A few weeks ago, I wrote that Bonnie and I had gone on a road trip where we had a choice of registering on-line for the room only ($60) or the room with an included continental breakfast ($70). We chose the room only but indulged in the breakfast anyway.
I predicted in the article that some people would get very self-righteous about this. The most over-the-top comment on vpFREE about this was by someone calling himself Bob Joseph (possibly his real name — I don’t know), who wrote:
The last portion of this week’s column should tell you everything you need to know about Bob Dancer. You might have respect for his knowledge of video poker, but if you had any modicum of personal respect for him remaining at this point, I certainly hope that, at long last, you have seen the light. I have always found the members of this group that I have come in contact with to be classy and honorable people. Those are the very last words I would use to describe this guy.
I find this amusing. To this guy, it seems that “stealing” a banana and a cup of coffee may be tantamount to being a mass murderer.
While a few others also made derogatory comments, several people stated their opinions that this was not a big deal and one person suggested he appreciated my candor. I even received one private email from a guy saying that this was an advantage play he hadn’t considered before and he was glad I brought it to his attention!
Mr. Bob Joseph implied everybody on the vpFREE forum was classy and honorable — except me. I started to wonder what he (and you) would think about the following scenarios:
1. You win a drawing for $1,000. The casino gives you the choice between cash (plus a 1099 tax form) and free play (with no tax form). If you take the free play, would you report the money as a win on your taxes? (Never mind classy and honorable — it’s illegal not to do so. And yet a high percentage of gamblers “forget” to report such money.) It’s been estimated that a very high percentage of Americans cheat on their taxes to one degree or another. Some casinos encourage this cheating by created $1,195 royal flush jackpots and promoting them as “tax free.”
2. For the last 12 years that Shirley and I were married to each other, we lived near Green Valley Ranch Casino. On a street corner a few miles away (Eastern Avenue, just north of the 215 Freeway), dozens of day laborers hung out every day waiting for someone to drive up and hire them. Most of these men were Mexican, I think, and I assume a significant percentage were illegal aliens. Lots of people used these laborers for moving furniture, landscaping “muscle,” and various other things. While it is illegal to hire men who are unable to prove their legal status in the U.S., there are no police of any kind making sure that you don’t hire them (except those in Congress who are not of the same party as the president who are vetting a nominee of some sort appointed by the president.) It’s a thriving black market — not that different conceptually from hiring undocumented nannies or housekeepers. Many cities have similar black markets. I expect that many members of vpFREE have on occasion hired some of these people. (I have.) Possibly including Mr. Bob Joseph. Are people who hire these people classless and dishonorable?
3. You have two casino coupon books and each has a juicy $25 “first card is an ace” coupon in it — worth about $13 on average. The coupon clearly says “one per person” but you have two coupons and you don’t plan to come back to this casino. What would you do? Many of us would try to cash both coupons, perhaps by moving to another part of the casino after we cashed the first one — perhaps by waiting for a shift change so it’s a new set of employees we’re dealing with.) If someone could do this but wouldn’t (possibly because he’s classy and honorable), would you think he’s a fool for not taking advantage of the opportunity?
4. How many of you have some unopened casino-logo shampoo or other toiletries that you took with you the last time you were in a hotel room? There might be a difference in your mind between taking unopened bottles and ones that you already started using while you were there. If the bottle is unopened, most hotels leave it for the next guest; if it has been partially used, they throw it out. Still, partially used toiletries have more potential to leak in your luggage on the way home while the unopened bottles won’t. Next time you see Mr. Bob Joseph, make sure you check his luggage.
5. There are often many opportunities for barter. Let’s say you’re a gambler who gets more food, room, and show comps than you can use. You ask your chiropractor if he’d like to trade some tickets to Celine Dion for a couple of adjustments to your back. This too is illegal because taxes are not being paid on the transactions. If the casino finds out about this they will punish you for “abusing” their system. How many gamblers who have those comps at least occasionally do this?
In my own case, my radio co-host, Richard Munchkin, lives in California. Sometimes he drives in to Las Vegas to do the show (among other things). Several times I’ve gotten him a free room that casinos have offered me and would otherwise have been unused. I don’t charge him for this, but I do get value because I think he adds a lot of quality to the radio show. Is this somehow morally different from an arrangement with a chiropractor?
6. At some casinos there is a VIP center (or perhaps a high roller room) with certain amenities including (almost always) bottled water. Sometimes you find other beverages, fruit, sandwiches, and dessert items as well. The casino often doesn’t police too rigidly who comes in and takes the goodies. Occasionally, non-VIPs will find out about this manna and come in and partake. Is it okay with you to do this? Do you think Mr. Bob Joseph would ever do this? (Do you really think this is that much different from eating a banana and coffee at a motel?)
I do not have any sort of vendetta against Mr. Bob Joseph. I do believe he made a mountain out of a molehill and I’m teasing him in response. Possibly, for whatever reason, he decided a while ago that he doesn’t like me (he wouldn’t be alone) and he over-reacted to this particular article. It’s kind of like those people who don’t like our current president (or the mostly different group of people who didn’t like our last president) and always go out of their way to find fault with whatever the guy does.
As I said in the earlier article, “Many people seem to enjoy looking down their nose at others’ shortcomings while ignoring their own.” While I didn’t know Mr. Bob Joseph in particular would be the one who spoke up and condemned me for the article, I certainly expected someone to do so. It was a fairly easy prediction for me to make.