It's Like a Whole Casino...In Your Hands!

(This post is a completely unsolicited and honest product review, although I was compensated to try the device, as you will read below.)

While in Las Vegas last week, I had an opportunity to try out pocketcasino, a new mobile gaming device developed by the Venetian and Palazzo, and to participate in a focus group reviewing it afterwards. Talk about an experience right in the wheelhouse of this marketing technologist and occasionally degenerate gambler!

The first question I had -- and you may have right now -- is why would someone want to play a glorified video game version of gambling when the real deal is in the same building? At the moment, pocketcasino is also available to be played in several lounges and restaurants throughout the facility -- I enjoyed some very relaxing and quiet moments in the Palazzo's Laguna Champagne Bar using the device -- with more locations (such as by the hotel pools) to come soon. Fortunately, Nevada law precludes in-room gaming; I could imagine that being a dangerous proposition, indeed, for both the consumer (too convenient) and the facility (lack of direct oversight at all times being used).

How do you get started? All I had to do was stop by the pocketcasino booth at the Palazzo, sign a form, and get a small sticker affixed to the back of my comp card. From there, it was a matter of scanning the card, entering a PIN number, depositing some money into my account (I received $100 in freeplay credits for participating in the focus group), and off I went.

Overall, the technology was solid, if a tad outdated. The handheld device is approximately double the size of an iPhone 4, bulky but not unmanageably so, and appears to use a variant of the Windows CE Operating System (according to the lone error message I encountered). Otherwise, reception throughout the bar I played in felt solid and confidence inspiring; there were no flake-outs or dropped sessions mid-hand.

Of course, content is key, and in that regard pocketcasino is hit and miss. While offering a wide array of options -- from slots to poker to baccarat to blackjack to in-game sports betting -- most were uninspiring at best. The slot simulation, featuring an ancient Egyptian theme, in particular felt so unsophisticated and outdated that it was a borderline insult to even be presented with as a playable option. Comparing it to Monopoly: Advance to Boardwalk or Super-Spin Wheel of Fortune would be like comparing an Atari 2600 to PlayStation 3.

One game, though, proved more than worth the entire price of admission: Extra Odds Blackjack. Already a solid virtual game if played with standard rules, XO allowed for the player to make additional odds-based side bets after the hand had been dealt, including on whether or not the player or dealer would win, or if the dealer would bust. These extra options, coupled with a deep knowledge of blackjack strategy, presented the player with an excellent hedge against bad hands -- and an opportunity to maximize on good ones -- and indeed I was able to easily turn my $100 in freeplay credits into nearly double that when cashing out. Alas and woe, that was about the only winning to occur during my stay...as the physical casino proved far less forgiving and inviting over the course of five days.

So, would I play again, on my own dime? Yes, indeed I would. Sitting in the plush lounge with a nice drink easily earned recognition as among the most enjoyable moments of my trip, and with the XO Blackjack options I could see pocketcasino becoming a nice complement to my regular gaming interests. Would I ever make it my full-time game of choice, though, or use it as a replacement for time either spent at a real slot machine or at a table? Probably not.

Links:

• "Mobile Gaming: Sister Resorts The Venetian and The Palazzo Introduce 'Pocketcasino' Technology" (Nevada Magazine)

In Search of the Lost Art of Being a Man

All dressed up for a buddy's wedding in Las Vegas last weekend, I searched out the last missing component of my wardrobe: the shoe shine. Finally, after a frantic last-minute race around the Bellagio, I found a sole shoe stand tucked away in a small corner bathroom on the casino floor. The proprietor, a gentleman and professional from Hawaii who has been practicing the lost art of the shine for nearly forty years, though, was far from obscure or demure. In fact, what followed for the next ten minutes was a unique conversation with a practitioner of a lost art on how many of society's ills now fall at least in part to the decline of men being willing to be men.

What is a man? There are entire Web sites and podcasts dedicated to the subject, but back not too long ago, a gentleman never left the home without a certain sense of style: shined shoes, a clean shave, a button-down collared shirt, and slacks (perhaps occasionally khakis depending on the weather). This unofficial uniform worn by half of society carried a certain aura of respect and authority. Obviously, this attire stood in stark contrast with the masses that surrounded me on the Vegas strip: wrinkled, unwashed, and utterly exposed, lacking in discipline and taste and style (full disclosure, of course, on any other given day this could have been me). On this day, though, I could feel my posture and the entire way I carried myself markedly improve in my well-chosen and crafted threads; it's much more difficult to slouch and slump when everything is properly tucked in and taken careful care of.

A gentleman is also skilled in the art of drinking, too. Nowadays, a trip to a bar or a backyard picnic often feels more like a race to who can get the most indiscriminately hammered first. As a former colleague points out, it wasn't always this way. A man used to be able to walk into a bar and order "his drink" and then consume it with both class and discipline, no more than one or two at a sitting. Never losing control, never getting sloppy or displaying a lack of respect.

I know how to drink (famous last words?). I don't mean, I know how to hold my liquor. I mean my dad taught me how to drink. He's from the good old days. When you had a couple at lunch; a couple at the bar after work with your friends, and then a couple when you got home. Keyword there folks is a couple. If you're doing the math, we're talking six drinks over an eight to ten hour period. I don't give a shit that he did that almost everyday. The point is that is exactly all he ever did. (I don't know why I am talking past tense. He is still alive, in his seventies and still doing the same thing.) He also taught me something called the 30 minute rule. Basically says you should space every drink 30 minutes apart. You finish one drink in 15 mins, wait another 15 before you order the next. NBD, right?

How a man walks, talks, carries himself, and conducts his business are all important insights into his character. In this regard, my conversationalist did not hold back about his feelings towards President Barack Obama. Have you noticed how frequently the President addresses crowds and fails to wear a tie, instead going with an open, flared collar? It wasn't lost on the shoe shine proprietor, and he greatly lamented how Obama seems to try to carry himself in an "androgynous" (his word) manner and wardrobe that do not speak of being a classic man or leader. In that sense, when combined with his terrible habit of showing faux humility by bowing at anyone and everyone he encounters, it becomes more clear why it feels like the world is a more listless, dangerous place with this man at the helm; whether or not you agree with his policies, if the Leader of the Free World fails at displaying the characteristics of a leader, why should any of his solutions or positions carry any respect both here and abroad? The appearance of strength and confidence are often enough to create perception of the same. Or, as Ernie Hudson said in The Substitute, "power perceived is power achieved."

So, what have I learned these past few days? Being a true renaissance man in this lost and lawless day and age requires more than just keeping down a stable income. It's about a way of discipline, respect, and dignity that all too often have become lost to my generation and those that have followed. I'm not going to say that, starting tomorrow, my life will forever change and I'll never leave the house again in shorts and a sleeveless t-shirt, but I think we can all learn a little about improving the way we can and do carry ourselves each day; perhaps it might even help ourselves and society out a little bit.

Links:

• "Whiskey Boy" (Dave's Corner Office)
• The Art of Manliness Podcast

The Role of Creating Jobs: It's True, It's Damn True

One of the interesting aspects of visiting Las Vegas is that, as a result, I am now immersed in advertising for the heated election between current Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and his Republican challenger, Sharon Angle. Despite being months away, campaign spending is fast and furious out here, a strong indicator of how important this bellwether contest between a long-time Washington insider with incredible power and an insurgent complete opposite may be.

So, since I am not a resident of the fine state of Nevada, why am I blogging about it? Because one ad I saw yesterday from Senator Reid annoyed me to the point of rage.

There are actually a few variants on the same theme, attacking Angle for an off-the-cuff statement on how it would not be her job as US Senator to "create jobs." They usually then roll out countless ordinary, average state citizens who all shake their heads in incredulity over this declaration. Here's one example:



Assuming these citizens are not paid actors playing a role, and actually reflect a philosophical / governmental zeitgeist out here, all I can ask is please remove yourself from all future political discourse, thanks.

It is not, and never should be, the role of the government to create jobs, per se. For now, we are still primarily a capitalist nation and it is the role of the private sector to drive economic growth and employment. When the bloated, bureaucratic government offers its own two cents on the matter -- via such initiatives as the recent failed stimulus package, regulations / subsidies, and other Keynesian initiatives -- the results usually betray a series of unintended consequences that shift the natural supply and demand curves in ways that raise prices and stifle economic development.

Instead, the government should get out of the way and let people go about the business of living their lives and conducting their businesses. That so many disagree and now favor Big Brother as the driving factor in our lives sends a chill up my spine.

Links:

• "No Change in Unemployment, But We've Traded Full-Timers for Part-Timers" (Innocent Bystanders)
• "The Impact of an Excise Tax or Subsidy on Price" (San Jose State University Department of Economics)