Vegas Stakes - Super Nintendo

Version 1.1
December 5, 2000
inkhands@yahoo.com

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Table of Contents
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1. Introduction
2. Version History
3. Controls
4. Tips
5. Getting Started
6. Game Rules
7. Casinos
8. Random Encounters
9. Credits
10. Copyright

======================
1. Introduction
======================

Vegas Stakes was released in 1992 and it's my all time favorite
gambling game. It features five casinos, five types of gambling
games, and a goal to obtain 10 million dollars. It features non
linear play, because you are free to ramble through four of the
casinos at the outset. They have different minimums and different
maximum totals. You can only access the final casino after you reach
high roller status of 100 thousand dollars. This is the casino with no
limit. You can wager as much as you want, except in the slots game.

One of the most interesting aspects of the game is the random

encounters that happen. While you are playing some people will
come up to you. They will either cost you money or give you money. You
never really know which one for sure it's going to be on some of them,
and I've tried to point all of them.

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2. Version History
======================

Version 1.0 - The first version of the document. It

basically covers the controls and rules of the game. I also
provided some tips for each of the games and an outline
of the random encounters that occur in this game. (Dec. 2, 2000)

Version 1.1 - Fixed typos that I made in the first

version.
=====================
3. Controls
=====================

Vegas Stakes can be played using either the standard Super Nintendo
controller or the Super Nes Mouse. This mouse usually came packaged
with Mario Paint. If you have a mouse that might make betting a little
easier in some of the games, such as roulette and craps. However, the
game is quite easy to control using the regular controller.

Standard controller instructions:

Start button - Starts the game.

Select button - Consult with companion which allows you to check the
rules of the current game. This also allows you to get advice
from your companion. You can also use this to quit the current game.
Control Pad - Select wager position. Change highlighted choice. Left
and right on the control pad allows you to move around
your money and up and down allows you to raise or lower the amounts.
A button - Places wager and confirms choice.
B button - This allows you to remove your wager.
X button - Ends wagering.
L and R buttons - Check game rules and wager information.

Note: The Y button is not used in this game.

Super Nes Mouse instructions:

Left mouse button: Places wager, confirms choice. Use the mouse
to move the cursor, then click this button to confirm. When
wagering, move the cursor and double click. If you are
selecting from a menu and do not move the cursor to select a
different option, the default choice will be entered when you
click the button.

Right mouse button: Removes wager. Just position the cursor

over the current wager and click this button to remove it.

==================
4. Tips
==================

This is just some general advice I want to give about the

games that might be helpful as you play. I will try to add more
as I think of them, but for now this is all the tips I could think of.
Keep in mind these are all merely suggestions. You don't have
to try any or all of them. They are just simple strategies I have
used while playing the game over the years.

BLACKJACK

- While playing Blackjack, keep in mind the dealer has to stand

if his total score is over 17. Also, keep in mind that going over 21
will bust you or your opponent. The most popular value in the
deck is 10 points. If you have 12-16 points and you are thinking
of hitting again, check the dealer's hand first. Always assume the
card face down is a 10 value card. If the dealer has a 5 face up,
and he does in fact have a 10 face down, he will have to hit.
There's a chance he might get a 6 or less and not bust. However,
there's also a good chance he will hit a 10, which will bust the
dealer. So, essentially even if you have 13 or 14, and you are
torn on whether to hit or stand. Just stand if the up card in your
dealer's hand is 6 or less.

- You have the opportunity to buy insurance if it looks as though

the dealer has blackjack. I suggest that you don't waste the money
to buy insurance. If it's blackjack all you get is a push. If it's not
blackjack, you've lost the money on buying it. More often than
not when I was asked to buy insurance it would not be Blackjack
anyway.

- I suggest you don't bet the same thing over and over
while playing Blackjack. I suggest that you set up values
on your wagers. If you win, lower your wager, as you most
likely will not win two times in a row. If you lose, I suggest you
lower your wager a little as well. Keep it that level, but then raise
it to double of your initial wager after two or three turns. For
example, wager 100 dollars initially. Then wager 50 if you win
or lose on the next turn. Lower it to 25 on the next turn. Then
raise it to 200 on the fourth turn. Keep it there two turns at least.
This is really just a suggestion however, so don't follow it
exactly. I just feel it's better to play with different wager
amounts, than to keep wagering the same amount over
and over.

- You have the ability to split and double down. These

usually don't pay off for me well at all. I suggest when
given the opportunity to do these, that you let them
pass for the most part. Splitting will usually mess up
a good hand. A majority of the time you will push
on one hand and win on the other one. That's at
best usually. The double down pays off more
frequently however. Only split occasionally. Double
down twice as often though, as it does pay off.

POKER

- Keep in mind while playing poker that Johnny

bluffs nearly all the time. You may bet the maximum
bet and he may call you or even raise, but that does
not mean he has a great hand. You can look at
their facial expressions to see how happy or sad
they look. Johnny looks happy nearly all the time,
but a majority of the time he is bluffing. A minor
note is that Richard folds very early almost every hand.
- In the Laurel Palace you can put all your money on
every game except the slots. During poker I always
put all my money on the first hand. If I win, I get
the entire total amount of money at that table on
only the first hand. They have all tapped out. If I
lose, it clears everybody from the table but only
one opponent. Sometimes it's easier to win against
just one opponent then four other opponents.
This probably isn't exactly an incredibly intelligent
strategy, but it works for me quite often. If I keep
repeating it, I will eventually win all the money at the
table very quickly.

- It's quite obvious to fold on the last card at least

if someone has more in their showing cards than
you have overall. If you have no set, but one of
your opponents has a set showing, and there are
no more cards to be dealt, then it's very wise to ahead
and fold. I don't fold often in the poker game. Watch
the other players. If they are the type that usually
doesn't bluff and yet they are bidding a lot of money,
but you know you have a bad hand, then fold early.
Don't fold until you have at least 5 cards. You can't
decide how good your hand is going to be until
that point. Also, don't wager often based on
what you might have. You don't have a straight
yet, but you think you might, that's not a good
reason to risk a lot of money, especially if you
are nearly broke.

ROULETTE

- This is a roulette strategy. At the end of

the roulette table is the boxes 0 and 00. No
matter what else you bet on, try to put some
amount of money on those two numbers. You
can put money on both of them separately or you
can place one single bet. This type of wager is
known as a number split bet. Just move the cursor to
the line that connects the 0 and 00 boxes. Place a
bet there. Don't put an extremely high amount of
money on it, as a good majority of the time you won't
hit anything here. I suggest put the minimum amount
there only. If you do win though, expect a decent
payoff. This also insures that you won't completely
lose everything you wagered. At least you will break even.

- This is another roulette strategy. There are five

basic types of wagers you can make. If you
wanted to make a wager on all of them it might
be a good idea. For example you put money that
the number will be either red or black. You can
wager that it will be even or odd. You can also
wager whether the number will be between 1
and 18 or 18 to 36. You have 50/50 odds on
all three of these. The other two has something
to do with the position of the winning number.
Either it will be in one row of numbers out of three
or it will be in one set of boxes out of three sets.
You have lesser odds on these types of bets.
However, a lot of times I would play this game
and wager on all 5 types. For example, I would
bet that it would be black, odd, between 18 and 36,
in the second row of numbers, and the third boxed
set of numbers. This is merely a suggestion.
It didn't always work, but it's a more risky
strategy than just betting that it will be red or
black and taking it or leaving it.

SLOTS

- In slots bet on all 5 options every time you can.

Never let yourself dip too much below how much
money you entered the slots game with. If you win
10,000 dollars you might odd to leave that machine
and go play something else. Otherwise, never let
yourself lose more than half of your winnings.
Try not to leave the slots with anything under
half of what you entered it with.

CRAPS

- Craps is very complicated. A lot of the bets clear

after one roll of the dice, however a few of them
stay until a 7 is rolled or another combination of
the number is rolled. I suggest you bet on all four
of these bets, known as Hardway bets. This is a
good way to win a lot of money and play it very
safe at craps. For example, they are double threes,
eights, twos, and fives. They only clear after a 7 is
rolled, or let's say a 10 is rolled using a 4 and a 6 on
the dice. These hardway bets are probably your
best way to win money during craps.

GENERAL TIPS

- If you are under 500 dollars it's best to start

over unless you really want a challenge. Playing
at the Hideaway is very tedious and doesn't pay
off well at all. You get 1000 dollars to start with
and it's better to just start over, than to fight a losing battle.

- Yes you can cheat once you get to the Laurel Palace. I
don't prefer to do this, but it's an easy way to get to 10
million. Simply save when you have over 100,000 dollars.
Go to a 50/50 bet, such as in roulette or even Blackjack.
Bet it all and reset if you lose. If you win save and repeat.
This gets you to 10 million and the end of the game much
faster, but it also takes the challenge out of the game.

==========================
3. Getting Started
==========================

The title screen will appear. You can then select either mode
you choose between Vegas Adventure and Multiplayer
mode. Once you save a game the Continue option will
appear. You begin with $1000 and you check into the
Golden Paradise casino. You register your name in the
lobby and then go up to your room to call one
of four friends. You can also save at this point.

The friends are not optional. You have to take

one of them with you. If you plan on playing poker
take Isabelle with you. Richard isn't good for advice at all,
because he's too afraid of risks. Cliff is in the middle
on everything in terms of advice giving. Maria is fairly
nondescript. All in all it doesn't much matter which one
you choose. From this point you can go to
one of the other 3 available casinos (Laurel Palace doesn't
open until you reach high roller status) or stay inside
Golden Paradise and play there.

If you select Multiplayer you won't encounter

the random people during the game. It's for
one to four players, but you can not play
poker in this mode. Other people can see
your cards, thus making poker a pointless
option indeed.

There are four save slots. Exit a game and

go back to your room at the Golden Paradise
to save the game. It's a wise choice to save
frequently in this game.

======================
4. Game Rules
======================

SLOTS

Insert coins by pressing A up to five times. The

sixth press will automatically spin the wheels. If
you wish to play less than 5 coins, press the X
button to enter your wagering. Or if you are using
the mouse click the Left Mouse Button hit it for
the desire amount of wagering, move it to the handle
and press the Left Mouse Button again to spin the
wheels.

BLACKJACK
This game is fairly easy to describe in terms of the
rules. Two cards are dealt to you and to the dealer.
One card if face up and one is face down. You can
see your own cards, but you won't be able to see
the card that is face down that the dealer has. The
dealer will hit if it's anything under 16. He has to stand
on anything that's 17. The goal is to get to 21 without
going over. If you tie, you earn a push. This will
cause you to break even. You will neither win nor
lose money under this circumstance. A Blackjack
occurs when you receive 21 in only two cards. This
requires one Ace and a 10 card of some sort, either
a face card or just a regular 10. Insurance is available
for you to buy if you think the dealer has 21.

POKER

The type of poker used in this game is 7 card

stud. Two cards will be dealt to you and each of
your opponents face down. One card will also be
dealt face up. An opening wager is made. You have
the opportunity to then raise or fold. A card will be
dealt face up again, you can wager, raise or fold. Two
more times the process repeats. The final card is
dealt face down and the final wagers are made. Standard
poker hands apply here. You can earn pairs, two pairs,
three of a kind, four of a kind, full house, straight,
flush, and straight flush are the hands.

Pair - Two cards of the same rank

Two pair - Two matching sets of cards
Three of a kind - Obviously three cards of the same rank.
Straight - Five cards in order of rank, but not of the same
suit.
Flush - Five cards of the same suit.
Full House - Three of a kind and a pair combination.
Four of a Kind - Four cards of the same rank
Straight Flush - Five cards of the same suit in consecutive
order of rank.

ROULETTE

Spin the wheel and wager where the ball will land when the
wheel stops. The wagers are based on the color of the number,
the number, it's position on the table, if it's even or odd, and high
or low.

There are different types of bets -

Payoff is 1-1 in each of these four types of bets:

Even or Odd - Bet if the number will be even or odd.
High or Low - Bet if the number is between 1 and 18 or 19 and 36.
Payoff is 2-1 in these two types of bets:
Dozen Bet - Table is split up into three sections, each
containing 12 numbers. Bet which dozen the winning
number will appear in.
Column Bet - The board is also divided into three columns.
Bet on which column the winning number will appear in.

Six-number Bet - Bet on six numbers at once. Payoff is 5-1

Five number Bet - Bet on five at once. Payoff is 6-1
Square bet - Four numbers at once. Payoff is 8-1
Street Bet - Three numbers at once. Payoff is 11-1
Number Split - Two numbers on one bet. Payoff is 17-1
Straight Up - Simply bet on a single number. Payoff is 35-1.

CRAPS

The most complex of all the games in this game. Two dice
are rolled and you have to bet based on what number it will
be. However, it's much more complicated than that, because
there are many different types of bets. There is the table
that you roll the dice on and there are different areas of this
table, which therefore presents you with different types of
bets. This is a brief explanation of the types of bets:

Pass Line - The first roll of the dice is called the come out roll. You
can't bet on the pass line until that roll has been made. If the roll
is a 7 or 11, you win. If it's a 2, 3, or 12 you lose. Anything else
becomes the point. If the point is repeated you win. If a 7 is
thrown before the point is made, you lose.

Don't Pass Line - You place this one before the come out roll. If
a 7 or 11 is thrown, you lose. You win if it's 2 or 3. 12 is a tie. The
wager remains and if the point repeats, you lose. If a 7 is thrown
before the point is made, you win.

Come - Make this only after the Pass Line point has been made.

Don't Come - Also made after the Pass Line point has been
established.

Free Odds - Make this one after you make a Pass, Don't Pass,
Come, or Don't Come wager.

Field Wager - This is a one roll wager which can be made any time. If
the next roll is 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, or 12 you win.

Buy Wagers - Make it any time. You can bet that a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, or

10 will appear before a 7.

Lay Wager - Opposite of buy wager.

Hardway Wager - Four hardway wagers in this game. Each of them

is is a wager that double 2's, 3's, 4's or 5's will appear before another
combination making up that number or a 7 appears.

One Roll Wagers:

Any Seven - If the next roll is a 7, you win.

Any Craps - If the next roll is 2, 3, or 12, you win.
Craps 2 - If the next roll is 2, you win.
Craps 3 - If the next roll is 3, you win.
Craps 12 - If the next roll is a 12, you win.
Eleven - If the next roll is an 11, you win.
Horn Wager - If the next roll is 2, 3, 11, or 12, you win.
The amount of this wager must be divisible by four.
Horn High - Split five ways.

==================
7. Casinos
==================

Hideaway - Cheap casino. You're better off to avoid this one. You can
usually
only earn a few dollars at a time here.

Golden Paradise - This is a very good place to start if you want to play
it safe.
The bets here are in the fairly low range though once you get some money
saved up.

Buffalo Head - A western themed casino. It's about average. It's a good
way
to lose all of your money fast if you don't have much thought.

2020 - The futuristic one. Go here just before you have made your way to
high
roller status.

Laurel Palace - Fancy casino. The land of no limits. You can only make it
here
once you have earned high roller status - 100,000 dollars. If you lose
your high
roller status, meaning you dip below that figure, you can't access this
place
anymore. You will be kicked back to your room at the Golden Paradise. You
have
to earn high roller status again to make your way back into this casino.
The only
game that has an actual limit is the slots, but everything else, you can
place all
of your money on one bet if you wanted to. Bet as little or as much as you
like
here.
=======================
7. Random Encounters
=======================
- While playing the slots a woman that works in the casino
will come up to you and she will ask to check the machine.
You can let her or tell her to go away. If you let her, she will
thank you for letting her do her job. and she will give you
money. The money is in the form of credits and the amount
is based on the machine you are playing on. My advice is
to always say yes to her. She always gives money if you
let her.

- Some one will ask you to take them to the emergency room.
They will either repay you later, or they will take half of your money.
The odds are about 50/50 on this. I recommend you do it if you
have recently saved or you don't have a lot of money and you don't
mind losing half of it. The payoff usually isn't too much if you do
say yes.

- Some one will come up to you and ask you to give them 100 dollars
for an emergency operation. You can say yes and they will either come
back later and give you 200 dollars. Or they will just keep your money
and the policeman will tell you to be on the look out for this sort of
crooks lurking in the casino. This is also about 50/50. It's only 100
dollars
to lose, but then again, the payoff will only be an extra 100 if it's not
a crook.

- Someone will try to sell you a watch. Always buy this. It only costs a
small
amount of money and you will always profit from it. Buy it and later
someone
will come up to you and ask to buy it.

- Someone will ask you to buy their diamond. They recently had it
appraised
for 5000 dollars. You can then offer them a certain amount of money and
negotiate with them. However, no matter how much I played this game, this
is always a fake. No matter what price you get it for, someone will come
up
to you later and tell you it's a fake diamond. Do not purchase this, no
matter
what the price is. Besides at best I only managed to get it for around
1300
dollars. That was even a waste of money though.

- Whoever you chose to accompany you to the casino will find a wallet.
This
wallet will have 1000 dollars in it. You are then given the option of
keeping it
or turning it in at the main office. Now if you keep it, it's an automatic
1000
dollars. If you turn it in, whoever the wallet belonged to will come to
you. He
will thank you. However, he will say he placed all of it on roulette,
usually. He
will either have lost on roulette, therefore you get nothing. Or he will
have won
and he will give you half of the winnings.

- The person that accompanied you will offer to place some money on the
game.
You can either agree or say no. This one is only a 1000 dollar bet. You
will either
lose, or profit 500 dollars. This one isn't a big deal either way and
usually it's just
best to say no to him or her and let that person make their own wager.

- Someone will want you to join them in their oil drilling business. You
can give
them a set amount of money, or you can raise it. This is 50/50. Sometimes
the oil
will hit water, which means you lose the money. If you do strike oil, you
only
double whatever money you invested in the venture. I always avoided this
one
and usually said no.

- Someone will offer to sell you their lottery ticket. It costs 500
dollars and the
payoff is 10,000 dollars. Usually it's a loss. Ninety percent of when I
played the
game it was loss. However, sometimes it's a winner, but not frequently. I
always
say no here, but if I have a lot of money I'll say yes just in case.
However, 10,000
isn't much if you are already in the Laurel Palace anyway.

- Someone will ask you if they can hang out with you a while. You can say
yes or no.
If you already have a lot of money accumulated, say no, because sometimes
they will
stay a while, and leave. It will say "You felt a bump as the loser passed
you." You'll
check your pockets and either everything will be okay, or they took half
of your money.
If you say yes, they'll stay with you a little while and then leave. When
they come
back they might give you a little money in thanks for helping them out and
giving
them tips, by letting them hang out with you.

- Someone will ask you if you remember them. Always say yes. They will
give you
money.

- Somebody will ask you to let them wipe off your shirt. You can say yes
or no here.
Saying no will give you one more chance and they will say they are
insulted. You can
either apologize or say no again. If you say no again they leave. If you
say yes the
first time, they will either take half of your money and leave. However,
if you say no the
first time and then say yes, they will either take half of your money or
give you a lottery
ticket. This lottery ticket is always a winner and it's usually worth
around 70,000 dollars.
So, if you don't mind taking the chance - say no and then apologize.
You'll get a lottery
ticket out of it sometimes.

=========================
9. Credits
=========================

- Myself, for playing the game and typing this up

- The game, the makers of the game, and Nintendo
- Anybody that ever encouraged me to write
- Anyone that reads this
- The game's manual where I got some of the information
on the controls, the rules of the games, and some of the
getting started section.

==========================
10. Copyright
==========================

Email me first if you want to use this document.