Gambling

Five year's ago I was in Las Vegas for a conference.  I liked Las Vegas, I don't think I could live there, but I did enjoy spending time there and would welcome the opportunity to go back.  Few conferences in my field are held in Vegas, I am surrounded by lefty-liberals and they rant that Vegas exploits women and poor people.  We ended up there in 2011 because of a labor dispute at a hotel in San Francisco.  I enjoyed it.

I enjoy a little gambling.  I consider the money I put into it, money spent for entertainment.  When I put cash in my pocket for gambling, I consider it spent.  I limit it to what I am willing to spend.  Going to the movies here in DC, with a large soft drink and nachos, will set me back about $30, I can get a couple of hours of fun in a casino for $30.  

As I recall I left Las Vegas in 2011 about $40 ahead.  If I had quit when I was farthest ahead, I would have been about $100 ahead.  But I was not there to make money, I was there to be distracted from life.

Slot machines are the easiest, but also are the most likely to consume the entertainment dollars quickly.  Stand there long enough and the machines will take all of the money.  You are destined to lose in a slot machine.  Now I have had a few fun wins with machines, I left breakfast in Deadwood South Dakota $35 ahead after spending $5 on entertainment while waiting for my eggs benedict.

Video poker or blackjack if my favorite.  There is some skill involved, and the reward increases with the risk.  I can find a quarter machine and play for an hour on $10 of entertainment money.  I have tried card games with a live dealer and I didn't like it.  The dealers are too fast and inpatient with my stopping to think before acting. And most of them have a minimum bet that is beyond my entertainment budget.  I tried roulette in Vegas in a hybrid, the bet was placed on a computer screen and the dealer actually spun the wheel live.  It was fun.  Someplace in the dust on my desk is a $1 chip from the Flamingo, a memento of that experience.    

MGM is building a new Casino just across the river from where I live.  I look forward to it opening.