Learning Card Counting Indexes? Don’t Make This

nce you have basic strategy committed to memory, and you have learned to count cards and vary your bet, the next step in fine-tuning your game is to add strategy variations using index numbers.

When I first began to learn about strategy variations, I found them confusing.  Based on the number of emails I get on the topic, I know that I am not the only one.
I was especially confused about the way indexes are presented.  I thought I could see a better way.  But eventually I switched to the standard method, and it definitely has its benefits.
If you are not familiar with strategy variations in card counting, this post is not where you should begin.  Instead, start with the introduction to index numbers on the instruction page marked cards for my Advanced Strategy Cards. In the middle of that page, you’ll find a section titled “Introduction to Card Counting with the Hi-Lo System”. If you need a primer, head over there first.

Strategy Variations Can Wait, Maybe Forever!

For over a year after I learned to count cards, I played straight basic strategy.  I was using the count to vary my bets, but I didn’t use any index numbers for strategy variation at all.
Actually, I recommend that for everyone.  Before you start worrying about strategy variation, card counting should be almost automatic for you.  The majority of the profit from card counting comes from varying your bet.  Bet more when you have the advantage, and bet less when the casino does.  Strategy variations are just the icing on the cake, letting you squeeze a little more profit out of the game.
In fact, many players don’t ever learn any strategy variation indexes, and play successfully for years without them.  For example, most users of unbalanced counting system don’t use indexes at all.  But if you are using a balanced counting system like Hi-Lo, and you want the extra challenge and profit that index numbers bring, it’s time to get to work.
I won’t tell you it’s easy or simple, because it is neither at first.  It will take study and concentration to understand what is involved.  But at least maybe with my help, you can avoid one of my mistakes.

How I Started Learning Indexes, The Wrong Way!

After a year of counting, I was ready to add some strategy variations to my game by learning a few key index numbers.  Almost immediately, I found that I was confused by the way index numbers are traditionally presented.
For my example, I’m going to use a few Hi-Lo index numbers for a 6 deck H17 game.

• 12 vs 2: +3
• 12 vs 3: +1
• 12 vs 4: 0
• 12 vs 5: -2
• 12 vs 6: -4

Each of these indexes is a “Stand” index.  Let me translate a couple of them:

• If you have 12 against a dealer 2, you should stand if the true count is +3 or higher.
• If you have 12 against a dealer 6, you should stand if the true count is -4 or higher.

The first of these is pretty easy cheat poker to understand.  In basic strategy, you hit 12 vs 2.  But if the true count is +3 or higher, you should stand instead because of the excess high cards in the remaining deck.
But I found the phrasing in the second example confusing.  Hey, I know basic strategy backwards and forwards.   It’s automatic for me, especially a simple hand like 12 against a 6.  That’s a Stand.  What I need to know is when I would want to hit it instead.  Shouldn’t the second version instead say “Hit 12 vs 6 when the true count is -5 or lower?”.
To be clear, these two statements mean exactly the same thing:

• “Stand with 12 vs 6 at -4 or better.”
• “Hit 12 vs 6 at -5 or worse.”

So, why not use the one that assumes you’ll play basic strategy unless the condition is met?  It just seemed odd to me to say it the first way.
In fact, I made myself flash cards of the index numbers that I wanted to learn, converting them to my way of thinking.  I learned about 20 index numbers this way, and used them successfully for a long while, probably two or three years.

But Then, I Finally “Got It”

After that, I decided to learn a few more index numbers, and it was then that I finally began to understand why the traditional method of learning indexes is superior.  It basically comes down to the amount of information that you need to remember.
Let’s look at how “Ken’s method” would represent the five strategy variations I mentioned above:

• Stand with 12 vs 2 at +3 or higher
• Stand with 12 vs 3 at +1 or higher
• Hit 12 vs 4 at -1 or lower
• Hit 12 vs 5 at -3 or lower
• Hit 12 vs 6 at -5 or lower

And now, look at those same indexes shown in the traditional way (this is the same table shown earlier):

• 12 vs 2: +3
• 12 vs 3: +1
• 12 vs 4: 0
• 12 vs 5: -2
• 12 vs 6: -4

There is much less information to remember if you just bite the bullet and learn the traditional way of doing this.  If you convert the rules the way I did, each decision has several parts.  I have to remember whether my rule starts with “Hit” or “Stand”;  Then I have to remember the index number; And then I have to remember the “direction” of higher or lower.
In the traditional version, every rule uses “Stand” as the action, and every “direction” is higher.  All you have to remember for each decision is one fact: the index number.
The same is true of the other types of decisions with “Double Down” or “Split” index numbers.  You automatically know what the decision action is.  All you need is the index number.

A Little Pain Now Prevents  a Lot of Pain Later

Switching from my own method to the traditional method was not a smooth and easy process.  I had spent a lot of time using my own version of index numbers, and now I had to change the way I used them, and many of the numbers were now different because of the change.  But I’m glad I finally made the switch.  It really did make adding more numbers easier.
Don’t handicap yourself by following my path.  Just start off on the right foot.  The extra time it takes to learn to think about indexes correctly in the beginning will pay off in the long run.
It’s not easy.  But you can get there with practice.

How to Crush Live $1/$2 No-Limit Hold'em

$1/$2 No-Limit Texas Hold'em is by far the most popular poker game being played in casino poker rooms.
Without a doubt, your average table features a motley crew of fish waiting to give their money away.
With a little help from this article, you'll get your fair share of it.
The Game
The game is $1/$2 No-Limit Texas Hold'em, the Chevrolet Cavalier of poker. The minimum buy-in is $40 and the max $200.
$1/$2 is the smallest No-Limit game run in most casinos and for that reason the games are very, very soft.
Your Average Opponent
$1/$2 games are inhabited by everyone from 60-year-old nits, to first timers, to gamboolers who raise every hand, to young, sunglasses-wearing wannabe pros.
Some of these marked cards players are actually good, but most are not. They're first-level thinkers, thinking only of their two cards and nothing else.
They are going to be clueless to the fact that you've folded the last 30 hands and are now betting hard into them.
What they're going to be doing is thinking, "I has a pair of jacks; how much?" and then pushing the required chips into the pot.

Target acquired.

These players are your targets, and the source of the bulk of your winnings.
Loose-passive players have two major weaknesses - they call too often before the flop and they take their hands too far after the flop.
You'll often hear new players lament about how it's impossible to beat fish because all they do is call.
This sort of thinking is so fundamentally wrong it's laughable.
Players who call too much are the ATMs of the poker world, readily dispensing money to whoever has the patience to wait for a good hand.
Your Ideal $1/$2 No-Limit Hold'em Strategy
You play tight, you make top pair or better and you bet! Not exactly groundbreaking stuff. Play ABC poker, make your good hands and bet them.
Loose-passive calling stations will do what they do best: call. So let them call, stop bluffing them, and value bet your good hands relentlessly.
When you play tight before the flop, you make your post-flop decisions easier. By playing solid hands before the flop you will make solid hands after the flop.
When you eliminate marginal hands from your repertoire you'll find yourself with fewer difficult decisions after the flop.
Your goal is to flop top pair with a good kicker or better. You have to avoid getting caught up in the table flow.
Just because half the table is limping in up front with K♥ 3♠ doesn't mean you have to.
Stick to playing tight and focus on playing hands that can flop big.

Playable Hands at $1/$2

Big Pocket Pairs (AA - TT)
These hands are already made for you. A single pair is often good enough to win at showdown, so when you start with one, you're ahead of the game.
Big pocket pairs are such big favorites that you should always raise them for value when nobody has raised in front of you. With aces, kings, queens and even jacks you should often even reraise.

Stick to playable hands.

The profit in these hands comes from when you flop an overpair to the board or a set. When you do, bet.
Your loose-passive opponents will be more than happy to call three streets with worse hands.
Good Top-Pair Hands (A-K - A-J, K-Q)
Top-pair hands are hands that make top pair and when they do so, do it with a good kicker.
In a game where most of your juice cards opponents are loose-passive, your kicker is going to make you a lot of money.
For example, if you have K♣ Q♣ and the board comes king-high, you can bet three streets for value against a loose-passive player.
He will be more than happy to call all the way down with K♦ 9♠ only to find his kicker is no good.
Good top-pair hands are good enough for a raise when the pot has not been raised before you.
Top-pair hands do better against one opponent than many, so keep that in mind when choosing your bet sizes.
Speculative Hands
These are hands that are rarely going to win at showdown unimproved, but when they hit they make big-pot hands.
A big-pot hand is a hand like a set, a full house, a straight or a flush. Holding these hands, no matter what the action, you're ready to put your stack on the line.
They are speculative hands because they have to hit before they'll be worth anything. They rely on the implied odds that you win your opponent's stack when you do hit.
Ideally you would like to see the flop as cheaply as possible with these hands. Speculative hands do best when played in position, so be wary about playing them from up front.
Pocket Pairs (99-22)
Pocket pairs make huge hands when they flop sets. Sets are often hidden, and you can easily stack someone who has top pair or an overpair.
For that reason it's OK to limp pocket pairs from any position.
When facing a raise, you have to think about your opponent. If he is a tight player and is unlikely to pay you off when you do hit, you're best off folding.
If, however, he is a loose player (or you're multiway with more than one loose player), you can call a reasonably sized raise to play for "set value."
The main thing about pocket pairs is that when you hit a set you should almost always be looking for the best way to get all your money into the pot.
Suited Connectors, Suited One-Gappers (Q-Js - 67s, K-Js - T-8s)
Suited connectors are great hands, played within reason. They do make both straights and flushes - both big-pot hands.
The problem is they don't do it nearly as often as you might think.
When you're in early position, you're best off folding low suited connectors.
If your table hasn't been seeing too many raises before the flop, you can limp the best suited connectors like J♥ T♥ or Q♠ J♠. All others should be folded.
Suited connectors are hands that play well in position. More often than not you're going to miss the flop or hit a weak one-pair hand.
Playing them from out of position, in contrast, is going to put you in too many marginal spots after the flop.
Suited connectors should rarely be played versus a raise unless you are on the button and it is a multiway pot, or the raise is very small.
Suited Aces (A-9s - A-2s)
Suited aces are decent speculative hands because they can flop the nut-flush draw and they do have some high-card strength with the ace.

durrrr can play 6-3o. You can't.

Nut-flush draws obviously have value because you can stack smaller flushes.
The problem with flushes though is that they are right there in the open. Everyone is always aware when a flush draw comes in, and as such it is sometimes difficult to get paid.
Suited aces are good hands, but not good enough to limp in from any position. You should be more willing to limp the closer to the button you get.
Against a raise suited aces should seldom be played. You're not going to flop a flush nearly as often as you flop a pair of aces with a weak kicker.
A weak pair of aces can be a curse. You feel like you have top pair and should see a showdown, but by the time you get there you find yourself outkicked and half a stack short.
Weak Top Pair Hands (K-Jo, Q-To, etc.)
These are hands that you want to steer clear of for the most part. They are dominated hands and should be avoided at all costs unless you can get in cheap from late position.
From early position and/or against a raise they should not be played at all.
They don't make many straights or flushes, and when they hit a pair you're going to find yourself on the losing end of the kicker battle more often than not.
Everything Else
Everything else is trash and should not be played even if it is suited. Suited trash is still trash.
Players get themselves into trouble all the time playing weak suited trash because they think they're going to make a flush.
You don't make a flush with weak hands nearly as often as you may expect, and the rest of the time you're bleeding money. Stop playing them.

Position, Position and Position

The importance of position can't be overstated.
Many people think they understand the concept of playing in position, but they routinely call raises with marginal hands, only to play the rest of the hand out of position.
This is a leak that costs you money. When you're out of position you're playing a guessing game - you have to anticipate what your opponent may do.
They dictate the flow of the hand: if they don't want to put more money in, they don't; if they want to bet three streets, they do.
Which is why being in position is so important: it puts you firmly in the driver's seat. You get last say on everything.
If you want to see a free showdown you do; if you want to value-town someone, you do.
Your opponents will be guessing, just as you are when you're out of position.
As the better player, with the advantage of being in position, you'll ensure that they're guessing wrong more often than right.

First you get the cards. Then you get the moniez.

Sit Back and Wait for the Dollars
That's really all there is to it. The most important skill you can have at $1/$2 is patience.
Sit back and wait for a good hand. You should be folding 80% of your hands.
Do not get involved just because you are bored. Start with solid holdings and make solid hands after the flop.
When you're card-dead, that doesn't mean you should be sitting around watching TV. Pay attention to the game and your opponents.
Profile them in your mind; identify who the weak players are and what their tendencies are.
If you know who the loose players are and who the tight players are, you'll be able to understand their bets and raises and what they mean.
Once you figure out your opponents' tendencies, the rest is just a waiting game. Make your big hand and value bet.
Exploit the calling stations and force them to put their money in with worse hands.
$1/$2: it's an easy game.

Freeroll Spotlight: Battle of Malta Satellites on Party Poker, Titan Poker

With the inaugural €150k PokerListings Battle of Malta barely one month away the time to qualify for a seat in the epic tournament is now.
You can buy in directly for €550 using the BOM homepage but all this month partners Titan Poker and Party Poker will be offering satellites into the exclusive live tournament.
Set to take place Nov. 22-25, 2012, at the Portomaso Casino in St. Julian’s the Battle of Malta will give every entrant the chance to experience the Mediterranean in style.
Noted poker pros Kara Scott, Gaëlle Baumann, Johannes Strassmann and Andrea Dato will all be along for the ride as will famed online high-stakes pro Dan “jungleman12” Cates, who recently confirmed he'll play the value-packed tournament.
If you don't have time to play marked poker satellites you can also purchase a €1,400 package that includes accommodation and meals in Malta.
Check below for details on how to try and qualify for considerably less on Party Poker and Titan Poker:

Titan Poker BOM Freerolls

Weekly freerolls run until October 20 with five seats available in the PokerListings Battle of Malta final in each.

• Dates: October 13, 20
• Time:  19:00 GMT
• Buyin:  Free!
• Prize Pool: Top 5 players get a ticket to PokerListings BOM Final

One $2,500 package will then be awarded in the ultimate Battle of Malta No-Limit Hold'em final:

• Date: October 24
• Time: 19:00 GMT
• Buy-in: $10+$1
• Winner earns package for PokerListings – Battle of Malta

Players can also buy in to the $10+$1 final at any time.
Sign up for a Titan Poker account to be eligible for the freerolls (plus our exclusive $2,000 sign-up bonus) via our Titan Poker review page.

Party Poker Battle of Malta Finals

Party Poker is offering PokerListings juice cards players two $2,500 packages in October for the Battle of Malta:

• Dates: October 13, October 27
• Time: 8:00 pm GMT / 2:00 pm ET
• Name of tournament: PokerListings BOM Buy-in Event
• Buy-in: $5+$0.50
• Restriction: For any PokerListings players (old and new depositors).
• Winner: $2,500 BOM package

Winning packages includes Battle of Malta main event buy-in, flights and hotel accommodation up to an aggregate value of $2,500.
Players who finish in positions 2-10 will also receive a cash payout based on the amount of buy-ins.
Note: A minimum of 10 players must be registered for the event to run. Travel money will be paid out once details of the trip have been worked out with a PokerListings tournament representative.

Mike “Timex” McDonald Moves to #1 in GPI Player of the Year Rankings

With four final tables and over $4.3 million in live tournament earnings in 2014, Mike “Timex” McDonald has taken over top spot on the Global Poker Index Player of the Year leaderboard.
After the PCA in January Poland’s Dominik Panka, who beat McDonald for the PCA Main Event title, stood atop the leaderboard with 397 points.
Panka couldn’t hold off a surging McDonald, however, who finished second in the Aussie Millions $100k Challenge for $1.3 million and then picked up $1.7 million for coming third in the $250k Challenge.
McDonald also finished eighth in the PCA $100k Super High Roller to throw another $217,320 on the massive pile of marked cards cash he’s earned so far in 2014.

Nobody better than Timex in 2014.

 

The Waterloo, Ontario, Canada native now has 496.14 points in the GPI POY rankings, which puts him 99 past Panka.
Thanks to his incredible start to 2014 McDonald is now in a very select group of poker players who have earned over $10 million in their lifetime playing live poker tournaments.
The current top 10 in the POY race:

• 1. Mike McDonald CAN 496.14
• 2. Dominik Panka POL 397.13
• 3. Dan Smith USA 385.81
• 4. Vanessa Selbst USA 383.14
• 5. Davidi Kitai BEL 348.20
• 6. Jason Mercier USA 343.20
• 7. Alex Denisov RUS 337.94
• 8. Liv Boeree UK 326.19
• 9. Fabian Quoss GER 305.70
• 10. Amichai Barer CAN 304.33

Negreanu Retakes Spot as Overall GPI #1

Negreanu gives Canadians #1 spot on both GPI charts.

 

In other GPI news Daniel Negreanu has returned to GPI’s overall #1 after several significant cashes at the Aussie Millions. Negreanu’s GPI score is a lofty 4,093 while German Ole Schemion sits in second place with 3,883.
Marvin Rettenmaier, Dan Smith and Jason Mercier are also in the top five. Current hot-hand Mike McDonald sits in seventh infrared contactlenses place overall with a score of 3,444.
Check the GPI website for a complete break down of the movers and shakers on the GPI over the last week. The current top 10 in the GPI rankings:

• 1. Daniel Negreanu CAN 4093.60
• 2. Ole Schemion GER 3883.97
• 3. Marvin Rettenmaier GER 3665.16
• 4. Dan Smith USA 3640.86
• 5. Jason Mercier USA 3516.36
• 6. Philipp Gruissem GER 3478.73
• 7. Mike McDonald CAN 3444.73
• 8. Vanessa Selbst USA 3426.44
• 9. Erik Seidel USA 3318.49
• 10. Ravi Raghavan USA 3299.15

Landmark Hotel and Paroad's Palace Casinos

The Landmark Hotel & Pharaoh’s Palace Casino, a Macau luxury hotel that opened in 2003, was the brainchild of Macau politician David Chow.

Mr. Chow, who was also the mastermind behind the Fisherman’s Wharf pier project, spent 11 years working in America as a high profile junket operator, and has brought his experience to bear on the development of Macau hotels and casino gambling in macau.

Located in the city of Macau, the Landmark Hotel is a mere 10-minute walk from the ferry terminal and 15 minutes’ drive from the international airport.

The 22-floor Macau hotel boasts 451 luxurious marked cards rooms and suites that are finely built and artistically designed, all with spacious bathroom and well-equipped facilities.

There are nine restaurants to choose from on site, including the Kawa to Japanese Restaurant, the Royal Orchid Chinese Restaurant featuring Shanghaiese cuisine, the Landmark Bakery, and the Cave, which is a karaoke room and cocktail lounge.

The Landmark Hotel also features a multi-functional ballroom, which is elegantly designed and equipped with a wide-range of meeting and banquet facilities for business travelers.

A vital part of this five-star Macau hotel’s success is its plush casinos. The Legend Club, known for opulence, shows how Mr. Chow made use of his friendly knowledge of the Macau gaming industry to create an exclusive establishment for VIP gamblers from mainland China.

A club whose luxury has to be seen to be believed, the Legend Club has become synonymous with lavishness: such opulence can be found in San Simeon, the Hotel de Paris, or the London Ritz.

To the disbelief of his critics, The Legend Club quickly became one of the most winning sub-licensed casinos in Macau: its fleet of contented custom-made super yachts marked card tricks underscored a brand that soon became legendary.

"The Legend Club was the conclusion of several years' planning and development, during which no effort was spared to bring members the very best," says Mr. Chow.

"We combined a genuinely sophisticated ambience with state-of-the-art sporting equipment, entertainment, and a wide selection of opulent gaming rooms."

These gaming rooms are decorated in styles that range from a lush tropical rain forest to a sky-lit Italian palace and baroque French villa.

Further to this, Mr. Chow transformed the second, third and fourth floors of the Landmark Hotel into the Egyptian-themed Pharaoh's Palace Casino, meaning that people no longer have far to travel to see the hieroglyphs of Egypt or the monument of King Tutankhamen. Pharaoh's Palace Casino, with 19 table games and 383 slots, has become one of the most lucrative casinos in Macau.

The dark side of Asia's gambling Mecca

Macau (CNN) -- Triad attacks. Prostitute calling cards. Illicit money flows.

This is the dark underbelly of Macau -- Asia's gambling capital. The only Chinese territory where casinos are permitted, the city has transformed itself in little more than a decade from a sleepy backwater to a neon-lit monument to China's passion for gambling.

Gambling revenues in the city surpassed Las Vegas in 2006 and are now six times greater. But the former Portuguese colony's dramatic rise has come at a cost, with many in Macau questioning whether growth has been too fast and furious.

"You really don't know whether society as a whole has benefited," said Samuel Huang, an associate professor in gambling marked cards studies at the Macau Polytechnic Institute.

Portuguese lawyer Jorge Menezes, 47, has experienced first hand the city's more brutal side.

Last month, he was attacked in broad daylight by two men as he walked his five-year-old son to pre-school in what he believes was an intimidation attempt linked to his work as a lawyer.

"I was walking with my son and suddenly I felt a huge blow on the back of my head," he told CNN from his office just a block away from where the attack took place.

"I turned around, already bleeding, and he threw another blow toward my head and then a second guy came at me from behind.

"I couldn't run away because my son was there. I needed to protect him."

Menezes, who injured his wrist and required stitches to his head, said the two assailants each had a brick tied to one of their hands.

"I was told it's a technique used by mafioso in mainland China, because they can carry it without being seen as a weapon."

A spokesman for Macau's Public Security Police, confirmed that the lawyer was attacked by two Chinese men brandishing hard objects who later fled. They added the case was under investigation.

In the run-up to the city's return to China, gang violence was commonplace, claiming the lives of some 37 people in 1999 alone -- though violent crime became rarer as the city's gaming market boomed.

However, some recent cases have unsettled residents. In 2012, a longtime operator of VIP casino junkets, Ng Man-sun, was beaten by six men in his hotel in what was reportedly a dispute with his ex-lover.

The city also feared a return to violence after the release of a notorious gangster known as Wan Kuok-kio or "Broken Tooth" in December after 15 years in prison.

WATCH: 'Broken Tooth' released from prison

Menezes says he rarely goes out to socialize and he cannot think of a personal motive for the attack: "I have no doubt that it's linked to work. It is definitely an attempt to intimidate me or put me out of action for a few months.

"I was working on cases that could bring direct or collateral damage -- collateral in the sense that there are third parties that are affected by what I am doing," he said juice cards, declining to say who he thought was behind the attack.

As a precaution, he has recruited a security guard cum secretary, but Menezes says he intends to stay put and continue representing his clients.

Steve Vickers, a former intelligence officer with the Hong Kong police and a specialist in triad activities, claimed Macau's gaming sector retains deep ties to organized crime.

"The scene has changed over the past 10 years as the pie has vastly increased," said Vickers, who now runs a specialist risk mitigation and corporate intelligence consultancy SVA. "It's not the cowboy town it was when Broken Tooth was running around.

"The big boys have moved in ... and they do not want visible street fights, with people being beaten up because it's bad for business and brings attention."

By and large, Macau remains a safe place with 182 violent crimes reported in the first three months of this year, up one from the same period a year earlier, according to figures from the Secretary for Security. The city is home to 500,000 people, while Macau's three dozen casinos attract more than 28 million visitors a year.

Vickers says that while the city's big casinos, some owned by U.S. tycoons Steve Wynn and Sheldon Adelson, operate correctly and legally, they work in a "messy environment."

They are reliant on income from high rollers and these VIPs are usually brought in from China by junket operators.

"The junkets are an integral part of the gaming scene and they facilitate the transfer of funds, the finding of the high rollers and they facilitate the breaching of Chinese capital controls.

"You won't find their names on the front (door) but the hard reality is that Chinese junkets are largely controlled by triad societies."

China tightly controls the amount of money individuals can take out of the country, with a limit of 20,000 yuan ($3,262) per day and citizens traveling to Macau, which is considered a special administrative region, are subject to these limits.

However, China has turned a blind eye to the abuse of capital controls, said Vickers although he added, this could change as the country's new leaders look to crack down on corruption amid worries about officials funneling money through the city.

Macau government officials did not immediately respond to a request from CNN for comment.

READ: Insider Guide: Best of Macau

The triads are also said to be involved in prostitution rings, another bone of contention for local Macau residents -- although prostitution is not illegal.

Macau is on a U.S. State Department watch list for human trafficking and according to the 2012 report, criminal syndicates are involved in recruitment.

It says many women fall prey to false advertisements for casino jobs but upon arrival are forced into prostitution.

Many of the city's sidewalks and underpasses are littered with prostitutes' calling cards and fliers for saunas and pole dancing clubs.

"I don't know how to explain this to my children," said Huang at the Macau Polytechnic Institute.

Authorities are keen to diversify Macau's appeal and turn the city into a broader entertainment destination that attracts families and not just casino goers.

New resorts boast attractions like wave pools, fake beaches and high-class dining but there's little evidence that sales of spa treatments and slap-up meals will ever begin to approach revenue from the gambling tables.

"I don't think promoting a more family-friendly environment will be easy," said Huang.

Top 5 Las Vegas Hotels

Top 5 Las Vegas Hotels
Labor Day is a few weeks away and like usual, you can find me on the Vegas Strip. I compiled a list of my Top 5 Las Vegas Hotels; there is a good possibility that you will agree with some and disagree with others. After many years of conventions, bachelor parties, weekend getaways, bailing friends out of trouble and playing that little card game called "poker", I have stayed everywhere. To my friends and family, Las Vegas is my home away from home and I can't grasp the fact that I come across people that have never been or never want to go. Las Vegas was a sleepy desert town until the early 1930's when gambling was legalized
marked cards. The rest as they say is history. Las Vegas is no longer known as the "gamblers escape" but one of the most visited family vacation destinations in the world. From world class hotels, shopping, shows, concerts, sporting events and my favorite, THE BUFFETS; Vegas has become one of the most amazing places in the world. I wanted to share with you my 5 favorite hotels. What is your favorite???



Wynn Las Vegas
Lush and colorful landscaping surrounds the majestic Wynn Las Vegas, a small part of what makes it one of the most luxurious and opulent hotels on the Strip. With its man-made mountain, the flowers inside and out and the majestic waterfall leading into a three-acre lake, this resort is a standout among others on the Strip. With world-class dining, shopping and entertainment, there's no shortage of things to do at Wynn. The resort has one of the most amazing aquatic acrobatic shows, "Le Reve," a creation by Cirque Du Soleil. The Wynn Esplanade offers a unique shopping experience with stores including Chanel, Christian Dior, Oscar de la Renta and many more. If you're are looking for something to do in the evening, head over to "Tryst", Wynn's signature nightclub, offering a secluded lagoon inside the club and spacious dance floor.
MGM Grand Hotel and Casino
When walking into the MGM Grand, guests are shown a brief glimpse of "Old Hollywood." With the 156,000-square foot casino adoring pictures of stars from Hollywood's golden age, visitors are always in the presence of greatness. The hotel has 5,034 rooms that range from the average standard two-bed room to luxurious suites that suit any person's desires. The MGM also has fine signature restaurants that include tastes from all around the world; for breakfast you can dine in a French Bakery, have a Japanese style lunch and spice up your night with a taste of New Orleans. MGM also offers entertainment ranging from Cirque du Soleil to the sensuous MGM Grand's "Crazy Horse Paris". "Studio 54" and "Tabù Ultra Lounge" are the two prominent nightclubs at MGM, each offering their own taste of swanky Las Vegas nightlife juice cards. Last but not least is "Wet Republic", MGM's version of a pool party.

Bellagio Resort and Casino
The Bellagio remains a symbol of luxury and class on the Las Vegas Strip. Outside, the hotel is most known of its dancing fountain show and its appearance in the remake of "Ocean's Eleven." Inside, one the resorts most prominent feature is its conservatory with fountains, fresh flowers and seasonal displays. Amongst the list of Las Vegas' luxury megaresorts, the European-inspired Bellagio hovers right at the top. Accommodations combine contemporary-style furnishings, fine art, modern amenities and bathrooms with Italian marble floors and surfaces. In addition to a 116,000 square foot casino, the Bellagio attracts visitors with its headlining show, Cirque du Soleil's water-acrobatics show "O," the ultra-stylish "Bank" nightclub and high-end retail shops.
Caesars Palace
Transport yourself to the opulent and excessive Roman Empire at Caesars Palace. But the ever-changing Caesars Palace is far from ancient. The hotel and casino is constantly raising the bar for what visitors can expect in a Vegas resort experience. Caesars Palace features 3,348 rooms and suites in five towers and 129,000 square feet of gaming space, including the Strip's larg\est poker room and 250-seat sports book. Add in 25 restaurants, a four level shopping mall, four pools, a spa, "Pure" and "Poetry" nightclubs and some Pussycat Dolls and you may never want to leave. If you feel like shopping, the Caesars Palace is home to the greatest mall in the world, my opinion…
Circus Circus
Located at the north end of the Strip, Circus Circus has been a favorite among families for years. With circus acts, rides at the Adventuredome, gaming and dining, this property has something for everyone. Circus Circus biggest tourist attraction is its indoor theme park, the Adventuredome, featuring the Canyon Blaster, a double-loop, double-corkscrew roller coaster, guaranteed to make you scream. During the fall, the Adventuredome turns into the Frightdome, an all-out haunted house voted one of the scariest attractions in the U.S. This is your one stop family destination in the desert.