A friend of mine and I stopped at a casino where his sister was working (as a dealer, IIRC).
We lost $100…but in only 15 minutes! (And we weren’t making big $10 or $20 bets either.) We looked at each other and said, “How the heck did that happen?”
It’s like that joke I often tell my grandma before she goes to bingo, “Wouldn’t it be more convenient for them to have a basket like at a toll bridge where you just drop the money in as your drive past?”
She says “I like to make them work for the money first, dear.”
You people are either way too conservative, liars, the luckiest bunch I ever met, or the real casino visitors haven’t come out. (I’ll go with lucky, since I want to be so!)
I have never been big on slots, so I have lost money there, but never a lot at a time. My money lasts so much longer at the tables.
I went on a cruise last year, and found Roulette. What fun, what a challenging new game… what a big ass money maker that must be for the Casino!
I lost track of what I lost overall to that game (Never more than $40/night… but there were many nights). At the end, my g/f and I had one last chip. we had been talking with the (dealer? spinner guy?) about the game. He said so many people have strategy about it, but there really is none. You might as well just toss your chip out onto the board. So, we decided to do it. Tossed it out, and it landed squarely on 11. (Only way to win is if it comes out on 11) My g/f wanted to change it, but I said… no, just leave it. Sure enough, 11!
**YES!!!**THEY ARE GREAT. They came this week. She no longer had any 38x32s, but the 38x30s actually fit better anyway! I also got a pair of 38x34s to him down if I want. Because of the hassle, she only charged me for $13.99 each. Plus free shipping of course. Wow, what a deal! Those are $45.00 jeans!! I was going to let everyone know in the “Bare Bear” thread, but I figured no one gave a rats ass anyway, and I was just going to let the thread die.
Thank you so much again for finding them!!![/hijack]
I don’t like gambling, except in poker, and only for quarters. I am really conservative! $20 is my gambling limit, and that’s reserved for poker. The slots and the gambling tables are NOT my thing. I’ve put less than $10 in slot machines - lifetime total.
I find that in poker, all in all, playing every week, I’ve probably come out about even.
About $800 in an all night (10 hour or so) stint at the Black Jack tables in Tahoe a few years back.
I cleaned out my bank account to the point where it was negative $80 when I got home. (I have no idea how, I have no overdraft.)
I called the bank to tell them there would be a deposit the following day to cover it. The woman at the bank says: “I see there was quite a bit of activity on (whatever night). What were you doing?”
I said: “Well, there were four transactions between the hours of 11PM and 7AM in the state of Nevada. I was either gambling or at a whorehouse. Either way, it’s probably none of your business, don’t you think?” :rolleyes:
I lost around $300-400 in one trip. This does not count expenses, and I never gamble money I couldn’t afford to lose.
I did once think I’d end up being far more “into” gambling than I ended up getting. When I was a kid, my parents used to take us to Vegas for our yearly vacation. I SO looked forward to turning 21–I’d play poker against my friends (for nickels, dimes, and quarters), and I knew the rules to blackjack. I also knew when to double down, split, hit, stand, etc–everything but card count.
First time I go to Vegas after turning 21, I head RIGHT to the blackjack tables. The $2 tables–I know enough to have a large cash reserve, be patient, disciplined, etc. And I know the odds.
And I still manage to lose nearly $100 in less than an hour. With measly $2 bets, doubling down or splitting when I KNOW I should. I haven’t lost that quickly since–I’m convinced I just had a terrible streak of bad luck.
It might have been a blessing in disguise–I think if I did well, I’d have been one of those “I gamble 80% of my waking hours in Vegas” addicts. Nowadays? Sure, I’ll gamble. But I go out of my way to do other things–see a minor league baseball game. Lie out at the pool and ogle the girls. Etc.
I’ve lost $500 in a weekend of gambling two or three times. When I go, I take $500, and when it’s gone, so be it. Most trips to the casino result in smaller losses, with the occasional minor win and the rarer excellent haul. While I’ve certainly lost more than I’ve won in the last 10 years (perhaps an average of 2-3 trips a year), I do get free luxury suites in the casino, meal comps, and if the shows were ever interesting I’d take advantage of the free tickets I’m sent. The shows, however, are never interesting.
When I figure in the comps I’ve received along with the work-stress relief (I always manage to forget about work in Atlantic City, and that alone is worth the price), I’m a bit ahead of the game.
However, as I mentioned in the other gambling post, the casinos in Atlantic City recently removed the high payout video joker poker machines. Unless the runs are particularly bad, a player making percentage plays on those machines can run about $10,000 through the game while only using an original hundred dollar roll of coins. Sadly, if I return I can only play blackjack or perhaps 10X craps at the Wild West Casino, and that’s just not as much fun for me. The odds on all the other games are just too poor.
It’s a mix of luck, conservatism, and choosing the right game. I am conservative–I look at it as paying for entertainment, so I want to get as many hours of game time as I would for the same amount in a video/pinball arcade for the same amount of money. (Aside: I often wind up in the arcade if the casino has one. I’m a geek.) That leads me to place small bets. Also, I only play blackjack and baccarat, and I count cards–I don’t really do it intentionally or make any conscious effort; my mind just works that way. As a result, I win my larger bets more often than average.
Also, I’m often ridiculously lucky at cards. Hmmph–I’d rather be lucky in love…
Etc.