3/3/2004
I enjoyed my vacation, but I’m glad to be back. And I’m coming back in a month that marks a special anniversary for Brad and me. Exactly 20 years ago, in March 1984, Brad and I made our first trip to Las Vegas.
I can still remember the thrill of this exciting city, from our first sight of it from the air as we were flying in. We’d booked our stay with a travel agent in Indianapolis, choosing (of course) the cheapest air-room package, one that landed us at the Landmark Hotel and Casino. Although it was well past its prime, we had no previous Las Vegas basis for comparison, so we thought it was heaven to have so much exciting action just an elevator ride down to the ground level.
Our casino knowledge was almost nil. I’d heard that smart gamblers played the tables, so I was playing blackjack — although I had no idea there was anything called expert strategy. I merrily hit and stood according to my best guess. Brad, on the other hand, believed you came to Las Vegas just to have fun, so he hit the colorful noisy slots with enthusiasm. With my “”smart”” play, I was losing steadily, while Brad’s “”dumb”” play was remarkably successful from the get-go. He kept coming to the BJ table to show me bigger and bigger coin cups filled to the brim, first with
quarters, then with dollar tokens. “”I’m going to need bushel baskets next,”” he bragged.
I remember that first night when we went back to our room. I was complaining that I was losing. Brad was too busy to sympathize, spreading bills all over the bed, his several hundred dollars of winnings. Then he emptied his pocket of change and started throwing his pennies and nickels, one by one, to the floor in a corner of the room. “”We won’t be needing those!”” he crowed.
Neither of us was crowing about winnings when we left town at the end of our four-day vacation. Together, we eventually got the job done, “”spending”” the whole $1,000 we’d brought as our vacation stake.
A lot hasn’t changed in this city over the past 20 years. Leaving the parking lot where the Landmark used to stand and walking to the Stardust — in March — can still be the windiest walk in town. You can still get lost in the Riviera. You can still eat breakfast at the Westward Ho even if you have only change in your pocket. Circus Circus is still full of rugrats. You can still get an obscenely long hot dog at Slots A Fun. The Stardust sports book is still filled with enough colorful characters to make a couple of down-and-out movies.
However, there have been many changes in this town. And what we couldn’t even imagine that weekend 20 years ago was how much would change for us as our life slowly but surely became completely intertwined with this City of Dreams.
3/11/2004
This week it’s time to clear out some odds and ends in my “Save-for-FF” file.
First, many people have wanted me to comment on the “Queen and King of Coupons” episode of the TV show “Las Vegas” with James Caan, which aired on March 1. I hardly know what to say – except I do want to point out that neither Anthony Curtis nor I had any input on that show. (Actually, I doubt if the writers ever ask anyone who has actually played in a casino for input – there are so many inaccuracies in the show that Brad and I watch it just to see how many we can find!)
Do I think the writers have heard of my couponing escapades? Yes, I do, since there were kernels of reality in the mostly broad-brushed play-it-for-laughs scenes. I have used very old coupons that had no expiration date when the casino had no objection. In fact, occasionally a casino employee has okayed my use of an expired coupon when I had a good excuse. Recently I did this when I came straight from the airport from an out-of-town trip and jokingly asked the slot club booth employee if the coupon that had expired the day before was still good if I had a note from the pilot. He just laughed and cashed the coupon without even looking at the airline ticket I tried to show him! Being friendly to casino employees and keeping a sense of humor always gets better results than being rude or demanding.
Did the show have some way-out couponing concepts? Sure. I’ve never had a floating crap game using coupons with a frugal millionaire – or with anyone of any net worth. But hey, they say you aren’t really famous until you’re a caricature! Now, if Dave Letterman or Jay Leno makes me the subject of a joke, then I will be sure I’ve arrived!
Are you delaying filling out your tax returns because you don’t know what to do with those W-2Gs you got for jackpots or the 1099s you got from a casino tournament or drawing? You definitely need Tax Help for the Frugal Gambler. Marissa Chien and I wrote that book to help you with these thorny problems. I know many people who pay more income tax than they really owe, because they don’t know the best way to handle their gambling wins and losses. If you aren’t sure what this book covers, Linda Mabry, the gaming writer for the Biloxi Sun-Herald, has a good review of the contents at http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/8143269.htm.
Some people have said they would like to hear more about Brad’s gambling “adventures” and whether he still gives money to winos in order to hit big jackpots. He says to tell you all that he doesn’t get downtown enough these days to find worthy recipients for his donations, which is why we’re in a gambling “slump.” Guess I better do some rescheduling! He also said if you wanted to see all his current inventory of 45 jackets, you can go to http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2004/Feb-01-Sun-2004/living/23057005.html. I told the newspaper to take a picture of Brad in the middle of these since he was in charge of jackets at our house – but they had their own ideas.
He also told me not to tell you that he pulled out his Palms players card instead of his credit card at the grocery store the other day and tried to swipe it to pay for the groceries he was buying. The clerk broke up laughing! So I guess I won’t tell you this story.
3/20/2004
This week I have a guest columnist, Cee Stuart, a fellow writer from the Southern California Gaming Guide, with an article for the dreamers among us.
So You Want To Win A Million?
First, Consider This
by Cee Stuart
Congratulating people who have just won a lot of money — be it from the lottery, a sweepstakes, or a slot machine jackpot — is like congratulating new parents. While the moment is incredibly joyful, just below the surface is an awareness that a corner has been turned and things will never be the same. Fact is, I believe winning, particularly when it’s millions of dollars, ranks among life’s most stressful events. I know, I know. I can hear you saying, “Just give me the chance!” I’ll admit it sure beats losing a job, but I’m convinced that winning millions is more stressful than moving across town.
In the course of my job with a slot machine company, I’ve met scores of winners, usually in the first few hours after they hit a jackpot. Because verification of the win takes time as a technician runs diagnostics on the machine, I watch, listen to, and question the newly rich. I’ve seen criers and hooters and hollerers (including one family that, in the best New Orleans tradition, second-lined through the casino!) and, most common of all, the winners who just stare, glassy-eyed, as they try to process what has happened to them.
I’ve come up with some generalizations, admittedly very subjective, from all this observation. Couples seem to handle it better than winners who are alone or with friends. Older folks are more stoic. Women are more willing to talk about the changes they want to make in their lives. Men are more likely to say, “It won’t change a thing.” If not already retired, nearly everyone says they’ll continue to work. But you have to love the handful of winners who call their boss and quit on the spot.
One of my assignments is to convince the lucky winner to sign the media release that allows the casino and the slot company to publicize the winner by name. I have all sorts of arguments in favor of going public: It’ll be fun to be the center of media attention, maybe even on a national show such as “Oprah” or the “Today Show” if the jackpot is large enough. But rarely do I use what I consider the most powerful argument of all: It won’t be the strangers who learn of the jackpot in the newspaper that make your life difficult. Rather, it’s likely that the people who will make you crazy will be friends and family, some of whom you may have already called to share the good news.
Sometimes it’s easy to see problems ahead. The mid-50s widow whose son-in-law is already answering for her and planning to “manage” her money. The buddy with the chip on his shoulder, a chip that just gets bigger with every beer.
And the winners with whom I’ve kept in touch tell me that some relationships fail altogether and others undergo a radical change. One multi-million-dollar winner told me that she became the de facto head of her family, was consulted on all sorts of decisions, and expected to contribute financially toward such things as nieces’ education. She was also expected to assume the full burden, emotionally as well as financially, of caring for her ailing parents.
It will come as no surprise, then, that well-adjusted people seem to weather instant wealth with the least guilt when they say “no” and with the most pleasure when they help others. But even the mildly neurotic — where I would classify myself — can take steps to make being a millionaire the dream you always imagined it would be. Here are my top five suggestions:
* Be realistic about just how much money you have won. Many jackpots are paid as an annuity and even a couple million paid out over 20 years isn’t really all that much money, especially after taxes.
* Give yourself some time. In the short term, check into a hotel or find another retreat for a couple of days to let it all sink in before having to confront
3/26/2004
I really enjoyed my first experience of playing poker online, in the LVA Poker Free Roll earlier this month. In fact, I’m trying to forget how much fun it was – I’m already at my computer too many hours a day. I can’t take as much fun as I used to! And Brad says to tell you that this goes double for him.
If you’re not getting mail offers from a casino where you’re playing, don’t assume you don’t qualify for any. I’ve had several reports recently of people checking their mail status at the slot club desk and finding that for some reason the “”No Mail”” box had been mistakenly marked on their account.
Conversely, remember that almost all casinos have this “”No Mail”” option for customers who request it. This could be for various reasons: They have a gambling problem and don’t want to be tempted by offers to get them back to the casino; they don’t want their spouse or significant other to know how much they gamble or which casinos they visit; or they just hate getting free offers in the mail!
When you eat at the two Ellis Island restaurants, they will give you a $5 matchplay coupon (one per person in your party) that must be played that day. They rarely offer this, however; you usually have to ask for it. Good way to pay the tip – on a long-term basis you’ll average about a $2.40 win per coupon. If you don’t know how to play table games, you need to read the long chapter on couponing in More Frugal Gambling. The Frugal Princess helps me explain how the novice table player can become savvy enough to at least play a coupon and quit losing hundreds of dollars by throwing away all table-play coupons.
Ian, a loyal reader of my writings, wrote to me recently: “”On the bottom of page 43 in More Frugal Gambling you write a passage explaining the origin of the term “”close but no cigar.”” (Some slot machines paid off in cigars) Many years ago I was told that the term was from the old carnival days, particularly the game where you use a mallet to strike a board, which in turn sends a hunk of metal upwards toward a bell. If you didn’t quite make it to the bell they’d say “”close but no cigar,”” because that was the prize back then. I was just wondering if you had heard this version also?””
No, I hadn’t heard this – but perhaps both versions are correct since the concept is the same.
Last week I had a guest columnist who wrote about winning huge jackpots. I’ve received a lot of mail from people responding to this article, particularly telling me what they would do if they won a humongous jackpot. Maybe some of you would like to share your thoughts about this subject. If so, you can e-mail me at [email protected]. I get too much mail to answer every personal e-mail, but I will choose the most interesting
responses and put them in a future column here.
By the way, we’ll be traveling around the country some in the next few months. Perhaps we’ll be in your area and you can stop us and say “”Hi”” if we meet. You can keep track of us by clicking on “”Calendar”” at the homepage of http://www.FrugalGambler.biz.