Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Location: The Northeast - hoping one day the Northwest!
1,107 posts, read 1,452,341 times
Reputation: 1012
Quote:
Originally Posted by maggie2101
I don't mind going but I only play the nickle slots. I will maybe spend $5 on dollar slots. The cigarette smoke is bad, though.
I agree about the cigarette smoke. I'm not really a gambler anyway.. but if I did go I would probably just bring $20 w/ me and just do the nickle slots also. However, the cigarette smoke keeps me from going. The smoke free gaming area is a joke. You need to walk through the smoking area to get there anyway!
When I was in my twenties and we were taking our cross country road trip, we stopped in Vegas. I went into a casino out of curiousity. I stood there and watched a woman feed money into a machine for a long time and then walk off cursing.
So I walked up to that same machine and put in a quarter. A mountain of quarters came falling out and a worker came by with a bucket and picked it all up for me. Then I left.
The End.
No, really, I guess you could take $20 and give it a try but mostly I think people just lose money. They think of that as fun. You don't even get to see the money falling out of the machine anymore though, you just get a piece of paper and you have to cash that in for money. (Not that you would ever make any money....)
I hate gambling. But if I wind up in a casino, this is what I do, and it pays off:
Watch for a "born loser" on a slot machine. They'll play and play and play, on the same machine, and maybe a tinkle or two, but no flush of coin ever comes down. Just keep an eye peeled. There is a demographic typical of this situation, but I'm not allowed to mention it. But that's what you look for. When they leave, get on that slot. That's the best chance you'll hit the jackpot.
That makes absolutely no sense and demonstrates that you are completely ignorant on how slot machines work.
After you've finished keeping your eyes peeled for a certain demographic, Google random number generator (RNG) and gain at least one iota of knowledge about the subject. That way, your ignorance will be limited to just your observational skills concerning the behavior of a certain demographic.
On second thought, why bother becoming educated on how slot machines operate; it will just interfere with your ignorance on other subjects.
I was just thinking about a novel about gambling by one of my favorite celebrated authors, Stewart O'Nan, called The Odds: A Love Story. The writing is superb and it's a real page-turner. Here's a brief summary:
"We meet just two characters in “The Odds”: Art and Marion Fowler, who have taken a bus from Cleveland to Niagara Falls for 'a ridiculous gamble' on Valentine’s Day. While all around them newlyweds revel in newfound bliss and older couples celebrate anniversaries, Art and Marion have booked a top-floor bridal suite for “the final weekend of their marriage,” a cool impersonation of everyone else’s giddiness. Their relationship has all but died under the stress of betrayal, guilt and weariness...
"Laid off from a good job in insurance, buried under $250,000 of debt and about to lose the house, Art is the sad face of our moribund economy. Years of hard work and careful investing weren’t enough to spare him and his wife from the financial crisis. But Art has a plan involving their remaining savings and some cash squeezed from soon-to-be-canceled credit cards. After months of practicing online, he thinks they can hit the jackpot on the roulette wheel in the hotel casino. The fragility of his optimism is wrenching...."
I agree about the cigarette smoke. I'm not really a gambler anyway.. but if I did go I would probably just bring $20 w/ me and just do the nickle slots also. However, the cigarette smoke keeps me from going. The smoke free gaming area is a joke. You need to walk through the smoking area to get there anyway!
Smoke?? That's a deal breaker. I would cough my brains out. Maybe the horse races.
Last edited by RiverBird; 06-19-2015 at 07:21 PM..
I played a lot of big poker games in the 1970's and 1980's. One of the players I played against was a world champion, and I got lucky against him. Even the best players in the world often lose. But I gradually realized the real problem with gambling is not the money but the time. People tend to become OCD once they get in a poker game. Some of them spend the whole weekend, without sleep, just because they don't want to quit the game. They always tell themselves something like "another half hour, then I'm going home to get some sleep." But when that half hour comes, they say "how can another 20 minutes hurt?" And it goes on and on. And then the next weekend, and the next. The game becomes the most interesting part of your life, because the rest of your life becomes boring. Once I realized that, I forced myself to quit, because I have a lot of better things to do. Even if I could earn a reliable living playing poker, it wouldn't be worth it. The same skills that help you win over the long run at poker also help you get good jobs that pay even more, and more reliably. But, looking back on it, it was fun while it lasted, and I still have fond memories of it. I met a lot of interesting people that way. I once got first prize in a tournament at a major casino, and that's another nice memory of those years. Also I played in so many different casinos in those years, I have a collection of $1 and $5 chips from them, one chip per casino, and it's a tall stack when I stack them up. Sometimes I like to go through those chips just to remember all those places and people. But I'm never really tempted to go back to that life. I know if I did, I would probably keep doing it for the rest of my life. And I have much better things to do.
This is great thread on retirement as OMG so many older people waste their retirement gambling. They have these junkets all over to the country to Nevada that cansino's will comp flight and room. You would not believe how many people go all the time. They sit there and gamble for 3-4 days straight. So sad.
Why is it a waste if you plan x dollars for entertainment?
I run down to our local casinos every few months. I have 2-300.00 to use. Sometimes I win sometimes I lose. I have my own "gambling account" as does my wife. My account has been as high as 12,000.00 and as low as 5-600.00. Years ago one cruise's winnings paid for the cruise, a vacation in Reno and tuition for both kid's college for 1 year.
And yes, I loose also. But I will never lose more than my 2-300.00 a day set aside.
I pay for my camera gear from my winnings. I buy MrsM jewelery with my winnings. I dont play golf and have no other expensive hobbies other than photography and National Park trips.. Yes gambling is my hobby. It is entertaining and foe me it's relaxing and fun.
If my "gambling account" is ever needed for MrsM and myself to live, it goes in with our other investments.
Our Financial Adviser is well aware of this and we are all happy
What does make me sick is to see people just throwing away money and bitching and angry about losing.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I will maybe spend $5 on dollar slots. The cigarette smoke is bad, though.
