In this episode of my N-part series looking at Colin Jones’s book, The 21st-Century Card Counter, I’m just going to briefly comment on various phrases and sentences that caught my eye. This is like the “Mail Bag” episodes of Gambling with an Edge, or the Potpourri category on Jeopardy.
[p. 26] “I’m not going to argue whether people should or should not gamble for entertainment (though it’s my opinion that gambling is a very high-risk low-reward form of it).” From spending so much time in locals casinos, I’d say that the percentage of gamblers who are problem gamblers—by virtually any definition of the term—is much, much higher than the industry would admit. As a resort destination, Vegas is a different animal. But locals casinos are built on degenerate gambling. That said, I think there is a role for recreational gambling, and CJ underestimates how enjoyable it is for some. CJ is a bit jaded, because blackjack (and baccarat) are not inherently fun games (you wouldn’t play them for no money), and because card counting as a living takes the fun out of the game! One of my old friends came to Vegas with me, and afterwards said, “You’ve ruined Las Vegas for me,” because he could never again see the experience in the carefree, oblivious way that gamblers do. I turned it into work.
Continue reading Colin Jones (S1 E8): Mail Bag