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[QUOTE=MarianoRiv;1710909]Now that I think about it, the hand-shuffled games at the casino in the Continental hotel might be only on the blackack variant, "Canal 21. " [/QUOTE]You are correct. The games with a shoe and not a machine reshuffling are not Blackjack but in fact variants of it which are rarely worth playing. The odds tend to be bad in those variants.
[QUOTE=Hobbiest1;1710859]I guess I would rather just play reds and not get undue attention and just have fun. As you know not every single hand will be reds so I could probably get away with some $50/$100 bets and doubles on those. FYI am a hole carder / counter so I tend to do pretty good for myself. I will def. Check out the Continental hotel area. Thanks Mariano![/QUOTE]Hotel Panama is the best place to play black jack in any country or casino I have ever been in. Has the best odds of any casino which favor the customer. Can double down on any 11. Even if its a 3 or 4 card 11. Not just first 2 cards.
Automatic win for a 5 card non bust without the Ace. I guess when we were kids we called it 5 card charley.
Can split Aces as many times as you like. Can surrender and other quirks I am forgetting.
They have a lucky Player card and other promotions like Joker in deck pays $50 etc. They hand shuffle.
Do not play in the front go to the back area that is where the hand shuffled games are.
Let me preface this by saying the last time I was there about 10 months ago, they were starting to change tables around and move slot machines around. So they may have switched things up. I'm not sure.
Also, No offense Hobbiest but, I am always skeptical at anyone who says they do well for themselves or consistently make money playing BJ. If you or I or anyone else were that good and we could make $10,000 in a weeklong trip I know speaking for myself I would be doing it as a job. There are very few (probably less than 100) people in the world who can actually make money consistently and a living playing BJ. Hope you get lucky and make money in panama but, that is really what it will boil down to no matter where you play. Luck.
[QUOTE=YippieKayay;1711565]You are correct. The games with a shoe and not a machine reshuffling are not Blackjack but in fact variants of it which are rarely worth playing. The odds tend to be bad in those variants.[/QUOTE]Thanks YippieKayay, I think you are right about that, definitely at the Continental hotel, and almost all the other places, too. I was surprised that the Veneto had one pit (the one close to the bar / elevator area) where there were no shuffling machines at any of the tables, including blackjack. It seemed like that pit was only open on busy weekend nights, but there were a few blackjack games there, along with the blackjack variant game. In addition, I saw at least one or two weak shuffles there. The El Panama hotel (Crown Casino) had one good game, but in general I don't think there is too much out there. For example, I didn't see anything good in the Trump casino, although that is a rather nice place! (Also, I was surprised to read here that some chicas are working there now! Good for them!
[QUOTE=Mfins;1711611]Hotel Panama is the best place to play black jack in any country or casino I have ever been in. Has the best odds of any casino which favor the customer. Can double down on any 11. Even if its a 3 or 4 card 11. Not just first 2 cards.
Automatic win for a 5 card non bust without the Ace. I guess when we were kids we called it 5 card charley.
Can split Aces as many times as you like. Can surrender and other quirks I am forgetting.
They have a lucky Player card and other promotions like Joker in deck pays $50 etc. They hand shuffle.
Do not play in the front go to the back area that is where the hand shuffled games are.
Let me preface this by saying the last time I was there about 10 months ago, they were starting to change tables around and move slot machines around. So they may have switched things up. I'm not sure.
Also, No offense Hobbiest but, I am always skeptical at anyone who says they do well for themselves or consistently make money playing BJ. If you or I or anyone else were that good and we could make $10,000 in a weeklong trip I know speaking for myself I would be doing it as a job. There are very few (probably less than 100) people in the world who can actually make money consistently and a living playing BJ. Hope you get lucky and make money in panama but, that is really what it will boil down to no matter where you play. Luck.[/QUOTE]Now this is a great post! I'm sorry that I can't confirm these rules, because I don't think these rules were in effect last November when I was there, but if this game is available with these rules, they are excellent. I mean, shit, if you find some promotion where there is a joker in the deck worth $50, you have an advantage starting off at the top of the deck! Not to mention all those other good rules, too!
I must agree with Mfins' assessment that it was eyebrow-raising and surprising to read such an optimistic expectation of such a big win (10 k). I think there is one scenario where this could be possible (legally). And that it that if someone were a very "high roller" then they can play extremely high limits in the Trump VIP casino (on the 66th floor). Table max was $5,000! But that is machine shuffled, and would entail playing at a disadvantage. No skill involved, just trying to get a lucky win.
First my fellow board members you are correct about BlackJack here in PTY. It is almost all csm. Hotel Panama is pretty good with two hand shuffle games. That being said I agree now that 10 k was aggressive. I am down a little but I chalk it up to learning experience. Now onto the chicas.
Got to the 2nd floor casino bar at Venetto at 6 after fucking around with rooms and room keys for an hour. Only 3 or 4 ladies. None that I was interested in but a couple sat down and chatted up their offerings. One was a big girl but I didn't have my beer goggles on so it was a nice talk. She was here from Cuba. Don't recall her name. I had a couple Atlas beers for 2. 30. Nice! Switched to grey goose and red bull and the price was pretty high by any standard at 13. Walked to manolos but had a rude waiter so I didn't stay. It was now around 7:30 and I walked to Habanos which only had a few ladies but much higher quality.
Martha joined me for a drink. We got a cab back to V and she was my first. We went back downstairs after our in room activities and had a drink. I was on the red bull and vodka for the remainder of the night. Martha left to go back to Habanos and I had a steady stream of ladies. Next was a cute girl that I cannot remember her name and we went up for round 2. I came back down and that's when I lost my learning money at Veneto BJ. By now it was around 11.
A couple notes. Marta asked for 200 but gladly took 100 for one hour. Girl 2 from Veneto took 100. The cab from Habanos back to V was 6. Some cabbies wanted 10. Girls at V were plentiful and I thought very good looking as my expectations were lowered from RTF. I digress.
Onto the rest of the night. I pull another one for tln for 200 but I had her leave around 3 am. I had a great night. Paid / lost more than I wanted but who cares. Drinks were almost as much as the ladies. It's the beginning of day two. Stay tuned.
H1.
[QUOTE=Hobbiest1;1711782]First my fellow board members you are correct about BlackJack here in PTY. It is almost all csm. Hotel Panama is pretty good with two hand shuffle games. That being said I agree now that 10 k was aggressive. I am down a little but I chalk it up to learning experience. Now onto the chicas.
Got to the 2nd floor casino bar at Venetto at 6 after fucking around with rooms and room keys for an hour. Only 3 or 4 ladies. None that I was interested in but a couple sat down and chatted up their offerings. One was a big girl but I didn't have my beer goggles on so it was a nice talk. She was here from Cuba. Don't recall her name. I had a couple Atlas beers for 2. 30. Nice! Switched to grey goose and red bull and the price was pretty high by any standard at 13. Walked to manolos but had a rude waiter so I didn't stay. It was now around 7:30 and I walked to Habanos which only had a few ladies but much higher quality.
Martha joined me for a drink. We got a cab back to V and she was my first. We went back downstairs after our in room activities and had a drink. I was on the red bull and vodka for the remainder of the night. Martha left to go back to Habanos and I had a steady stream of ladies. Next was a cute girl that I cannot remember her name and we went up for round 2. I came back down and that's when I lost my learning money at Veneto BJ. By now it was around 11.
A couple notes. Marta asked for 200 but gladly took 100 for one hour. Girl 2 from Veneto took 100. The cab from Habanos back to V was 6. Some cabbies wanted 10. Girls at V were plentiful and I thought very good looking as my expectations were lowered from RTF. I digress.
Onto the rest of the night. I pull another one for tln for 200 but I had her leave around 3 am. I had a great night. Paid / lost more than I wanted but who cares. Drinks were almost as much as the ladies. It's the beginning of day two. Stay tuned.
H1.[/QUOTE]6 bucks for a cab!! To V from H? That should have been no more than 3!! If they want to charge you like 10, and if you can speak some spanish, tell them, Tengo cara de gringo o que? goes for Do I look like a gringo or what? that should get a laugh from them and can either get you the right fee or [url=http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord140][CodeWord140][/url] them off
Once again I would like to thank all of you guys for the invaluable information. I just got back and wanted to share my experiences. I prefer a GFE so I went to my old standby CL and found a few listings. I contacted all of them and got 3 replies, so I made my first choice and contacted her. I told her I wanted a GFE and would like to get to know her via texts so when I arrive it is like we are old friends. She agreed. And we agreed on a fee, $125 for a 24 hour day all inclusive. I contacted the others and said I might need them and would contact them when I arrive. Always have a plan be and see. I told her to meet me at the hotel, Waldorf Astoria, which I will talk about later. I texted her from the airport and said I was on my way. She replied she was excited to meet me, have a great flight etc etc. We arrive at PTY early and I text her to say I will be early. A little attitude from her saying she can't change her plans, so she'll meet me when she can. I check in to the Waldorf, always have a reservation for 2, and I wait in the lobby. When she arrives, I get instantly hard. Super model looks, with the whole thing going. She has a little suit case with her and the weekend is about to start. We go up to the room and play a little and then she says she's hungry, lets eat. But first she has to change and goes from Hot to Hotter. We go to a brew pub and then to a disco in Casco Viejo. Its great, not only do I have a model quality date but a guide as well. But now there are issues, the place is packed with good looking people and she is more interested in her phone (yeah the constant texting is annoying) and checking out the other guys. But I buy her some drinks to loosen her up and finally she says lets go back to the room. I'm in! Well, maybe I bought her one drink too many, she drops on the bed and is fast asleep. Oh well I've seen this before.
Next day, the prima donna routine starts again, has to do hair, etc etc, but when she gets done, she's a 10+. Have breakfast and off to do some sightseeing stuff. We end up at the fish market and the bottom falls out. As we are arriving at the market it starts to rain and she refuses to get out of the cab. Now this is not a downpour but a slight shower. She starts to yell at the cab driver to get closer and he refuses to move, she refuses to get out and I literally have to drag her out of the cab. Well, her hair got wet even though she tried to put her shirt on top of it. And now she's mad at me, refuses to go anywhere in the market, its not her type of place and wants to go back to the hotel. I agree. Pay her and tell her to get lost.
Time for plan B. I call her and she says she can't make it but she will send a friend over tomorrow. I agree. In the meantime I have nothing to do tonight so I go to Veneto. I hated it. It seemed like a Middle school dance. Girls on one side, guys on the other. So I left, outside on the street a chica approached me, she's a 5 and asks if I want to play. OK I say, how much do I want to pay she asks. I said $40 she says $60. I say OK, so we go to a $10 motel. For $60 she was fine. Many of you guys are paying way too much.
Next morning GF #2 arrives at hotel, she's a 7-7.5 but her personality is off the charts. She's my girlfriend. She greeted me with a kiss like we haven't seen each other in a year. I was with her for 3 days and I don't think we spent 14 seconds apart without holding hands. She was my guide, friend and lover. It was great. It was exactly the experience I was looking for and I will return to be with her. Oh, and when it was time to pay her, she was hesitant to take the money. But she did.
Now about the Waldorf. As I said, I always make a reservation for 2. Now who is the hotel to say who I can or not count as person #2. With the exception of Middle east hotels they are not the moral police. I paid for 2 people and that's how many will stay in the room. They did ask for the Drama Queen to show her ID which is fine. But when the Girfriend arrived I said nothing and nobody said anything to me. That being said we blended in nicely. The girls were not dressed like hookers and no one was screaming or carrying on and if I want to bring 3 girls to the room that might be a problem but I can understand that. But anyone who wants to remain under the radar should have no qualms about bringing a girl to any room in any hotel in any city. Just make a reservation for 2.
Now my final comments is about the taxistas. Yes I speak Spanish so I have an advantage. I have been to over 200 cities in 60 countries and I found the PC drivers to be one of the most friendliest drivers I have ever encountered. In most cases the negotiating was done in a friendly manner. I always tell the driver where I want to go and ask how much it costs 50% of the time I got the right answer. The other 50% I said no and gave the right number all except one agreed. The one time the driver didn't agree another cab pulled right up and we got in. Guys, be firm and please don't overpay.
So that's the report. Can't wait to go back.
[QUOTE=Hobbiest1;1711782]First my fellow board members you are correct about BlackJack here in PTY. It is almost all csm. Hotel Panama is pretty good with two hand shuffle games. That being said I agree now that 10 k was aggressive. I am down a little but I chalk it up to learning experience. Now onto the chicas.
Got to the 2nd floor casino bar at Venetto at 6 after fucking around with rooms and room keys for an hour. Only 3 or 4 ladies. None that I was interested in but a couple sat down and chatted up their offerings. One was a big girl but I didn't have my beer goggles on so it was a nice talk. She was here from Cuba. Don't recall her name. I had a couple Atlas beers for 2. 30. Nice! Switched to grey goose and red bull and the price was pretty high by any standard at 13. Walked to manolos but had a rude waiter so I didn't stay. It was now around 7:30 and I walked to Habanos which only had a few ladies but much higher quality.
Martha joined me for a drink. We got a cab back to V and she was my first. We went back downstairs after our in room activities and had a drink. I was on the red bull and vodka for the remainder of the night. Martha left to go back to Habanos and I had a steady stream of ladies. Next was a cute girl that I cannot remember her name and we went up for round 2. I came back down and that's when I lost my learning money at Veneto BJ. By now it was around 11.
A couple notes. Marta asked for 200 but gladly took 100 for one hour. Girl 2 from Veneto took 100. The cab from Habanos back to V was 6. Some cabbies wanted 10. Girls at V were plentiful and I thought very good looking as my expectations were lowered from RTF. I digress.
Onto the rest of the night. I pull another one for tln for 200 but I had her leave around 3 am. I had a great night. Paid / lost more than I wanted but who cares. Drinks were almost as much as the ladies. It's the beginning of day two. Stay tuned.
H1.[/QUOTE]Thanks for the report, Hobbiest1. It sounds like you got started with a bang! Keep us posted with the reports! And yeah, they charge a lot for cocktails there, for some reason. To save money, drink bottled beer (try Balboa beer), and pay 3 or 4 bucks for taxi rides. Most importantly, check out La Bocatorena for cheap lays ($15). It's walking distance from the fish market or Casco Viejo, and those places are both recommended to visit, as well as La Bocatorena and La Mayor (next door). Have fun!
Oh hey, here is an example of a casino promotion that I found when I was there: It was at Majestic Casino, which is on the 4th floor of the big shopping mall, next to the Hard Rock hotel. This was for the Chinese holiday called "Moon Festival". The deal was that they gave you a bonus of 20% of your buy-in in the form of promotional chips, up to a maximum buy-in of $1,000. This was on the baccarat game, and I was the only non-Asian person who took part. The play was to buy-in for $1,000 and get the $200 in "funny money" promo chips. You play these chips just like normal chips, and they take them back after you play them, but if you win the bet they pay you in real chips. So the expected value of these $200 in promo chips is about $100 in real money, since you win roughly half the time. I won $120 off of those "funny money" chips. Once the promo chips are gone, you are done. You are not there to gamble. That is the kind of thing I meant when I said to keep your eyes open for promotions. It doesn't necessarily have to be blackjack. A player advantage is player advantage, whatever the game is.
Another great trip to Panama City. The place just continues to grow and the traffic along with it! Despite staying at the new Sortis Hotel / Casino I found myself heading out to Veneto and Habanos a lot. The poker was fine at Sortis, but never saw anyone playing craps the whole time. Veneto action much better. And then there are the girls. Had a free room at Sortis, but ended up also getting a room at Veneto for convenience. There are now a lot of Cubans entering the arena and a nice change of pace. I agree with other posters: 1) usually just as pretty, 2) better service and 3) cheaper. I could never negotiate the few Colombians I was interested in to below $200. But I will say I did get great service. However I did get equally good, if not better service from Cubans for $100 to $150. BTW, I asked the front desk guys about the hotel closing, but they said they hadn't heard of anything. Also went to Habanos, and yes it was rocking, but it was hot and crowded and harder to see what you were getting. Also, went to take some friends to LE Palace and it still remains very pricey, though one of my friends did take out with Mariana who was a Japanese-Colombian and said he had a fantastic time.
Doc
Agee19 thanks for the report.
[QUOTE=Agee19;1711872]Next day, the prima donna routine starts again, has to do hair, etc etc, but when she gets done, she's a 10+. Have breakfast and off to do some sightseeing stuff. We end up at the fish market and the bottom falls out. As we are arriving at the market it starts to rain and she refuses to get out of the cab. Now this is not a downpour but a slight shower. She starts to yell at the cab driver to get closer and he refuses to move, she refuses to get out and I literally have to drag her out of the cab. Well, her hair got wet even though she tried to put her shirt on top of it. And now she's mad at me, refuses to go anywhere in the market, its not her type of place and wants to go back to the hotel. I agree. Pay her and tell her to get lost..[/QUOTE]Meh. It almost sounds like she planned to be a pain. This is the problem with some chicks. You need to test drive them before doing an all day thing. Otherwise you don't know what you're getting.
[QUOTE=Agee19;1711872]Time for plan B. ... Oh, and when it was time to pay her, she was hesitant to take the money. But she did.[/QUOTE]Don't fall for it. The entire thing is an act to stroke your ego. She did not hesitate when you offered her money. She pretended to. If you see her again, the next time she hesitates put the money away and watch her do a 180. You want to have fun when you do these things, and even maybe make a friend but keep in mind it's all a hustle.
[QUOTE=Agee19;1711872]Now about the Waldorf. As I said, I always make a reservation for 2. Now who is the hotel to say who I can or not count as person #2. With the exception of Middle east hotels they are not the moral police. I paid for 2 people and that's how many will stay in the room. They did ask for the Drama Queen to show her ID which is fine. But when the Girfriend arrived I said nothing and nobody said anything to me. That being said we blended in nicely. The girls were not dressed like hookers and no one was screaming or carrying on and if I want to bring 3 girls to the room that might be a problem but I can understand that. But anyone who wants to remain under the radar should have no qualms about bringing a girl to any room in any hotel in any city. Just make a reservation for 2.[/QUOTE]We've had posts here saying the Waldorf will absolutely not let women come up with you. It really depends on your demeanor and what she looks like.
[QUOTE=GauntMan;1711810]6 bucks for a cab!! To V from H? That should have been no more than 3!![/QUOTE]Sigh. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. You can dress them up, but you can't take them out. And so forth. Have I not posted [I]ad nauseum [/I] about this stuff in PTY? Because I do, in fact, have a [I]cara de gringo[/I], I would say one of the following:
1) Deja de joderme.
2) Nací en la noche pero no fue [B]a[/B]noche.
3) Me cago en vos y en la puta que te parió.
That last one might be a little extreme.
Hey all,
Was wondering what the latest update regarding Veneto and getting girls up to the room. I was last there in December and I snuck girls up when the guard wasn't looking but it wasn't easy. Also, if I book a room for 2 can I get another girl in there? I'll be in Panama City for one night coming back from Colombia on May 16th if anyone wants to monger together.
Thanks!
P.S- I love la Bocaretona. It's so easy and as long as you're not an idiot its completely safe.
[QUOTE=Mngr18;1712624]Hey all,
Was wondering what the latest update regarding Veneto and getting girls up to the room. I was last there in December and I snuck girls up when the guard wasn't looking but it wasn't easy. Also, if I book a room for 2 can I get another girl in there? I'll be in Panama City for one night coming back from Colombia on May 16th if anyone wants to monger together.
Thanks!
P.S- I love la Bocaretona. It's so easy and as long as you're not an idiot its completely safe.[/QUOTE]Hey mngr18 - I am here on my last night in PTY and I am staying at Veneto and here is what I discovered. There is a system set up here where the girl must buy a wristband for 25 usd. That lets security know they are registered. As for girls from outside Venetto I brought one back from Habanos without any issue.
I didn't know how things worked here so I registered with a fictitious second person -ms Hobbiest1 - and told them she was coming in later. They said she would have to register at front desk with a copy of her passport. Just like when I registered.
Have fun!! H1.
This is the remainder of my trip (at least from what I can remember) .
Day 2 - Friday.
Today started out awful. When I packed for this trip, I packed a cheap razor. I needed a shave and ended up slicing my neck many ways. I also sliced a nice gash around my nose. Oh well. So I was pretty hung over from the previous nights activities but ended up in a vertical position. I went to Manolo for breakfast around 11 am. Started to plan my day. I went over to the El Panama hotel. All I can say is WOW! You finally realize what a shit hole Venetto really is when you go into another hotel. This place is pretty nice and convenient to Venetto so I will probably stay there the next visit. I was in search of the blackjack game that someone mentioned. I eventually found it adjacent to El Panama in the Crown Casino. I ended up on the plus side so that evened out my losses from the previous night. Now it was around 4 pm. I went to the second level bar at Venetto and there were the same two "early girls" from the previous day so I just had a couple beers and went back to my room for a little while. Around 7 a chick that I met the previous night named Elizabeth texted me to join her downstairs for sushi. Elisabeth is a light blond girl I think from Panama. She was nice but not my type so I told her straight up that I wasnt going to fuck her but I did pay for dinner and drinks.
By now its around 8:30 and I ended up meeting a hot cuban that I took upstairs. Again $100/ hour. Great service. I went back downstairs to see what else was available and Ruby came over. Ruby is a Columbiana but she looks Filipina to me. Anyhow I had just spent an HR with the Cuban so I needed to re-charge and told Ruby Manana.
Day 3 - Saturday.
I went to the Panama canal and was bored to tears within one hour so I was back to base-camp by noon. I went to El Panama and had some really awesome sushi. Great staff and great food. I coordinated to meet Mr. Gauntman at Bar Peru 37. I have to say that this place is not what I expected. For some reason I expected all these slutty waitresses to come over and flirt and the best we had was one mediocre waitress who took our drink order. Needless to say, we didn't stay long. Mr. Gaunt and I went to Crown Casino. I had made plans to meet some guys that I met the previous night so I had to go at around 5 for dinner. Got back to Venetto around 8 and there was my little Ruby. Waiting just for me I took her up to the room and banged her. Went back down and nothing appealed to me so I called it an early night.
Final day. Day 4 - Sunday.
Today I wanted to venture over to the fish market area where Boca Toreno and El Mayor are. I first went into the fish market looking for breakfast but there werent any restaurants serving breakfast. They were all serving fish. DUH! Anyhow, I walked around the area and saw El Mayor but I just wasnt up for the potential excitement so I diod an about face and headed back to base-camp. Lunch at Manolo. Hooked up with my buddies again and we went to Habanos at around 8 pm. I have to say that IMHO the women at Venetto were just as hot as the women at Habanos. Again. Just my opinion and I am sure this stuff changes all the time. My buddies had hired a driver and a huge-ass black van so they hauled a few ladies from Habanos and we went to the Hard Rock. Meh. Then we went to club Asche. OK - Just OK. I had enough so I headed back to Venetto as I had a early flight to catch in the AM. Nothing really appealing there so I just had a couple more Grey Goose and Red Bulls.
That all I got! I will return to PTY soon. Just not sure when as I am headed over to Frankfurt in exactly 4 weeks for some fun there in the FKK clubs!
H1.
I haven't been able to find any info here on getting a sim card in Panama for my unlocked android phone. Could someone let me know if it's easy as most countries and recommended a service provider.
Thanks!