Yeah, my grandma is into slot machines. She's 77.

Casinos can be fun with a group of friends. I'll occasionally enjoy table games, but daily donating is straight degenerate behavior. I grew up near a racetrack/casino. It's fucking awful.

If I won $5k-10K right now I'd probably just save it up and use it for my to Vegas next summer.

Only have a mortgage from a debt standpoint and good on our savings. With a little one, would probably blow it on a week at Disney World. Would be worth the big smile on her face.

My 2001 Camry is running out of steam. I would put it towards a new car.

I'd take my 5k to NEO and buy one of the nicer homes in the area and let an unemployed person and his family live in it.

100% Bills

sleeper;1764605 wrote:All this time and hassle to go to casinos to sit and play slots; attending a Browns game too much hassle.

At least with the slots there is a chance of winning!

Track your wins and losses (actual $$$ in and out of your pocket), and if you are on the plus side or comfortable losing more, then move up in stakes.

So depends on how much you gamble. That $5-$10k might go straight into topping off my gambling "reserves".

gut;1764715 wrote:Track your wins and losses (actual $$$ in and out of your pocket), and if you are on the plus side or comfortable losing more, then move up in stakes.

Agreed. You have to know when not to get "stupid" and walk away on the plus side.

There is an older lady at one of the casinos we play at who has a "marker." Essentially, she's borrowing money to gamble on, from the casino, at a high interest rate. The casino is pretty much a loan shark, in this case.

She told us one time her marker was "$30,000 and if she didn't hit something soon, she was going to have to sell one of her rental properties to pay it off." We once saw her hit a $19k progressive and an $8k handpay in one night and she signed the money back to the casino to pay her marker. If she didn't pay off the marker within 30 days, they zapped it from her husbands checking account. I'd be pissed if I were her spouse and saw $30k missing from one of my accounts. As a side note, this lady looks like she has aged 10 years since we first met her in 2013.

There's no fun in that. Going to the casino was pretty much a no fun "job" to her because she didn't keep any of her winnings. Pretty pathetic, imo.

My kids would have a very good Christmas.

gut;1764715 wrote:Track your wins and losses (actual $$$ in and out of your pocket), and if you are on the plus side or comfortable losing more, then move up in stakes.

So depends on how much you gamble. That $5-$10k might go straight into topping off my gambling "reserves".

If its slots, that $5k-10k is going straight back to the casino.

The reality is, anytime you are playing against the house over the long run you are going to lose. Poker might be an exception, maybe black jack if you play in teams and card count; but there's no way anyone can convince me that someone who regularly plays slots at a casino has a positive ROI.

Yeah casinos aren't operating to lose money to someone (or everyone) over time. They operate to pay out a lucky person once, and hope everyone sees that THEY CAN BE THE LUCKY WINNER TOO! And then they lose.

They aren't there to lose money.

sleeper;1764727 wrote:If its slots, that $5k-10k is going straight back to the casino.

I enjoy video poker on occasion. If you know the payouts, you typically get 98-99% payout with perfect play. With a little luck, you can get up a decent bit over the short-run (of course, the opposite happens, too). Some machines, though they are hard to find, actually have 101% payout so you CAN win in the long-run playing only those machines.

For other people, 98-99% win with comps can bring them out ahead...assuming you value comps and want to spend them on dinners, shows, etc at that casino.

I've probably hovered around break-even on video poker. I enjoy it, and if I lose $20 over an hour of play that beats the pants off any table game (except poker).

You can beat blackjack, too, with very good cash management. I'm not good at that because I enjoy playing too much, but knowing when to walk away to max your gains and minimize your losses is how you come out [a little] ahead. If you want to win some real money, then it's about card counting and you're going to start getting hit with huge volatility.

SportsAndLady;1764730 wrote:Yeah casinos aren't operating to lose money to someone (or everyone) over time. They operate to pay out a lucky person once, and hope everyone sees that THEY CAN BE THE LUCKY WINNER TOO! And then they lose.

They aren't there to lose money.

True. But video poker and blackjack, and to lesser extent craps, can be beaten, except most people aren't skilled enough or patient enough to do so. And for every 1 person that can do so, the casino makes 100X that off everyone else failing at the same strategies.

Casinos LOVE all these tips and strategy books, even though some of it actually works because it brings people in to lose money. It's all about cash management and bet sizing - that's the key to tilting a slight house edge the opposite way slightly into your favor.

gut;1764746 wrote:I enjoy video poker on occasion. If you know the payouts, you typically get 98-99% payout with perfect play. With a little luck, you can get up a decent bit over the short-run (of course, the opposite happens, too). Some machines, though they are hard to find, actually have 101% payout so you CAN win in the long-run playing only those machines.

For other people, 98-99% win with comps can bring them out ahead...assuming you value comps and want to spend them on dinners, shows, etc at that casino.

I've probably hovered around break-even on video poker. I enjoy it, and if I lose $20 over an hour of play that beats the pants off any table game (except poker).

You can beat blackjack, too, with very good cash management. I'm not good at that because I enjoy playing too much, but knowing when to walk away to max your gains and minimize your losses is how you come out [a little] ahead. If you want to win some real money, then it's about card counting and you're going to start getting hit with huge volatility.

Except if you want the comps, you have to register for their casino card that tracks your winnings. If you consistently are winning, they will ban you from their casino.

My reality point still stands.

Tiernan;1764700 wrote:I'd take my 5k to NEO and buy one of the nicer homes in the area and let an unemployed person and his family live in it.

Yep ---- buy a Y-town dump, insure it for $50k, and when the renters burn it down, pocket $45k.

sleeper;1764800 wrote:Except if you want the comps, you have to register for their casino card that tracks your winnings. If you consistently are winning, they will ban you from their casino.

My reality point still stands.

Yeah, but there are A LOT of casinos. And you have to get up pretty big before you even appear on the radar. They even have a name for it - advantage players - and it's something they manage. They just lower the payouts and advantage players self-ban.

I bought my first ever scratch off today to make change and won $20. Gonna spend it at Chipotle here in a few minutes.

GOONx19;1764825 wrote:I bought my first ever scratch off today to make change and won $20. Gonna spend it at Chipotle here in a few minutes.

Hope you don't get E. coli.

I'd buy more firearms and ammo.

That's a bigger gamble than buying lottery tickets!

Since my bills are paid and my savings is in good shape, I'd party like Lamar Odom at the bunny ranch.

I would spend it.

GOONx19;1764672 wrote:My 2001 Camry is running out of steam. I would put it towards a new car.

Replace the timing chain. Maybe the head gasket too, along with a basic tune up. That car should last forever unless you drive it hard.

I'd buy another yr.2000 (and before) Jeep Cherokee. You can't have too many.

salto;1771989 wrote:Replace the timing chain. Maybe the head gasket too, along with a basic tune up. That car should last forever unless you drive it hard.

I'd buy another yr.2000 (and before) Jeep Cherokee. You can't have too many.

He's earned himself a new Camry