The setting of a movie can make a significant impact on the plot and character of that movie. In many movies, casinos appear providing a certain affect. In some movies, casinos have a major role while in others it is more of a supporting role.

“Maverick” is a movie that provides one of the best casino scenes. Set in the Old West, this movie revolves around gambler, Bret Maverick. The film features a poker tournament which has very high stakes. As the drama unfolds, Maverick makes his way to the final round of the tournament. The best scene is where he wins the tournament and contributes to the drama by slowly rolling his cards one at a time.

The movie, “21”, is based on the real life story of the MIT blackjack team. The members of the team organize an elaborate card counting scheme for the game of blackjack. As a result, they end up taking many top Vegas casinos for significant amounts of money. The scenes that show the team at work are definitely top casino scenes to remember.

Another movie that includes a blackjack scene is “Austin Powers”. This scene doesn’t follow the game authentically but does provide a humorous look at the game combined with Austin Powers’ x-ray vision. In the scene, Powers’ hits a hand that no self-respecting blackjack player would. Of course, due to his special vision, he knows more than the other players.

In the game of blackjack, players must be able to read what the dealer is showing as well as their cards to determine their next move. It is always a good idea to assume the card face down for the dealer is a 10 count card. This makes it easier to decide whether or not to take a hit on one’s hand to try to get as close to 21 without going over. Online casinos like riverbelle are excellent places for those movie viewers at home to try out this exciting game.

The popularity of poker these days knows no bounds, so you have tons of celebrities chasing dreams like winning the World Series of Poker. Everyone is obsessed with WSOP poker these days, with legions of poker wannabes are sharpening their skills online and playing as much as possible to hone their skills.

Can you blame the celebrities for getting consumed with poker? Many of them have more money than they know what to do with, along with a ton of free time. Frankly, is a much better way to spend their time when you consider how many celebrities destroy their lives with drugs and alcohol.

This year’s WSOP tournament attracted all sorts of celebrities, from actors like Ray Romano to athletes like Paul Pierce. The skill and results vary greatly, but the cool thing is that these guys are enjoying themselves and chasing a dream that they share with the ordinary Joe. One of my favorites is Jason Alexander, who has been playing in the tournament for years and seems to have a very healthy sense of humor about the whole thing as you can see in the video above. Big surprise! He’s also been chronicling his experiences in Las Vegas for the tournament in series of blog posts on the Sports Illustrated website. His “Talkin’ Flop” series is a great read for poker fans and fans of Alexander in general. In a way I’d love it if he did the whole thing as his “George” character, but that of course would be a poker disaster for him. He takes this too seriously to view it simply as entertainment. He’s also sporting a new hairdo as Alexander has put the balding George behind him.

In any event, many of us dream about playing in this tournament, but not everyone can follow through. It’s easier for celebrities, but really anyone can do it. So start practicing and saving your pennies, and maybe in a couple of years this can be you!

Regardless of your politics, those of us who love poker and gambling have to be thankful that Harry Reid keeps pushing the interests of the gaming industry. His latest efforts are on behalf of Indian tribes in Texas, as they try to bring gaming to a state that only has one measly casino. He is getting some flack however as this is reminiscent of a project crazy Jack Abramoff tried to get through ten years ago.

Of course Reid’s more important initiatives involve trying to get federal regulations for online poker. The courts have hit the feds hard by acknowledging that poker is a game of skill as opposed to a game of chance, so now the feds need to move in if they want to get regulations in place before the states dive in.

At least we’re seeing a new appreciation for poker, after years of the feds trying to tie that with other forms of online gambling. Many of us love playing online, looking for suckers in online poker rooms and working with party poker bonus codes to get more credits.

But when you learn those killer skills online you want to bring them to a live poker room and try out your tactics face to face. There’s nothing like bluffing in person, and then pulling in real chips and stacking them up when you win. Hopefully, Reid’s efforts will pay for for Texan, and his Internet initiatives will pay off for the rest of us. After all, we do live in a free country. Right?

The holidays are here, and for many people this is the best time of the year. You get together with friends and family, eat home cooked food, enjoy some cocktails and watch plenty of football.

But for many people, this time of the year can be a mini nightmare if you have one of those dysfunctional families, and the Wall Street Journal has a funny and frankly useful guide to surviving these get togethers. They call it “Dysfunctional Family Bingo” and it’s worth a read. Here are some examples:

Or consider this move from my mom’s playbook. Just before Thanksgiving this year, she called each one of her three daughters, who are nothing if not competitive, and announced that she would be awarding a “Miss Congeniality” prize at the end of the weekend.

Who won? Dad. “It wasn’t easy for him, but he held it together,” Mom says. Dad’s response: “Having everyone get along and be together was important to your mother. It was my job to stay out of the way.”

Cliff Mugnier, a 68-year-old surveyor and cartographer in Baton Rouge, La., minimizes conflict among his seven adult children by refusing to tell everyone in advance who else is coming to dinner. Rebecca Raibley, 61, a senior partner at a Boston investment relations firm, always invites a friend or two, so family members feel pressure to behave.

Greg Jensen, a 65-year-old retired human resources manager from Dallas with three sisters and a brother, visits just one sibling at a time. This year, he is meeting a sister in New Orleans for a five-day Christmas break. “I love all my siblings one at a time, but I just can’t take them all at once,” he says.

All of these are good ideas, but we have some ideas as well. First, if you’re traveling for the holidays and staying with family, make sure to plan some activities that take you out of the house. Go places. See other people. Just don’t spend all your time surrounded by people that will drive you nuts.

Also, plan on some time killers. Bring your iPad so you can catch up on movies, play games, use online time-killers like PartyBingo.com, or read some e-books. Or, make sure you have a deck of cards or even a chess board to kill time.

We also like the divide and conquer strategy mentioned above. Think about that when you’re planning activities. Take your mom to the mall, and your dad to a sports bar. Think about what works well on smaller groups and you’ll save yourself a ton of aggravation.

And finally, buy some good wine, craft beer or smooth Scotch. Anything that will dull the pain!

You have to love “Rounders,” the best poker movie ever.

Here’s the final poker hand scene. Check it out and you’ll get a sense of all the skill required to play poker well.

Oddsmakers have installed Clemson as a 3-point favorite over West Virginia, while the over/under total is currently sitting at 63 for tonight’s game. The Mountaineers finished the regular season with a 9-3 overall record while the Tigers wrapped up 2011 at 10-3.

Clemson has lost five consecutive games vs. Big East Conference Opponents and has also lost four of its last five games when playing in the month of January. The Tigers have also lost 11 of their last 17 games when the total posted is between 56.5 and 63 points, and they’ve lost six of their last seven games when the line posted is between +3 to -3.

Our resident handicapper Vegas Vic of Vegas Vic Sports.net likes the Mountaineers +3 tonight. Also, be sure to check out Johnny Clutch Sports for more great picks, odds and betting information.

Jon Rothstein at CBSSports.com talks about his 5 sleepers for the NCAA Tournament. One of his picks is Belmont:

Belmont
Record: 30-4
Best Player: Ian Clark
X-Factor: Mick Hedgepeth
Why They’re Dangerous: Bruins coach Rick Byrd has won over 600 games in his career and most coaches will tell you three words when you mention Belmont — “do not schedule.” This team can really make shots from deep and has good size up front for a mid-major school with Hedgepeth and Scott Saunders. With 11 players averaging double-figure minutes, Byrd has to like his chances to scare somebody in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Get a head start on your bracket and start your research now! Also, book your flights to Vegas and celebrate March Madness in style with some tournament bets!

TCU and Wisconsin will square off in this year’s Rose Bowl, where the Horned Frogs have been made a 3-point favorite according to oddsmakers.

The Frogs enter this game with a 12-0 record and have much to prove. They’ve covered the spread in seven of their 12 games this year and are averaging 43.3 points per game and 11.4 points against.

The Badgers are 11-1 with their only blemish coming against Michigan State earlier this season. They covered the spread in seven of their 12 games this season while averaging 43.3 points per game and 20.5 points against.

TCU has covered the spread in four of the last five games and they have also won 32 of the last 34 games as a favorite. TCU has won 21 of the last 23 games coming off a win against the spread and they are only allowing an average of 11 points a game on defense this season.

So who does our resident handicapper Vegas Vic like tonight? Read below to find out.

VEGAS VIC 2011 Rose Bowl: TCU -3

The Thrill isn’t Winning, The Thrill is Collecting!

According to multiple sources, Post-it Notes were test-marketed in four cities in 1977, with the national roll-out following in 1980.Apart from the technicality that the product originally was sold under the name “Press & Peel” (which would be a stretch even if the category were “brands” instead of “inventions”), “C” was the correct answer. Therefore, the contestants should have lost only $80,000 (not $800,000) on the question.

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II. Winning percentages:
For years most advertised that they won over 80% of their games.
Then they got smart! Now everybody wins at a 65% clip.
It’s amazing how Vegas and The Sportsbooks
stay in business…. when nobody loses.

III. Results:
Where are they?
Actually some sites list some generalized numbers that are less believable
than The Easter Bunny, Santa and The Tooth Fairy.
Come on guys. A 3rd grader could enter these on
a daily basis. If you actually had positive ROI.

IV. All handicappers now have Inside Information:
Yeah sure!
A funny story:
Earlier this season I met with a few trainers and a horse vet
to discuss rehab on some stock that were running at Belmont.
I sent this info out to my subscribers. Later that day the exact same
analysis was plagiarized, and sent to me by another handicapper
as “inside information”.
Funny.. He never returned my calls.

V. Grammatically correct analysis.
I’m not saying you need to be Chaucer, Shakespeare or Swift, but I question
anyone’s cerebral capabilities who can’t spell, and needs to use the same
tired colloquialisms with each analysis.

VI. And Finally…..another favorite….. The Premium Picks.
Selection prices often change on a daily basis.
The premium picks are more expensive because they’re better.
That works well…
You can just pay More for the losing selections.

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Dallas is 5-20 ATS when playing in the 1st two weeks of the pre-season
Dallas is 4-7 ATS when playing on a neutral field in the pre-season
Cincinnati only allowed an average of 13 ppg on defense last pre-season

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If so you can still have some fun betting the Final Four games, assuming you’re in Vegas! March Madness is one of the best sportsbetting times of the year. The opening rounds are great because there are so many games, but the Final Four weekend is cool as well as you really know the teams by then if you follow the tournament closely.

You can get great coverage of the 2010 NCAA Tournament at ScoresReport.com, and you can also go here for the latest college basketball lines. Good luck!