Jacqueline Gets Her Geek On

Foreshadowing!

Out of curiosity I ordered the Libertarian Party Presidential ticket's books, to get a better idea of what they're like and how they think.  Bob Barr only has the one -- The Meaning of Is -- but Wayne Allyn Root has five -- some gambling books, The Joy of Failure!, and Millionaire Republican.

I just started reading Millionaire Republican, and early on, in the introduction, Root writes,

"You may disagree with the Republican Party on issues like abortion, gay rights, stem-cell research, affirmative action, the environment, the death penalty, or the war on terrorism.  I certainly have my own opinions about many of those issues, and they don't always agree with the GOP party line."

I know that some people have been concerned about the recentness of Root's departure from the Republican Party.  So, I find it interesting that even when he was writing a book titled "Millionaire Republican" a few years ago that he was already expressing discontentment with the Republican Party's positions on several issues.  This suggests to me that his move to the Libertarian Party is more likely to be a sincere search for a better political home than a calculated move based on hidden opportunistic motives (as some have imputed).

Friday night! Gamble gamble!

Hubby and I dropped by the Huntington Press office this afternoon to pick up copies of the Las Vegas Advisor Pocket Book of Values coupon book and American Casino Guide: 2008 Edition and discovered that they were having a book sale on many of their older titles.  I was delighted to find several books on Amazon Wishlist available new for used book prices, plus some other intriguing books that I hadn't seen before.  I walked out with the following for only $35:

• The First 100: Portraits of the Men and Women Who Shaped Las Vegas edited by A.D. Hopkins and K.J. Evans
• No Limit: The Rise and Fall of Bob Stupak and Las Vegas' Stratosphere Tower by John L. Smith
• Gambling Wizards: Conversations with the World's Greatest Gamblers by Richard W. Munchkin (is that seriously his real last name?)
• Cult Vegas: The Weirdest! The Wildest! The Swingin'est Town on Earth by Mike Weatherford
• The Anointed One: An Inside Look at Nevada Politics by Jon Ralston
• On the Boulevard--The Best of John L. Smith
• Skin City: Uncovering the Las Vegas Sex Industry by Jack Sheehan
• Of Rats and Men: Oscar Goodman's Life from Mob Mouthpiece to Mayor of Las Vegas by John L. Smith
• Whale Hunt In The Desert: The Secret Las Vegas Of Superhost Steve Cyr by Deke Castleman
• Quicksilver: The Ted Binion Murder Case by John L. Smith

After my book-buying spree we headed downtown to Main Street Station and checked out the beer and Happy Hour specials at the Triple 7 Brewery.  While we were there we ran into some of Hubby's friends (poker dealers at the Palms) and had a good chat, staying longer (and drinking more beer!) than we'd originally planned.

We headed over to the Golden Nugget poker room to sober up, using coupons from the American Casino Guide to get $120 of chips for $100.  Hubby played $1/$2 no limit and I played $2/$4 limit.  I'm still not a very good poker player but fortunately I did not encounter many difficult decisions -- either I had obviously folding garbage, or I had a set.  We did well, then took our poker winnings over to the Hilton where we lost half of them playing blackjack.

It's very clear to us now why casinos continue to spread blackjack despite its very low house edge.  In our four hours of play we did not see ONE other player who knew basic strategy.  Admittedly, we were a bit rusty ourselves, but we had the sense to stop at the gift shop and spring for a $2 strategy card.  So while gamblers could be playing at 1/2 percent house edge (*without* counting cards) if they bothered to get and follow a strategy card, it appears almost no one does this and thus they are playing at a significantly higher disadvantage with a much higher expected loss.  Ah well, those people pay for our roads, parks, and schools.

The public library isn't actually "free"

They just have a three week introductory trial for each book, after which they rent it to you for only 25 cents per day!

(I've been accumulating excessive overdue fines again... :( )