VEGAS TALE

[THE PILGRIM]

Been watching a bunch of YouTube stuff about Vegas, so I’ll just tell one of my Vegas tales.
Actually, it starts up in Indiana. I knew a guy and his wife who owned a local steakhouse cocktail lounge. They sold it to one of their waitresses and headed to Vegas.
Bob was an active poker player in North Indy circles and he had the urge to go Pro.
I was transferred to Vegas of a couple years later and I used to see Bob all the time.
I know what you’re thinking, get out of those poker palaces! By this time I had a wife, baby, a dog, and a cat.
And besides all that I needed to go work on my Spurge. That’s an invasive species.
I didn’t see Bob in gambling places, I saw him in the mall at Sears.
I would go in the end door because I was usually going to hardware, sporting goods, or automotive.
That’s also where appliances were located. And that’s where Bob worked, selling appliances.
So I will swing through appliances and say hello to Bob. It turns out that even way back then the real poker players were just waiting for guys like him to show up with money.
He was cleaned out in less than a year.

 

[tlawler]

oof…I hate hearing stories like that. I’m representing my company at the AHR Expo there next month, so free trip with the wife. She’s got the bug a bit, but mostly slot machines. She usually just about breaks even.

 

[Retired W4]

The Crap Table is fun, once I learned the game. Set a limit.

 

[sceva]

Set a limit you are willing to lose and call it entertainment. If you win fine but once your limit is gone stop. Remember the odds are with the house

 

[Onomea]

I feel blessed that with all my other vices, I never got the gambling bug.

 

[Eddietruett]

You don’t win in Vegas. They don’t pay the huge utility bills and give away food, rooms etc from people winning. Possibly poker where you play against others buy in the long run, the house will win

 

[Shibadog]

Set a limit you are willing to lose and call it entertainment. If you win fine but once your limit is gone stop. Remember the odds are with the house

This. If you set a limit you can afford to lose, call it entertainment AND quit when it’s gone you’re ok. I had a cab driver tell a buddy and I there was one guaranteed way to leave Lost Wages with a million dollars-come to Vegas with two million dollars.

 

[fordson]

Years ago (1991 I think) I was TAD to NAS North Island, San Diego . Had my late wife and , as the time, teen age daughter, meet me in San Diego for a loooong weekend trip to Lake Tahoe. We stayed at the Harris Casino there. The wife, who wasn’t a gambler by any stretch, wanted to try the slots. We set a limit of $50 figuring it would be “entertaining “. I lost $25 and figured I was entertained enough. The wife lost all $50……and won back $325. She got the “bug” and wanted to press her luck but I convinced her to quit while she was a head. One of the few times she listed to me……..

 

[Legendarylawman]

In the early '80s, my inlaws went to Vegas. Each took 200 bucks for gambling. Mother in law called my wife from the airport when they arrived in Vegas. "Your dad already lost his 200 dollars, and now he wants some of mine, and we are still at the airport, ".

LOL,

Carl

 

[Onomea]

I was in a Casino in Atlantic City with a group of gambling customers in the early 1990s. I put a quarter into a slot machine, pulled the lever, and the quarter disappeared.

“Yep,” I thought. “That’s what I thought would happen.”

That was enough for me that night.

 

[Doriangray6]

There's a brilliant film about compulsive gambling called "Owning Mahowny".
It's based on a true story and stars Phillip Seymour Hoffman who was an incredible actor.

 

[armadillo]

Headed there next week with the boss lady (she is the slots queen). I always buy a round trip ticket so I don't have to take the bus home.

 

[Erich]

Headed there next week with the boss lady (she is the slots queen). I always buy a round trip ticket so I don't have to take the bus home.

We'll be there next week, too. We go about four times a year; it's an easy trip (Southwest, Uber and whatever 5-star hotel gives me a deal - Encore, this go-round) if we're not doing anything else that month. Neither one of us gambles; we go to great restaurants and enjoy a change of scenery. It's not for everybody.

My brother-in-law gambles and always gets what he refers to as "prepaid rooms."

 

[bobsguns]

My cousin was a long time dealer in Vegas. He got there in the early 1960s, so he saw it grow from virtually nothing to the bemouth it is today. He did mostly craps in his career. He told me his biggest bet was $100K. Yes, you read that correctly. Chinese guy, probably a shipping magnate?

Buddy Hacket used to tell a story of his Vegas gig. H was talking to guy about blackjack. Guy was telling him (paraphrasing here), "Ya gotta double down! If you don't, you're getting 2 to 1 odds on what you could be getting 4 to 1 odds yadda yadda yadda............"

Hacket said he was looking at the guy as he blathered. His coat was torn, his shoes were falling apart, etc. LOL!

My first time or two, I did the slots. The last couple of times I did blackjack. Lotsa fun, won $75 one year & quit. Lost it back the next year & quit.

I did have fun at roulette too. I bet odd/even or black/red, never specific numbers. Craps was just too complicated for me to figure out. LOL!

The Eagles are doing a long gig at the Sphere. Supposed to be a wild place for a concert, lights, lasers, etc. Tickets START at $1K. Yes, you also read that correctly as well.

Best place to eat in Vegas is The Pepper Mill. Old Vegas atmosphere, open 7/24. https://www.peppermilllasvegas.com/

Best place to visit is the Stratosphere. Observation Deck on top as well as a small group of rides. One of them is a chain-chair swing like the old county fairs used to have back in the day. However, THIS swings out over empty space while you're twirling around. So you're suspended 50-60 stories above empty air space. NO! I did NOT ride it!

Pic:


To make matters MORE fun, they also offer a chute-less skydive experience. They put you in a jumpsuit, attach a serious rope to you via a harness & you JUMP off the top deck. They use a large fan-type of device with adjustable blades to slow your decent. They tilt the fan blades depending on one's body weight. I saw a young lady do it while I was up there.

NO! I did not do this one either. LOL!

I saw a guy who held a sign that read, "Kick me in the nuts for $20". I hung around for a few minutes to see if he'd go through with it. He didn't. LOL!

Vegas is a cool cool place to visit, IMO. Will get back one day for the SHOT Show.

My .o2

 

[steelslaver]

Actually of all the games poker is the only one where your not playing directly against the house, but other players. You do have to beat the rake in addition to the other players however. But, most poker tables have what I call piranhas, several guys who sit playing all day waiting for the fish to make a mistake. I think poker is lots of boredom while grinding and waiting for not just a hand, but a situation. Plus, even on the best of days things happen. I once flopped a flush while holding the Ace and it turned into a baby straight flush and I lost everything I had on the table to a guy holding a King 6 who ended up with a 7 high straight flush. I was waiting to meet some one to get off work and was killing time playing holdem in the afternoon after flying into Reno. Bunch of Piranhas sitting at the table, I was holding pocket 7s and hit the 4th 7 on the river and bet small looking for a raise and never got one. They could all feel the danger. I can hold my own at a table, but I wouldn't dream of trying to make a living at one. Guys are more apt to make it as pro football players than pro poker players.

 

[Erich]

@steelslaver, you sound like a friend of mine: are you ranked on the GPI?

 

[Erich]

To make matters MORE fun, they also offer a chute-less skydive experience. They put you in a jumpsuit, attach a serious rope to you via a harness & you JUMP off the top deck. They use a large fan-type of device with adjustable blades to slow your decent. They tilt the fan blades depending on one's body weight. I saw a young lady do it while I was up there.

I was walking past the Strat one day (we were staying at Fontainebleau LV that trip and I was just out for a constitutional) and actually got a video of that. It's something to see!

 

[LVSteve]

Set a limit you are willing to lose and call it entertainment. If you win fine but once your limit is gone stop. Remember the odds are with the house

This is the key. The day you walk into a casino and think ‘I could really do with winning today’, you have a big problem.

 

[pawngal]

My brother-in-law was stationed there back in the 50's, his favorite saying about Vegas was
"They come to town driving Cadilacs and leave hitchhiking."

 

[.455_Hunter]

In 1998, five of us new 2LTs decided to raid Atlantic City on a fall Friday night. We got there about 10pm, ate a cheap steak dinner, and hit the gambling floor. We regrouped at 3:00 am and determined the team was up $1,800 in four hours. We popped smoke and broke contact. Mission accomplished...

 

[steelslaver]

@steelslaver, you sound like a friend of mine: are you ranked on the GPI?

Nope. I learned to play poker in Montana when "the game" there was no limit 5 stud. I was luck enough to have made friends with an old card mechanic dealer who had been around the block. He showed me how mechanics work and what to watch out for. He had dealt in Vegas during a time when if you asked for a job the pit boss too you in the back room and said show me what you can do.

Then of course holdem took over and I learned and I played almost every weekend. Also, learned Pineapple and Omaha which I hate. I made some money at internet poker before they shut that down. Now I play only play tournament poker once in the while and I usually place. I am ahead of the game but not far enough to be so foolish as to believe it is a good way to make money. I do not care how good you are or how smart you are sometimes an "Angel form God" sits down on an idiot's shoulders. You can flop a nut flush and lose. My brother was holding pocket Kings and the flop was K, J J. he ended up all in and lost to a piranha who had been checking into him holding pocket Jacks and like I said I once lost it all after having a ace high flush on the flop that turned into an A-5 spade straight flush. Any time a pair hits the board the flush you been holding might cost you a pile of money. Read Doyle Brunson's book, he went home broke lots of times/

 

[Golddollar]

Many years ago I went to the Penn National racetrack around Harrisburg. I decided to make a bet on a horse to place. So the race took place and as I predicted the horse came in second. But then over the P.A. system came the words, "There has been a challenge." It turned out that my horse gave another horse the hip. So my horse got knocked down to third and I got nothing, to which I said to myself, "Even when I pick them I can't win." Because of that I have sworn off gambling in any form.

 

[Greyman50]

Best friend can count cards so he goes to Vegas paying only ticket taxes as his sister is a stewardess for an airline. He goes in and wins about $900-$1000 and leaves. Says the casino has people after him asking to keep playing, LOL.

 

[steelslaver]

All those lights and fancy buildings in Vegas were not paid for by winners.. It does happen. But, someone also won the last big lottery too.

I used to be a bar guy, When they had horse racing in the small town I was from in summer, the thing to do was to find girls that hung out with jockeys, then when they hung near the fence and their jockey walked by her, follow her and mirror her bet. If people are betting money on it, people are going to game the system. Thank you for the education Kenny RIP

 

[Nevada Ed]

I worked in the Sparks Nugget as a Keno writer and never cared much for the dice but did do ok with "21" to win, most of the time.
My wife was a 21 dealer and also a Pit Boss but she did not waist her money on the games.
I Have been tossed out of two clubs for counting cards but all in all a fun time, for some entertainment.

One time on the way to Utah to visit with family members, I stopped at "Jackpot" on the Nev/Utah line and
went in to have lunch and play a few 21 hands.
The table was set up with a "Double Deck" of cards (104) in a "Shoe" and on my fourth hand, I doubled my bet.
My "Pit Boss" wife about fainted, when the lady dealer, broke down the deck and reshuffled it !!

Talk about hard up to win a bet !! Gee Wiz.

"We are out of here, Honey".............she said, to me, nicely.

 

[Kiwi cop]

Years ago (1991 I think) I was TAD to NAS North Island, San Diego . Had my late wife and , as the time, teen age daughter, meet me in San Diego for a loooong weekend trip to Lake Tahoe. We stayed at the Harris Casino there. The wife, who wasn’t a gambler by any stretch, wanted to try the slots. We set a limit of $50 figuring it would be “entertaining “. I lost $25 and figured I was entertained enough. The wife lost all $50……and won back $325. She got the “bug” and wanted to press her luck but I convinced her to quit while she was a head. One of the few times she listed to me……..

Karen used to love the pokies (down under term for the slots). When I met her she would win, then lose it al again hoping for another win. I taught her when she won to cash out, take her original stake from the payout, put the rest in her bag, and only keep playing until that was gone.

When we visited Vegas in 2018 she declined to even enter a casino, we had just seen a show at Planet Hollywood and were walking right past the casino door. Since her transplant she does not like enclosed and crowded places, too many chances of getting an infection.

As for "the boss" listening to any male......

 

[erikpolcrack]

The fan-controlled descent device described above was invented (by the Brits, I believe) before WWII to train paratroopers. I did it when I was with 10th Special Forces Group at Bad Toelz, Germany. Kind of fun. The Brits also save money on practice jumps by hoisting troopers up in a large gondola suspended from a tethered WWII-era barrage baloon. That's fun too, but you get a really intense falling sensation. It makes you realize how much the forward motion of the aircraft helps your chute deploy on a regular jump.

 

[CalifEd]

Don't leave out the casinos on some of the cruise ship lines.
My brother has been playing there since '98 and seems, on the whole, that he comes out a winner.
Sometimes he wins cash (his largest was $10,000 on one recent trip) but he is a frequent cruiser and a 5-day, balcony room cruise to Mexico costs him and partner about $450.
Like Vegas, the cruise lines watch his spending pattern and are constantly sending him flyers on their upcoming cruises.

 

[llowry61]

My wife likes the slots. When I was working, we went to Vegas twice a year for conferences and she would tag along. One thing I have learned about gambling / gamblers, they often talk about the wins but very rarely talk about the losses.

I learned long ago it is entertainment. If you don't win on the first pull you are always chasing your losses.

Concert tickets are outrageous anymore. We saw the Eagles and the Stones in Vegas as well as many other artists, but I draw the line at 1k bucks a ticket regardless of how cool the Sphere is, and it is cool. I think the most we paid was 750 for the 2 of us to see the Stones 50th anniversary tour concert and a bit less for the Eagles.

I haven't been to Vegas since around 2018 and I know it has changed getting much more expensive. I doubt I will ever go back at this point.

 

[steelslaver]

I think I paid less than $6 to see Jimi Hendix, the Grateful Dead and Steve Miller in Tempe Stadium in 1970