If you want to wong, then Sycuan, Pechanga (Riverside) and to a lesser extent Viejas are all workable, although the games really aren't that great from a rules or penetration perspective. They got a lot of tables, especially Pechanga, which is a frickin' barn (only went there once)

Harrah's Rincon only has about five tables that aren't CSM or 6:5, and three are in high-roller land. It's a joke.

Pala and Pauma seemed like they had potential as good high and low roller spots, respectiely. But I only went there once, and to be honest, they're just far enough away to be annoying to go to.

Personally, I like Barona and Valley View a lot, even though they're at opposite ends of the spectrum. Both at least allow surrender, and penetration is usually at least reasonable.

Most importantly, I haven't found any free booze anywhere.

You didn't even comment on pene%. I said I was looking for MEANINGFUL [SIZE=-1]reconnaissance. zg[/SIZE]

Ouch, okay.

Valley View, last night, cutoff on 6D between 1.2d and 2d. 4 6D tables, 2 8D tables, and 2 6:5 tables in operation. ASMs on all. Standard procedure to call out "checks play" whenver $100 or more is bet on the table. Casino packed, but tables not, heads-up play available at multiple times (but ploppies tend to cling on).

Sycuan, this afternoon. Two low-roller pit areas open (12-15 BJ tables), one still closed even at 5pm. Several empty manned tables around (and several full ones). 6D cut off at 1.5-2.5 decks. On two occasions I think I was "douched" when my bets rose near the end of the shoe, and the next shuffle had 2.5-3 decks cut off. (two seperate dealers). ASMs at 85% of tables, shuffle is not as complex as Barona's (see below).

Barona, tonight. all Low-roller tables very crowded between 8pm-12mid, difficult to find spots. 6D penetration ranged from 1.0 to 2.0 cut off, with variation even with the same dealer. 2D penetration not examined very lengthily, but under 1 deck cut off, probably .8 or .9 so. Quick wander through high-roller section did reveal at least one single deck game, empty table, $100-$3000 limits. On at least one low-roller shoe, dealer announced when a $200 bet was made. BTW, shuffles: Primary pit is mix of CSM and ASM. Secondary and Tertiary pit are almost exclusively hand-shuffle. I don't know how long they've been doing it, but Barona's hand-shuffle is ridiculously thorough. I don't know enough about tracking to know if it's defeatable, but boredom is the main threat if you're trying to watch the whole damn thing.

ZG, I sent you a PM with some info.

-Sonny-

PM has been sent

A casino I kind of like.

ihate17

All the sudden we're being secretive about good casinos

jetace said:

All the sudden we're being secretive about good casinos

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Here's a less sensitive version of the info I sent to ZG:

Soboba casino it is the closest to LA. The casino is very small and only has a few tables open. There were a few $10 shoe games (6D, DA2, DAS, LS 70-75%), a few $25 shoes, two single-deck games ($10, D1011, nDAS), and two DD games (nDAS, pen varies by dealer 50-75%). The limits were generally $10-$100 for SD, $10-$200 for DD, and $10-$300 / $25-$500 for 6D. The casino was very small, very quiet (no rowdy players), and nobody was playing more than $50 per hand (the $25 tables would occasionally have a $100 bet). I used a conservative spread of $25-2x$50 and did fine for 2 hours. It’s a pretty miserable place, and I suspect that any big bets would look very suspicious, especially from non-locals. It looks like a burn joint, but it might be good for a quick score on the way to someplace better (or on the way back).

The Agua Caliente casino is mostly 6D (standard game as noted above) auto shufflers. They also have one good DD game, but nothing else. The casino is fairly small and has two pits in an L shape.

Morongo is all 8D (even the high limit tables). Also, the casino is huge with plenty of big action by everyone. I saw two college kids betting black chips and playing horribly. You almost don’t need an act at this place!

Spotlight 29 casino is the farthest away. They had a few single-deck tables, but they were ugly 6:5 games. They also have some strange rules. For example, you cannot place a bet unless you are seated. I tried to Wong into a spot in a +4 shoe and was told that I could not play until I pulled a chair up to the spot and sat down. WTF?

San Manuel has 3 big pits which are great for backcounting. They have a few CSMs but they are mostly auto shuffled. They tolerate a mild green-black spread easily. They get pretty crowded in the evenings so it’s easy to blend in or disappear from a pit for a while.

-Sonny-

burn out

jetace said:

All the sudden we're being secretive about good casinos

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If you have ever witnessed a casino or a promotion get burned out you would understand why I am secretive about good games or casinos. Most often I will trade secret for secret. In the area Zengrifter asked about, the best games and promotions are in the smaller casinos and could not handle perhaps more than 1 or 2 pros showing up at a time without killing or changing the game or promotion.

ihate17

i've been to viejas once and barona two times now.
i only really checked out $5 tables.
V's had one, hidden in with pai gow.
Barona had about 3 $5 tables that were packed when i went (sat night).

from what i recall, both were 6D, H17.

of the two and my limitted visits, i would exclusively choose to go to barona.

i've only just started playing, i'll keep note of these things more carefully, going to santa barbara this weekend to play at Chumash. hopefully it's better than some 2005 reports on here said :/

I just noticed today, Barona also had a helipad.

Must be because of spring break or something, but Barona only had one $5 6D hand shuffled table open last night, but strangely after 11pm, opened up two more $5 tables that were initially 10. Never saw that before. Their hand shuffling is darn ridiculous as EasyRhino posted but I use that oppportunity for a restroom break. The negative variances their are very painful I have noticed. Shoes usually start out with alot of 10's for a full table for two hands, then work their way down rapidly down to -2TC for the remainder of the shoe. I really love their LS rule. Does anyone have any detailed info on Golden Acorn? I know that they have $2.50 tables but don't know if they are CSM or what and how many decks, pene, etc. Thanks in advance.

Golden Acorn

I’ve played at Golden Acorn a few times while traveling from Yuma, AZ to San Diego. I’m still a fairly new player but my experiences at Golden Acorn were ok.

6D shoe- DAS, S17, DOA, Pairs bonus, low mins. $2 - $5
DD- DAS, H17, DOA, nmse min. $15

The Pene% seemed about 60%, however, each visit I joked about the Pen or just flat out asked for better pen and they gave very good pen. I put out a toke here and there. Might just be my imagination but when I asked for better pen and toked they seemed to pass this on to the other dealers.

I’ve only played during the week early in the day. Only a few tables open but I’ve heard they can get pretty crowed.

MEDITANK said:

Must be because of spring break or something, but Barona only had one $5 6D hand shuffled table open last night, but strangely after 11pm, opened up two more $5 tables that were initially 10. Never saw that before. Their hand shuffling is darn ridiculous as EasyRhino posted but I use that oppportunity for a restroom break. The negative variances their are very painful I have noticed. Shoes usually start out with alot of 10's for a full table for two hands, then work their way down rapidly down to -2TC for the remainder of the shoe. I really love their LS rule. Does anyone have any detailed info on Golden Acorn? I know that they have $2.50 tables but don't know if they are CSM or what and how many decks, pene, etc. Thanks in advance.

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RE: barona, that's insane! i was there 1 week ago and they had about 5-6 $5 6D hand shuffled games open before midnight, and about 2-3 more after midnight.

i really want to check out golden acorn (maybe mid-week), still not sure it is worth the 1 hour drive.

My only losing days have come out of Barona. Strange enough, I have never had a losing day at Sycuan, but I strongly believe they are about to label me as an AP, so I have to lay low for awhile from there. Hence, started Barona on the great advice from EasyRhino, love the LS rule at Barona, comes in handy during losing streaks when I get hand after hand of 16 vs 10 or A. As a red chipper with a minimum out during losing streaks, this can really conserve your bankroll. The 5 buck min turns into only 2.50 during a losing streak thereby cutting the pain in half. Once I hit a winning hand when the count is at least +1TC, then I will play 10 flat per hand. Still trying to build my miniscule BR. Been experiencing alot of neg var. lately but I was expecting this to happen. Will probably hit Golden Acorn tonight around 7pm and stay until around 11pm if I last that long, hope my losing streak ends soon. Even with this losing streak, I am still up +500 bucks after being up 1100. Thanks to all for your unselfish inputs and recon!

Thanks to all who have replied to this thread. I'll be in SD in two weeks (first time visitor) and this sounds really great for someone who normally has the $25 minimum in Atlantic City to deal with.

Jamestown 2007 - 400th anniversary of the English landing

kirbyk said:

Thanks to all who have replied to this thread. I'll be in SD in two weeks (first time visitor) and this sounds really great for someone who normally has the $25 minimum in Atlantic City to deal with.

Jamestown 2007 - 400th anniversary of the English landing

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drop me a PM right before you head out here. I know most of the joints down here as well as EasyRhino. Would not mind going with you to these spots.

Palm Springs

Does any one know if there are any hand shuffled 6 deck games in Palm Springs? Any with good rules, pen? Thanks a million.

Xenophon said:

Does any one know if there are any hand shuffled 6 deck games in Palm Springs? Any with good rules, pen? Thanks a million.

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Spotlight 29, Fantasy Springs, San Manuel and Morongo all have hand shuffled games (at least at a few tables). San Manuel has a few CSMs and Spotlight has a few ASMs but there are hand shuffles as well. I believe the Spa/Caliente casinos are ASMs but I haven't been there in a while. The rules and pen vary from mediocre to fantastic so be sure to scout around before you sit down.

-Sonny-

Thanks Sonny-

Heading out there tonight. I have a copy of CBJN from March, should help.