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In the world of casino gambling the House always wins. This may be a confusing statement. How does a casino still come out on top even though hundreds, maybe thousands, of gamblers come into their doors and win small payouts? Look at the numbers. Let’s say one-hundred players come into a casino and each one wagers $100 in one hour. That means that the casino is bringing in $100,000 per hour in revenue. Even if three of those players wins a $5,000 jackpot, that still is only $15,000 total that the casino is paying out. They still have $85,000 in revenue to work with. Those numbers are only for the hour too! Imagine what that casino is bringing in if you look at a full week of wagering from loyal players! Plus not ever gamer is going to limit their wagers to just $100. Some are going to be wagering much more—especially if the casino builds huge promotions that require a large wager every time a gamer comes to the gaming floor.

If you do the numbers it isn’t hard to see how a casino is bringing in a steady stream of revenue no matter what they are doing. Whether or not they have a huge promotion going on, they still have an increase in revenue no matter what. Sure there are some winners every hour, but unless they are winning a huge jackpot, it isn’t doing much to hurt the casino’s overall revenue. This is why most casinos are building promotions regularly. They want to increase their income and handing out a great promotion is the way to do it. You can go to any casino and see the long lines and people wanting to get to the best games or best tournaments. They see the wins available and want to take their own chances at winning the big pot. Are they going to? Most likely not, but part of the fun of wagering is taking that chance. Casinos are going to continue to woo people with big jackpots and people are going to continue playing for them. It is the way of casino gambling and has been going on for decades!

“The House always wins!” This is a statement that goes far in the world of gambling. Many gamers don’t want to listen though. People still think that they can overcome the odds a casino has with intentional focus, luck-inducing strategies and studying. Sure you can affect your outcome if you are playing on a game that has an element of gambling strategy, but some games just don’t. Take slots for example. These are the games you find in a casino’s slots parlor. There normally are hundreds of them lined up and all dazzling your eyes with bells, lights, whistles and spins. You take a shot at these games by pulling the reel or hitting the button and hope. But…the most you can do is hope for a win. There isn’t anything you can do to affect the outcome because these games are purely luck-based games. On the other hand, games like poker and blackjack for example are games of strategy. You have some way to affect outcomes. Experience and studying can teach you techniques to employ that will increase your odds. The house has a response though—normally these games have a higher buy-in right off the bat. The casino minimizes your odds and increases theirs by upping the money needed to wager.

So does the “house always win?” The answer is for the long-term, yes. You can find short-term wins but if you were to take all of your winnings and fuel them back into the machines time and again, you would end up losing and the casino would be all the richer. So why do people play? For fun. Gambling is growing to be one of the biggest pastimes of internet users today. The market has grown exponentially in the past ten years. Now you can find hundreds of online casinos, dozens of which are reputable and long-standing in the online market. They also provide thousands of great games to the market and that too is growing. Developers are putting their time and energy into building more fun gaming experiences for the market. If you know that fun is the answer, then set our bankroll limits but then just sit back and enjoy.

For a long time now Massachusetts has been heavily in debates over gambling. Legislators worked hard to keep gambling out of the state and it appeared that they were successful up until a few weeks ago. The country is set to approve federal health care funds for states and that may cause Massachusetts to revisit the gambling issue. The House and Senate both are opposed on the issue. They are proposing a special session to discuss gambling within the state. Massachusetts needs to have a special session to handle the issue but most likely senators are not willing to come back to work for gambling alone. If there is a hefty pay to be had with the federal contribution to health care that just may be enough to bring the senate to a special meeting of overtime.

This is just one instance where gambling is being heavily debated. It is taking a long time to come together, but gambling is proving to be a viable option for more than a few states. Of course Massachusetts has another asset- Governor Duval Patrick. He has long petitioned for an expansion of gambling in the state. Patrick wants casinos resorts to be built in the state and he also wants race tracks to operate without the help of slots. On the other hand Representative DeLeo wants race tracks to have slot machines to help them draw in customers and bring in added revenue as a result. This is just one example of how the state’s legislators are at odds with each other. They are concerned about the laws and trying to make them work despite the differences of opinion. Legislators are negotiating the issues in Massachusetts and hoping that they can square away the problems so that revenues can be brought in and it can be used to revitalize the market. Like most states, Massachusetts is troubled and hoping to use gambling revenue to fund various public works programs that need to be worked on schedule for the state. Only time will tell what happens with the issue, but hopefully, it will be sorted out soon and then the state can truly take advantage of new revenue from gambling.

Blackjack is one of the biggest hits on the Vegas Strip—and any other casino for that matter. People love to play the game and it offers an exciting and fun gambling experience every time. Casinos earn a lot of money from their blackjack tables and for that reason, you can find more than a few at any casino you venture to. When it comes to the house edge, it is another reason why casinos love the game. With the exception of free odds playing craps, every bet made on a casino table game has a built in cost. Roulette layouts have one or two zeros giving the house an edge. Crap tables bar-two sixes, Baccarat takes a 5% commission on winning bank bets. On the other hand, the “edge” for blackjack was considered to be over 5% for many years. Many experts agree that blackjack is a great game for the house to win a lot of money.

When looking at the history of blackjack, it’s easy to see how much the game has brought in throughout the years. Up to the 1960s there was little reason to dispute these “21″ figures. The casino hold was commonly 25% of the casino drop. Players would play to hunches when they had a decision to make, but the game’s popularity was only moderate. A few players seemed to “know something” though. They somehow managed to win time and again at the game and consistently walked away with payouts. Then a mathematics professor from New Mexico developed a system he claimed could beat the tables in Las Vegas. In 1964 Life Magazine ran a nine page story about Edward O. Thorpe and his “unbeatable blackjack system”. From that point on, the game changed. Now players realized that they could have a hand in how well they did with the game. There is a strategy to the game that everyone can learn and use.

Still, even with the newfound information, the House still has a 17% edge. Considering the huge rise in the game, the house is doing just fine when it comes to profits. The good news is that the general gaming public has a way to win at blackjack. They realize there is a strategy and use it. In fact, most casinos know this and now have safeguards built into the system to allow them to protect their profits from people who are particularly good at counting.

Part two coming next.

Blackjack is one of those games that has a wide variety of play. In the midst of variations, it sometimes is difficult to know what the house’s true advantage is and how it’s affected. It is an advantage to understand how specific rules change the house edge because it helps you to understand what games are right for your style of play. Remember that variations all change the outcome you can reach. When it comes to the house advantage, that means the overall statistical edge the casino has over the long term play. It is a percentage that shows you what you can expect to lose given an infinite number of hands. Standard blackjack has a significantly lower house advantage that is normally less than 1%. This is why blackjack is so popular. Changing the rules though can change that house edge considerably. When considering the house edge, here are some things to remember:

• Do the resplitting rules really bring an advantage to your play?
• Does the dealer hit or sit on a soft 17? How does that affect the house edge?
• Is there an addition of a 5, 6 or 7-card Charlie?
• How many decks are being used? (This affects the statistical average)
• How will an alternative payout for a natural blackjack (Ace and ten) work to your advantage or disadvantage?

These are all important things to consider when deciding what your payout chances are. Remember that strategy goes a long way in bringing the house edge down so work on altering your odds during all games. If you are going to play a specific blackjack variant for any extended length of time, you should find its perfect strategy and memorize it or print out a strategy card for it. Playing in an online casino makes it much easier to refer to a strategy card. Online gaming is popular for a reason. It can be easier to keep track of all changes and game variations. There is normally some instruction to follow throughout your gaming experience with online play. It’s a great way to get your feet wet and get used to games before you actually go to a land-based casino and jumping into blackjack play.

Pennsylvania is another state to start looking at gambling’s legalizaiton to bring in money it needs. The state already has a working budget that includes table game gambling as a means of generating funds. Though a few short years ago it was unheard of to use gambling as a budgetary item, in today’s world things are changing quickly. Not only is gambling quickly becoming the “go to” activity for states in need of extra money, but it is also being added to the budgets. Funds coming in are already being earmarked for certain activities in the state’s budget like education, roads, construction, and public works programs.

The House voted in favor of a large gambling Bill that would bring sweeping changes to the casino industry in the Northeast. The Bill, which was passed by a close 97-95 vote, sets tax and licensing rates, and also appropriates the money to various places in the budget.  There is also a seperate bill that the House also voted in favor of and this one channels gambling funds directly to education costs at state-run unversities. The recession has made it difficult for most colleges and universities to keep providing financial help to students without funds of their own. Many scholarships and funds have been cut as a result of the recession.  Now the state is looking to revitalize the world of education by focusing gambling funds directly to the cause of scholarship funding.

Despite some changes, there is still a split among parties regarding gambling and legalizing it. The House majority Democrats were able to push legislation through even though most Republicans voted against it. It’s a hot-topic in the world of politics today and it is motsly Democrats who are pushing it into legalization and regulation.
The final approval is needed though to move forward. The House is set to rule on the issue. If approved, the tax rate for race tracks would be 16% for any table game. The rate would drop to 14% in 2011. A one-time licensing fees would be $16.5 million. The money brought in by legalizing gambling is nothing to deny. It’s a huge opportunity for the state, but legislators have to be careful to not earmark the funds too quickly. Though it sounds good, will people really start gambling again? Is the economy recovered enough for people to regain their confidence in the market? Only time will tell.