I’ve lost two friends – two friends who were terrific gambling writers and players. I wish to honor them in this column.

Bill "Ace-10″ Burton and I were friends for over 21 years. I knew him before he became a well-known gambling columnist for many publications and for his books, his latest being the Texas Hold’em and Omaha Hi-Lo chapters in Everything Casino Poker: Get the Edge at Video Poker, Texas Hold’em, Omaha Hi-Lo and Pai Gow Poker.

He introduced me to a host of dice controllers and advantage players. He had his finger on the movements of the casino world and was always willing to share his ideas and information.

I respected Bill; not just for his gambling acumen but for his decency. He was a guy who epitomized class.

Without Bill Burton, there would be no dice control movement in this country. He was one of the four founders of Golden Touch craps and his dice control ability was awesome. Most people do not know the powerful impact Bill had on everything we did in the world of dice control. He was quiet and he worked in the background.

Those who have met him know what kind of person he was; a gentleman of the first order; a knowledgeable expert who could be approached. He was the definition of the "good guy."

He was a loyal friend. He was a man of substance.

Walter Thomason was a maverick among blackjack writers. He believed firmly in his progressive betting methods and his book 21^st Century Blackjack espoused progressive betting as the one way to beat the game of blackjack. While progressive betting might be fun, and while it might give you very big wins on certain nights, it does not change the game of blackjack to favor the player. However, no one could tell Walter that. Some of the biggest brains in the blackjack world have gone head-to-head with Thomason, explaining why his concepts are wrong but Walter would have none of it.

Walter was married to best-selling romance and mystery writer Cynthia Thomason and they did book signings and talks titled "For Love or Money," where Cynthia talks about romance and Walter talks about romancing the casinos’ money. Walter was an excellent speaker and was a guest speaker at several Gamblers Jamborees.

Walter and I played at Treasure Island (Las Vegas) quite a lot in the 1990’s. The Beautiful A.P., Walter, and I had many great times but I must say as a card counter, my favorite time with Walter was playing in the high-roller room, with him at one table and me at another. You see Walter’s progressive betting method would often draw the suits from "upstairs" to see what he was doing. Walter loved this as it gave him a chance to teach them his wonderful progressive betting ways – which cannot give him an edge but which interested the casino bosses nevertheless since Walter had been on a ferocious run during that time.

Walter would expound on the theory behind his betting method and the bosses would nod knowingly whether they understood what he was saying or not. Walter would talk their ears off.

I have to say his greatest night and one of my most enjoyable nights came about three hours before he had to leave for his home in Florida. He was packed and ready to go but he wanted to play another round before he left. He came down to the high-roller room with his carry-on luggage, plopped himself at a table directly across from where I was playing and began his session.

And the gods came down from Mt. Olympus because Mr. Thomason seemingly could not lose a hand. I believe he started with a single $100 bet and slowly that bet increased and increased; then it went to two bets, which increased and increased; and then it went to three bets that increased and increased. At some point in time, he was playing every spot at the table with rapidly increasing bets on most hands. That was the Superbowl of progressive betting.

Walter loved every minute of it. He lectured them on what he was doing; he explained in intricate detail why he bet this amount or that amount on this or that hand; when he would spread out his bets to cover other spots. Even other players paused in their games to watch Walter’s amazing streak.

"I got to get going," he would say and then keep playing.

"I got to get going," he would say again and then keep playing.

"I got to get going," he would say and then continue playing.

"Hey, Walter," I said. "You got to get going. You’re going to miss your plane."

Reluctantly, Walter colored up and carried his truckload of chips to the cage, cashed out, and took the limo to the airport. I always enjoyed getting together with him. He had a sparkling personality.

Bill Burton and Walter Thomason were originals.

Thankfully, my many readers have filled me in on their observations about the casinos and the state of Atlantic City this summer.

Therefore, instead of me trying to cobble together an article, I’ve decided to let my readers speak. Some of my new ratings are based on readers’ reports.

Readers: If you write me a letter that I publish I will send you a free copy of my new book The Virgin Kiss. My email address is fscobe@optonline.net.

Things remained tough in Atlantic City through the first half of the year. Revenues fell some 10.7% on a year-to-year basis. In other words, the multi-year slide continues.

In June, every casino showed a decline, with a 12.6% average for all properties. Table games led the way with a 16.3% decrease. Nevertheless, things varied among the individual casinos. Trump Plaza, the sale of which fell through, led the way with a gigantic 23.6% fall, followed closely by Revel’s 22.6%.

On a more positive note, Borgata was down only 8.9%, Golden Nugget 5.2%, and the champion turned out to be Resorts, whose revenues, driven by the new addition of Margaritaville, declined about ½ of 1% during the period. This hard data appeared in an article by Wayne Parry on AP Wire based on NJ Gaming Commission Reports. By way of contrast, the four new Maryland Casinos revenues increased 57% during the month. Cannibalizing anyone?

July, however, proved more positive for AC with a 297.2 million total win, only 3.6% less than the previous year. Things varied between casinos. Nine establishments saw y/o/y revenues decline, led by Tropicana’s 26% and Plaza’s 25%. On the other end, Golden Nugget shrunk only 1.9% and Atlantic (the sale of which also recently got called off) less then 3%. Three casinos showed positive improvement. Resorts results rose 6.2%, and Borgata’s a whopping 19.4% to 64 millions. But the champ proved to be Revel, whose monthly revenues climbed a staggering 33% to 23.4m. (For more on this, see below.)

Indications are that traffic has been growing steadily. Several signs of this exist. Friends report busses more crowded. A couple we know wanted to go to AC. They had heard about Margaritaville at Resorts. They could not get a reservation for the last weekend in July nor for the first couple of days of that week. This can only be very positive news. However, as in Las Vegas, pure traffic does not necessarily translate into bottom line profits. People seem to be risking less at games of chance. Sketchy reports from other AC spots indicate a similar weekend crunch.

Revel has been the focus of much attention due to its efforts to reinvent itself. As many readers may know first hand, the casino launched a wide publicity campaign in major East Coast cities and suburbs including ads on taxi tops and TV spots. The main attractions were two: One, they offered to match any slot offers by other casinos, and two, give credits for all slot losses suffered during July.

Sounds great, right?

As with all casino promotions, wait a minute. A friend lost a couple of grand during July over the course of several visits. They just got a mailing with coupons – all 20 of them! In other words, you get 5% of your losses back per week. If you do not go, you lose the rebate. The whole promo is a gigantic sucking sound to get you back into the casino as many times as possible. If you live nearby, maybe. But if you have to really make a trip, no way Jose. Lesson No. 1: Always read the fine print in any offer from someone who wants your money!

For August, Revel advertises free parking, and an end of the month give-a-way of automobiles plus other goodies. They have promised further lures during the fall months. If the gain in revenue is any indication, goodly numbers of people took up Revel’s offer although many became disillusioned when they realized how the casino intends to rebate losses. Time will tell.

But Revel has real problems. What follows is an amalgam from several visits, friend’s comments, talk inside the casino, etc. The infrastructure is seriously breaking down. They have skeletized the staff and much of it is composed of people unfamiliar with how things should work. This makes for glitches galore. The billing system is really screwed up. People who get "comped" are charged at check out if their host is not around at that moment, and then have to reclaim the amount.

Many have complained about room service. It delivers slowly; it delivers wrong orders; it delivers bad stuff. Sometimes complaints, if voiced loud and long enough and if the player is big enough, are grudgingly awarded compensation. But that doesn’t satisfy a player who arrives hungry at 2-3 AM and then gets slow, bad service. Complaints abound about the failure to make up rooms, particularly those towards the end of the long, long corridors. A call to house keeping, may or may not produce results, but keep on bugging them and eventually, i.e. five or six hours, someone will appear.

Personally, I have better things to do with my time, and other friends have expressed it more forcefully. In addition, you can wait a goodly while for bell service, both when you arrive, and particularly if you check out early AM. One of the nice amenities used to be free coffee in the hotel lobby in the morning. Now it is pay $1.50 or more at a cart in the check out area, a walk away.

Now, let’s go to the floor. One of the best things about Revel was its no-smoking policy. Gone. Management did install an adequate ventilation system; however, smoking is still smoking. So why should that bother, just play in the non-smoking areas. Wait a minute! Not all games are available in non-smoking. They have cut back on dealers, and some pits do not even open during the weekdays. If you want to play Pai-Gow tiles or cards on weekdays, you can ONLY do it in a smoking area (to be fair, same as at Resorts).

As a close friend, who nearly died from lung cancer, said, "They want to kill me again." Regular rules (or should I say old time rules) BJ? Look closely……Hit soft 17 does not work for real players... Yes, you can get a regular rules game but only either in the smoking area or higher stakes lounges, $25 and up and sometimes that is not available either.The $50 BJ with drunken idiots at the table is unpleasant at best, although to be fair, good players do exist in the higher-stakes areas.

As we know, Revel emerged from bankruptcy in May and it is rumored up for sale. This is a real shame because it could have been the new champion of AC. But as the joke goes: what are they going to do with the building? High-rise condos for the rooms and a gambling museum or mausoleum for the main casino floor?

Revel apparently has banned several high-stakes players or system players who tried to take advantage of the offer to replace losses. This has been on the wires for a couple of weeks. The casino apparently refused to issue player cards or worse revoked players’ cards at the high-stakes poker machines. Sometimes AFTER the fact, if my sources are correct. This is really base if true.

Finally, let me say three things positive about Revel. The food menu, if very expensive, continues a close second to Borgata. If you play right along and get comped, paying $200 for a meal is nothing (literally). The steak house, the fish place, and Amada are good, Relish is adequate, etc. The female members of the groups that I often go with have noted with much relief that the threat factor feels MUCH lower on Friday and Saturday nights at Revel than, say, Borgata. Fewer aggressive drunken college types, fewer incidents between couples/groups either in the corridors, elevators, or on the floor. Finally, the dice tables continue among the best in AC. Generally well run and without the bus crowd or young set, they tend to attract more serious players.

That’s all for now, good luck everybody,

Herbert

We just returned from a three-day stay in Atlantic City and I will give you my observations.

The Boardwalk is still a great take. It was packed even on a 95-degree day. Outside bars are a part of every casino and a good place to people watch and have some drinks.

Now to the casinos:

The Revel: Huge signs that say "gamblers wanted" are everywhere, including on regular television commercials.

They are offering 100% back on slot losses. I am not a slot player but they seem to be getting people to enter the casino. The entrance on the boardwalk is different from the other boardwalk casinos because you have to walk up a walkway and across a driveway. This is a huge casino with escalators taking you to the different levels. The casino is nice but the games are just average. Revel is a must see if you travel to A/C. Not sure how they are going to do in the long run but for now they seem busy.

Ballys:  It was very crowded in the blackjack area. Games are just average. On one table, dealer was cutting off 2 to 2.5 decks, on another table dealer was cutting 1 to 1.5 decks. Players should be aware of this. All games are machine shuffled. They offer rooms very cheap or free so you do have a rougher crowd at the casino. The poker and race book is my favorite place to play.

Golden Nugget: Great place to stay, quiet on hotel floors. Pool Area nice place to go with three blackjack tables by the pool. Games in the casino are good, dealers are friendly. GN is a good place to play. All games are machine shuffled. I recommend staying here.

In summary, Atlantic City is still a good take and I plan on returning. The outlet stores were packed with great deals.

Atlantic City needs to market it self as a destination spot and I think it will be fine in the long run.

Best Regards,

Bubba from Boston

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Dear Frank:

I don’t go to every casino in Atlantic City but I do stay on the Boardwalk. I have stopped going to Trump Plaza completely. It is a dive and I just do not like the crowd the place has during the week or even on weekends. Ballys is also going downhill, with the types of trash that hang out there. I am not sure why these two casinos attract such patrons but since they do, my wife, and my friends and I prefer not to go to these places.

I like Caesars, Tropicana and Taj Mahal. Tropicana had the best blackjack games. I think Revel is interesting but it just seems to be a cold place. During the times I was there it was not a ghost town as you wrote but did have a pretty big crowd. The question to be asked is will this casino have large crowds when the colder weather comes around in a few months.

Keep up the good work.

Alan D.

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Dear Frank:

Borgata is overrated. I think because so many young folks hang out there the place has a vibe but the casino doesn’t do anything for me. Okay, that’s just me. I do like Harrah’s and Showboat, another Harrah’s property and I want to scold you for being so anti-dog because Showboat was allowing customers to bring their pets.

I am a dog lover and my two dogs are like children to me. I do love them and by allowing me to bring them to a hotel I can travel more and go to the casinos more. So give some second thoughts to your anti-dog views.

---Nancy W.

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Frank:

I think you have your best and worst casinos for blackjack a little messed up. I rate Revel as number one because you can get those great six-deck games for just $25 with the "old" standard rules of standing on soft 17. The cuts are deep too. Borgata is not as good as you wrote because when I was there the cuts were maybe 70 percent, dealers hit soft 17, and the dealers were really trying to deal fast. I think they do that to get more hands in, and also to confuse some of the less skillful players.

I also disliked Ballys and never felt comfortable walking around that casino. I got a bad feeling about the crowds that come there. I didn’t think the games were all that hot either, with every table hitting soft 17 but I didn’t go to the high roller room so maybe the games in there are good. Tropicana and Caesars are both really classy places and I thought their craps games and blackjack games were some of the best I have seen.

Anyway, that’s my two or three cents.

Joseph P. H.

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Dear Frank:

You are right about the Golden Nugget. I found their dealers at craps and the other table games to be really friendly and professional. I don’t know about slots because I won’t go near them.

I didn’t find any real paranoia at blackjack but I am a really small stakes player going from $10/$15 to $100 in gradual increments in high counts. Those are on those eight-deck shoes. I didn’t notice anyone getting scared. Maybe higher stakes players have been harassed, I don’t know.

I made a side trip to Borgata but it was so crowded I didn’t bother playing. I never bothered going to the Boardwalk. Over the years, I have found I don’t like the crowds there.

---Davis

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Dear Mr. Scoblete:

Herewith are my ratings of the casinos residing in Atlantic City from my five day visit in August.

1. Borgata
2. Revel
3. Caesars
4. Tropicana
5. Golden Nugget
6. Bally’s complex
7. ACH
8. Taj Mahal
9. Resorts
10. Showboat
11. Trump Plaza
12. Harrah’s

I cannot claim that I am the final report on all the casinos since I just saw what I saw and someone might see these games in a different way.

Yours truly,

Warren M.

**** = Very Good

*** = Good

** = Fair

* = Poor

THE BEST BLACKJACK IN ATLANTIC CITY: Any casino above with a rating of three stars.

Best Craps in Atlantic City: All except: Borgata, Taj Mahal, Showboat and Wild, Wild West (if open).

By Frank Scoblete

Every game in this book can be beaten if you play the right way. Even video poker machines that return 98-99 percent of the money played can garner comps that make playing the machines a positive experience. And the great news is that there are a multitude of machines in this book that return 100 percent or more! These machines can be beaten mathematically by using the strategies that Casino Player and Blackjack Insider columnist Jerry "Stickman" has developed.

If you want to learn how to play casino-poker-room games such as Texas Hold'em and Omaha Hi-Lo with an edge, then read what poker expert and best-selling author Bill "Ace-10" Burton reveals. Since you are playing against other players in poker rooms, then you have to know how to beat those other players at two radically different forms of poker. Burton explains all the winning concepts.

Finally, many players are not that familiar with a great casino table game, Pai Gow Poker. This game can also be beaten if you follow the advice of the King of Pai Gow Poker John "Skinny." He'll explain exactly how you should play your hands, how to increase your chances to win big and how to learn from the experiences of others.

If you are looking to get a real edge against the house or against other players, this is the book for you. I am a believer that when players get an opportunity to win casino games they should make the small effort to do so. Otherwise, why bother to go?

Frank’s new book can be purchased at Amazon.com, your favorite bookstore or by calling 1-800-944-0406. Cost is $18.95 plus $6 shipping and handling. Or go to Frank’s web site at