I recently attended the 18th Annual Blackjack Ball — which I’ll write about at length in next week’s column. Briefly, this is a gathering of about 80 of the best blackjack players in the world (some currently out there playing — some retired), and perhaps 20 other gambling professionals of various sorts. Being a video poker expert is not sufficient to get invited, but co-hosting a radio show along with a Blackjack Hall of Famer apparently is. Among this crowd, Gambling with an Edge is “must listen” radio and so I was more of a celebrity with this group than I expected I’d be.
There are scheduled activities at the ball, but as at any “industry” convention, a large part of it is hooking up with people of similar interests whom you haven’t seen in the last year. All in all, I had a good time.
I was asked many times, “What new projects are you working on? Can we expect a new book soon?” Perhaps I should have been ready for these questions, but I wasn’t really expecting them.
The truth is that while I’m nowhere near retired, I’m now more focused on enjoying my personal life. I’m still playing 20-30 hours a week, writing this weekly column, and teaching classes, but I’m not also putting in an additional 30 hours a week writing a new book. For me anyway, writing a book is a very long, grinding project. Instead, I’ve let myself become an officer in one of the local square dancing clubs and am spending three or more evenings each week dancing or doing things related to dancing.
I suppose that I could be teaching Bonnie how to play video poker. But she’s not a natural at the game and not really interested in learning. Having her put in long hours at something she doesn’t enjoy in order to earn very little, if anything, would improve neither her life nor mine.
Instead we’re taking an advanced square dancing class and I’m teaching her the difference between “Transfer the Column” and “Checkmate the Column.” And also the differences between “Scoot Back,” “Scoot and Dodge,” “Scoot Chain Thru,” and “Scoot and Weave.” The distinctions are relatively easy for me and not-so-easy for her. I’m still teaching, but the focus is more on Bonnie and me sharing an activity that we can enjoy together rather than Bonnie learning a skill so we can go out and make more money.
Now if she messes up in a square, I can call out a reminder, “Bonnie over here!” and she’ll correct her position with a laugh. I’m gentle with her and we’re enjoying life together. But if she messed up by playing video poker and her mistakes regularly cost us $20, $50, or $100 a day, I probably wouldn’t be as gentle and she’d possibly come to loathe herself for not being better at it. (I went through a version of that back when I was married to Shirley. Although the two women are obviously very different people, insofar as not being naturals at gambling, they are very similar.)
As a group, square dancers show up every week to enjoy both the activity and the other dancers. Everyone hugging each other is part of it (although we don’t sing “Kum Ba Yah”)! Our square dance gatherings are not competitive events. This is a much gentler approach to life than the cutthroat world of professional gambling.
Even though I’m enjoying life more than I used to, I still need a lot more intellectual stimulation than I get from square dancing. So I’m still gambling, figuring out ways to beat a promotion, writing, teaching, meeting with other gamblers, etc. I’m not ready to retire. But I am ready to slow down a little and smell the roses. I’ve been reasonably successful financially, but if I can’t spend that time and money on whatever it is that makes me happy, what was the point of working so hard to get the money in the first place?
Three follow-up points:
New free video poker classes will start at noon tomorrow, February 5, at the South Point. If possible, we could use an extra big turnout February 12 — which will include beginner Double Bonus at noon and beginner Double Double Bonus at 2 p.m. There will be executives from another casino attending the second class that day trying to decide if these classes are something they’d like to host at their casino. Their casino is one where teaching Full Pay Deuces Wild and a few other 100% games would be reasonable. So the bigger attendance we have that day, the more inclined these executives would be to sign up for a summer semester.
On Thursday, February 6, on Gambling with an Edge we’ll have the Blackjack Ball recap show — with Blackjack Ball Host Max Rubin and this year’s winner of the Grosjean Cup.
On Sunday, February 16, from 5-7 p.m., there will be a new square dancing class beginning in Las Vegas (near Sahara and Boulder Highway). Although I’ve been a competent country/western dancer for years, I began square dancing at age 62. Our last beginner’s class had first-timers from age 10 to about 70. If you want more information, send me an email at [email protected]. Don’t worry if you don’t have a partner. We’ll find you one for the class. There are almost always more single women in the class than men. (Of the dance moves I mentioned in this column, only “Scoot Back” will be taught in the beginner class. There are more advanced classes down the road if you wish, but many dancers don’t go beyond the first class — and they are still enjoying the activity years later.)