Plenty of drama at the NFL Draft
Posted by Staff (04/27/2012 @ 8:51 pm)
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell stands with Stanford University quarterback Andrew Luck and his family after the Indianapolis Colts take Luck as the #1 pick overall in the 2012 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 26, 2012. UPI /John Angelillo
One of the best things in Las Vegas has to be the sportsbooks. During football season you can sit there all say, betting on games and thinking up wild parlay bets. Frankly it never gets old for me, as long as the waitresses keep bring me my drinks! But for every football fan, the best event during the offseason has to be the NFL Draft. This year offered plenty of drama with all the wild trades in the first round of the draft. After last year when we had the long lockout and all that uncertainty, this year a ton of energy was unleashed as teams and fans were all in with the draft, and the rookie salary scale made it easy for teams to want to trade into the top ten.
All of this will have huge repercussions for the 2012 NFL season. Teams like the Cleveland Browns got started on completely changing their offense. The New England Patriots traded up for a change and got two studs to help their lame defense. When the handicappers on the sports betting sites set the lines for week one, all of these personal moves will have a huge impact on perceptions. Some teams like the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers got much-need help when Nick Perry and David DeCastro fell to them respectively. The Packers really needed to improve their defense, and the Steelers had to get help protecting Big Ben.
But, don’t draw too many conclusions just from the draft. Remember the Cincinnati Bengals last season? Many thought they would be the worst team in the NFL and yet they made the playoffs. They drafted Andy Dalton and many handicappers were concerned about them starting a rookie quarterback, but Dalton played well, A.J. Green was a stud as expected and the Cincy defense was as good as many believed it could be. Now, who knows if Dalton can keep this up in 2012, but remember that there are always surprises. The NFL is very unpredictable, so always consider going against the grain in the early weeks of the NFL season.
Bungalow Suites at Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas
Posted by Staff (04/25/2012 @ 12:18 am)
Here’s one of the newest hot spots for high rollers in Vegas. The Bungalow Suites go for $10,000 per night, though high rollers can obviously get taken care of!
Cleveland casino will be opening in May
Posted by Staff (04/23/2012 @ 5:41 pm)
People are starting to get excited in Cleveland as the new Horseshoe Casino operated by Rock Ohio Caesars will be opening its doors soon in May. Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, who spearheaded the effort to bring casino gambling to Ohio, went down to Columbus to make one of the necessary presentations to get final approvals for the Cleveland casino. He had to answer some tough questions about his finances but everything looks like it’s on track for the scheduled opening.
It will be great to play all of the great casino games in the Heartland right on the shores of Lake Erie. We now don’t have to travel to play great games like blackjack, craps or roulette. Of course we could always play online, and that can be very addicting as well. I remember one session of the best roulette I’ve ever played. There have also been epic sessions of online poker. But it’s also great to play these games in a casino that’s within driving distance where you can order free drinks and mingle with all the ladies. The atmosphere may not be quite like Las Vegas, but the new Horseshoe looks like a real winner in Downtown Cleveland.
It’s also in a perfect location. Now fans can go to an Indians game or Cavaliers game and walk next door to play some roulette or craps. It’s also not far from the Browns stadium or the Rock-N-Roll Hall of Fame. Don’t look now, but Cleveland is becoming a high roller destination spot!
World Series of Poker around the corner
Posted by Staff (04/23/2012 @ 4:09 pm)
It’s become almost an annual religion for some people. Not so long ago, you might have to explain to friends what is
texas-holdem. Everyone knew about poker, but many fewer people knew about this variation that dominated the poker tournaments.
As poker has exploded into the mainstream over the past 15 years, all of that has changed as tons of Americans and people worldwide descend upon Las Vegas for the World Series of Poker, and million more watch the action on ESPN. It’s a great time to be in Vegas if you’re a poker fan, as many of the big-name players will show up in poker rooms around the city to get as much action as they can.
If you’re one of the millions of people honing your skills by playing online poker, you can realistically have a shot at this prestigious tournament, as many of the recent winners learned by playing online versus the smoke-filled poker rooms in Vegas or Atlantic City.
That said, the poker room hasn’t died. Rather, it’s also growing in popularity as cities like Cleveland look to add gambling in order to compete with the surrounding states that added it years ago. In Vegas, every casino has learned to love poker. It doesn’t generate as much revenue as the other casino games, but it’s a critical part now of the Vegas culture and adds to the vibe of the casino. Wives can shop for hours while their husbands burn hours at the poker tables, and that generates revenues as well.
So if you’ve been practicing, this might have to be the year where you get to Vegas and join the fun!
Dayclubs reopening in Las Vegas
Posted by Staff (04/21/2012 @ 8:04 pm)
It’s been a long winter. You’ve been watching a lot of TV, and all of your gambling has been done online as you stay up late playing online poker or visiting OnlineBingo.com. You’ve been itching to get some warm weather and party by a pool to go with your gambling fix, so now is the time to start planning your trip to Las Vegas! It’s springtime, and the weather is warming up.
This is a great time to hit Vegas as all of the dayclubs are starting to open up again. There are tons of options as Vegas has figured out how to bring the crazy nightlife alive during the day.
This mostly started with the crazy Rehab Sundays at the Hard Rock pool. As you can see from the photo above, this was a wild a crazy party that definitely drew in a younger crowd. All of the nightlife elements like reserving a cabana and buying bottle service were brought to the poolside as well, and when you have girls in bikinis the atmosphere can get even wilder. Ditch Fridays at The Palms also became a huge hit.
You also have mellower options like Bare at The Mirage. They have a DJ and it’s definitely a party, but it caters to a more chill crowd. This is great if you want to relax a bit as well and enjoy the beautiful sites of the pool.
The whole dayclub scene has gotten even more popular now with some of the newer and trendier casinos like The Cosmopolitan which features the Marquee Dayclub. Here you definitely get the more upscale crowd along with celebrities and many well-known DJs. Cost to get in is usually around $80 per person (not counting local ladies!) so get ready to empty your wallet as well.
These are just many of the new ways that Vegas caters to the party crowd. If you’re a high roller you can expect some VIP treatment from your casino host, but realize that the dayclubs are now one of the more sought after experiences in Vegas.
