Craig’s notes
After a trading tape that nearly put us to sleep, chat picked this Las Vegas Hilton gambling show. My copy was still wrapped, so I opened it on stream. Sam Micco actually did a good job explaining blackjack. Then the strategy rules kept coming, and I had to ask if we were supposed to memorize all of them.
The show says the Hilton had 250 cameras and 150 VCRs watching the casino. I was supposed to be learning how to gamble, but I wanted to know what happened to all those VCRs. I asked if one of them might still be out there.
We also spent a long time on craps. I’d gone into it hoping they’d discuss the come line, and they did, at length. By the time we reached slots and video poker, I knew I was much more interested in the old surveillance equipment than in any of my chances at the tables.
On this tape
- Play to Win: An Insider’s Guide to Casino Gambling: Las Vegas Hilton’s casino lesson opens with a warning that the hotels were not built by winners. Sam Micco introduces the games and the promised betting advice.
- Blackjack with Sam Micco: Rules, basic strategy, soft and hard hands, splitting, doubling down, insurance and managing bets.
- Blackjack streaks with PJ D’Angelo: PJ joins Sam to discuss snappers, streaks and changes in bet size; the lesson continues through blackjack decision rules.
- Roulette with Lee Mosca: Wheel and table layout, inside and outside bets and payouts.
- Baccarat with David Simons: Player and banker hands, the aim of getting close to nine, and a discussion of luck and money management.
- Casino surveillance: 250 cameras and 150 VCRs: The program says the Hilton’s security operation uses 250 cameras and 150 VCRs. Craig stops to wonder what became of the VCRs.
- Craps: dice and the pass line: The craps lesson begins with table rules, the shooter, the point and the pass and don’t pass lines.
- Craps: the come line, come bets and place bets: The extended lesson works through come bets, their numbered boxes and place bets; Craig and chat keep returning to the come-line terminology.
- Craps: hard ways and betting advice: Further craps bets and odds, including hard ways, lead into advice about which bets to avoid and asking dealers for help.
- Slots with Pete Castiglia: Pete Castiglia discusses slot machines, jackpots and slot play; the discussion moves to slot tournaments.
- Video poker with Pete Castiglia: Video poker pay tables and 5-8 and 6-9 programs are discussed before the program winds down.
- Final money-management advice: The program closes with advice about limits, alcohol and borrowing after a loss.
About the program
Play to Win: An Insider’s Guide to Casino Gambling was presented by the Las Vegas Hilton and distributed by Columbia TriStar Home Video. Sam Micco introduces blackjack; Lee Mosca covers roulette, David Simons baccarat and Pete Castiglia slots. PJ D’Angelo joins the blackjack lesson. The case prints an approximate 74-minute runtime.
About this recording
Viewed April 14, 2026.
