Many of you have been quizzing me about this for years. I resisted … but the casino world has been changing so radically. I felt I owed it to my long-time faithful readers – and also to new casino gamblers – to write a book that would help them—not just navigate, but … yes, survive … this new casino environment. The title of this new book is The Frugal Gambler Casino Guide.
Originally, I decided to just update each of my first two books, The Frugal Gambler and More Frugal Gambling. However, I found that this involved repeating too much material from one to the other. So I settled on writing just one Frugal casino guide, updating much of the basic information from those two books, along with some material from the Frugal Video Poker. Although I still wanted to thoroughly cover my “specialty,” video poker, I realized that many casino visitors prefer other games. So I added new information about all their possible choices, including table games, slots, live poker, bingo, keno, carnival games, and sports and race betting.
The biggest change you’ll see in this new book is a new emphasis. Although it still gives you a glimpse into the possibility of “advantage play”—that is, long-term winning—my main purpose is to show you how to stretch your bankroll and/or lose less. This is the more realistic goal of most gamblers, and I describe ways you can keep more money out of the casino’s clutches and in your pocket no matter what your choice of casino game may be.
This new book will be back from the printer in February. At that time it will be available from Huntington Press (including autographed copies), Amazon, as well as being orderable from your local bookstore. In the meantime, you can pre-order the book by going to ShopLVA for the pre-pub price of $11.95 plus shipping (it will retail for $16.95). Also in February it will be available as an eBook.
In the meantime, you might wonder what will happen to my older books. They won’t be reprinted, so when the present editions are sold out, they’ll disappear forever. Some of you have bought and studied all of them. However, if you’re not in that group, you may wonder if they contain some information that still might be useful and might be a frugal buy, especially since they can be ordered at a nice discount. So here’s a brief consideration of that point for each title and what possibly helpful material they contain that didn’t make it into the new book.
The Frugal Gambler – The original 1998 (red cover) edition and 2005 updated (green cover) edition contain a chapter on airline bumping with money-making techniques we still use today. And the introduction tells the story of how we became “the frugal gamblers,” with a later chapter detailing how we could stay free in Las Vegas for long periods of time.
More Frugal Gambling – In 2003, after more years of experience at both lower and higher play levels and becoming a Las Vegas resident, I had much more information to share. My daughter Angela helped me review the basics for beginners and I contributed new information for experienced gamblers. This was a very big book and I had to boil down so many details to cover and update the same subjects in the new book: VP, players clubs, promotions, comps. If you haven’t read this book, I guarantee you’ll find details that will make you money, especially in the 60-page section on comps. No other book covers the host system more completely. Yes, the casinos are cutting their comp benefits, but the player who knows the basics and some of the “tricks” I share will score more.
Frugal Video Poker – This book came out in 2006. Although it was originally written to accompany software that is no longer available, it’s still a good step-by-step guide that will help beginners start on the path of skillful video poker play. It gives some bankroll tables and volatility information that will help them know what to expect. It would be a good companion volume for the novice video poker player who needs more basic information to add to what’s found in the new book.
The Frugal Video Poker Scouting Guide – This sturdy pocket guide continues to be a must-carry for all studious VP players, giving the EV (expected long-term value) of almost 200 of the most common VP pay schedules, plus progressive information for over 150 games. The math never needs to be updated!
Tax Help for Gamblers –Although previous editions have been in paperback, to keep the information up to date, the latest, the 3rd edition, is an e-book that you might want – or need – to consult as you start thinking about filing your 2016 tax return. Download now for your Kindle; Nook; or Apple device.
I think that your change of approach is correct. You really can’t, as a visitor, even an experienced and savvy one, expect to get the bargains and deals you could have when Frugal One was written–and things are worse now than they were even five years ago. In particular, playing fullpay VP gets you nothing, nothing, nothing. So I think the focus has to shift from “free vacation” to “vacation where you don’t get completely slaughtered.”
The Frugal mindset still applies, though, perhaps now more than ever. You have to HATE the idea of paying too much for things that should be cheaper or could be gotten for free with a little effort. Unfortunately, most Vegas visitors would rather just leave their minds in the glove compartment and as a result, pay full price for everything. Should the MGM paid parking lots be empty? Of course–but they aren’t. Should Strip casinos charging $25+ daily “resort fees” be deserted? Of course–but the lemmings pour in anyway. Bottom line, Vegas is one place in particular where if you don’t care about being ripped off, you will be. Over and over and over.
Thanks, I will be sure to try to get an autographed one, I was on the west coast recently but you were on the east coast. As we returned the New England, the weather sure gave us a chilling reminder of winter, hope you are staying warm.
Is there another option to get my older ones autographed ( by both you and Brad)??
Health permitting, I hope to be back in Vegas next year and will bring my books with me.
Thanks, MO (Happy Holidays)