The Nightlife of Las Vegas

With show many tourists visiting Las Vegas the need for a wide variation of entertainment is necessary. There are main headline shows at the major casino properties. Tickets for these shows can be difficult to obtain and pricey. Las Vegas is flooded with lounge acts all over the famous Las Vegas Strip. Some of these acts can be worth attending trick cards but after their show many of these acts leave you seeking real entertainment.


Las Vegas also is known as being a sexy and erotic city. There defiantly is an image the city must live up to. Many movies and television shows give people the impression or perhaps the desire to come to Las Vegas. While here many tourist seek entertainment that their home city either does not offer or they would be too embarrassed to visit themselves. In return this desert city offers numerous forms of Las Vegas adult clubs. No matter what you seek, Las Vegas will bring it to you.
it is reasons like that why Las Vegas has so much adult oriented entertainment.  To be more specific there are many Las Vegas Strip Clubs throughout this desert valley. It seems like new one are always popping up. There are about 33 of these clubs and they range greatly in price, atmosphere, entertainment and customer service. Unfortunately many tourists do not attempt any research on Las Vegas nightlife and allow a taxi driver to select a place for them. This is a huge mistake as for many taxi drivers infrared contactlenses get paid by some of the undesirable clubs to bring people in. The taxi driver could care less if you will like the place. They are just about getting paid so do not fall into this trap.

The most effective way to know if you are visiting a club that is worth your time and money is by word of mouth. Getting honest opinions from those who have already experienced the place you are contemplating to visit. The World Wide Web is filled with many quality sites that rate, review and have online discussions boards to help you make your Las Vegas trip more enjoyable. Most of these sites review hotels, casinos and restaurants. However there are sites that are dedicated in reviewing place such as Las Vegas Gentlemen's Clubs or any type of erotic entertainment.
Perhaps you prefer smaller, casual more intimate club where the prices are more within a working man's budget. Without any research you do not know until you walk into the establishment. You may not even realize it then, perhaps it will hit you after you put in an order that you are in an overrated pricy club. With so much nightlife in Las Vegas and limited time and perhaps funds you need to research the places you plan on visiting and get the most out of your Las Vegas adventure.

How Will A Gambling Addition Effect You?

Gambling addiction is a growing problem for people all across the world. Whether it is gambling on sporting events, horse races, table games, or the increasingly popular poker games, the result can be the same. Certain people can gamble all day and it will never affect them. They will never feel like they are losing control no matter how much money is won or lost. Then there are the problem gamblers. They are usually good people, but they turn into degenerates when it comes to gambling. Most of their issues are either competition based or money based and their problems can become extremely large if problem gambling is not checked. 
Compulsive gamblers who suffer from gambling addiction have as difficult a time with easy cards tricks their condition as people with smoking, alcohol, or drug addictions. It doesn't matter if they are winning or losing, either. Gambling addiction can make people feel just as terrible when they are up as when they are down. It is when those gamblers hit rock bottom that the real problems occur, though. When money is owed to different sources, people will do just about anything to get it. This can lead to crime, dishonesty, and a whole host of social problems that will simply compound the problem gambler's awful set of circumstances.

There are not a whole lot of cures for gambling addiction. One cannot just go into the store and purchase a pill to kill gambling addiction. Instead, mental issues must be worked out in order for a person to shake the habit. Hypnosis has been proven to be a good remedy for gambling addiction. Hypnotherapy is not just something that they portray in the movies. It is a real treatment for many problems that people experience such as addictions.

Like most hypnotherapists, I have been using hypnosis to stop a bunch of different problems. Most commonly, people come into my clinic in search of help for different addictions like smoking and alcoholism. Recently, I have been taking on more cases for gambling addiction, though. With the raging popularity of poker on television and gambling in general, there are more people who struggle with gambling addiction. When it seems like all hope is lost, that is when hypnotherapy can work the best. If you are struggling with a gambling problem or any other issue and you think hypnosis could help, then you need to get information on the process and begin to change your life, today! It's the best decision you can make in getting rid of your gambling addiction.

Traveling Around the Globe Part 3

Last time, I was on the verge of leaving Australia to head to Macau via Hong Kong.

As I mentioned, I always book flexible return tickets so I was able to leave Australia ASAP once I busted out of the Aussie Millions (disappointing myself, all of you out there and my loyal sponsor, 888.com).

I wanted to make the best possible use of my time, so I decided there was no point wandering around the casino in Melbourne. Instead I planned to see more of Hong Kong and Macau.

I arrived early the next morning in Hong Kong and had to wait a couple of hours before the ferry took off to Macau. As you can see, the ferries are pretty modern marked cards lenses.

If ever you go to Macau, I certainly recommend booking "superclass." A single ticket is around $40. Personally I don't fly business class or anything because I think the tickets are heavily overpriced, but for this relatively small amount of money I decided to just give it a try and travel "high-class."

The ferry trip to Macau takes about 50 minutes on the "turbo hydrojets," as they call the red ferries there. I stayed in the Star World hotel and casino. (Interesting factoid: although the hotel has just been finished, it's scheduled to be demolished in 2011, because there were rumors about bribery during the construction process and the owners are not 100% happy with the materials used.)

After I arrived at the hotel, I crashed for a little nap. My friends booked this hotel for me, because at Star World they have four PokerPro tables (fully automated poker tables). These tables had a 5% rake capped at $100 HKD ($12.80 USD) but they raked anyway, so flop or no flop, they don't really care.

When playing $25/$50 you can imagine that at the end of the night there's only one winner: the house.

I met John Hoang there, who was waiting at one of the tables for some action. I joined him, and soon other players joined as well. We had lots of fun. These tables could really become the future, but first they have to change the rake, because in the current situation nobody but the house wins.

For 50 years Stanley Ho basically owned the monopoly on casinos in Macau. One of his first casinos was the Lisboa. Since 1999, though, when the Republic of China reassumed control of Hong Kong, this casino's been little more than a faded reminder of past glories.

Nowadays multinationals like the Venetian and the Wynn have permeated the market, so the casinos in Macau are bigger, better and more luxurious.

These companies have made a tremendous effort to build copies of some Vegas hotels: The Wynn and the Venetian are basically replicated 1:1 marked poker

The next day I went down to the Venetian. I was astonished by the number of table games: 700+, which is more than anyLas Vegas casino.

Nonetheless, I decided I had seen more than enough casinos for a while, so I figured it was time to explore more of China. I went to Zhu Hai, which is very close to Macau, but you need to apply for a visa anyway. Fortunately I was able to lay my hands on a three-day visa.

Once I arrived there I went to my hotel: the Grand Bay View. This hotel was verynice. Just take a look at the toilet. I spent another few days in China, mostly occupying myself with buying useless stuff that will probably fall apart within a week or so.

But at least I didn't pay much for it. Let's say it was a calculated risk :-).

So much for the ninth leg of my trip that led me through Newcastle-Galway-Newcastle-Amsterdam-Hong Kong-Melbourne-Hong Kong-Macau-Zhu Hai-Macau-Hong Kong-Amsterdam-Vegas. Needless to say I accumulated enough frequent flyer miles to fly around the world a couple of times :-).

For now I am preparing for a tournament at the Wynn and after that, the Shooting Star WPTin San Jose.

Take care for now...

-- Steve Wong

From the Old School: Tales From Tony Shelton

Serious poker players need no introduction to Tony Shelton. The barrel-chested man with the gray handlebar mustache has been a fixture in Las Vegas poker rooms for nearly 40 years.

Affectionately known as "The Walrus," if something happened in Las Vegas poker circles from 1970 onward, Tony was either a part of it or knew about it.

He's one of a privileged few who has actually witnessed marked cards poker history firsthand. Many poker players love to exchange great stories. Poker writers often repeat these stories. But Tony Shelton was there.

Tony grew up in Kentucky. He was a world-class chef and maitre'd before turning to poker as a career choice. He had dealt to nearly every famous name in the game before jumping out of the box to become a floorman and later a shift supervisor.

Tony ran the graveyard shift for many years at various cardrooms scattered around Las Vegas. One of my favorite Tony Shelton stories (I have many) was the time I witnessed him take down a loudmouth drunk half his age who tried to punch out a dealer following a bad beat.

The drunk had his arm twisted in a lock behind his head held firmly in place by Tony and was left slobbering on the yummy Binion's Horseshoe carpet. As Horseshoe security officers curtly escorted the drunkard out of the poker room, Tony tugged his tweed jacket, slapped his palms together and announced "another satisfied customer."

Tony has worked on the World Series of Poker for more than 30 years, perhaps as long as any man still alive (I think dealer/floorman Joe Bartholdi may actually own the record for WSOP longevity). Tony's forte has always been "high-limit" poker.

When the big game at the back of the old Horseshoe was dealt, Tony was usually there patrolling the game. He made rulings that resulted in six-figure swings, yet still commands the respect of everyone who knows him.

Now in his 70s, Tony is semi-retired today. But he recently launched a new poker venture, which is a school for poker dealers. The "Tony Shelton Dealing School" recently opened for business in downtown Las Vegas.

I've asked Tony to share a few of his fondest poker memories on occasion with the readers here at PokerListings.com.

He was gracious enough to accept my offer and will reward us from time to time with some of his most memorable true tales from poker's glorious past:

Don't Touch My Hat!

Back during the mid-1970s, the Golden Nugget poker room used to host some of the biggest games in the world. One night, the regulars were sitting together playing No-Limit Hold'em with $10/$25 blinds. There was at least a million dollars in cash and chips on the table. Remember, this was back in the '70s when a million dollars really meant something.

The big game usually took place in the back on the right-hand side of the poker room. There was a rail around the poker table about three feet high to keep the sweaters and railbirds off the backs of the players.

Those I can remember playing that night were Doyle Brunson, "Sailor" Roberts, "Amarillo Slim" Preston and a few others. Big and tall Slim was sitting in the five seat, with his back against the rail and facing away from the spectators.

A big hand with a huge pot came up and about 25-30 sweaters were positioned all around the rail. Slim had three large stacks of purple, some black chips, some greens, a few reds and a large bundle of cash behind his chips.

During the big hand one of the sweaters - who was unable to see the action - put his hands on the rail and leaned forward on his tiptoes so he could get a better look at the game. When he did that, he accidentally brushed against Slim's cowboy hat, which fell down over Slim's eyes.

Things like that happened a few more times and it was obvious Slim was not happy about it. I was standing right next to the game and saw what happened next. Unbeknownst to just about everyone and certainly way out of view of the sweaters, Slim kept a stack of 20 or so $1 chips which he used for tokes.

After getting his hat tilted yet gain, Slim reached down, picked up the entire stack of $1 chips and flung them high into the air, over his right shoulder, and yelled, "Here you are, boys!"

Well, pandemonium broke out. Two guys butted heads hard enough to knock one of them out. There was a fight and many of the sweaters went scurrying around on the floor on their hands and knees attempting to get at the stray chips.

Doyle saw all this and said to his fellow Texan, "Slim, what in the hell are you trying to do - start a riot?" Slim shot back, "That'll teach 'em to fool with my hat."

It was one of the funniest incidents I've ever seen.

Dead Man's Hand

Another time, I was working the late shift. There was a very lively $10/$20 Limit Hold'em game with lots of red chips piled high around the table. An Asian gentleman was sitting in the one seat.

There was a huge pot in the middle of the table that you could have stuck a flag in. The Asian man called the last bet and then proceeded to fall face down on the table juice cards.

Wham!

The man was gone. Seriously. The dealer called our other floorman over to the table and said, "What about this guy? He's dead."

The floorman, without any hesitation whatsoever, picked up the Asian man's cards, tossed them both into the muck and announced, "If the man is dead, his hand is dead."

Thanks Tony. More stories later.

-- Nolan Dalla