Problem Gambling

35 Years of Advantage Play – Part 7

Last week I talked about our major decision in 1991 to switch our core game from blackjack to video poker. I also discussed how we were happy to stay at the quarter level, earning enough comps to cover most of our expenses during our casino vacations.

However, in the summer of 1995, we did go up to playing dollar machines.  This was not a hasty decision; Brad and I are both very conservative in financial matters.  Ever since we had started casino gambling I always had what I considered a “healthy” fear of going broke!  Guess that was the result of my frugal nature.

In fact, we had just gone through a long losing spell caused by a royal drought, embarrassingly during the period when we were being followed by the “48 Hours” TV crew for a story about how we could be so successful in Las Vegas by using the comp system. Of course, that story had a “miracle” ending with my winning a car in a Stardust drawing.

That event seemed to set off a wonderful series of royal flushes.  I remember two we had in short order, at the Sahara where we – and many other knowledgeable VP enthusiasts– enjoyed a double-your-royal promotion. $2000 instead of $1000 was a great bankroll boost for us quarter players.  Unfortunately, like we would find so often in future years, the casino would soon find it unprofitable for their bottom line and end this player advantage! 🙁     However, back home that spring in Indianapolis we made 3 trips over to Peoria, IL, where the Par-A-Dice gave us a royal every visit.

So, when we went back to Vegas that summer, playing mostly Deuces Wild all over town, a pro saw us playing quarters at the Four Queens.  “You two should be playing dollars; you could make a lot more money with these good promotions going on here.”

We knew about the promotions.  Four Queens would often have 2 or even 3 going on at the same time.  Brad and I discussed at length whether we should consider going up to dollars.  Our bankroll was getting bigger.  But were we ready to psychological take this risk?  We already knew, even playing quarters, about the VP roller coaster ride.  Would we be able to take that ride when the downside would be 4 times lower?

I need to stop here and give some insight into our particular circumstances.  Not every gambler comes with the same life details.  Particularly I am concerned about people who read about our past years of casino adventures and want to “do just what you did.”  First, I am talking about the past.  It is not as easy to do these days.  In fact, successful gambling is never easy. If any gambler tells you it is, you can be sure he is lying.  But the truth is that advantage play was easier back when the casinos were more generous with player benefits.

A second, and very important fact you need to consider in reading our casino story, is that we never “needed” to make money gambling.  When we started, Brad had a full-time job and I was still doing private tutoring.  And after we retired, Brad had a pension and later we both had Social Security.  These were modest amounts but enough to cover all our living expenses.  I never recommended that people depend totally on gambling income for basic life expenses.  Those that have done so successfully for many years are a rare breed that have had to work their tail off and most certainly have gone through some very scary desperate financial periods.  Many many more have fallen by the wayside, most sooner or later deciding to add a part-time “real” job or choose to pursue a career in another field.  Sadly a few have not given up until they have lost everything – their friends, their family, and a few even their life.

When we had to make our decision at the Four Queens, we already had 11 years of casino gambling under our belt.  We had learned how to cope with the emotional stress of the roller coaster ride. And we had become acquainted with many kinds of gamblers and were aware of the dangers that befell those that were not careful in their money management.  But, we had enough regular income to cover our expenses, our retirement nest egg was securely invested, and we had built up our gambling bankroll to what we felt was sufficient.

So, on July 6th, excited – and maybe just a bit fearful, we hit the dollar machines for the first time.  I don’t remember exactly how the first hour or so went, whether we were winning a little or losing pretty fast, but I do remember my shock when I drew to four suited royal cards and that glorious 5th one popped up.  I don’t remember what suit it was – all I could think about was that giant four-thousand-dollar jackpot. Yes, four times the risk but also four times the reward!

As soon as I got paid, we decided to take a break and celebrate with a comped dinner at Magnolia’s.  It was still early when we finished our meal, and Brad and I discussed whether we should keep playing.  Maybe we would lose bad and feel bad that we lost part of the big jackpot?  On the other hand, those juicy promotions were still going on.

Yes, we went back to the machines – and the unbelievable happened just a few minutes later.  I drew to 3 suited royal cards and the other two popped up!!!

I didn’t care what promotions were going on.  After they paid me the $4000 a second time, I told Brad that I had to go to our room.  My nerves were shot!

A Solemn Reflection

I spent a lot of time this week helping to “educate” a non-gambling local reporter who was working on a story about the One October shooter. I was happy to do this; so many media stories contained incomplete and bad information because reporters knew little or nothing about casino gambling in general much less high-level VP play.

However, being asked about not only the actual mechanics of skilled play but also the psychological aspects led me to some serious thinking. I have always tried to stay pretty positive when I write about casino gambling, my goal to shine a light on the path that leads to better financial results. I started wondering if I had painted this journey with colors that were a little too bold or bright.

True I have mentioned the negatives.   I put the list of problem gambling danger signals in most all of my books. I have talked about the risks of playing above your bankroll. In my most recent book, The Frugal Gambler Casino Guide, I changed the emphasis from pure financial success to increased entertainment value.

But the change in the casino environment for the last few years has not been kind to skilled gamblers and many are having a hard time adjusting. I addressed this problem here in this blog over two years ago, with a 3-part series starting in my March 19, 2015 blog, continuing in Part 2  and Part 3.  Although I gave many coping options for gamblers at all levels, I especially was seeing the danger that might lie ahead for players who were mixing in not-as-good plays with their former best plays.

The advantage player knows the math, that the more under-100% plays they do, the more their profits on the over-100% will be diluted.  And they know that they will need a bigger and bigger financial bankroll as the non-advantage plays become a bigger percentage of their total play.  There can also be a psychological bankroll problem.  They may be used to short-term losses because they have always seen long-term success.  But if the average of their various plays is now under 100%, they might not be able to bear the pain of short-term losses with no hope of long-term financial success.

With so few available facts, there can be only speculation about the motivation of the Vegas shooter to turn to such extremely violent action on One October. There might have been mental-health factors that had nothing to do with money issues. If financial downturn was a factor, it might have been caused by failing real estate deals and/or risky speculation in other investments.

And yes, it could have been wholly or partly because there was no longer the opportunity for skillful high-level casino gambling with the accompanying luxurious comp life that he had been enjoying for many years. Skillful gamblers can be addicted gamblers. Their problem might not have manifested itself during the golden age of advantage casino gambling, when serious, hard-working, and well-bankrolled players who knew the math and could use it to their advantage, would be able to scramble and find plays that would allow them to achieve financial success.

This golden-age opportunity has been fairly quickly disappearing the last couple of years, to the dismay of players on all levels. All of us have had to made major adjustments, as I described in the 3-part series I mentioned earlier, “When Casinos Cut VP Benefits.”

Violent actions following a person’s major financial loss is not unheard of. There were stories of men jumping from their penthouse offices when the Great Depression hit. Sadly too often the news has to cover stories of individuals who lost a good job and then returned to shoot co-workers and/or bosses they blame. Many relatives will talk about a suicide of a family member and how he or she was depressed over recent financial struggles.

Most reactions to financial downturns do not end up in violence, and certainly not mass shootings. However, many consequences of problem gambling do have serious effects – broken marriages, splintered families, and painful lives and wasted talents.

It behooves us all to not shut our mind to possible negative consequences of our gambling. In this rapidly changing casino environment we will need to constantly re-evaluate our actions and perhaps make adjustments that will make us feel less stressed out and give us more inner peace– and maybe will make life better for the ones we love.