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Casino Q&A Columnist:
John Grochowski
- I didn't set out to write about gambling. Somewhere back near the dawn of
time, I started as
a chemistry major at the University of Illinois. A fork in the road took me
into the student newspaper office, and I wound up as a sports
writer. Sports writing led to editing copy, and after a few years at
smaller newspapers I found myself editing away at various desks at the
Chicago Sun-Times. Sports, news, editorials, business, features - you name
it, at some point I edited it.
About a dozen years ago, my wife Marcy and I became once-a-year Las Vegas regulars.
I decided at that point, I should know how to make our money last. I bought
books. I dealt myself countless hands of cards. Once we had a
computer, I bought software that allowed me to study blackjack
and video poker. So when riverboat gaming came to the Chicago
area in 1992, I was ready. And when the opportunity came along
early in 1994 to write a weekly gaming column, I jumped at it.
In 1995, it expanded from one column per week to two, and I've
been writing two a week ever since. Magazines, notably Midwest
Gaming and Travel, started calling. I write not only for players,
but for several casino industry trade journals. I think seeing
casinos from both the players' and the managers' side adds perspective
to my work.
My book "Gaming: Cruising the Casinos,'' self-published in 1996,
is a collection of columns I'd written in '94 and '95. That book
brought me to the attention of Frank Scoblete, who urged his publisher,
Bonus Books, to sign me. Bonus has published "The Casino Answer Book'' and "The
Slot Machine Answer Book,'' and my next in that series, "The
Video Poker Answer Book,'' will be out in the spring of 2000.
In addition to all that, I give four or five seminars on how
to play each year. I'm in some casino in the Midwest just about
every week, and now my yearly calendar includes four trips to
Las Vegas. Email John: jgrochowski@suntimes.com
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Poker Pundit Columnist:
Fred Renzey
- I'm a retired mechanical
engineer who stumbled into casino
gambling quite by accident. Several co-workers and myself were
stranded at work at a major electronics firm during a blizzard
in the mid-70s. Around 10 p.m., I was wandering the halls looking
for my friend, Bob, when I came upon some associates playing
poker in the purchasing office. I joined the game of 5-Card Stud
and by 10 a.m., had lost the $35 with which I had started.
Up until that time, I had had never played cards for anything but nickels
and dimes. But, during that game a light went on in my head. For the first time,
I understood that there were underlying odds involved in making one's poker
hands. The best hand going in was most likely to be the best
hand coming out. Inferior hands should be folded immediately.
You must charge your opponents the maximum to chase you down
when you're in the lead; etc., etc. I realized that poker, and
gambling in general, is not a sociable party-it's war!
The following year, I and my wife, Carol, went on our first real vacation.
You guessed it. We went to Las Vegas. Just before we left, my neighbor gave me
a book, entitled, "Beat the Dealer," a manual on how
to win at blackjack by keeping track of the cards that were dealt.
I had never played "21" before, but as I read the book
aboard the plane. Mathematical blackjack strategy made so much
sense to me that I felt like I should have invented the game
myself. Three years later, I was barred from my first casino
for counting cards at blackjack - an event that would repeat
itself numerous times. That's why you see only my silhouette
where my photo would be.
Today, I split my leisure hours between poker and blackjack in Midwestern
casinos. I study both games with an intense passion and aptitude matched by few. In
between time, I write highly descriptive, tutorial articles on
both games. Ideally, I would like everyone to understand the
inner workings of gambling the way I do. I strive to clear your
mind of the senseless fables that lead so many born losers down
the golden path to financial oblivion. Accomplishing that brings
me almost as much satisfaction as leaving the casino with the
opposition's money in my pocket. Email Fred: blackjackmentor@aol.com
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Slot
Expert Columnist:
John Robison
- In fifth grade, I wrote a report on the state
of Nevada. My teacher told me that she lowered my grade because
I didn't discuss gambling. I suppose now I'm making up for that
omission.
I first set foot in a casino in 1979, a few years after the voters of New Jersey had legalized
casino gambling in Atlantic City. Some college buddies and I
were going to try our luck. We went to the Playboy casino. The
cocktail waitresses were dressed like Playboy bunnies and there
was a Big Wheel and slot machines were everywhere and-that's
all I remember of my first visit to a casino. I didn't start
going regularly until 15 years later. That's surprising when
you consider my family history. One of my great-uncles was a
bookie.
I learned the rules of the games
from John Patrick, who had a program on my local cable TV system.
I played a little Baccarat, Pai Gow Poker, craps, and Roulette.
But the slot machines really intrigued me. They are a real-world
example of probability, statistics, and computer science in action.
I love it. The more I read about slot machines, the more I realized
that I should learn to play video poker. Strong video poker skills
and a good slot club would become the tools I would use to play
and stay at casinos without spending or losing a fortune. I read
many books on video poker and I even wrote my own program to
analyze video poker payables.
After extensive study and play, I started writing articles about casino games. It was in 1997
that I wrote the first edition of Inside Atlantic City's Slot
Clubs. Now, I write the slot machine column in Frank Scoblete's
magazine, Chance & Circumstance.
The Y2K edition of Inside Atlantic
City's Slot Clubs will be published this month, my book about
slot machines will be published in 2000, and my book about video
poker will be published in 2001. I am also the editor of Frank
Scoblete's Gaming Pages at RGT Online, where I write a weekly
column called Ask the Slot Expert. Visit John at www.rgtgaming.com
or email him:
slotexpert@comcast.net
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Slot Smarts Columnist:
Victor Royer
- In 1984 I was a writer in Hollywood. On my way
back from a trip to New York, I decided to stop in Las Vegas.
At that time, I knew little about the casino industry, casinos,
and the casino games. I stayed at the Las Vegas Hilton, where
I played in a live poker game ($1-$4 Seven Card Stud). It was
a magical time.
Upon my return to Los Angeles, I wrote a story about this poker game
and the colorful characters in it, called Poker People. Then began looking for someone to
publish it. I found a magazine, called The Player, and sent that
article to the editor, and promptly forgot about it. A few weeks
later, I received a letter stating that the story I had submitted
would be published in the next issue. To cut a very long story
short, several more articles followed.
I visited Las Vegas many times, and wrote about the people I played with. I then started
reading and researching the games themselves. I spoke with, and
became friends with, many casino managers, pit bosses, dealers,
casino hosts and spoke with thousands of players and casino employees.
I read every book on casino games that I could locate. Armed
with this knowledge and information, I began to play each game.
I learned to count cards in Blackjack, for example, and put this
to the test (successfully). I also played every other game, and
every machine I could find in every major casino in Nevada, and
later on the East Coast and in tribal casinos. I became a columnist
by accident, and a gaming 'expert' by research, education, trial
and error. I write from my own experiences and those of the players
I have met. I offer that which I have learned, and experienced,
through my books which are available in all major book stores as
well as on-line bookstores.
For those who may be interested, I was educated in Europe and Australia and possess several college
degrees. I have lived in many countries and cities throughout
the world. I have never been married, and I enjoy living a simple
life in Las Vegas, a city that I love. You can email Victor at:
vicnvegas@aol.com
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 Craps Connoisseur Columnist:
Frank Scoblete
- From 1969, the year I graduated college, until
1979, I worked as an editor and writer in New York. I also had
his own radio show, Frank Scoblete Live!. In 1979, I went into
acting and eventually founded my own theatre company. I was researching
the lead role for the hit play, The Only Game in Town, the story
of a down-and-out gambler in Las Vegas, when I met my co-star
Alene Paone. We went to Atlantic City. I was hooked. I began
to realize that I enjoyed challenging the casinos even more than
I enjoyed working in the theatre. We toured in the play for four
months, fell in love, and married. In 1989, I sold my share of
the theatre company and began a career as a gaming writer with
articles and short stories for Win Magazine. From 1990 to 1992,
I basically lived in the casinos spending over 200 days in both
Las Vegas and Atlantic City gathering material and living the
life.
With the phenomenal success of my first book, Beat the Craps Out of the Casinos in 1991, I began
a successful climb to the top of the gaming mountain. My 13 books,
three videos and three audio tapes are the most-requested titles
in their individual categories. In 1993, I started my own quarterly
gaming magazine, The New Chance and Circumstance that I continue
to write and edit. I have also served as a consultant to CNN,
the Discovery Channel, ABC, Walter Cronkite, TBS, Silicon Gaming,
and BallyÕs. I do a weekly radio show from Memphis (The
Goodtimes Show, WHBQ). And I have my own website in association
with RGTonline.
While I am a casino gaming advocate
in general, I am a player advocate in particular. All my books
and tapes are geared to giving players the best possible shot
at beating the casinos. In addition to his writing on gaming
topics, I live in New York with my wife, Alene Paone, and my
two sons. Visit Frank at www.scoblete.com
or www.rgtgaming.com.
Email: fscobe@optonline.net
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Blackjack Magic Columnist:
Henry Tamburin
- I first stepped foot in a Las Vegas casino in
1968 and ill-prepared, I lost all my money within two hours.
I had nothing to do over the next four days except wander around
the desert. I vowed that if I ever gambled again, I would learn
how to play properly. I've since done that and much more. As
a Ph.D. educated chemist, I really had no inkling about gambling.
I began reading everything I could get my hands on and teamed
up with a computer expert to study the games in great detail
on a computer. What emerged was a theoretical winning strategy
for blackjack that I've successfully used to win in Las Vegas.
With the advent of legalized casino gambling in Atlantic City,
I was deluged with requests to teach others my winning techniques.
I and my wife, Linda, then started the first school for blackjack
players.
At that time, we also published
a newsletter focusing on the Atlantic City casino industry and
opened the unique Winners Circle Casino Gaming Club. Club members
met at a local restaurant, ate dinner as a group and listened
to guest speakers who talked about playing strategy. Linda and
I then opened a mock casino staffed with professional dealers
for our club members to practice play.
Over the past quarter of a century,
I have written and had published more than 600 articles for a
host of publications including Midwest Gaming & Travel. I
frequently lecture on casino gambling at gaming conferences and
at business meetings and have appeared on numerous radio and
TV shows.
My first book was written after
my wife dared me to do it. I have since authored 10 books including
the best-selling Blackjack: Take The Money & Run, Craps:
Take The Money & Run, Reference Guide To Casino Gambling
-How To Win (2nd Edition), The Ten Best Casino Bets (2nd Edition),
Winning Baccarat Strategies, and Henry Tamburin on Casino Gambling-The
Best of The Best. I'm also featured in the instructional videos
Blackjack-Deal Me In, Craps-Rolling To Win, and Roulette-Spinning
To Win. You can visit Henry's website: www.smartgaming.com
or email him: htamburin@aol.com
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Midwest Sportsman:
Dan Donarski
- Just who is this guy anyway? Well, I certainly did not even
dream about being an adventure/travel/outdoor writer when I was
growing up. Heck, I was brought up in a fairly strict Green Bay,
Wisconsin household where work was thought of as a per-hour,
or a salaried position. Hanging out outdoors was something you
did if work allowed a day off or two, but never for a living.
My deep appreciation of the outdoors did come from my father.
Often working two jobs to support our family of seven, he somehow
managed to manufacture time to take us fishing and hunting. For
this, along with numerous other reasons, he is my hero. I did
always enjoy writing and even took a few courses at the University
of Wisconsin. Courses, by the way, that I quickly dropped. The
Army called, I said why not, and was soon off on a two-decade
adventure that would take me across the country, out of the country,
and finally to Alaska. It was in Alaska that I was asked to write
a hunting and fishing column for the local paper. It was also
in the service that I began to enjoy the fruits of casino gaming
and entertainment. Vegas was a three-hour drive through the desert,
one which my car had on auto pilot, and Reno was a stretch, but
a place I managed to visit every ski season.
Leaving the Army I traveled to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, where
I now reside with my wife and two children, and started to write
about the local outdoor scene. By hook or crook different magazines
started to call and now, 11 years later, I find myself the editor
of Michigan Hunting and Fishing Magazine, and a contributing
editor to outdoor magazines in New York, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.
A number of travel magazines have also been snookered into publishing
a good number of travel and adventure pieces. Just recently I've
been tapped on the shoulder to co-host The Northern
Experience, a PBS and Outdoor Channel travel show, as well as
Co-host Angler's Diary, a fishing show on the PAX cable network.
People often ask me what is my favorite fish to catch. My answer
is simple: "As long as there's a jerk on both ends I'm a
happy guy." And for hunting, well, if it has wings or fur,
I'm probably chasing it, too. Someone once wrote that the Almighty
doesn't count the days you spend hunting and fishing against
your time on earth. If that is the case, I'm going to be around
for a long while. If not, I'll have spent them in the pure majesty
of the outdoor world. Without getting too melodramatic, I feel
absolutely blessed that I am now making a career out of 'mere'
hobby. And, once the sun sets behind a stand of tall pines where
will you find me? Look to the roulette wheel- I'm the guy who
always plays black 17. You can email Dan at:
flyfishr@northernway.net
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 Expert Strategy Columnist: Elliot Frome
I think I'm the only 2nd generation gaming analyst.
It's not surprising that
I would follow in my dad's footsteps. We worked on simulating blackjack on
my high school computer back in the early 80's. I got some strange looks
from my teachers when I asked to tie up one of the terminals for the day.
In hindsight, I wished I had gone into this field 15 years earlier. I
can't
imagine what we could've accomplished working together full time. But,
family responsibilities led me to follow a more traditional job path until 2
years ago. I'd help my dad out with some of the programming, and he would
frequently bounce ideas and numbers off me, but it was all done long
distance.
I spent 15 years toiling for corporate America'. I
can't say I didn't enjoy
most of it. I learned a lot of important things that help me with my gaming
analysis. When my dad passed away in 1998, we received a couple of offers to
sell his company. We decided to keep it and the responsibility of keeping it
going fell on me. So, for 5 years, I maintained the website and kept selling
books and software. Occasionally, I would make some minor updates when
things became very obsolete.
Two years ago, I decided it was time to be my own boss, and I decided to
make writing and consulting for the gaming industry my full-time job. I
write on topics ranging from Video Poker to the myriad of new table games.
It's a pleasure to be one of the writer's for Midwest Gaming & Travel. Feel
free to drop me a line at Elliot@vpheaven.com.
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