Dear Mark,
I recently came across a blackjack game called Spanish 21. I didn't play but the rules looked very similar to regular 21. Any differences before I give it a try?
Seth G. Truckee, CA

There are two notable exceptions when comparing Spanish 21 to a regular blackjack game. In Spanish 21, all the 10s (not the Jacks, Queens, Kings) are removed from the deck. Also, the player gets paid for a hand total of 21, or the standard three-to-two payoff for a blackjack, even if the dealer's hand is a natural blackjack. Additional player friendly rules are; doubling down on two or more cards, pair splitting and double downs up to four times after splits, bonus payoffs for different combination 21s, and a super bonus that pays out $1,000 for a suited 7-7-7 when the dealer's up card is a seven. (Side note: In my entire 18-year gambling career I've never seen this occur, whether dealing or observing countless hands of regular blackjack as a pitboss.)

So, Seth, even without the 10s in the deck, is Spanish 21 a good play? Yes, if you utilize perfect basic strategy. By employing Spanish 21 basic strategy-which obviously differs from normal blackjack strategy-you reduce the house edge down to .8 percent. Deviate and the house advantage can be up to three percent.

Dear Mark,
I didn't realize until reading a recent travel magazine that Las Vegas has nine of the 10 largest hotels in the world. Which one is the largest and where is the lone hotel not on the list?
Joyce R. Oakland, CA

Currently the largest is the MGM Grand in Las Vegas with 5,005 rooms. Just think, Joyce, it would take you 13 years and seven months to stay in each and every room. As for the sole hotel not in Las Vegas, it is the Ambassador City in Jomtien, Thailand with 4,631 rooms. Rounding out the top 10; Luxor - 4,476 rooms, Excalibur - 4,032 rooms, Circus Circus - 3,774 rooms, Flamingo Hilton - 3,642 rooms, Las Vegas Hilton - 3,174 rooms, Mirage - 3,049 rooms, Monte Carlo - 3,025 rooms, Treasure Island - 2,900 rooms.

The mattress ante will be raised mid-1999 when the Venetian comes on-line in Las Vegas with two 42-story towers that will have 6,000 luxury suites. The site of the old Sands hotel will be turned into a sand lot Venice with St. Mark's square, the Bridge of Sighs and venetian canals complete with singing gondoliers.

Dear Mark,
I am a keno writer who works in Las Vegas. One of our regular customers asked if I knew how many different number combinations are possible in keno. I told him "in the thousands" but I wasn't sure. How many possibilities are there?
Mary S. Henderson, NV

You were off, Mary, a few quintillion. To be exact, there are 3, 535, 316, 142, 212, 174, 320 numerical combinations using 20 balls with 80 numbers to choose from.

Dear Mark,
In Las Vegas a few casinos now offer 100X odds on a crap game. What is the house advantage on this bet?
Jerry G. AOL.com

The house edge is 0.09%. As minuscule as this is, Jerry, you better be capitalized to the hilt before you embrace this wager. Two or three seven-out, line away calls and you're in the poorhouse.

Dear Mark,
If my playing style in blackjack does not give me a positive result in computer simulations, will it still help me win in actual casino gambling?
Felix Internet

The only playing method that will give you a positive expectation in blackjack is card counting. Period.