Casino Gambling Near the Lake

[Mr. V]

I planned to gamble at Mohegan Sun during my vacation on Winnipesaukee, but the weather was just too nice to leave the lake for a couple days.

So my ears really perked up when I learned that there was an actual up and running casino nearby, offering craps, roulette, three card poker. let it ride, blackjack and poker.

see: http://www.thelodgeatbelmont.com/ind...d=85&Itemid=64

The Lodge at Belmont: site of the former dog track.

I like playing craps, and they have a real craps table, but they tweak the payouts on line and place bets in favor of the house.

So if you just have to scratch that gambling jones and don't want to leave the area to satisy it, there is now a casino for you.

Bravo, New Hampshire: as they say, a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.

[Bizer]

Originally Posted by Mr. V

... they have a real craps table, but they tweak the payouts on line and place bets in favor of the house. ...

N.H. has "charity gaming" in which a portion of the profits goes to charity. I guess this gives them the authority to "tweak" the odds. I went to a casino night on Paugus Bay a few years ago. They tweaked the odds at BlackJack by letting the dealer win on ties (In Las Vegas, nobody wins on ties). I'm curious: what did they to the odds at craps as their web site is mum on the subject.

[Mr. V]

Originally Posted by Bizer

I'm curious: what did they to the odds at craps as their web site is mum on the subject.

First, the limit for any individual bet is four dollars: that caps a place bet at four bucks; for line bets such as pass and come, they allow an additional odds bet of up to four dollars, so you can have eight bucks in action on the number.

All the payoffs are the same except on place bets and odds bets; the exact numbers escape me, but before play I read a sheet of paper near the the entrance that explained specifically what the payoff reductions were, and they are obvious and pretty substantial.

It seemed to always involve quarter chips in the payoff, e.g $4.75 instead of an even number such as $6.00.

Don't hold me to it, but it was something like if you bet four dollars to place the six, they pay a tiny bit over even money, with quarters used for the breakage.

Line bets, IIRC, still pay even money, but the odds are not paid at true odds, there is a reduction.

Wish I'd kept the sheet explaining the payoffs, I could lay it all out.

The dealer said they give one third to "charity," and that the charity changes every ten days.

The casino was not fancy, but it is literally the only game in town, with only one dealer handling all the action (box, stick, dealer).

At least he wore white shirt and black slacks: I'd give these guys an "A" for effort.

I would suggest checking it out, provided you understand and accept the changed rules.

I found it OK for brief play while vacationing, but would never play there regularly: the house advantage is simply too high under their rules.

Heck, it's tough enough to win under "normal" conditions in a "real" casino.

[jrc]

Summer is for boating and winter is for gambling. But a little taste in the summer can't hurt much, especially at $4 on the pass line.

Do they have any machines for the missus or is it all cards and dice?

A $4 bet on 6 or 8 should pay $4.66 so if the rounded down to $4.50 it would not be too bad. Now if they paid $3.50 on $3, that would be normal casino payout.

[Mr. V]

Originally Posted by jrc

Do they have any machines for the missus or is it all cards and dice?

No slots.

They still have their betting parlor for the horses and dogs, and a poker room with about ten or more tables devoted almost strictly to hold em.

Worth checking out, if only for the novelty value.

[Winnipesaukee Divers]

I belong to a local community service club and we use to hosts this type of events, but no longer. Since I'm not a gambler my job was casher/assistant and after watching what was going on for a few events, I caught on to what the deal was.

Some our most notable people of community would come in a right a big check out to our charity for chips in exchange. I would follow and watch as they would drop a few chips her and there on the games have a drink or two chat with friends about how good this event was, then walk over to the casher and cash in the remaining chips for cash.

So here's my gripe: if you're going to support a charity for the tax deduction, then give it all to them so they can do some good with it in your community. Had they won the games fairly I wouldn't feel this way. We stopped hosting the events because of a few who need abuse the system for personal gains.

How do you play this game?

[jrc]

Seems pretty sleazy, you can't take a tax deduction for money you didn't actually give them.

But say you buy in for $100 and lose it. Then buy in for another $100 and double it. Leaving the place with your original $200 and reciepts for $200. An honest fellow could take offsetting charity deductions and gambling winnings on the federal, but NH now taxes winnings regardless of losses. So be careful.

I was at a craps table in Foxwoods a few years back, a guy bought in with 18 $100 bills and bet $300 on each number. Let it sit for one roll and then brought it down and put 18 black chips in his pocket. Then he did it again with another 18 $100 bills. On the third try the shooter sevened up and he lost $1800. He did this a few more times, then walked over to the window with a huge pile of black chips and got cash and a receipt. His cash of unknown source, was now perfectly legal gambling winnings.

lots of funny things happen at casinos.

[Ryan]

The Lodge is a great place to cure that gambling bug, as long as you don't go in there expecting to walk out with a bankroll.

Last time I visited, they had 2 Three card poker tables, let it ride, two or three blackjack tables, craps and roulette. All $4 max wagers (per bet).

In the past year, they changed the odds for some of the games to further benefit the house (charity).

If blackjack is your vice, beware of other players. It will not play like a $25 foxwoods/mohegan table as most of the players are beginners trying to learn, or players trying to get as much money on the table as possible (splitting 4's, 9's against anything the dealer has - you get the point).

The real benefit is, if you're looking to spend a few hours gaming, $40-$60 can go a long way there for a little bit of a 'donation to charity'.....