Australian billionaire Kerry Packer lost at least $20 million playing baccarat at Bellagio in Las Vegas last month, according to a report published in The Australian. The report says that Packer lost an additional $28 million last September playing blackjack in London.

These losses offset the $20 million Packer won at the MGM Grand in 1995.

Packer, Australia's richest man, owns Australia's largest casino, Melbourne's Crown Casino, and a television station.

I recently received a flyer in the mail from a casino showing some of their current specials. One was being paid 2 to 1 for blackjacks on Wednesdays. A good deal for the player? Louise J.

Geez, Louise, I just love it when the marketing department of a casino makes the rules. They may, or may not have known it, but when that casino decided as a promotion that it will pay you 2 to 1 for a blackjack versus 3 to 2, by God, they gave you an edge over the house. How much? Well if you played perfect basic strategy on a $5 game, you'll gain an extra $2.50 once every 20.7 hands. That's an improvement of 12 cents a hand-enough for some extra greenback in your wallet and a cheap buffet as well. But what's most important here, Louise, is that opportunities like this do happen occasionally, and anytime you can one-up the casino, jump on it!

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

Between September 2 and October 31, at Foxwoods Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut, dozens of models of cars and light trucks will be available for Wampum Club Cardholders to win with the swipe of their Wampum Cards.

"This is Foxwoods' most requested promotion," said Bob DeSalvio, executive vice president of Marketing. "Of all the promotions we have throughout the year, this one really stirs up lots of excitement because everyone with a Wampum Club card has a chance to win a brand new car." Foxwoods guests have won almost 1,000 cars since the resort casino opened in 1992.

Winners need not be present to win and have 7 days to claim the prize. Winners may select a car from the 18 cars on display at Foxwoods or visit any of the participating dealers. If a winner prefers not to take a new car, there is a $10,000 cash prize option.

When you gamble in a land-based casino, in most cities rules are generally the same -- except Vegas, which usually has slightly different blackjack rules for the Strip and downtown. For the most part, you can be pretty confident that you will not have to meet various terms and conditions other than age and perhaps dress code.

However, when gambling online, every casino seems to have different rules -- whether it is the terms of play when receiving a bonus, cash-out rules, proof of identity, etc. In order to protect your investment, it is extremely important to read the terms and conditions posted on their website before you gamble. The most important thing to check is the conditions for cashing out winnings.

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The Desert Inn on the Las Vegas Strip closed its doors on Monday after 50 years of gambling. The hotel, which opened in 1950, has had a tough time competing with the new mega-hotels. In its glory days, the legendary resort entertained famous guests such as Frank Sinatra and Howard Hughes.

Steve Wynn, former owner of Mirage Resorts Inc., bought the Desert Inn earlier this year. He plans to implode the hotel and build a new resort in its place.

Intertops.com announced a free contest offering a $1 million grand prize to anyone that can correctly predict winners -- including the point-spread -- of every game in the first week of the NFL's 2000/2024 season.

The contest, which embraces 14 games on Sunday and the Monday night game, is perhaps the ultimate test any sports fan could face -- challenging football fans to predict the totally unpredictable outcome of the fall sport's exciting, season-opening weekend.

"Intertops.com is thrilled to be the first and only site to offer football fans a risk-free opportunity to win a $1 million cash prize for correctly predicting the winners of all 15 games of the NFL's opening weekend," said Simon Noble, executive director and co-founder of Intertops.com. "There can be no doubt the person who can correctly pick the winners of these games, taking into account the point-spreads, would be an unparalleled handicapper well worth a million dollars."

For more information go to www.intertops.com

I usually go downtown to get the best gambling odds. But I recently took the wife to New York, New York. I have to say I was completely surprised with how good of a time we had. We became friends almost immediately with a lot of the staff. We loved the atmosphere in and out of the casino, and we were comped with meals and a show the first night.

About two weeks after we came home I received a phone call from the hotel, they gave us a comp of 3 nights free on our next visit! Even without the comps we were very happy with service, the atmosphere and most important, the casino. -- M

Send your trip reports to . Each week we'll publish one report.

Frommer's Budget Travel magazine selected Laughlin, located approximately 90 miles south of Las Vegas along the Colorado River near the Nevada-Arizona border, as one of "America's 10 Best Cheapest Cities" in its July/August 2000 issue.

"Laughlin offers a unique value in its location on the Colorado River and variety of amenities," said Meg McDaniel, a sales executive of the Laughlin Visitors Bureau. "Offering buffets to fine dining, budget accommodations to suites, Laughlin has been discovered by the traveling public as a place they must visit and return to again and again."

Named in 1968 after Don Laughlin, pioneer casino owner and developer in the area, Laughlin is the third-largest gaming destination in Nevada. The destination features low-stakes gaming, affordable first-class rooms, inexpensive dining and year-round recreation, including golf, fishing, boating and tennis. In 1999, more than 4.5 million travelers to Southern Nevada visited Laughlin.

For more information about Laughlin, Nevada, go to www.visitlaughlin.com.

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It's hard to believe that Labor Day weekend is already here. I hope everyone has a fantastic, relaxing time, whether travelling or just staying at home. Next week I'll be back with a special giveaway for our readers courtesy of our friends at American Casino Guide. Your editor, Steve Johnson, .

See you next week!

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