A casino in Panama City.
The Golden Lion Casino's gaming pits are
open 24/7. However, when I showed up
around 5 a.m. when four tables were open,
it turned out that these tables offered
mini-baccarat and hold 'em, not 21.
A supervisor explained that they didn't have
enough staff to offer blackjack at that hour.
She said to come back at 6 a.m.
At 6, a dealer put six decks of cards into
new-card order and loaded the continuous
shuffling machine at a blackjack table.
The 21 game has a three-dollar (US) minimum,
although if you want to play two or three
hands at a time, you have to double or
triple the minimum on each spot to qualify
for play.
Surrender is offered (except possibly versus
a dealer Ace). Liberal DA2 and DAS rules
apply.
Later, at the 'caja', I learned that a 5.5 percent
tax iis deducted based on the total chips
presented. Unlike iin Mexican casinos,
where the tax applies only to winnings,
in Panama, expect the tax to apply at cash-out
to your original buy-in amount as well. This is
offset somewhat at the Golden Lion, as
matchplay chips worth five dollars are
included at buy-in, one chip per hundred dollars
of buy-in.
cccmedia in Panama City
