Rincon Craps at Harrah's, San Diego County California

[Alan Gruskoff]

Fear not the California Craps dear readers.

Having some time off last week, I took advantage of a comp to the Harrah's Rincon Resort and Casino to generally relaxify myself and try out the Rincon style California Craps.  For those of you with a Harrah's Total Rewards card or close to San Diego county, this can be a good option. Its about a 2 hour drive from my home to the Harrah's Rincon Resort and Casino which is in the middle of San Diego county. There are a number of "Indian" Casinos in that area. (I hate that term "Indian", these native people are not from India!).  The last part of the drive is beautiful through the rolling hills/mountains of farm land. You see signs for "Cow Crossing" "Cows for Sale" "Avocados 15/$2". Don't see that much on Las Vegas Blvd.  Harrah's Rincon Resort and Casino turns out to be just like most any small to medium size Las Vegas Casino. You likely couldn't tell the difference if you woke up in the Lobby. Yet, its more of a scenic resort getaway without the Las Vegas hustle. My standard class "Garden" room with pool side view was very nice, spacious and well appointed.  Fabulous bathroom with both a shower and oversized bathtub similar to the Wynn. With the extensive Pool area, restaurants and spa, the resort is a fine place to just get away for few days. And they play Craps here, which is of interest to me (of course).  There is a law in California (that Nevada peeps lobbied for) that a game of chance may not be determined by Dice. So they get around that silly rule with the Cards.  Simply put, the shooter rolls one Red and one Green die, those Die values determine which of the six Red or Green cards the dealer flips over to determine what the roll is. To see the details of Rincon Craps,  Click Here. Rincon Craps defined: "The game is played on a traditional craps table and the table is set up with a stickman and a cardperson seated in the traditional box position.  The shooter throws the dice... one red and one green die... and the stickperson calls the total in a traditional Nevada-style call.  The cardperson then reveals 2 cards that correspond to the roll of the dice. All odds bet and paid are identical to conventional Las Vegas craps odds. " Its very easy to understand and acclimate to, the pace of the game is just about the same as the "Card Person" is quite efficient at laying the cards out and then representing the dice. Now, don't try Dice Setting, its a waste of time as the dice only point to a slot that some card (Ace through 6) is holding. So what's different?  Not that much. The Dont Pass bar is above the COME area on the layout. On Dont Pass the 2 is a Push and 3 and 12 pay even money on the Come Out Roll, so the 2 and 12 are then reversed from standard Las Vegas layouts. Nothing we can't handle.  Its really 99% the same as in Las Vegas. I was more interested in the game results, how often does the Seven Out come?  At my first two sessions, there were the expected dominance of Seven Outs. The math is the same for the 6 numbers on each die. My second two sessions were decidedly more Point making. Guys were making 2-3 points in a row with far fewer Seven Outs. Just like the real world, just like Las Vegas. I was the only player making any bets (tips) for the Dealers, what a buncha tightwads in San Diego!  People - you gotta tip the dealers. Case in point:  There was a discrepancy about one of my Odds bets not being posted and since they know I am a good guy (I tip) that call went my way. Most days, there is only one Craps table open, a $5 minimum table. In the evenings its a $10 table and on Fri/Sat nights they open a second table. I did visit the popular Valley View Casino 4 miles away, they have 1000's of busy Slot machines, but do not play Craps.   Watch out for the Black & Blue Grill there, WAY over priced, everythng a la carte and they force a 17% tip on your bill!   I passed by the PALA Casino  where they DO play Craps, but a little different system than Rincon's. So give it a try sometime if you are in the San Diego County area. Its really the same game we know and love.