Gambling

Do any of you guys like to gamble? I usually go twice a month. Depending on the budget i will walk in prepared to lose 20-60 bucks before calling it a night. Me and the wife go together sometimes, sometimes myself or she will go on our own, we enjoy it and it doesn't seem to be ruining our life. 

I've been keeping a running tally of how much this pastime has been costing us and we're actually overall in the black. Mostly due to walking out after losing our set amounts and having a couple of really awesome nights. That and casinos are just the land of free shit it seems. 

Just wondering if anyone else around here does it. If I've got 20 bucks to lose I play slots and if I've got 60 bucks to lose I play 2 dollar video blackjack. Sometimes my 20 bucks turns into 60 bucks off the slots and I take it to the 2 dollar blackjack. 

On my best night I turned 20 bucks into 800 bucks going from slots to 2 dollar video blackjack then to five dollar real blackjack after I hit 150. 

Anyways just thought I'd start a new thread on a topic that possibly hasn't been discussed yet around here. Would lovr to hear other people's stories and/or personal limits and strategies.

If I do, it's only on the NFL. Done pretty good in the past. But then again, I just follow Danny Sheridan's odds / spreads for the most part.

I like to buy lottery tickets with my petro points, that I collect with the work truck.

In gambling the odds are stacked in the house's favor, money costs too much to gamble it away and I don't enjoy gaming so I almost never gamble altho I did put a quarter in a slot at interbike

for some people gambling is right up there with alcoholism, 1 drink a day won't kill you but can you control it?

No interest at all. In my opinion, its one thing to go out with some friends for a one-off night at the casino for some fun, but making it a habit like that is dangerous territory.  Some people can manage it, many cant as JBV said. I can think of a lot more fun things to go out and do with my wife than sit in front of a slot machine wasting money for hours on end.  The fact that you say you go independently of each other also seems strange to me.  Sound like its more about the gambling than spending time doing something fun with your significant other. The few times I have been in a casino, it always struck me at what a sad place it appeared to be.  Each to their own I guess.

Posted by: JBV

since you asked, no. it doesn't interest me. i did see it just about ruin a friends life though with his wife running up a hundred grand in hidden debt before it caught up with them. i guess it's like recreational drugs, some can handle it, some can't.

And I think it tends to be the same people. Once they feel the rush, self-control goes out the window.

Although I pretty much never get out to the casino anymore, I used to do the same as FO. Set a limit and have some fun. Once it was gone I would call it a night. If you win a few bucks it can be a super fun evening.

EDIT:  Jesus christ you guys.  Not everyone is one bet away from being a compulsive gambler.  Just like booze, it is only a risk for certain people that are prone to addiction.  If someone comes on here and asks what craft beers or whiskey you enjoy we don't all hop the high horse, wag our fingers and talk about the alcoholics we know that destroyed their families.  Give FO a break.

Maybe FO is part of the wheeling a suitcase full of 20s into the casino crowd? 

Some of my coworkers were discussing Vegas/gambling/strippers the other day at work. I realized two things: one, I had nothing to add to that conversation. Two, how are these businesses still up and running if everyone is winning off the house?

Aren't those video poker machines run my BCLC stacked way in the houses favour?

Work with a bunch of people that live out in the burbs where they seem to frequent the casinos on weekends. Probably due to a lack of places to hang out that aren't a crappy chain restaurant? .. These guys are always winning money it appears but who knows the real story. I went last year during NFL playoffs to hang with them. Probably the most boring shit IMO.... super antisocial sitting at a table for hours playing cards. I won a couple hundred bucks which was nice but really would have rather been out on the trails. Not for me.
I'm prob a bit bias because I worked the SIA in Vegas for a few years in a row when I worked in the ski industry, the casinos here a kinda lame. Although Vegas isn't much better.

Fastorange- Nice win with the 800. Score....Few years back in Vegas dropped 20 bux in a slot and won 1600.00 - Right place at the right time. Since then the times I have gambled have lost for the most part.

Posted by: chupacabra

Posted by: JBV

since you asked, no. it doesn't interest me. i did see it just about ruin a friends life though with his wife running up a hundred grand in hidden debt before it caught up with them. i guess it's like recreational drugs, some can handle it, some can't.

And I think it tends to be the same people. Once they feel the rush, self-control goes out the window.

Although I pretty much never get out to the casino anymore, I used to do the same as FO. Set a limit and have some fun. Once it was gone I would call it a night. If you win a few bucks it can be a super fun evening.

EDIT:  Jesus christ you guys.  Not everyone is one bet away from being a compulsive gambler.  Just like booze, it is only a risk for certain people that are prone to addiction.  If someone comes on here and asks what craft beers or whiskey you enjoy we don't all hop the high horse, wag our fingers and talk about the alcoholics we know that destroyed their families.  Give FO a break.

He asked our opinions, and we gave them.  I specifically stated 'each to their own'.

back in the day there was a gas station between L.A. and Vegas  (maybe Barstow) where you could pin enough money to the wall behind the cashier to fill yer tank to get you home,  so when you get to Vegas fill yer tank, pay yer hotel bill and start playing

But if you don't gamble you realize just how fucked up the place is, machines haphazardly setup everywhere, corridors that just end, it took me 3 days to find the coffee bar in the lobby

We all put in $10 for a mountain bike pool at work... I'm a degenerate I know.

There used to be a free parking thing you could do at the edgewater, if it's still there.  I have been a handful of times around here, mostly when I was younger. I'm pretty ambivalent about them and I get pretty bored because I'll get up a few bucks and then want to cash out and go home. It's too easy to lose. 
That being said, I spent a summer working in Dawson City and we used to go to Gerties, weekly, all summer long. It was marvelous. The show, drinks, roulette, pizza, and midnight sun. Everyone seemed to win money there all the time, and a couple of the boys really got into it. 
When it comes to folks I know, it seems a little more common to throw a few bucks on games here and there. I would need to have my finger on the pulse when it comes to sports, but with all the betting apps it's easy to just hang out at home and watch sports and play the odds. I do enjoy watching how vegas predicts big matches, and the betting apps are good at giving you the info.

Posted by: shoreboy

Posted by: chupacabra

Posted by: JBV

since you asked, no. it doesn't interest me. i did see it just about ruin a friends life though with his wife running up a hundred grand in hidden debt before it caught up with them. i guess it's like recreational drugs, some can handle it, some can't.

And I think it tends to be the same people. Once they feel the rush, self-control goes out the window.

Although I pretty much never get out to the casino anymore, I used to do the same as FO. Set a limit and have some fun. Once it was gone I would call it a night. If you win a few bucks it can be a super fun evening.

EDIT:  Jesus christ you guys.  Not everyone is one bet away from being a compulsive gambler.  Just like booze, it is only a risk for certain people that are prone to addiction.  If someone comes on here and asks what craft beers or whiskey you enjoy we don't all hop the high horse, wag our fingers and talk about the alcoholics we know that destroyed their families.  Give FO a break.

He asked our opinions, and we gave them.  I specifically stated 'each to their own'.

Well, he asked if any of us like to gamble, not what we thought of his life choices, but I digress.

Posted by: Endur-Bro

Maybe FO is part of the wheeling a suitcase full of 20s into the casino crowd? 

Aren't those video poker machines run my BCLC stacked way in the houses favour?

As of January 1st of this year you need a source receipt for any cash conversion of 10g and over. 

Apparrently the video blackjack machines shuffle six decks randomly and deal them out in that order as the casino employee promised me. I believe it too as it would only take one person with a camera recording a full shoe to prove shenanigans. I don't think they are programmed to a payout. One time I was the only one on it so I was able to keep a high low count and it played out as such and I won some $$$

Slots are random as shit but there are ways to tip the odds in your favor with blackjack.