Let's play a game....

I remember either in a vlog, blog or podcast that I said there was something in Vegas that I really wanted to do but I didn't know that until I knew it even existed. There was actually one thing I wanted to do that I did know existed and that was Roulette. I'd been to a small number of UK casinos and the only thing we played was Roulette.

We'd all go with a set amount of money and play until either we ran out of money or didn't want to push our luck. There probably is a strategy to it but I, like many would just choose numbers that meant something. Over time a few of these numbers have changed but not by much. When we went to the Tropicana, the only table machine I played was Roulette and that was on a relatively empty table as I really was unsure of table game etiquette.

This is what I learnt;

Once the ball is on the wheel you have a short period to place bets and the moment the dealer raises hands and declares “No more bets,” all betting is over so no procrastinating and don't drop the chips in a haphazard way. Placing a chip on the line between numbers is a bet in itself so make sure the chips are in the right place.

Once the ball has dropped into a slot the dealer will place a marker on the winning number and all losing chips are removed. After that, all winners are paid. Even though you may be excited over your win, do not touch the chips you have on the table until all winning bets have been settled. (This one we kept forgetting).

Of course, be kind and courteous to the people you are with and the dealer and if you're on a winning streak a tip to the dealer wouldn't go a miss.

Now lets get back to the other thing. Slot Tournaments.

The slot tournament we joined was held at the Plaza and was free to join. Not all are free, some you will need to pay an entry fee. They will vary on frequency and size with some running over a number of sessions. The one we did ran over the whole day, I came 2nd in my session but overall only managed around 12th. You are given X amount of credits and X amount of time to play. Once the game starts you press that button as many times as you can to get as many points possible. With some it's not just about button pushing, some of the slots are touchscreen and things will pop up and you touch them to earn bonus points. It's a fun frantic time with everyone bashing away, when you're in the zone you really don't notice anyone else and it's a bit of an adrenaline rush too.

These tips I got from www.slottournaments.com

• Arrive at the tournament area before the required time

• Make sure you don't have any injury that will prevent you from a lot of button pressing

• Make sure you spin the reels as fast as possible

• Play max bet on every spin

• Make sure there is nothing to distract you

• Don't waste time by waiting for wins to count up on the machine

• Don't look around at what other players are doing

• Don't stop spinning the reels until either the time is up or you have finished your credits

Basically just bash away until the timer stops.

As well as money being given to the top few sometimes prizes are given to the worst and for others free play or match play is rewarded or even an invite to another slot tournament.

I definitely recommend finding and taking place in a slot tournament and like us just do a free one to start with. Even if you do a paid one you know exactly how much money you're spending and you may come away with a decent win. Researching slot tournaments for this blog has shown a lot of the buy-in ones are on the Strip and pretty expensive whereby the cheaper and free ones are more likely to be Downtown.

When it comes to other games in Vegas such as Poker, Blackjack, Craps etc. then I've never been brave enough to play. I know how to play Poker and Blackjack and I used to know the rules of craps when I was a child (there was a computer game based on it) but I don't want to be one of those bloody annoying tourists getting in the way. That said, some casinos do offer lessons in some table games so next time you're staying at a casino just ask them if and when they have practice tables.

Maybe next time I'll give it a go. I could always start on the electronic versions and work my way up from there. You never know, I could be the next Damian Salas or the next Nick Pappageorgio.