A Night in Las Vegas
Price: $9.95
RAM reqd: 1K
ROM reqd: 4K
Type of program: Games
Printed listings?: No
Program listable?: One
Screen prompts?: Yes
Challenge: High
Display: Good
From: Lamo-Lem Laboratories, Box 2382, LaJolla, CA. 92038.
Lamo-Lem’s Night in Las Vegas is definitely a cut above the usual 4K ROM game. The package includes the casino standards, Slot Machine, Craps, Blackjack and Roulette. You get three copies of each game on a single cassette, although I had no trouble loading any of them. You also get a complete book of instructions, explaining how to load and operate the programs, and also how to play the games (handy for your next trip to Atlantic City). A set of chips is included for playing roulette on the large roulette table board and craps table sheet provided.
Slot Machine is just like the real thing–you pump money into the one-armed bandit. The program nicely displays a slot machine on the screen and the fruits (graphic symbols) come up one at a time.
Blackjack offers more challenge (and chance to win), since you play against the machine. The display is not quite as good, and you will be dealt ones. But Lamo-Lem got four decks and a re-shuffle feature into 1K RAM–an admirable feat. And the machine extends you $100 easy credit if you go broke.
Roulette lets you place up to five bets, keeping track of your total money after each. You get all the betting options of a roulette table. After the last bet, the wheel spins–and you see the numbers displayed on the screen as the ball goes by them, slowing down until the winner comes up. You then see your bets and their payoffs, and your total bankroll.
Craps comes with what seems to be a thorough set of instructions, but despite my misspent childhood, I still don’t understand how to play the game. The program allows you to bet the pass line, take the odds, bet any craps, or the big 6 or big 8, among other choices. It displays the results of both dice and your remaining money.
Lamo-Lem again provides excellent keyboard overlays, this time in felt green. By placing them over the computer’s keyboard, you are sitting at a blackjack, roulette or craps table–a small touch that really improves the play.
For $9.95, this is an inexpensive way to indulge your gambling vice or just have fun.–AZ