Page 15 - March 2002 • Southern California Gaming Guide

March 2002 Bingo Calendar
Thursdays Sycuan Casino
Matinee 9:30 a.m. & 12:30 p.m. $10 buy in, 15 regular games pay $300. $5 Senior Discount. Senior Night 7:00 p.m. $10 pack pays $1,000; $3 Star Bonus Packs
pay $1,000. Extra free space.
Viejas Casino
Matinee 11 a.m. & 2 p.m. Early Bird 6:30 p.m. Evening
session 7:30 p.m. $10 buy in, $1,000/game. Fridays
Sycuan Casino
Matinee 9:30 a.m. & 12:30 p.m. $10 buy in, 15 regular games pay $300. $5 Senior Discount. Evening session 7:00 p.m. $10 pack pays $750; $15 pack pays $1,500. $5
Star Bonus Packs pay $1,500. Lightning Bingo. Viejas Casino
Matinee 11 a.m. & 2 p.m. Senior discount. Early Bird 6:30 p.m. Evening session 7:30 p.m. $15 buy in, $1,199/game.
Saturdays
Sycuan Casino
Matinees 9:30 a.m., 11:45 p.m. & 2 p.m. $10 buy in, 10 regular games pay $300. $3 Bonus Packs pay $300. Free breakfast at Matinee I. Evening session 7:00 p.m. $10 pack pays $750; $15 pack pays $1,500. $5 Star Bonus Packs pay $1,500.
Viejas Casino
Matinee 11 a.m. & 2 p.m. Early Bird 6:30 p.m. Evening session 7:30 p.m. $15 buy in, $1,199/game.
Sundays
SAN DIEGO GAMING GUIDE
Sycuan Casino
Matinees 9:30 a.m., 11:45 p.m. & 2 p.m. $10 buy in, 10 regular games pay $300. $3 Bonus Packs pay $300. Free breakfast at Matinee I. Evening session 7:00 p.m. $10 pack pays $750; $15 pack pays $1,500. $5 Star Bonus Packs pay $1,500.
Viejas Casino
Matinee 12 noon. Early Bird 3:30 p.m. Warm ups 4 p.m. Main session 4:30–7:30 p.m. $16 buy in, $1,500/game.
Mondays
Sycuan Casino
Matinee 9:30 a.m. & 12:30 p.m. $10 buy in, 15 regular games pay $300. $5 Senior Discount. Evening session 7:00 p.m. $10 pack pays $1,000; $3 Star Bonus Packs
pay $1,000.
Viejas Casino
Matinee 11 a.m. & 2 p.m. Senior discount. Early Bird 6:30 p.m. Evening session 7:30 p.m. $10 buy in, $1,000/game.
Tuesdays
Sycuan Casino
Matinee 9:30 a.m. & 12:30 p.m. $10 buy in, 15 regular games pay $300. $5 Senior Discount. Senior Night 7:00 p.m. $10 pack pays $1,000; $3 Star Bonus Packs pay $1,000. Extra free space. See Lightning Bingo
Tournament News on page 14.
Blackjack Bonanza (from Page 7)
don’t take insurance, and don’t worry about trying to count cards. Memorize the basic strategy tables instead. (You’ll nd the strategy table for multiple-deck Blackjack games in the Table Games feature on page 12).
Not all Blackjack games are created equal, though. Different variations on the rules will change the odds. Some favor the player, and some favor the house. For example: The more decks that are used, the bigger the advantage to the casinos. Most San Diego casinos use either a 6-deck shoe or a 4-deck continuous shuf e in all but their highest-stakes games. That’s the reason that single deck games are so rare (and that when they do exist, they tend to be the high stakes games, like Barona’s $5,000 limit game). On the other hand, the ability to double down on any initial cards, and the abil- ity to double down after you’ve split a pair weigh heav- ily in favor of the player, because you’re able to increase your bets (and therefore your return) on hands that have the greatest chance of winning.
How the dealer handles a “soft” 17 (a 17-point hand that includes an Ace) is important. If the dealer stands on a soft 17, it bene ts the player. The only casinos in San Diego where the dealer stands on soft 17 are Golden Acorn and Casino Pauma. But I can’t emphasize this enough: You must follow the basic strategy in order to see any bene ts from the improved odds!
Viejas Casino
Matinee 11 a.m. & 2 p.m. Early Bird 6:30 p.m. Evening session 7:30 p.m. $10 buy in, $1,000/game.
Wednesdays
Sycuan Casino
Matinee 9:30 a.m. & 12:30 p.m. $10 buy in, 15 regular games pay $300. $5 Senior Discount. Senior Night 7:00 p.m. $10 pack pays $1,000; $3 Star Bonus Packs
pay $1,000. Extra free space.
Viejas Casino
Matinee 11 a.m. & 2 p.m. Senior discount. Early Bird 6:30 p.m. Evening session 7:30 p.m. $10 buy in, $1,000/game.
San Diego Blackjack Tables—The Inside Scoop
Blackjack remains one of the most popular casino games. Every casino in San Diego has a game, and each game is different. All of the San Diego casinos allow you to double-down on any initial cards, and to double-down after a split (except in certain double- and single-deck instances, noted below). None of the casinos allows you to draw to split Aces—in other words, when you split a pair of Aces, you only get one card for each Ace.
Barona Casino
22 Blackjack tables; $5 minimum – $5,000 limit (highest limit game in San Diego); 6-deck, 4-deck, double-deck and single-deck games. Barona allows surrender on all of their games—including their $5,000 limit single deck game. Barona is the only casino in America to offer surrender (which improves player odds) in a high-stakes game. Sycuan Casino & Resort
30 Blackjack tables in main area, and 4 tables in the new High Limit room (on the rst oor of the casino between Off-Track Betting and Pai Gow); $3 minimum – $3,000 limit; 6-deck and double-deck games. High-limit table games open daily at 6:00 p.m.
Golden Acorn Casino
9 Blackjack tables; $2 minimum – $1,000 limit; 6-deck, 4-deck, and double-deck games. Golden Acorn Casino is the only East County casino where the dealer stands on a “soft” 17 (on 6-deck and 4-deck tables; the dealer hits “soft” 17 on double-deck games). This is a signi cant advantage for the players.
Casino Pauma
20 Blackjack tables; $3 minimum ($2 minimum on Tuesday and Thursdays); $500 limit; 6-deck, 4-deck, and double-deck games. Casino
Pauma offers some of the best Blackjack odds in all of San Diego County. The combination of the dealer standing on all 17s, the ability to re-split Aces, and the option to surrender make the 6-deck and 4-deck tables a Blackjack player’s dream. The double-deck odds aren’t nearly as attractive because you can only double on 9–11, and you may not double after a split.
Pala Casino
50 Blackjack tables; $5 minimum – $2,000 maximum; 6-deck, 4-deck, and double-deck games. Pala Casino has some very attractive Blackjack odds. You can re-split Aces (except in the double-deck games), and Pala offers the option to surrender.
Rincon Casino
7 Blackjack tables; $5 minimum – $500 maximum; 8-deck and 4-deck games. Rincon uses the standard San Diego rules on all tables, so head for the 4-deck tables if you can—your odds are much better there.
Valley View Casino
8 Blackjack tables; $5 minimum – $500 maximum; 6-deck, and single- deck games. Valley View offers the only low-stakes ($10 minimum) single-deck Blackjack game in San Diego; however, on the single- deck games, you can only double-down on 10 and 11, and you may not double after a split, so the odds are better at the 6-deck tables. Blackjack open 9 a.m. – 2 a.m. weekdays and 24-hours on weekends. Viejas Casino
35 Blackjack tables, including 18 non-smoking tables; $3 minimum Monday–Thursday; $5 minimum Friday–Sunday; $1,000 maximum; 6-deck, and double-deck games.
—Compiled by Kevin Burk
So play smart and have fun!
MARCH 2002 Page 15
San Diego Casino Bingo Calendar