I took a short trip to Las Vegas at the end of last week. It was a over-needed vacation, and thus a moderate disappointment. You know what I’m talking about. You’re so desperate to get away, to have a moment to sleep in and drink too much (or, if you already drink too drink much, to feel less guilty about it), that you pour your hopes and dreams and all that good stuff into the idea of a vacation, but which the vacation itself can never match.
The somewhat-highlight of the trip was Zumanity, which was considerably less shocking than it wanted to be. Or maybe exactly as shocking as it wanted to be. It’s so hard in these days of diminished expectations and quickie transgressions to tell when someone is trying to be shocking (and failing) or trying only to seem shocking, so as not to actually shock.*
In the balance of my time** — which is to say a whole lot of it — I played blackjack. Alone as often as not, because the group we traveled with were primarily Crapheads and my wife got distracted early in the trip by a Monopoly gambling game (it was tremendously fun in her defense).
I like blackjack, because the "right" way to play requires the memorization and consistent application of a set of impossibly complex rules (and exceptions to those rules). Always hit a soft 17; hit a 12 if the dealer shows a 2-4, and maybe against a 5 (but not a 6); split almost any pair if the dealer shows a 5 or 6 (but never split 10s), etc. You know the drill — or, you now know enough that you don’t want to know the drill.
They’re comforting, those rules. They provide a semblance of control — but only a bare semblance, because I’m never sure if I remembered the rule right (what do I do with a pair of sixes against an ace, again?). A game that allows you to enjoy the guilt of failing to live up to its standards: It’s American, just like baseball and apply pie.
(I lost, not a lot, but enough.)
So, I’m back: A little refreshed, a little poorer, and a little sunburned. And this is your vacation open thread. Tell us where you’re going next (or just been); give us a recommendation or two. But tell us, most of all, where you want to go.
*Or, shorter von: If you must see a Cirque de Soleil show while in Vegas, see "O".
**The other kinda-highlight was a dinner at Picasso. The food was Vegas-excellent (which is a shade under New York excellent), but service was a bit rushed for this price level. Trotter’s continues to be the gold standard for me, although even it slipped on a visit or two in a couple years back.
And, though everything on the degustation was excellent, I was left with a insatiable craving for hot dogs the next day. The high and the low, I suppose.
Going to jazzfest on Friday. Nothing, in my humble o, can compare.
We just had a few days at the beach — glorious weather and surf in Queensland, as always — so I feel relaxed already.
But I’ve just booked airfares from Australia to LA and back for myself and the family, for a one month vacation in June (although I’ll be working in Salt Lake City for the last two weeks of May). So we’ll be escaping the Aussie “winter”, such as it is.
We were going to drive along the coast from LA to San Francisco, but I’m hesitant about negotiating the roads getting out of LA. Driving on the wrong side of the road around SLC was interesting enough, but LA roads seem another order of magnitude of craziness. Maybe another time (unless I can be convinced otherwise).
We do plan on going to Las Vegas, but only as the starting point for a big drive up to the national parks at the bottom of Utah, then swinging back to the Grand Canyon, and finally back to Las Vegas.
Then off to New Hampshire to stay with my wife’s sister, and traipse around New England, before spending a couple of days in New York, and finishing with some July 4th celebrations back in NH.
Sounds just beaut to me.
What impresses me with blackjack are the logic-defying winning and losing streaks. Playing by the “rules” is almost beside the point when a streak is in effect. It’s no wonder the Romans worshipped Fortuna!
Grand Lido Braco, Jamaica for my wife’s birthday in mid-June.
While i’m usually not a fan of all-inclusives, things have been a little rough, and we could really use a week of pampering.
The canines, god bless their fuzzy little juvenile delinquent souls, are going to the dog equivalent of a human all-inclusive resort here
We’d like to go to Scotland in the next year/18 months. (Apparently i’m descended from lowland scots.) Any suggestions? Preferences for distilleries? Single malt vs. blended?
cheers
jethro: LAX is right on top of the coast road, commonly known as “PCH” or Pacific Coast Highway. If you time your arrival to avoid the worst of rush hour it’s really not so bad.
SF traffic puts LA traffic to shame. Get a really good road atlas — like Thomas Bros. — and a good idea of where you’re going before you start.
Don’t split your sixes against an ace.
Luckily, I am immune to gambling: I have never seen the point. I once went to Vegas on the grounds that all that neon shouldn’t go unseen (and I was nearby, more or less), and it was great. Once.
Most of the places I really want to go seem to be a bit unstable (this is always true of me. I really, really wanted to go to Afghanistan starting about six months before the Russian invasion, ha ha ha. I arrived in Israel the day before they invaded Lebanon. Etc.) Uganda; most of Central Asia. Probably I’ll end up in Brazil, looking for one of these.
Did an all-day Sea World thing yesterday; hardly anyone else was there when we got there. The girls got to feed the dolphins, which was much closer than we’d ever gotten. By the time the crowds really started closing in, we’d done everything we wanted to. For Abby, it was a birthday present. She left a very, very happy girl.
So, a perfect day.
Been many places, lots more to see.
But when I return to my hometown in the woods outside of Pittsburgh Pa. I go to a place which has real coordinates on a walk through the forest, as yet unmolested by further development, but its reality and its meaning described precisely ( I learned later) by Wordsworth in his poem “Surprised by Joy” and enlarged by C.S. Lewis in his memoir of the same title.
It’s a specific spot in the woods, when as an adolescent I would experience a feeling, an intuition, an overpowering sweet, lovely sense of immanance. I could duplicate and reimbue myself by visiting that place until maybe 16 years of age. Then, no more.
It was better than love. It’s gone, now. But I visit each time I’m home, and hold my breath in case the Fairie or Merlin or whatever, is in the vicinity.
Not yet.
Now, I save frequent flier miles.
We’d like to go to Scotland in the next year/18 months. (Apparently i’m descended from lowland scots.) Any suggestions?
Brother Francis, you are in luck. I am between classes and I can recommend that you check out The Scotch Malt Whisky Society. I’m not a member, but my uncle is, as is a colleague who did a sabbatical in Edinburgh for a year. The Society has a small number of apartments (with kitchenettes IIRC) at its headquarters available for short term stays for members, and apparently have added a London venue. The link seems a little squirrely, but diligence is rewarded.
Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, Mexico. Two months, to learn to surf (at 50! ye gods!)… later, a book (creative non-fiction I believe the genre is called) about the adventure (if I survive). Not exactly “vacation” nor practical (nor even very likely)…. but, hell, one can dream.
Brother francis, ye of the cool handle:
Summon up one Macallan, who may have some fine advice.
On Scotch.
Took my 10 year old skiing at Taos over his spring break. Never seen so many septaguenarians skiing steep moguled shutes.
My last “vacation” was to Vegas, my wife and I go for the firet 4 days of the NCAA tournament every year to bet $5, 10 team parlays that never win. I play poker and craps and she the more intricate of slots and something called “spa”, which I have yet to find on the floor, but costs quite a bit of money.
The best restaurant in Vegas, for my money, is Rosemary’s off the strip. The parmesan souffle is an excellent appetizer, followed by the wilted spinach salad with port wine shallots and goat cheese, followed by the scallops, best I ever had, and then pecan pie if they made it special. Ian, the wine guy is great. Go on Sunday for 1/2 price bottled wine (seriously, good wine. We went 2x in 5 days.
I’ve never been able to get decent tickets to “O”, but I heartily recommend Mystere at Treasure Island (or “TI” as its called in Vegas’ new “adult playground”-speak).
Our next short vaca may be to NYC over Mem Day. I followed someone’s advice a while back here on OW and grabbed up some Spamalot tickets for the matinee on 5/29. (Thank you unremembered recommender!).
Where do I want to go? Everywhere of course, but Spain is wonderful. My dream vacation though is to motorcycle around the Med. We’ve got some work to do to make that happen, though hopefully it won’t remain an impossibility forever.
In a math class, I learned a winning strategy for any game. Bet $1. If you lose, bet $2. If you lose again, bet $4. Keep doubling the bet until you win. When you finally win, you’re $1 up. Stop.
This is the hard part. Once you’ve won, you have to walk away.
On my only trip to Vegas, I bet a dollar on roulette, won, and stopped.
Gambling makes me think of probabilities…
Rosemary’s for those interested parties.
Uh, this only works if you have infinite funds. There’s a possibility that you might lose millions before you win your dollar.
Rats. Just got back from Vegas w/ the boys and the meals were not all that good. Rosemary’s would have been a godsend.
Stayed at Mandalay Bay which has a great resort feel, but the boys wanted to go on the rides and play the arcades. Next time I want to rest up, I’ll go by myself.
In a math class, I learned a winning strategy for any game. Bet $1. If you lose, bet $2. If you lose again, bet $4. Keep doubling the bet until you win. When you finally win, you’re $1 up. Stop.
Wouldn’t most casinos stop you if to tried to pull any sort of martingale strategy on them on, say, one deck blackjack?
Took a mini-vacation today and went hiking in 73F sunshine. Glorious after the blizzard last week, and almost enough to make me believe Spring has arrived.
Looking at 2 possible workshops for fun this August, one held in a resort in Canada and one held in a hotel in downtown Cleveland. Not surprisingly, the Canadian one is sounding much more attractive.
I won playing blackjack once. I’m not much of a gambler and so decided I’d sufficiently beaten the odds and stopped there. The Venetian was, however, a very fun place to wander while not gambling in Vegas.
We may be in New York for a few days in November. My previous excursions have been on business. This time we will have some time for touristy things. What would you recommend to a short time visitor?
Took my partner to Vegas for his birthday last year. Saw “O” (which had the most spectacular opening I’ve ever seen to anything ever…simple, yet astonding)…had dinner at the Eiffel Tower which was fantastic…wonderful view of the water show at the Bellagio (but want to try the Picasso) and more or less broke even.
Hit most of the new places on the strip (hadn’t been there in about 6 years), but didn’t get a chance to head to downtown.
I miss the older, seedier Las Vegas…where if you tipped your bartender well enough, he’d tell you which hotel during which two-hour period you could get a T-bone dinner for $4.95…of course it was packed with locals, but that made it more authentic. And the Sands…where, oh where is the Sands.
The razzle dazzle extravaganza aspect of LV has gotten too Disney-esque for my taste.
Heading overseas for vacation this year. Definitely Berlin…possibly Istanbul…maybe Venice, for a peak at the Biennale…all depends on when the art market crashes.
I’m sure that any casino would be more than happy to let bettors play a martingale strategy on any game in the house. It’s a sure way to suck the must money out of people in the shortest amount of time.
With any luck the next trip is to Tahiti. They just started non-stops from NYC and i’ve quite a hankering for one of those bungalows over the water on Bora-Bora.
the last trip was to Tuscany last September and it was amazing from start to finish. I love all those walled hilltiop towns with great food and wine and history.
Edward,
I visited Berlin on my moto tour in 2002 (during Love Parade in fact, wow, lotsa people). We spent a week staying at a boutique hotel in the Hakeshermarkt, just over the line in the old East Berlin, it was a trendy part of town then. I liked Berlin quite a bit. There were some really good ethnic restaurants and the history of it was, well, amazing. So, I don’t know, immediate may be the right word. I really wished I had gone just before and then just after the wall came down. There are still parts of the wall around and you can buy maps that show where it was. I’m sure that you won’t miss the Jewish museum. They left the Holocaust to others and focus on Jewish history in Europe. Very interesting.
Wilfred,
In 99-00 Some friends and my wife and I chartered a sailboat out of Raiatea. If you stay only on Bora Bora, the “Yacht Club” there is a hoot. If you decide to see the other islands, Tahaa has a wonderful place called The Hibiscus, family run, they serve everyone what they decide to serve. We had the place to ourself and their Poisson Cru was the best I had during that trip.
Thanks for the tips crionna. This will be my first trip to Berlin and from what everyone tells me it will be a blast. I’ll definitely check out the Jewish museum and plan to do most of my partying in Mitte with all the unemployed artists.
I’m lucky enough not to like gambling, which is funny because I love playing cards. But it would be a bad thing for my somewhat obssesive personality anyway. 🙂
I love the surprised by joy concept which Tolkien calls “eucatastrophe” and defines as an unexpected glimpse of Joy which is poignant as grief.
Interesting how that group dealt with such an interesting topic which is rarely identified in English. Is it that eucatastrophes are not experienced by everyone while most people experience catastrophe?
Wouldn’t most casinos stop you if to tried to pull any sort of martingale strategy on them on, say, one deck blackjack?
Yes. You’ll run into the betting limit. Lose $256 at a $500 limit table and poof, there goes your strategy. Not to mention the problem Slarti mentioned of not having infinite funds, which is really the same thing.
“Is it that eucatastrophes are not experienced by everyone while most people experience catastrophe?”
Loosely speaking, if by “everyone” we mean children and poets, yes. If by “most people” we mean adults and poets, yes.
Beatrice was Dante’s eucatastrophe, which got him through all of the later catastrophes.
I’m lucky enough not to like gambling, which is funny because I love playing cards. But it would be a bad thing for my somewhat obssesive personality anyway
Well, Blackjack isn’t really “cards”, IMHO, it, and craps for that matter, are more like slot machines if the slot machines stopped each reel one at a time and let you bet more if you wanted.
IMHO, that’s why a lot of gamblers in casinos lose at poker. They want to “see how it ends” and don’t give up losing hands soon enough, at least in no-limit games. In the limit stuff you always have to be on the lookout for the folks there to have a good time who’ll chase an inside straight to the end.
Anytime this subject comes up, I must point people in the direction of this series on Kuro5hin. Its like a condensed version of Bringing Down the House, with better characters, writing, slightly less technical detail, and a bit more moralizing. I think everyone here will love it.
As for me, I’m spending May 13-21 on Okaloosa Island down in Florida. For those unfamiliar, its in what I like to refer to as the “crotch” (geographically speaking) of Florida, right around Eglin AFB. Between spring break and summer season, they have awesome rates on three bedroom condos, and I have a set group of old friends (and now wives, and in some cases children(!)) that I bring down with me for a really great time.
I don’t see some of them that often any more, as they live in different states, and this year will be extra special. For one, we’re all huge geeks, and the final Star Wars will come out while we’re down there. Also, the first shuttle mission in over two years should launch while we’re down there, and we’ll definately head down to Titusville to witness that. Barring a glitch, I should get to check off one of the things on my “list of things to do before I die.”
New york in the fall, ah the choices.
Wicked, on broadway.
the impressionists at the Met. Museum of Art
Edward’s gallery
the new museum of modern art.
a drink at Tavern on the Green.
window shopping in midtown, including FAO Schwartz.
pay your respects at the Twin Towers observation point.
go to the top of the Empire State Building.
eat at any of the great newish restaurants in the meat-packing district (8th ave south of 14th st.)
be prepared to spend a LOT of money.
wilfred, wife and I much preferred Moorea to Tahiti. Less traveled and the bungalows over the water were much less expensive.
crionna, did you bareboat or hire a skipper? more details please.
Neolith:
Destin isn’t really all that close to the “crotch”. Appalachee Bay is a good two hundred miles (by car, anyway) east of Destin. Just sayin’. I make it a policy to stay out of Destin proper, due to the fact that it’s a total tourist dive. Just east of Destin you can find live crabs for sale; I highly recommend you go buy a few dozen and follow the instructions on the side of a can of Old Bay crab and shrimp boil.
Last time I was in the Eglin area, I stayed with some friends in Mary Esther, which is just west of Hurlburt proper. You could hear the AC-130s doing target practice at night.
My next vacation will be on the beach, end of June, between Naples and Fort Myers. I don’t really care if it’s hot; the kids will love it. We’ll just be sure to pack the blender, and stay stocked up on ice and frozen lime juice.
My brother’s last vacation was at least a week on one of the Fiji Islands. They had the entire island to themselves; no cell phones, no television, just constant relaxation utterly removed from the rest of the world. The lady who owned the island offered to sell it to him, and he was sorely tempted.
crionna, did you bareboat or hire a skipper? more details please.
A little of both. One of the gals that was with us for an end of year sail trip in 1997 to Antigua started dating our captain from that trip and he came with her to Tahiti as captain and, er, etc.
We flew into Tahiti but picked up a PJ to Raiatea where Sunsail and Moorings have their bases. We were with Sunsail and took a Beneteau 50. 4 cabins, 4 heads. Good sized galley, lots of storage. Raiatea has some nice markets (the French colonies* being so much nicer culinarily than the British) and so provisioning is easy.
We spent the first week going to the West side of Tahaa and then on to Bora Bora for New Years Eve. Sailing in the Societies is nice in that the waters around the islands are very calm and lake-like because the coral ringing the islands takes the pounding. BB is an easy, wonderful Reach from Tahaa.
Then back to Raiatea to reprovision. Down to Huahine (very little development there) and then back to explore Raiatea and Tahaa some more.
The great thing about sailing is that we had an over water bungalow (over the best coralheads we could find) for 2 weeks for about what 3 days would cost on BB. My wife calls it “Camping with procelain”. Ya know those vacations where you don’t need a cell phone? On this one I left mine at home and I didn’t need to know where my wallet was for days at a time…
*Folks on Bora Bora had a box for mail, one for the paper and one for daily bread delivery. Yum.
Headed for Kansas City, where I’ll be meeting my girlfriend’s father for the first time. It’s 4 days in and out… the question is: Is this a vacation? If I survive I guess it will have been.
Headed for Kansas City, where I’ll be meeting my girlfriend’s father for the first time. It’s 4 days in and out… the question is: Is this a vacation? If I survive I guess it will have been.
Good luck. The first time I met my wife’s father, he made me help him castrate a young bull. (He keeps cattle as a hobby.)
Incidentally, if anyone heads to Down East Maine, e-mail the Kitty. I’ll fill you in on the right spots to hit (and tell you where to find the cheapest Maine crab — far better, for my money, than the lobster).
Let’s see. I’ll probably head up to my sister’s place on Martha’s Vineyard for a while before Memorial Day (and the onslaught of tourists). One of these days, some of the random skippers and crew from boats past and present might get our collective act together and charter a boat for the Bermuda race.
I’ll add one item to Brother Rail Gun’s list of NYC sights: the Circle Line tour. I know it’s a bit cheesy and it may be a little too cold in November, but it gives you a different perspective on the city.
Headed for Kansas City. Is this a vacation?
It is if they take you to KC Masterpiece, Gates, Zarda or Bryant’s. Mmmmmm, BBQ from home.
New york in the fall, ah the choices.
Wicked, on broadway.
the impressionists at the Met. Museum of Art
Edward’s gallery
the new museum of modern art.
Happy to have you stop by, Francis
Slartibartfast > What you say is true of Destin. I try to get enough food and drink that when I cross the bridge I pretty much stay on the island. At this time the place is pretty dead, and the place we stay is bordered by beach owned by the government, so you can create a decent illusion of being pretty alone.
Plus, I’m constantly entertained by the military jets (what does the airforce run? Eagles? or Falcons? Never can get them right) and blackhawks that cruise up and down the beach. We wave at the guys with their legs dangling out of the doors, and they always wave back. Some guy that runs a fishing boat biz says you can find out when they shoot down drones and get close enough to the restricted zones to see stuff blow up. Never really was sure if he was putting me on or not.
So how much does an island run nowadays?
I think the island was a couple of million. Can’t remember exactly how much; if you don’t have it, it’s not even a temptation to remember.
USAF flies both the F-15 and F-16 out of Eglin. If you see one (either one) with a funny-looking pod attached to the fuselage, that’s something I worked on. If you’re close enough to make it out, make sure you’re fully clothed, because it at that range it can practically map out your freckles.
I’ve been to KC a couple of times this spring for work. Visit the Jesse James boyhood home (in Kearney Mo.), and, in Liberty Mo., the first bank he ever robbed. $72,000 in 1866 money, and they spent it all, in fairly short order, on high living.
What’s really striking, though, is the bias in favor of both JJ and the CSA evident at both sites. And the headstone, at the boyhood home, that says that JJ was killed by a coward and traitor whose name is not fit to be mentioned on the headstone. (As if anyone’s headstone bears the name of their killer . . .)
“Wouldn’t most casinos stop you if to tried to pull any sort of martingale strategy on them on, say, one deck blackjack?”
Generally, they’ll welcome you with open arms–the house limit will stop you from redoubling your bet after seven or eight losses in a row at any particular table.
I had an idea for how a team of well-funded players could use a quasi-Martindale strategy to make a good deal of money, though the risk of catastrophic loss would remain. Start with about ten players at small limit tables (say, $2 to $500). Have them use the following betting sequence:
$2
$8
$20
$44
$92
$188
$380
If at any point the player wins a hand, start over with the $2 bet. For ease of money management, this system should be used on a game where strategies involving doubling up the bet during the hand (doubling down, splits) do not take place–baccarat or a line bet at craps would be ideal. If the player loses seven hands in a row, he should make a note of it and begin the sequence again. Note that–except if he loses seven hands in a row, the player will have a net win in each sequence of one $2 unit for the final hand in the sequence, plus two $2 units for every hand he lost in the sequence prior to it.
Now, after a while your players will have accumulated a number of seven loss sequences. They take a break and contact their associates, who then go to a table with higher limits (say, $500 to $100,000) and begin new sequences:
$764
$1572
$3148
$6300
$12604
$25212
$50428
When the player wins in the sequence, he starts again with the lowest bet. When he has finished as many sequences as his lower level associates have passed on to him, he quits and waits for them to send him more.
The high end risk is obvious–if the high end player loses a sequence of seven straight hands, it represent a setback of about $100,000. Against that is that the lower level players will be producing steady income of $2-$4 per hand they play. Using the strategy in blackjack would create the possibility of extra income for player blackjacks, but would force the player to use suboptimal strategies to avoid having to put extra money out with large multiunit bets out in double down/split situations.
It’d be an interesting approach to try, but a bit unnerving to contemplate the downside. Probably best to stick to nickel video poker instead. 🙂
Ooops. “Martingale,” of course, not “Martindale.”
Probably best to stick to nickel video poker instead. 🙂
My strategy entirely…free drinks, endless people watching (albeit the people in the nickel video poker area are more or less mostly variations on Marge Simpson’s sisters), and no great pain in the pocket.
Having said that, with someone else’s money, I’d be happy to try your scheme.
“Always hit a soft 17; hit a 12 if the dealer shows a 2-4, and maybe against a 5 (but not a 6)”
Slight exceptions I’d like to point out here, many people don’t hit a soft seventeen against a seven, particularly if they’re playing with ‘chicken money’. On hitting the 12, most people get mad when they see you hit against anything higher than a 3 showing, the general rule is that if you’re going to hit your 12’s, be consistent, play the exact same way every hand (I don’t hit my 12’s on low cards and make it clear to everyone the first time one comes up just so as to save them from bellyaching).
M. Scott Eiland > I think that even playing “perfect” blackjack, the house still has about a 2.5% “edge”. If they do something like double natural 21s, it drops to 1.5% or thereabouts. So, I don’t see how you can ever win more no matter what your betting strategy is. The best you can hope for is to walk away with 98.5% of what you started with.
You can of course make money counting cards, but the house doesn’t like that at all, and if they catch you, you won’t be invited back to play blackjack, and they might even tresspass you.
M. Scott,
No time to work out the math now, but it’s still a loser for one simple reason: Every bet you make has a negative expectation. There’s no way to make a bunch of negative numbers add up to a positive number. No money management scheme can produce a winning strategy, unless you are counting.
True, Bernard–it’s not a long-term winner. However, it effectively dilutes the casino’s strategy of house limits and makes a *short-term* win more likely, particularly if you play a game where the house edge is under 1% and the expectation of the player winning on any particular hand/roll is very close to 50%, or even better (as with Bank bets on Baccarat, which win more than half the time but only pay 19 to 20). However, it’s kind of pointless–if you’ve got the money to make this work even in the short term, you really should have better uses for it.
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