This last trip in Las Vegas, I played a ton of craps. That’s no exaggeration, my friends and I played a lot. At no time did I ever walk away from a craps table up big. I was never even up big while playing. The times I walked away even was because of some amazing rally back to even. That being said, for the most part I had a great time playing craps on this trip. However I want to talk about two decidedly different and surprising experiences.
Me and my friends usually like taking in a few dice games at Casino Royale. The low limits and high odds are very player friendly, so that works for us. However this trip we only played there once, and the experience was so terrible I question whether I have any desire to ever go back. We bought in at the table and got handed the dice. Things were going steady and every 2 or 3 rolls, my dice wouldn’t hit the back wall. The stickman, Nino, doing his job told me to hit the back wall and we moved on.
However, every few throws, it still wouldn’t hit. It wasn’t for a lack of trying, I just happen to have lofty throws. Then a big craps problem ensued. After missing the back wall on a throw, Nino gave me the dice showing a six and a one. That’s right, seven. I asked him to reset the dice and he said no saying “you gotta learn how to roll first.” I was appalled, and as one would expect, the table went cold from there. It was incredibly rude and frankly I won’t be playing craps at any table where that guy deals again.
A quite different experience happened at Imperial Palace. We were trying to find a not-packed $5 craps table one night and thought that with all the construction around Imperial Palace, we might luck into a table. We walked in and sure thing there was some room on one end of their $5 table. We bought in and played for about two hours. We hovered around even, never very up, never very down. But the experience was in the players and dealers.
There was a player on the other end of the table who was obviously a regular and knew the dealers and pit boss. Every number that hit (except seven) he would yell loudly, for example “FOOOOOOUUURRR.” It didn’t take long for the whole table and even the dealers to get into it. It sounds kinda silly now, but we really had fun with it.
Craps is my favorite casino game, and even though it wasn’t friendly to my wallet this trip, I still had a blast playing it…. except at Casino Royale. It just goes to show how one guy with a bad attitude can ruin things for everyone. But hey, maybe I’ve at least found a temporary home at Imperial Palace, while its still around. The dealers there were at least able to relax and have a good time. And really that’s all I ask.
I love it too and will be playing in two days at a couple Indian joints north of Seattle. Anyhow, I used to really like Casino Royale but the tables are always so crowded–what would you expect for $3 on-strip craps? Actually, I’ve had fun there on all the games. But, I prefer to play off-strip and will be when I stay at South Point next month.
You probably just got some former NY’er type loud-mouth dealer cracking-wise. Fuhgedaboudit.
Hey Neon Dice, great blog! I am a regular traveler to Vegas, also a part time blogger, and also love the game of craps. This post is right on about the dealers with attitudes and what a difference that can make at a table. I have graduated to the ten dollar tables but still love it when I can find a five dollar table. Some of the best dealers in Vegas, believe it or not, are at Wynn, and I have seen some amazing runs there at all times of the day. The crews at Treasure Island and the Hard Rock are usually very helpful, professional and sometimes hilarious too. I always look for a chatty stickman and go from there. Binions used to be the ultimate destination for dice but things have really changed down there. I still go back hoping for a good experience, but lately that hasn’t happened. I will say the new Plaza is a good time though, they have “Craplees Craps” and it’s a blast to get a good group of people going with that game, and it’s usually a $5 minimum.
Shame for your bad experience with the bad huy, unfortunately sometimes happens, especially in casinos. I love craps too, it is my favourite game. Good luck for the next time!