PreviousTest your luck in the casino
WELCOME BAHAMAS - NASSAU, CABLE BEACH & PARADISE ISLAND - 2003
Test your luck in the casino
Learn the rules before you play
One of The Bahamas' most popular attractions is a paradox - a dream and possible nightmare - and ultimately the height of confrontation. Casinos have come a long way from the honky tonk gambling halls of the wild west. Today's gaming houses are high-tech spectacles of sound and light, and the casinos of The Bahamas are no exception. The glitz and glamour of Las Vegas can be found right here.
All gamblers dream of hitting the big payoff - a jackpot. The realists are happy to walk in with X dollars and walk out with almost as many. The dreamers aim to walk out with a lot more than they brought in.
The casino, on the other hand, would like to relieve customers of all those dollars and therein lies the confrontation. The customer and the casino are at odds; and the odds are in favour of the casino. Not heavily, mind you. In fact Bahamian casinos generally pay back between 92 and 95 per cent of all the money wagered. That's a generous payback by industry standards, but the house can bank on banking five to eight per cent of the total handle - the amount bet.
Slot machines
Slot machines play an important role in Bahamian casinos and provide a large percentage of the action. They also provide a good share of the noise in a casino with their bells and whistles, music and jangling cash payouts and, of course, the shouts of jubilee when someone hits a big payout or a jackpot.
Slots are geared for all levels of play, including five-, ten-, 25- and 50-cent bets, as well as one-dollar and five-dollar denominations. Some casinos have 25-dollar slots and offer up to a 98 per cent payout, which means that 98 dollars of every hundred that goes into the machine comes back to the players.
Blackjack
Blackjack is among the most popular of casino games. You play against the dealer and the object is to draw cards that total 21, or as close as possible without going over 21. After all bets have been placed the dealer gives two cards face-up to each player, as well as one face-up and one face-down to himself. Aces count for one or 11, face cards are 10 and all others are face value.
If you have "blackjack" - an ace and a face card or 10 - you win three-to-two for your bet, unless the dealer also has blackjack, in which case it's a standoff and you neither win nor lose.
If your total is closer to 21 than the dealer's total, you win even money (the amount you bet). If your total is lower, you lose. The dealer must hold on 17 and draw on 16. If you tie with the dealer it's a standoff. If you go over 21 you lose.
Roulette
Las Vegas-type roulette wheels have numbers from one to 36, plus a 0 and 00. They are alternately coloured black and red with the 0 and 00 green. (European wheels only have a single 0 slot.) You set the value of your chips when you buy a stack from the dealer, who will designate a colour for your individual play and exchange your money for the appropriate number of coloured chips. They can be used only at the table where they are bought.
Play begins when most of the players have placed their bets on the numbered layout. The dealer then spins the small white ball in the opposite direction of the spinning wheel. Bets can be placed until the dealer signals for no more bets.
When the ball falls into a number slot the dealer points to it and pays out bets accordingly.
Straight bets on a number, including the 0 or 00, pay 35-to-one. Even bets include red or black, odd or even, and either one to 18 or 19 to 36. Other combinations of numbers and spaces pay varying odds.
Baccarat
Baccarat is another table game, like blackjack. The object is to come closest to nine. Tens and face cards and any combination of cards adding to 10, count as zero.
Before the cards are dealt, bets are placed either on the player, the banker and/or the tie. A minimum of two cards or a maximum of three are dealt to each hand. To start the game, the first and third cards go to the player, and second and fourth go to the banker.
Caribbean stud poker
Caribbean stud poker is a relatively new game that has become popular among both novices and high rollers. It is basically five card stud, except you play only against the dealer. After anteing an amount between the table's minimum and maximum, you receive five cards face down and the dealer takes four cards face down and one up. You look at your cards and decide to bet or fold. If you feel you can beat the dealer you put twice your ante bet in the bet box in front of you. If you opt to fold you lose your ante bet.
After all players have made their decisions the dealer flips his remaining cards. If the dealer has an ace and a king or higher he plays his hand. He compares his cards to each player's hand individually. If the player's hand beats the dealer's he will be paid even money on the ante bet and a bonus amount of the bet.
Big Six Wheel
Big Six Wheel, sometimes called Wheel of Fortune, is the simplest game in casinos. It consists of 54 spaces with various currency denominations and a wheel with 54 spaces in amounts of $1, $2, $5, $10, $20 and two spaces marked "joker." To play, you simply place your bet on any space before the dealer spins the wheel. Winners are paid according to the amount the wheel stops at, and at the odds of that stop. A wager placed on the $10 space will be paid off at 10-to-1. A bet on the $1 space will earn a 1-to-1 payoff. The "joker" space pays off at 40-to-1.
Craps
Craps is the favourite for the serious gambler, and spawned the term "high roller." It is fast-moving, and takes considerable study for the novice. It's best (and fun) to watch the action for a while before you venture into a craps game. Casinos in The Bahamas have gaming guides or booklets that explain the games.
Gambling in The Bahamas is now more Las Vegas-style than European. Casinos are open 24 hours a day for playing slot machines. The gaming tables for blackjack, roulette, craps, big six, baccarat and Caribbean stud poker usually open at 10am and close at 5am unless there are enough high-stakes players to keep the action going.
A casual dress code is in effect but casino patrons are required to wear shoes and shirts, no bathing suits.
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