Anthony curtis the las vegas trip advisor? what does he have to do with anything. You dont have to know the first thing about gambling to deal out tickets and rooms
Anthony Curtis was publisher for Blackjack Forum in 2003. He is a pros pro at blackjack. They paid me $100 for an article. Blackjack Forum published my trip report on Greece in 2003. Here it is:
My trip to Greece was great and the blackjack conditions were in a time warp to the time when shuffling was done by hand instead of being recycled by shuffling machines. The Club Hotel Casino in Loutraki dumped all of its Quick Draw continuous shuffling machines and 50% penetration due to a massive letter writing campaign from angry customers. It is located 50 miles south of Athens near the mouth of the Corinth Canal.
Club Hotel Casino
48,Possidonos Street
20300 Loutraki,Greece
Accomodations
259 rooms and 15 suites
June-Sept:Rooms,210Euro-370Euro;Suites, 430Euro-640Euro
Oct.-May:Rooms,170Euro-270Euro;Suites,330Euro-520Euro
*Heated indoor/outdoor pools
*Fitness center
*Free internet in hotel lobby
*Free American breakfast
*Beach
*3 Restaurants
Casino
*Hours:24 hours
*Entry Fee:15 Euro which includes buffet.Free entry for Club Hotel registered guests
*ID/Passport:Required
*Dress Code: proper dress
Casino Games
*612 Slots *70 Table games:30blackjack(15-750Euro,25-1250Euro,50-2500Euro),European Roulette,Punto Banco,Casino Stud Poker.
The blackjack conditions at this casino was crowded with rider bets accepted. The Greeks were three deep at each table making these bets. The best time to play is at 2:30am in the pit downstairs. The casino tries to close down these tables and playing one on one is viable for an hour or so. The rules are as in all of Greece ENHC,S17,DAS. Resplit up to four hands(except aces). Six decks are used with a penetration of 75%. No heat if you keep your mouth shut because speaking in English will set off alarm bells. Just play along using the hand signals you are accustomed to in the States.
The Jacks or Better machines pay a pathetic 6-5 but the best entertainment is watching the Greeks play the other slots. My wife saw two men take up a bank of five slot machines where they rigged them to play on auto-pilot.
A card, coffee stirrer or whatever is placed in the "spin wheels" button and these machines will just keep playing. She said that the guys were sitting or lying back in their chairs in the aisle, smoking and talking while their machines were spinning away and it was the funniest thing she has ever seen. I later tried this at the Casino Rio in Patras and lost 50 Euros in less than a minute!
Before Loutraki, we went to Rhodes after a four day stay in Athens. Athens is where you encounter your first gambling device, the ATM. For a $3.00 fee you access your bank accounts and withdraw Euros at the going rate. The rate during my stay was $1.15 for each Euro. A bad bet since one year ago, 90 cents would have gotten that same Euro. So I opted to take out less, betting that the dollar would rise later during the trip.
Stayed at the Electra Hotel in Athens next to Syntagma Square where the Greek Parliament resides. The changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a must see and is done every hour. The American breakfast at Hotel Electra was the best in Greece but we were on our own for the other meals. The Plaka which is known for its shops and restaurants was three blocks away(below the Acropolis). Found a place that served my favorite Greek meal that my yia-yia (grandmother) made. It is called you-bet-see and is comprised of lamb, big rice, tomato sauce and spices. Tasted just like at home but watch out for the bill that is in Greek. Knowing Greek saved us from being overcharged for the wine and beer we did not order.
Went to the Parthenon one morning before the heat of the afternoon and was totally impressed at its massive structure. Too bad the Venetians dynamited this magnificent structure a few hundred years ago. The Venetian is idolized in Las Vegas and maybe one day I will have a great run of luck there and break their bank for destroying a part of ancient history.
Left for Rhodes from the port outside of Athens in Pireaus for an 11 hour ferryboat ride. The ship Blue Star 1 had a bank of slot machines but weren't open. When sailing from Greek ports to other countries, then they are open. I was having a cup of coffee from the back of the ship when we backing into Syros and lo and behold there was a "Kazino" at the port. It was called "Aegean Casino" but wasn't allowed to disembark to check it out.
Arrived in Rhodes early in the morning and drove by Old Town which was a fortress and now houses hundreds of shops, and then by Casino Rodos. We couldn't afford the $900/night rate at Casino Rodos so we stayed at Rodos Palace five miles away on the west side of the island. Formally the Astir Palace, Rodos Palace is an 800 room five star hotel with a view of the sea whose structure looks similar to the Horizon at Lake Tahoe. On its in-house television, it showed a slot machine in the video arcade. We quickly went down to check it out. After inquiring at the front desk, she said that they took out the slot machines last year. A typical Greek advertisement that doesn't exist.
Getting to Casino Rodos proved to be difficult because of the shortage of taxis, so we took the local bus. Here we are decked out in evening attire crowded in the bus with the locals going downtown. We were let out a few blocks away and walked through rows of restaurants and shops and rushed my wife to the casino whenever she stopped to look.
Casino Rodos
4, G. Papanikolaou Street
85100 Rhodes,Greece
Hotel
*33 suites-700Euro for junior suite, 4,500Euro for Imperial Suite
*Private Butler
*Free limo
*Jucuzzi in each room
*Swimming Pool
*Restaurants:2
Casino
*Minimum Age:23
*Entrance Fee: 15Euro(5 Euro tokens given back)
*Hours of Operation: 24 hours weekends, 3pm-6am weekdays
*I/D Passport: Required
*Dress Code: Proper
Casino Games
*Slots: 299
*Table Games:30
10 Blackjack(25-1250Euro)
European Roulette
Punto Banco
Casino Stud Poker
Paid our 15 Euro and got our picture taken and given a Casino Rodos players card and gave my wife my tokens to keep her busy for a while. Downstairs of this casino is dedicated to only slots while upstairs only table games are present. Immediately went upstairs and lost 12 hands in a row at blackjack betting 25Euro. Losing sucks, but it has to be expected playing this game and if you can take the pounding and leave with a set loss limit, it will reward you when the odds turn in your favor. The penetration was 80% and shuffle tracking is possible in this casino as in all of Greece. Went downstairs with my tail between my legs and played a 50 cent 8/5 Bonus progressive video poker machine. The royal flush was 3200Euro so I decided to play. Hit four 4's and won 200Euro to make my total loss only 100Euro instead of the 300Euro hit I took at blackjack. Needed a taxi to go to the hotel and the casino provided a taxi within moments. The taxi cab's number was 21 and maybe that was an omen to the rest of my blackjack play througout Greece.
Returned to Pireaus and picked up our rental car for the journey to Corfu via Patras. Greece has felt like a James Bond script for an American like myself trying to blend in with the Greeks in its casinos. The flying to Athens, the driving of the rental to Patras(140 miles from Athens) and driving the car into a belly of a ship for a 6 hour cruise to Corfu fits the movements of the elusive Bond. Arrived in Corfu at 7am and drove to the hotel. The hotel is called Corfu Holiday Palace and ironically is the backdrop from the Bond movie "For Your Eyes Only" starring Roger Moore. It was used for the casino scene and today it still stands.
Corfu Holiday Palace
124 Nausicas Street
49100 Kanoni,Corfu,Greece
Hotel
*Rooms:210
*Suites:9
*Villas:37
*Free American Breakfast
*Restaurant
*2 Swimming Pools
*Health Club
*Bowling Alley
*Private Beach
*Boat Rentals
*18 Hole Championship Golf Course(Par 72)
Casino
*Hours of Operation: 8pm-3am
*ID/Passport: Required
*Minimum Age: 23
*Dress Code: Proper Dress
*Entrance Fee: 6Euro
Casino Games
*Slot Machines: 50
*Tables Games: 15
Blackjack Tables: 4 (5Euro-250Euro, 10Euro-500Euro)
European Roulette
Casino Stud Poker
The casino is in the lobby of this hotel which was built by Hilton hotels in 1976. The blackjack here is FOUR decks with a penetration of 80%. It is run by the Greek government and the pit has a hands off attitude since it is the government that loses, and why should they care. The pit bosses sit down between the tables, watching and smoking, making sure the games are running efficiently without giving heat to the players.
The dealers burn five cards off the top as they do in all Greek casinos. Instead of breaking the shoe into six piles during a shuffle, it is only broken into four. The rules are the same as in all of Greece, but the four decks makes this game arguably the best in the world.
A card counter was playing on a table of mine and he was so obvious. When the count was less than true count of +4, he bet 5Euro. At +4 and above, he threw four 75Euro bets including his and riding other players bets. The pit did not blink at his 1-60 spread. I used him as a unknowing agent for me for awhile, wonging in and out of his games till he caught on. I just smiled at him and never played at his table again.
The video poker is JOB 7-5 and Double Bonus 9-5. The casino is very small but the customers are dressed to the max at this upscale place. Corfu is beautiful and the blackjack is heaven on Earth.
The shopping in Kerkyra is plentiful and the beaches on the island are magnificent, but we have to go back to Patras. We sail into Patras at 8:30pm and check into the Porto Rio Hotel and Casino on the outskirts of Patras. Valet parking doesn't give us a ticket, my name will do. This place has seen better days but still is the best place to stay in Patras.
The Casino Rio is open 24 hours and the entry fee is 12Euro. When registering for entry I quipped, " In Las Vegas, some casinos pay me for entry." The clerk told me that I was not in America so pay up. I did, but the arrogant attitude(usually endearing) of the Greeks was wearing thin.
Went to a six deck game(25-1250Euro,75% pen) and received AAvsA and did not split because of ENHC. I was dealt two tens and busted. I was upset and broke my cover complaining in English about how unfair this rule was. All I got was blank stares from the Greek speaking table. Well, this seemed to light a fire within me and I wagered aggressively at true counts of +4 and above with no cover. I didn't care since I was going back to the Bay Area the next day. I won in the four figures and wiped out the dealer's tray. My wife said that the pit boss was on the phone and staring at me. So what! I had Casino Rio's money and cashed out.
They had no video poker here, but I decided to play a slot machine on auto-pilot as those men in Loutraki did. As I lost 100Euro, I smiled at the men in the pit who were watching me closely. They were beaten by a card counter from America and that's the way we do things in the USA.
The trip to Greece was enjoyable and have many tales to tell that won't fit in this piece. I was able to witness one of humankind's greatest gamble here, a Greek wedding in a small village. My wife's cousin was the groom whose parents were from the seaside village of Kyparissi. We assembled at the groom's home for drinks and live Greek music. Then the village of Kyparissi caravaned from the groom's house to the bride's house in Kremasti(a 40 minute ride up into the mountains like the windy stretch to Lake Tahoe). Both families merged together to await the couple outside the church. No can go in until they do. The 600 guests did not spit on the bride and groom for good luck as portrayed in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and the couple was first in the church followed by the families.
The reception lasted all night and early morning! A Greek wedding is the best all night experience that no casino can provide. This is what Greeks do best; eat, drink, dance, and be with family. Something that the rest of the world should note.
JSTAT