Putting the Fun Back into Gambling

The howls of pain are getting louder and louder – here in the “Comments,” on Internet forums, and in the e-mails that fill my Inbox.  Gamblers are saying they are losing more during their casino visits and enjoying their time less.

I know that it is more fun to win than to lose.  But the very nature of the gambling beast means that one will have to endure more losing sessions than winning ones.  And here is what is hard to take:  That is as true for the player who studies the game and plays as smart as possible as it is for the uninformed gambler who stumbles into the casino hoping to meet Lady Luck!

I want to help out players who are having a hard time being happy in a casino, but I realize that when I give advice in this area it will sound harsh.  But there is no way I can soften the message – gambling is an extremely difficult activity, not only because of financial issues but emotional and psychological ones as well.  Here are some player problems I have been hearing about and my “prescriptions.”  This discussion is primarily for video poker players, but some of the concepts may be helpful to those who play other games.

#1 – The casinos are taking out or downgrading so many of the good games and/or decreasing the free play they send us. 

Yes, this is happening in casinos all over the country.  However, in the major casino areas (Las Vegas, Reno, Atlantic City, Mississippi/Louisiana), with more competition, there are usually some casinos that decide to buck that trend.  Flexibility is the key here.  If your usual casino isn’t providing you with good plays, check out some others.  Good resources for such information include vpFREE2.com and the forum on vpFREE.  And if you are really determined to find good plays, you might want to do what some advantage players are doing, traveling to casinos out of your local area.

#2 – Casinos are cutting comps.

This is also happening all over the country – for high rollers and low rollers alike – but as in #1, flexibility is the key.  Successful players are moving around from casino to casino more than they ever have had to do.  And a note here:  don’t complain incessantly to your host about decreasing comps.  Hosts are never the ones responsible for across-the-board cuts in comps in their casino.  That always comes from much higher up.  So you need a good relationship with hosts now more than ever.  Being a pesky comp hound will merely put you on their lists of Players Who Will Only Get the Minimum in Their Play Range.  Remember sugar attracts flies much better than vinegar.

#3 – Casinos will dangle all sorts of benefits in front of me just to sucker me in to get my money. 

I’ve got some bad news for you:  Casinos are NOT non-profit organizations – at least they don’t plan to be!  They are legitimate businesses that plan to make a profit.  Owners and shareholders invest in these businesses and are looking for a return on their investments. They need people to come to their establishment and do business with them. So how do they get people to do this?  Just like other businesses, they advertise, they run “sales” (think double-point days), they give out coupons, they run promotions.

You are free to take advantage of these perks, or not – just like you pick and choose which other establishments in town you do or do not give them your business.

#4 – But casinos are just so greedy.  For the last few years they seem to be doing nothing but squeezing their customers to get achieve more profits.

Hello!  Have you heard we have been in a major recession for the last few years?  Have you heard how many people have lost their jobs and barely have enough money for the necessities of life, much less for discretionary income activities?  Have you noticed how many businesses have closed their doors?  Have you read about how all companies have had to tighten up their operations to survive?

Casinos have had to walk a fine line between giving their customers enough benefits to draw them into their business but not giving them so much that profitability suffers.  They were forced to get better in identifying which customers added more to their bottom line and which ones didn’t – and then market to each group appropriately.  This is not greed, but good business practice at any time – and absolutely essential in order to survive during the severe economic downturn.

You are not obliged to like all business practices.  If a pizza place cuts the size of their pizzas and/or raises their prices, you choose another pizza place that is more economical.  If a restaurant has rude waitresses, you choose another one the next time you want to eat out.  Back to flexibility – if one casino cuts the good games and/or extra benefits, you look for another.

#5 –Okay, I get what you are saying in #1-#4.  So how can I be happier gambling under these circumstances?

The answer to this question will be different for each person, and each person will have to ponder it carefully.  But all will need to accept the fact that the casino world IS changing and therefore all of us will have to change.

Some will need to adjust their thinking about the purpose of casinos.  Their “product” is entertainment, and everything they offer is meant to enhance your enjoyment while you are in their business establishment:  the excitement of bright lights and jackpot noises, the hotel room with a chocolate on your pillow at bedtime, cheerful friendly employees, luxurious surroundings, free drinks.  But they give that added thrill that you don’t get in any other leisure-time activity, not in a movie theater, on the golf course, on a ski slope, in a bowling alley, or in a gourmet restaurant – the chance to win!

All players need to understand that the casino has to “charge” for all this entertainment.  Remember, casinos are not non-profits.  You don’t pay upfront, like a ticket to a sporting event or concert, but the casino covers its expenses in providing all this entertainment by offering games which, with few exceptions, give the house a mathematical advantage.

Wise recreational players, with experience, will know approximately how much on average this entertainment will cost them and adjust their time in this business to fit into their entertainment budget.  If their favorite casino has cut the paytables on the games they want to play or aren’t sending  them as much bounce-back free play, or have reduced the comps, they will look for another casino.  Or, if there isn’t another casino conveniently located, they may just cut the number of times they choose this leisure-time activity.

A video player who wants to cut his “cost” for this entertainment will need to do more studying – fine-tuning his strategy skills with practice on tutorial software and perhaps learning new games.  He will do more research and scouting.  And he will vigorously ramp up his use of promotions to make up for a loss of EV when casinos downgrade paytables.  He may look for ways to increase his gambling bankroll so he can play at denominations higher than his usual ones when he finds good plays there.  Can I repeat this again – flexibility?

As for the player who wants to make a profit in a casino.  I’m not going to go into this subject very deeply here – I had to write 4 books to adequately tackle it.  If you have been sticking to advantage play for many years, you know that it is getting really tough.  You will just have to keep doing the things you always did – but times two or three harder!  For a newbie without much experience, you can start working on this goal – but don’t quit your day job!

Whatever your goals and at what level you play, remember that gambling should be fun.  When you start feeling you no longer enjoy what you do in a casino, then it probably is time to re-evaluate your life priorities.

Sometimes we stare so long at a door that is closing that we seek too late the one that is open.”Alexander Graham Bell, American inventor

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9 Responses to Putting the Fun Back into Gambling

  1. Earl, Harrah’s new Reward Credit redemption program was better than I expected. You can redeem 200 RC’s (old or new ones) for $1 in free play, the same rate as many restaurant and shopping choices. And once in awhile a casino will run a “special” that you can redeem for free play at a better rate. We still use our RC’s for comps that are offered at the 100 RC= $1 rate when we eat at restaurants that have that rate, but that still leaves us with hundreds of thousands of points. So we stockpile them until we can find a free-play offer for a discounted rate.

  2. Earl Scheib says:

    The most interesting tidbit I found was this: “Beginning in April, you will be able to redeem your Reward Credits for Free Play at any Total Rewards casino – any day, every day.” Now that might be of great benefit to me since Brad and I have thousands of dollars more in credits than we would ever want to redeem for comps. However, I will definitely need to find out the details. What is the redemption rate? Will it be available for old credits – or new credits only?
    SO……WHAT’S THE SCOOP ON HARRAHS 8 MONTHS LATER ???????????????

  3. Roger K says:

    Dan, I envy you. I was recently assigned a host in Las Vegas (Caesar’s). I have found most hosts to be re-active, rather than pro-active. This lady is non-active. My best host was Kathy from Four Winds in New Buffalo. She is now gone. Miss you, Kathy. Enjoy your blog, Jean, and the comments your followers post. Have a great day!

  4. G says:

    i have visited vegas 2 to 3 times a year since 1998 and getting ready for the 3rd trip this year. i have NEVER paid for a hotel room or any of my meals eaten in a casino. i have received more mail/email offers to different casinos then ever before free rooms , meals, shows , free play. also lately i have started getting calls from host that i don’t know from different casinos. what up with that? i don’t consider my self or my wife high rollers. we budget about xxxx a trip which includes airfare , gambling , meals outside casinos, shows and the shopping my wife enjoys. as soon as it stops being entertaining we will look for other adventures. but the comps keep coming and i think the casinos are hurting but not going broke any time soon.

  5. Harris Gibson says:

    As usual you have hit the nail right on the head. The only solution to the casino’s “rising prices” is to do what many people do in these situations in other situations. That is to start shopping around. I have not been going on gambling trips too often lately due to some major changes in my life. Therefore when I do go, it has to be worth my while. I live out east on Long Island now and a trip to Atlantic City has become much too expensive. Rising gas prices along with insane toll increases has made the day trips out of reach. In addition, the casinos have changed the blackjack rules (hitting on soft 17) on most games under 50 dollars. My answer to that is to go elsewhere. There is a ferry boat to Mohegan Sun about 20 miles away from my house. You pay around 32 dollars and get back a 40 dollar package from the casino which can be used for both betting and dining. In addition, the dining coupon can also be used for wagering when you have comp dollars to spend on your food and beverage needs. They are very good about letting you use these bets at all games (not just the ones listed like the Big Wheel). I am ferried and driven back and forth so that I can relax and be refreshed for my visit. The blackjack rules are excellent (except for the 5 dollar games) so that I feel that I am getting a fair shot at winning some money. The food is great for the most part and the casual dining options are quite varied and by casino standards, very reasonable. The bottom line? When I go on my daily jaunt every now and then it is to Mohegan Sun. Just as you shop around not only in one supermarket these days but several markets for the best buys, you can do the same thing with your gambling dollars.

  6. Kevin Lewis says:

    None of the things you’ve said change the reality that casinos are BRUTALLY tightening up. There are two aspects to this: one is the removal of amenities, slashing of comps, nonsense like resort fees, etc. The other is the tightening of the games themselves. This latter is supremely stupid. The house edge on a game is analogous to the price a business charges for its product, whether that’s a loaf of bread or breast implants. Now, imagine you’re a business run by sane people. There’s a recession on. You’re losing customers, and the customers you still have are spending less. What do you do? Well, the one thing you DON’T do is raise prices and cut service!!! Yet, casinos everywhere, particularly in Las Vegas, are doing exactly that. They seem to think that we will, like hypnotized sheep, flock to their pleasure palaces no matter how much they charge for their product. This is lunacy. Vegas deserves to, and probably will, turn into a desperate, half-abandoned, near-ghost town populated and visited only by the degenerate and desperate. I will dance on its grave.

  7. R T says:

    Hi Jean,
    My wife and I have gambled for many, many years throughout the U.S. and we have certainly had more than our share of frustrations. You’re right – it’s getting harder to find the games with less house edge, harder to get comps, etc. (we are both diamond status with Caesars properties and have seen the comps decline over the last few years…).

    However, we look at gambling a little differently than most. We both work full time at very stressful jobs with long hours so we seek a lot of our “entertainment” in casinos. We love to play together, laugh together, have a drink or two together and enjoy one another’s company – this is our “stress reliever”. It seems silly to us to go to a casino for “fun” and then get so stressed out about losing money – if we wanted stress we would stay at work!
    So whatever it costs us for a day of “fun” at the casino, I consider it “therapy” since I get to sit with my best friend and the love of my life and spend time with her! And when we have had enough “fun” for the day, we love to go and sight see in whatever city we happen to be in (we really have a fondness for Vegas though – it never gets old!).

    I guess my point is that we all know that these big casinos weren’t built by “winners” so if you go into it with the mindset of just having fun (and not spending more than your budget allows) I think you will come out ahead.
    Even through all of the losses (and some occasional nice wins) I wouldn’t change one minute that I have spent with her – it has all been worth it!

    Thank you for your posts – we love reading them – you have such a great insight and valuable info – please keep them coming!

    R.T.

  8. jim mason says:

    As a visitor I can still get comped rooms(very valuable) but cannot take advantage of locals promotions. I could not believe the EV’s that I got in the past, sometimes up to 105%+ plus comps. Now, I do not visit Vegas as often but, cash on cash I can still get up to 101%. A lot of fun beating the system, almost a free trip(with hard work, preparation, patience and luck of course). If the positive EV video poker goes away I will probably find another(profitable) hobby.

  9. Dan Sowards says:

    Good advice, Jean. I have great hosts in Vegas, Lake Tahoe, and New Orleans. I would never do/say anything that would offend them or push them to give me something they cannot. To a great extent their hands are tied, so what they CAN do for me they more than likely do because we are indeed friends. As a matter of fact, that friendship is one of the main reasons I still play where I play.

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