hi and welcome to our series of educational videos that are designed to
make you smarter gambler
my name is Christine Bourie I'm from the American casino guide
which is the number one bestselling book in the US on the subject of casino
gambling in travel
and the only but that comes with over 1000 dollars and casino coupons
including free rooms
free food free shows free gambling money
and much much more if you wanna know more about the book
be sure to visit our website at americancasinoguide.com in this video
I'll be interviewing American casino guide out there Steve Bourie who also
happens to my father
now be asking questions about his gaming background in his book
and now here's my interview with Steve Bourie what is your background in the
casino gaming industry
I worked for 25 years in the gambling industry
but it was actually in the parimutuel gaming industry rather than casino
gambling the difference is that with casino gambling
it's you betting against the house and with parimutuel gaming it to you
betting against other bettors with parimutuel gambling
the house always makes money because the money is put into a pool
and the house takes a commission with casino gambling it's slightly different
because it's you against the house
and actually casinos could actually lose money if they had a bad day for the
players got lucky but with parimutuel betting that never happens
because the money to put into a pool and the house takes a commission what
made you wanna write the book
actually I didn't start out to write a book the books or have developed along
the way
what happen is that that back in nineteen ninety-two
I wrote an eight-page flyer that gave information
on the major casinos in the United States in las vegas atlantic City Reno
Lake Tahoe
and out through the years I kept adding more states and more information on the
casinos
so now on 2013 itself or in ninety six page book
the front part has information on how to play all the games I write some other
stories
%uh there are gambling experts would also contribute to that part of the book
the middle part of the book as information casinos in
forty-one states at has map showing where the casinos are
and the best part of all which a lot of people really like is the coupons in the
back of the book
and the 2013 edition of the book we have more than 200 coupons
and usually just use one or two the coupons you can more
then recover the cost to the book so people really like those coupons a lot
how many casinos have you visited
I visited a lot of casinos in the book we have almost
800 and I'd say have been about 75 percent of them
I of course you go to Las Vegas to get to see a lot of casinos
but also if you go to somebody a smaller casinos that are concentrated together
like in South Dakota
into black hawk central city in Colorado also Cripple Creek
in Colorado so in those places you have a lot to casinos but they're all
rather small casinos fear Las Vegas you see a lot of big casinos but I i
I've been about the seventy-five percent have you visited many casinos outside
the US
outside the US seven visited that many casinos
but that because I live in Florida I've been to the Bahamas so quite a few times
I've been to Atlantis on Paradise Island that's the very very pretty place
two beautiful casino and that one place I always wanted to go
my wife and I went about three years ago I finally got to go to Monte Carlo
I we flew to Paris been a few days there and then we flew down to nice
and then took a helicopter into Monte Carlo so that was a big thing for me
because as a kid growing up I always heard about it and to me it was the most
famous casino in the world
so that was %uh place I always want to see you need to get to see it about
three years ago
and actually this New Year's Eve my wife and I was going to go to
London and while I'm there I plan to see a a few casinos there too
do you gamble yourself
I love to gamble I i used to be a blackjack player pro
primarily a blackjack player and I took a few months to teach myself how to
count cards and for eight years I counted cards
and I never tried to make a living at it I just tried to see
tried to do it on my own to see whether or not it worked and yes it did work
and yes I did make money at it but I I did make a lot of money but i wasnt
paying a lot of money
I found that if you bet a lotta money you just attract attention to yourself
and you probably get kicked off the casino
and I was playing most my play was at a local casino on a casino boat which we
don't have any more here in Florida
but I didn't wanna get kicked off so I just kept my batsman back then too
probably maximum fifty dollars and that will keep you under the radar so you can
get kicked off
but that nowadays I play primarily video poker
I like video poker I find the comp so much better
if you can bet that much in blackjack you can earn that much in comp
budging a lotta cash back you couldn't get cash back in video in
I'm so you can get cash back and blackjack but again can get cash back in
video poker
so I enjoy playing that and what I try and do as I try and play a about an
even game at the casino this allows me to stay even
some nyquil is a lot of money I get to take advantage above the
cops at the casino has I put a lot on my
play my my video poker play
in a casino that has a a concert hall
so they sent me a lot I think it's so I can get you know
a few thousand dollars worth I've a invitations to these concerts each year
and basically played a break-even level so it allows me to take advantage at the
casino com program
without losing a lot of money have you seen any interesting things in casinos
if you spent a lot of time a casinos like I do you will usually see something
interesting
and a when the most intriguing things ever saw happen
in a casino was a in atlantic city many years ago when Steve when first built
the Golden Nugget
which is now the notebook what used to be the Atlantic City Hilton
and I believe it's Tia Atlantic Club Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City
originally that was the Golden Nugget and I was in there playing blackjack
this as many years ago
gosh it probably won twenty years ago and a %uh the
I got kept hearing this night as well of of what
and i'm looking around saying what is that noise and the dealers
pointed out that the table a few tables over was the %uh the boxer
Joe Frazier who has since passed away but
I he was championship boxer that time and the or explain that
that Joe like to bark at the cards as they were being dealt out at the shoot
because he thought that he could change the order of the cards
i said %oh well that's interesting I i think thats the only time my life I i've
ever heard that
but that that was his a method for winning I i don't think it worked too
well
but the you know that was on the strange things I saw
something else had happened not exactly in the casino but
near casino many years ago I was at the %uh Stardust in Las Vegas
and I was with my I was with my friend ann we were walking around this little
ball towards the end of the
it was a very tiny mall at the end of the Start Assist artist has been imposed
doesn't exist anymore
used to be on the strip and that he went into a candy store and i sat down on a
bench in this little mother probably only maybe
a a a 8 eight stores in this entire mall and what a muzzle
video arcade for kids would play I'm a the arcade machines
and i'm saying that I'm looking nice at all look at that there there's a Michael
Jackson impersonator
and this guy who look like Michael Jackson he
he walked over into the the arcade and he
at the kids were there playing the games and he didn't say anything
but he would walk up next to the kid that was playing the game and he would
just stare at
at at the kid while the kid was playing the game so I never could find a pinball
game the kid was
playing with the levers and it was not that I'm aware like what is this guy
doing
but he would he wanna he went over and look down to watch the kid play for
about a minute or so
then he walked over to another kiddos ban another game walked right up next
some never said a word to him and and just
the Phantom like that it was a little weird and then I'm thinking well
its israeli Michael Jackson personage sums going on here
but then he he walked out at the arcade when he walked out of the arcade
a bike I went in front of him behind them on his left hand on his right
and they all got together and walked out 31 at the site exits
out into the parking lot cell looking back on it and then a couple years later
all this stuff came out about Michael Jackson the kids
so I'm pretty sure that was Michael Jackson in there it was it was one of
the strangest things I've ever seen it didn't happen in the casino
that it happened right by the casino
how often do you travel to Las Vegas
I go to Las Vegas at least twice a year went on to go for the g2e show
II go there with my son and we go to the skating show where the
manufacturers introduce all of their new games and we do videos age probably know
if you watched a video so I put them up on YouTube
what is your favorite see now my favorite casino is
anyplace I can go and win money that means that I'll play and some dumpy
casinos
of have a special promotion or something that I think I can take advantage other
make money at it
but I do like I must say I do like if I got a las vegas I like a win-win is a
beautiful place
and also below zero so those are two of my favorite places in Las Vegas
and a and Atlantic City I guess gotta put Borgata in there
I haven't seen the new revel casino but I understand it's very nice but
in atlantic city I would say I'm
Borgata is my favorite there what is the strangest casino you've ever been to
there are I few interesting cuz he knows I've come across one and I have to say
is a treasure Bay and Black Sea mississippi
that's right there on the Gulf Coast the casino is still there but the actual
all casino that was on a barge got destroyed in Hurricane Katrina
Anna it again it was a casino on a barge but it was built to look like a pirate
ship that was a pretty cool thing
and I remember gaining their couple times and I was impressed with that it
was very unique cuz I I never saw one like that
I another interesting on I have to go to Reno and talk about the Peppermill
now cuz usually like to go downtown Las Vegas to see all the beautiful neon on
the outside
at the Peppermill is the only casino i've seen where I think they have more
neon on the inside
and they do on their outside their place is just loaded with her neon they have
it in the table 7
you know under the slot machines under the bars as all sorts a neon overhead
so that's pretty pretty unique and another one
I went to a few months ago is right here in florida is called the Big Cypress
casino
I it's part of the seminal reservation a
and that they have a few casinos largest has a son of hard rock and in Tampa and
Hollywood Florida
but this one is out on the everglades it's an attraction in the everglades a a
swamp towards called Billy
bill the swamp Safari tore and there you go an airboat rides there as part of the
attraction ever room set aside
with slot machines and their so I'd have to say that is definitely one of the
most unique casinos i've seen
what is the most you ever want and Xtina
the most everyone at a casino was up until this year
I was four thousand dollars and now I didn't want it on my own
II was a partner with my friend Walter who was an old gambling body in mind
we're in atlantic city
and we were partners and I was going around doing research for the book
and I said okay we're partners on this news planned dollar %uh video poker
and he was dealt a Royal Flush and
Harrison Atlantic City's so each won two thousand dollars
and the other bigger jackpot I I got was this year
and again I was partners this time not with my friend what their life gamble
with here but it was at the SRI rocket Hollywood
I was partners with my son and I'll
I was by a 25-cent a video poker machine one thousand dollars
and they went over to a dollar video poker machine and within 20 minutes we
had at it was a triple play dollar machine
and within another 20 minutes we won another a
Royal Flush so that was five thousand dollars in a period of 20 minutes
so that was my biggest win to date
what advice do you have for the average person visiting casino
I think that the average person visiting a casino things that all casinos are the
same there there
and there's no difference among them but really there are the there's
you know some casinos have their machines had to pay back higher like it
when people go to Las Vegas I so I ought to try and
rather than just gambling on the Las Vegas Strip take some time go to visit
one of the of strip casinos sometimes there's free shuttles you can take from
this trip to some they are
outlying casinos I like Sam's Town summers online casinos have much better
returns on their slot machines
unfortunately some sometimes those big beautiful casinos and then they are very
nice very pretty but the slot machines are set to pay back less than others
so the other thing is people think that that while you go and there's nothing
you can do your you can't win it's all a quality it's not really all lock
there are some games in a casino that are pure locking are some that are skill
so what you want to try and do is play the game did have a very low casino ads
and there's some skill involved so you can cut down the casino and even more
I wanna games as blackjack blackjack a good game
but there's a skill involved in need to know how to learn how to have to learn
how to play your cards in the game
blackjack a skill blackjack player will do better in the long run then
someone guess is how to play their hands so that's a good game to play another
good game to play as as video poker
most people going to casino are gonna play a slot machine
in a slot machine is really not the best thing game to play
have a very high casino ads especially those those anyone's about 12 percent at
so what you want to do is learn to play video poker
to find it so much less Khao was much less of a casino advantage
probably a 5 percent or less and your money will last a lot longer
and sometimes when you go to casino it's not necessarily about winning money
it's about losing last and what you want to do is try and take advantage of these
casino promotional programs were they give you free cash back over to give you
calms
and all that helps to stretch your gaming dollar so ken
there there are subtle differences among different casinos
and its it's not all pure luck there is a skill involved in some of these came
so you wanna
learn to play the games of skill and learn how to plan properly and your
money
last longer how can someone find out more about you
and your book the best place to learn more about the book is on our website at
American casino guide dot com
I we have a new book that comes out each year in early November
so we have a 2013 book coming out at all have
203 coupons and therefore savings I casino slot a two-for-one buffets
two-for-one shows
gambling free gambling money so and free gambling bonuses so
those can help us structure bankroll again and also the books on Amazon dot
com Barnes and Noble dot com it's also stolen
major bookstores throughout the United States and including wal-mart
spot again probably the best place to find out about the book is American
casino guide
dot com don't forget that you can see more of our educational gaming videos on
our YouTube channel
just go to youtube.com/americancasinoguide