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Thread: Not Living Right

  1. #1
    Well, it took some work, but I lost a teaser Over 33 by a 16-16 count today. Actually, it took a great deal of work. Missed PAT, missed FGs, and a winless team trying to win in overtime while the 5-3 team was happy with the tie. It also required a bevy of well-timed offensive holding calls throughout the last 20 minutes of the game.

    That is one for the books. I guess I mean that literally because the books kept my money.

  2. #2
    Originally Posted by redietz View Post
    Well, it took some work, but I lost a teaser Over 33 by a 16-16 count today. Actually, it took a great deal of work. Missed PAT, missed FGs, and a winless team trying to win in overtime while the 5-3 team was happy with the tie. It also required a bevy of well-timed offensive holding calls throughout the last 20 minutes of the game.

    That is one for the books. I guess I mean that literally because the books kept my money.
    You still have your health.

    Howard Ramis…..Stripes 1981

  3. #3
    Originally Posted by The Boz View Post
    Originally Posted by redietz View Post
    Well, it took some work, but I lost a teaser Over 33 by a 16-16 count today. Actually, it took a great deal of work. Missed PAT, missed FGs, and a winless team trying to win in overtime while the 5-3 team was happy with the tie. It also required a bevy of well-timed offensive holding calls throughout the last 20 minutes of the game.

    That is one for the books. I guess I mean that literally because the books kept my money.
    You still have your health.

    Howard Ramis…..Stripes 1981

    That reminds me...I need to see the new Ghostbusters.

    Yes, I do have my health. And if I drop about 15 pounds, that health figures to be pretty good.

  4. #4
    Originally Posted by redietz View Post
    Originally Posted by The Boz View Post
    Originally Posted by redietz View Post
    Well, it took some work, but I lost a teaser Over 33 by a 16-16 count today. Actually, it took a great deal of work. Missed PAT, missed FGs, and a winless team trying to win in overtime while the 5-3 team was happy with the tie. It also required a bevy of well-timed offensive holding calls throughout the last 20 minutes of the game.

    That is one for the books. I guess I mean that literally because the books kept my money.
    You still have your health.

    Howard Ramis…..Stripes 1981

    That reminds me...I need to see the new Ghostbusters.

    Yes, I do have my health. And if I drop about 15 pounds, that health figures to be pretty good.
    No clue of your situation but that’s around what I lost in a year, and kept it off, after moving to Florida. It only takes minor changes to diet and a little more exercise, at least in my case. Being retired and basically a bum can be the challenge to keep motivated but it’s worth it.

    As for that Lions game…pathetic on both ends. The drop off from starter to backup QB play in the NFL is terrible. The Steelers, Jets and Cards once against proved it yesterday.

  5. #5
    Originally Posted by redietz View Post
    Well, it took some work, but I lost a teaser Over 33 by a 16-16 count today. Actually, it took a great deal of work. Missed PAT, missed FGs, and a winless team trying to win in overtime while the 5-3 team was happy with the tie. It also required a bevy of well-timed offensive holding calls throughout the last 20 minutes of the game.

    That is one for the books. I guess I mean that literally because the books kept my money.
    That's an extraordinarily tough loss Red.

    I refer you to a quote by a wiser man than me.

    "betting parlays is either a sign of being stupid or lazy or both"

  6. #6
    Originally Posted by dannyj View Post
    Originally Posted by redietz View Post
    Well, it took some work, but I lost a teaser Over 33 by a 16-16 count today. Actually, it took a great deal of work. Missed PAT, missed FGs, and a winless team trying to win in overtime while the 5-3 team was happy with the tie. It also required a bevy of well-timed offensive holding calls throughout the last 20 minutes of the game.

    That is one for the books. I guess I mean that literally because the books kept my money.
    That's an extraordinarily tough loss Red.

    I refer you to a quote by a wiser man than me.

    "betting parlays is either a sign of being stupid or lazy or both"
    Now, now, danny, a teaser is not a parlay. I've found that teasers (if you can keep them open in perpetuity) for low NFL totals are a worthwhile endeavor, especially if the line has moved in your favor. That's why for many years teasers were not allowed on NFL totals in Las Vegas. The main reason parlays are stupid or lazy is that in LV, you cannot keep them open in perpetuity, so you are never guaranteed optimal numbers, which creates a long-term severe cost.

    This may be my final year for teasers on any kind of regular basis anyway, as the two offshores with the best teaser odds have shortened the ability to keep the teasers open from "forever" to "close it by Monday night" -- ouch -- and the places that still allow open in perpetuity or 90 days have worsened their teaser odds this season, making them unplayable. All of this just happened in the last three months, so one must adjust. The implications of these changes, of course, are that the offshores either were not making money on the "open forever" teasers or the bookkeeping was too much of a hassle or both.

    Boz, I'll tell what's dropped off -- how can kickers miss so many PATs? WTF? I shopped 'til I dropped to ensure I had an Over 33 and not a 33 1/2 on that Pitt deal, and it came down to a missed PAT. Double ouch.

    Here's a link to maybe my worst extra point beating of my life:

    https://theskepticalgambler.blogspot...g-in-rain.html
    Last edited by redietz; 11-15-2021 at 10:23 AM.

  7. #7
    Good story RED, without the political angle of course. Couple thoughts….

    Kotite was one of the worst coaches ever. While his record wasn’t horrible in Philly, taking over for a fan favorite in Buddy Ryan didn’t help. And the feeling was he always underperformed in Randall Cunningham’s prime. When he went to the Jets it got worse for him with a 4-28 record before never coaching in the NFL again.

    The sports book at the IP had me thinking of the burger place also up the escalator. Was a glorified fast food place but I found myself eating there more than a few times in various states of sobriety. Here is a link to the Sportsbook at the IP (Linq) sitting untouched for years. https://twitter.com/#!/x/status/1422599663295733764

    As for your loss, it was always amazing to me how these coaches needed a chart to determine when to go for 2. Seems basic math isn’t a strong point for many of them. And on bad beats, we all had them and the worst are easy to remember. But yes, that was a bad one for multiple reasons.

  8. #8
    Originally Posted by The Boz View Post
    Good story RED, without the political angle of course. Couple thoughts….

    Kotite was one of the worst coaches ever. While his record wasn’t horrible in Philly, taking over for a fan favorite in Buddy Ryan didn’t help. And the feeling was he always underperformed in Randall Cunningham’s prime. When he went to the Jets it got worse for him with a 4-28 record before never coaching in the NFL again.

    The sports book at the IP had me thinking of the burger place also up the escalator. Was a glorified fast food place but I found myself eating there more than a few times in various states of sobriety. Here is a link to the Sportsbook at the IP (Linq) sitting untouched for years. https://twitter.com/#!/x/status/1422599663295733764

    As for your loss, it was always amazing to me how these coaches needed a chart to determine when to go for 2. Seems basic math isn’t a strong point for many of them. And on bad beats, we all had them and the worst are easy to remember. But yes, that was a bad one for multiple reasons.

    Great pics, Boz, and good memories. I ate in the Burger Palace many times, especially on Sundays, because I watched NFL for at least a decade in the IP on Sundays. They opened the showroom and hosted NFL Sundays there. I snagged my seat at the normal tables bordering the big booths for the high rollers. The guy who always sat in the booth right below me had been a compadre of Stu Ungar back when Ungar worked in some upstate New York resorts as a kid. He and Ungar were hired partly to play cards with guests (think the resort in Dirty Dancing).

    The IP was the only place I bothered to maintain a credit line, mainly because I didn't have time to make rounds and cash tickets between Saturday (when 90% of the money is wagered) and Sunday. So I needed to know I had access to cash when I made it to the IP at 7 AM every Sunday. Most times, I parked at the Barbary Coast. The real challenge of the morning was driving up the Barbary Coast whirligig parking ramp into their garage at 6 or 6:30 and having the blasted crowd from Drai's just getting out and driving their vehicles the opposite way down those ramps. That was action before the games even started.

    During those same years, my current girlfriend and her horse betting crew hung out in the race book there because the IP had good daily contests, a nice book, and treated horse players well.

  9. #9
    Found a few pictures of the Burger Palace. Exactly as I remember it complete with the cheap fast food Plymold booths and standard fast food menu board. My memories of the IP include naturally the classic cars along with the Dealertainers. The cheesy Asian theme at the bars along with a smell that just wasn’t right in the restrooms. Never stayed there but always heard the horror stories of the elevators being a problem. My wife wanted to do the Hawaiian Luau Buffet by the pool but after reading reviews we luckily avoided that disaster.

    We should probably start some different threads of memories of Vegas in the 80’s, 90’s and 00’s. It might liven the place up some and be interesting reading. Plenty of posters here have stuff to contribute.

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  10. #10
    Originally Posted by The Boz View Post
    Found a few pictures of the Burger Palace. Exactly as I remember it complete with the cheap fast food Plymold booths and standard fast food menu board. My memories of the IP include naturally the classic cars along with the Dealertainers. The cheesy Asian theme at the bars along with a smell that just wasn’t right in the restrooms. Never stayed there but always heard the horror stories of the elevators being a problem. My wife wanted to do the Hawaiian Luau Buffet by the pool but after reading reviews we luckily avoided that disaster.

    We should probably start some different threads of memories of Vegas in the 80’s, 90’s and 00’s. It might liven the place up some and be interesting reading. Plenty of posters here have stuff to contribute.

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    I miss the classic cars museum. It was a great place. The IP had the penitentiary guys with auto repair and strip down experience, of which there are quite a few, do a lot of work on the cars.

    I had some car buff friends in Las Vegas for the first time, and they loved that museum. A third or half the cars were on display for auction, so you could walk in and buy one if it caught your eye.

  11. #11
    Originally Posted by redietz View Post
    Originally Posted by dannyj View Post
    Originally Posted by redietz View Post
    Well, it took some work, but I lost a teaser Over 33 by a 16-16 count today. Actually, it took a great deal of work. Missed PAT, missed FGs, and a winless team trying to win in overtime while the 5-3 team was happy with the tie. It also required a bevy of well-timed offensive holding calls throughout the last 20 minutes of the game.

    That is one for the books. I guess I mean that literally because the books kept my money.
    That's an extraordinarily tough loss Red.

    I refer you to a quote by a wiser man than me.

    "betting parlays is either a sign of being stupid or lazy or both"
    Now, now, danny, a teaser is not a parlay. I've found that teasers (if you can keep them open in perpetuity) for low NFL totals are a worthwhile endeavor, especially if the line has moved in your favor. That's why for many years teasers were not allowed on NFL totals in Las Vegas. The main reason parlays are stupid or lazy is that in LV, you cannot keep them open in perpetuity, so you are never guaranteed optimal numbers, which creates a long-term severe cost.

    This may be my final year for teasers on any kind of regular basis anyway, as the two offshores with the best teaser odds have shortened the ability to keep the teasers open from "forever" to "close it by Monday night" -- ouch -- and the places that still allow open in perpetuity or 90 days have worsened their teaser odds this season, making them unplayable. All of this just happened in the last three months, so one must adjust. The implications of these changes, of course, are that the offshores either were not making money on the "open forever" teasers or the bookkeeping was too much of a hassle or both.

    Boz, I'll tell what's dropped off -- how can kickers miss so many PATs? WTF? I shopped 'til I dropped to ensure I had an Over 33 and not a 33 1/2 on that Pitt deal, and it came down to a missed PAT. Double ouch.

    Here's a link to maybe my worst extra point beating of my life:

    https://theskepticalgambler.blogspot...g-in-rain.html
    My bad Red.

    I wrongly assumed it was part of a multi-game teaser.

  12. #12
    How is it nobody misses the famous Liberace Museum? Or the Leaning Tower of Pizza? Or the Dunes? Now there's a parlay (teaser ) you can bet your left nut on.....

  13. #13
    Originally Posted by Rob.Singer View Post
    How is it nobody misses the famous Liberace Museum? Or the Leaning Tower of Pizza? Or the Dunes? Now there's a parlay (teaser ) you can bet your left nut on.....
    I miss the Liberace Museum. My grandmother was an enormous Liberace fan. Some of his costumes, in the museum, weighed 70 or 80 pounds.

    It's strange that I was in the Dunes just a handful of times, and I don't recall much about it. Why don't you tell us a bit about the Dunes? It's a hazy memory blob to me.

  14. #14
    There was a HBO movie a few years back with Michael Douglas starring as Liberace and Matt Damon as his boy toy. I thought the movie was incredible actually.

    I never visited the museum but I remember him from my youth with my grandparents playing the piano on holiday specials and such. Knowing people were gay wasn’t something we thought of as kids.

    Also was never in the Dunes but I remember the video of the cannon shot from Treasure Island by Steve Wynn supposedly blowing it up.

    Now as for the Barbary Coast, it was the book I placed my first legal sports bet ever in. I remembered reading about it, and the bookmaker there in the 80’s as the place to be as a sports bettor. On my first trip, I found that room on the Flamingo side of the building and was hooked. I’m sure RED knows who I am thinking of there. First thought was Roxy but I’m probably wrong.

  15. #15
    Originally Posted by The Boz View Post
    There was a HBO movie a few years back with Michael Douglas starring as Liberace and Matt Damon as his boy toy. I thought the movie was incredible actually.

    I never visited the museum but I remember him from my youth with my grandparents playing the piano on holiday specials and such. Knowing people were gay wasn’t something we thought of as kids.

    Also was never in the Dunes but I remember the video of the cannon shot from Treasure Island by Steve Wynn supposedly blowing it up.

    Now as for the Barbary Coast, it was the book I placed my first legal sports bet ever in. I remembered reading about it, and the bookmaker there in the 80’s as the place to be as a sports bettor. On my first trip, I found that room on the Flamingo side of the building and was hooked. I’m sure RED knows who I am thinking of there. First thought was Roxy but I’m probably wrong.

    The Barbary was one of my favorite places, and one of the faves of anybody I brought out to LV. Originally, before Drai's was downstairs, there was a McDonald's. One of the good things about the Barbary was that you could talk to the ticket writers and managers and learn a few things. They had that no spread NFL contest with a 30K weekly prize and big season-ending prizes. I was sitting in there when I saw a guy bringing in a big paper bag with entries. I asked one of the assistant managers I was on good terms with, and he explained it was a coordinated cartel playing 1100 entries a week. Well, that was 1100 out of 30,000 entries, so that was quite an edge compared to normal schmucks with five or 10 if the spouse played.

    I have to ask my girlfriend about if Roxy was there -- she knew Roxy better than me. There were two famous bookmakers got their start there, I believe. I'll check with her.

    I loved the restaurant in the back. Food was okay, but it was just a great room to take people to. Had old Las Vegas all over it.

    I saw Big Elvis for the first time at the Barbary (2 PM act, I believe), back when he was around 700-something pounds. I was sitting in the lounge, filling out contest cards, and looked up when I heard the voice. I was startled because I thought at first it was a guy in some kind of fat suit. But no. Great voice.

    I still have a handful of Barbary Coast hats, which I am saving for the proper trip.

  16. #16
    Dunes had a great shrimp cocktail and Hot Dog in the walkway.Bigger and better dog than barbary’s cart.

    Played a ton of horses at Barbary. Another place where chicagoans would hang. They would reserve a private table for me and bring a bucket of those 2 liter bottles of mountain valley water on ice. Loved the old hand written boards for each track. Chinese food or the lox plate were the secret winners at that restaurant in the back.
    One day the teller called me over, pointed to two guys, and asked me if I knew them. I said no. Why? He said they have been betting a certain horse at Hawthorne all day and were in for over 40k. He told me the horse and I realized it was the owner and trainer. I sent my wife (girlfriend then) all over the strip to bet the horse. Bet a good amount for the teller as well. Easy winner but didn’t pay much. That’s the problem with a “hot horse”.

  17. #17
    Sounds like I missed the boat with the IP race book. Can’t remember ever even checking it out.

  18. #18
    Originally Posted by regnis View Post
    Sounds like I missed the boat with the IP race book. Can’t remember ever even checking it out.

    The race book was probably the nicest part of the place. It was billed as race/sports, but it was almost entirely a race crowd. They had cheap ($10 or $20) race contests, and all entrants got buffet tickets, so it was basically a free contest. Since I know nothing, I rarely bothered, but I do remember once or twice just filling out a contest ticket for a free shot and using the buffet ticket.

    And regnis, you are right. I had forgotten, but I probably ordered Chinese half the time at the Barbary restaurant. Half the time Chinese and half the time I had breakfast of some kind. You usually had to get on the wait list to get in, and they'd call you over the Barbary sound system when your table was ready.

    I really loved the Barbary. Only stayed there maybe half a dozen times, but I haunted the place almost every day. I did get assigned a suite once when I arrived late due to delayed flights. That happened in LV on occasion back then. Solo males arriving midnight or later -- they'd upgrade you to the best available room.

  19. #19
    Found this shirt on EBay. Do you remember this contest Red? I remember having a collection of cheap T-Shirts with animated sketches on them from different books, usually for a $50 or $100 bet. Casinos in general were big into giving away logo’d merch years ago. Have many jackets, coats and sweatshirts from Vegas and AC casinos.

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  20. #20

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