Online Blackjack News
Montana State Rep Wants To Legalize Blackjack
February 15, 2011
MT State Representative Tony Belcourt has a new plan to help fund social services in his home state of Montana. He wants to legalize blackjack.
Representative Belcourt is carrying House Bill 423 with that hopes that it raise more revenue for the Montana Department of Health & Human Services. The proposed bill sets up an account to collect money raised through permit fees for live card game tables at which blackjack is played. The Legislature would then be responsible for appropriating the funds to services such as suicide prevention, disability services, and domestic violence prevention.
This blackjack bill comes while the Republican majority is cutting the Montana Department of Health & Human Services budget, so lawmakers are trying to get creative. At this time in Montana, blackjack is not a legal means of gambling. Rep. Belcourt’s bill would limit blackjack bets to $25 per game.
A hearing on the Blackjack Bill (Bill 423) is scheduled for later this week in the House Appropriations committee.
Two California Blackjack Dealers Charged with Grand Theft
February 3, 2011
Two blackjack dealers are being held by California Kings County police as the prime suspects in the grand theft of a large number of $500 casino chips from the Tachi Palace Casino in Lemoore, California.
The two suspects are both blackjack card game dealers, and they were filmed in the casino on close circuit security cameras misappropriating the $500 chips.
Security at the casino reviewed the CCTV tape and found that one blackjack dealer was slipping chips into his pocket after the receiving them from the other blackjack croupier. The first dealer was found with $2,500 in his pockets. One dealer confessed not only to stealing those chips, but also to stealing another $1,500 in casino chips on a different occasion.
Wild Jack Mobile Releases Blackjack App for Android
January 19, 2011
Wild Jack Mobile Casino, a mobile casino since 2006, has released its native blackjack application on the Android Market. Developed in part by Spin3, this new blackjack game offers Android users the chance to play blackjack for real money, complete with all the bells and whistles that users would get from the traditional online experience.
According to a press release, Wild Jack Mobile Casino’s native blackjack application takes full advantage of the rich features available on Android-powered devices, offering amazing graphics, touchscreen controls, and the ability to play horizontally or vertically. The blackjack game is available for any Android device running OS version 1.6 or higher. More than 1,600 mobile devices are compatible with Wild Jack Mobile Casino.
Mary Wise, Wild Jack Casino manager, said that this is a wonderful achievement for their company, and with over ten years of experience in the online and mobile casino industry, mixed with the expanding popularity of the Android mobile devices, this new blackjack app offers casino players a quality mobile gaming experience.
Android phones are capable of displaying javascript so users can play casino games that require complex graphics, and with the screen touch features you can more easily manipulate controls. Some research analysts feel that Android will account for as much as 14% of the market share by 2012, and that by 2014 it will be the leading global mobile phone platform. Have those analysts ever hear of the iPhone?
Vegas Casinos Targeting Users of iPhone Blackjack Card Counting App
January 12, 2011
News and rumors of gamblers using a new iPhone blackjack app designed to count cards has caught on in Las Vegas, prompting the Nevada Gaming Control Board to warn all the major Vegas casinos about players using the new app.
It’s not illegal to count cards while playing blackjack in Vegas, but all the counting has to be done in your brain. The use of any device (like an app) is a felony offense. So, if your plans were to take Vegas by storm with your iPhone, think again. An app like this one could be useful at home games, to help you learn the basics of card-counting, but don’t bring it through the doors of a land-based casino.
The name and developer of the card-counting app have have not been disclosed by authorities from California or from the Nevada Gaming Control Board. However, The Blackjack Card Counter application enables you to calculate the “True Count” more accurately than any manual method. As the relevant buttons on the app are pressed, the total counted cards are recorded and adjusted to account for cards that are not recorded. This then gives the user a “total cards dealt” number which is subsequently divided by 52 to represent the cards in the total deck dealt, giving the user the true count. The app also accounts for adjustment of the number of decks in the shoe within the information screen section.
The card counting app developers thought of everything, including how to evade being caught using it. The app features a “stealth mode” feature which ensures that the iPhone or iPod touch screen remains off and as long as the user knows where the keys are located, so the program can be run without detection.
Cosmopolitan Casino Plagued By Rumors of Bad Blackjack Games
January 12, 2011
The Cosmopolitan is the first brand new casino to open on the Las Vegas strip in years, but it almost didn’t make it. The Nevada Gaming Commission gave Cosmopolitan its license just months ago after a lengthy analysis and audit process. The $3.9 billion casino broke ground a number of years ago, but the region was so heavily hit by recession that progress was slow.
Immediately after its doors opened, the Cosmopolitan began receiving negative press as rumors started to circulate about its blackjack table games. The online gambling forums were heavy with chatter about that fact that Cosmopolitan’s blackjack games would offer 6:5 payouts on all natural blackjacks, which is far lower than the Vegas standard of 3:2.
After a few weeks, these rumors proved unfounded, and the casino was adamant that they provided 6:5 blackjack payouts, but on the single deck games. Standard blackjack rules apply to all multi-deck games, including Blackjack, Blackjack Switch, and Spanish 21. The high limit room also features double-deck blackjack. Table minimums in the main hall hover around $10 to $15, which is totally on par with the other most popular casinos on the Las Vegas Strip.
Cosmopolitan is a luxury resort casino and hotel just south of the Bellagio on the west side of the Las Vegas Strip. The resort opened on December 15, 2010. The $3.9 billion project features 2,995 rooms; a 75,000 square foot casino; 300,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space; a 40,000 square foot spa and fitness facility; an 1,800 seat theater; and 150,000 square feet of meeting/convention space.