The first California MegaJackpot on the Native American Progressive Systems (NAPS) hit on Quartermania this week for $249,943.37. Seventy year old Clem Samouris hit the jackpot at the Barona Casino.

Samouris is a regular player, but the largest award he had ever won before his MegaJackpot was about $600. He said he "feels lucky every day just to be alive" and plans to buy his wife "something nice."

I received this note from one of our regular readers, RC:

"Last week, my wife and I went to Vegas on a quickie trip. We stayed downtown at the Nugget, played at Fitz and had a great time. On our way out, we decided to stop at Silverton's. We sat down at a blackjack table, got settled in and suddenly I realized they had an automatic shuffler at the table. I've never been crazy about these things, but what the hey. After playing the first hand, the dealer scooped up the cards and put them back in the shuffler. They were shuffling after each hand. I couldn't believe it.

"After returning home, I did a little research on the net and found that these are popping up all over Vegas. LasVegasTaxi.com has a bulletin board going about them. I mean, am I crazy? Aren't these things a huge advantage to the house? "

Casinos love automatic shufflers for two reasons: First, they eliminate any downtime for shuffling so players can play more hands and lose more money each hour. Second, they eliminate any threat from card counters and any hope of the skilled player ever gaining an edge. By the way, most online casinos also shuffle after each hand to prevent players from using computerized card counting systems.

So, no, you can't beat an automatic shuffler long term. The best you can do is stick with basic strategy and hope for the best.

On Monday the U.S. House of Representatives rejected a bill which would have ended the unregulated practice of placing wagers online. H.R. 3125, introduced by Congressman Bob Goodlatte of Virginia, was the product of strained and sometimes divisive negotiations between the original supporters of the ban and many in leadership. In the end, 44 Republicans joined 144 Democrats and one Independent to reject the measure. Under a procedure to bring H.R. 3125 to the floor without amendments, a two-thirds majority would have been required to pass it. The final vote of 245 to 159 fell 25 votes short of the 270 needed.

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This week we welcome gambling authority Mark Pilarski to Gambling Newsletter. Mark survived 18 years in the casino trenches, working for seven different casinos. He now writes a nationally syndicated gambling column, is a university lecturer, reviewer and contributing editor for numerous gaming periodicals.

Dear Mark: What would you recommend as the better play, playing $1 video poker using perfect basic strategy or blackjack doing the same? -- David D, Reno NV

Assuming expert play on video poker and perfect basic strategy on blackjack (a 9/6 jacks-or-better video poker machine or multiple-deck blackjack) with both having the same house edge, 0.5%, the better play would be blackjack, if only because with video poker, you will lose more money per hour. Here is why: At 50 hands per hour, a $5 blackjack player risks only $250, and with basic strategy narrowing the house edge to 0.5%, he expects to lose only $1.25. Contrariwise, a video poker player risking the maximum coin amount on a dollar machine, $5, at a steady pace of 500 hands per hour, an easy pace for a skilled player, risks $2,500, with an expectable hourly loss of $12.50. There 'tiz, David, 10 times the risk, 10 times the loss, 10 times the bankroll blues.

Get more expert tips from Mark at http://www.dealmein.org

The Venetian hotel-casino and the Guggenheim Museum are considering creating a new Guggenheim location at the resort.

The 35,000-square-foot building on the Strip would serve as a venue for shows from the New York-based museum and would be designed by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday.

"We are in discussions with the Guggenheim and notable architects, but nothing is final at this stage," Venetian spokesman Kurt Ouchida said. "The final design is still under development."

The Venetian's Web site is at http://www.venetian.com

This week a federal jury ordered the Tropicana in Atlantic City to pay a 66 year old woman $1 million she won last July 24 on the casino's Fun House Million Dollar Wheel, according to a story in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Last summer the woman tried a free spin of a promotional video sweepstakes wheel at the Tropicana. The wheel stopped on the $1 million prize, then suddenly advanced 180 degrees forward, which awarded the woman two free tickets to a show, instead of $1 million. Independent witnesses saw the event.

The woman sued the Tropicana claiming that a casino employee made the wheel move after it came to rest on the grand prize.

The Victor Chandler Group, an established racing and general sports betting and bookmaking business for over 50 years, plans to open its own online casino. The Victor Chandler Internet Sportsbook at http://www.victorchandler.com offers tax-free betting to a worldwide audience under Gibraltar government regulations.

Victor Chandler is generally recognized as an accredited, discreet and legitimate operation -- often referred to as the Gentleman's Bookmaker.

This week I'd like to recommend A2Z Las Vegas as an excellent resource for trip planning. They list downtown and strip specials and feature an extensive database of reader comments and ratings.

Go to http://www.a2zlasvegas.com/rooms/index.html

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ALLGAM - Find out where to gamble, where to get help, buy gambling supplies or get a casino job. Go to www.allgam.com.

Thanks for reading another issue. If there are any special topics you'd like to see covered in this newsletter, please let me know. We aim to please. Your editor, Steve Johnson, .

See you next week!

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