35 Years of Advantage Play – Part 6

Posted on June 12, 2020 by queen of comps

It is now December 31, 1991, on our path of smart gambling – and the day we made probably the most important decision in our 35+ years of casino play.

I’ve told this story before.  We were staying at the Westward Ho and decided to walk downtown to the Gambler’s Book Club and buy Lenny Frome’s book Expert Video Poker for Las Vegas. We had been reading and hearing about how good it was to play Deuces Wild (DW) and we needed to find the strategy.  Although we had fiddled around with other VP games for a year or so when we weren’t playing our main game of blackjack, I knew, from our BJ experience, that one need to know correct strategy.  Back at the ‘Ho that evening, I was holding the book open at the DW page while Brad was playing the quarter coin-dropper DW game.  At first, we would consult the chart for the proper hold for almost every hand, finding many were not intuitive and certainly nothing for which live poker experience gave us help.  (No software for practice – I didn’t buy my first computer until 1997!)

We played for several hours, picking up speed as we were learning some basic rules for frequent hand types and didn’t have to check the chart quite so frequently.  The casino was crowded with New Year’s Eve revelers and extremely smokey, giving me  a splitting headache. I was physically exhausted from that long walk to and from downtown – and mentally beat from all that strategy thinking.  So about 10 p.m. I decided I would escape the smoke and clamor and lie down in the room to ring in 1992.  Back then Brad always had more energy than I did and he wanted to continue playing.  So, I left him the book, reminding him not to “guess” but check the strategy chart if he wasn’t sure of a hold.  And off I went to our very basic motel room behind the casino.

It was probably about an hour or so later – I had fallen asleep – when Brad calmly came in the room.  I sat up and saw him throwing hundred-dollar bills all over the bed.

“What is all this?”

“I was dealt 4 diamond face cards and a miracle happened – up popped the missing jack of diamonds!”

We have had hundreds of jackpots since that night – many a lot larger than $1000 – but probably none with the same thrill.  You always remember your first time!!!!

Talk about love at first sight.  We dropped blackjack almost immediately and started playing VP, mainly Deuces Wild. This is not to say we never played BJ again. From ’92-94 we were still taking advantage of “Gamblers Spree” promotions that provided free rooms and table game chips.  We took many cruises over the years and always played BJ in their casinos because there wasn’t good VP offered.  And for many years we would do a BJ tournament when the entry was comped based on our heavy VP play.  Of course, a favorite gaming promotion down through the years was couponing, and this led us back to the BJ tables often.

Most of our play in the early ‘90’s was in Las Vegas.  We still flew there from Indy for most trips but started driving there once a year to stay 2-3 months to avoid Indiana winters.  When we were back home, we were still hitting the Tonk tables at the Moose Lodge and the crap games at the Catholic Church Monte Carlos, which provided us with the means to purchase a condo in ‘92 without touching our casino gambling bankroll!

When the Midwest riverboat gambling started, we interspersed our Vegas trips with frequent visits to the Par-a-Dice casino riverboat in Peoria and also made a couple trips to Sam’s Town in Tunica, MS.  Although we mostly played Deuces Wild during this time, we had learned 9/6 Jack-or-Better strategy and sometimes played that as a progressive.  I’ll never forget playing one in Peoria, with me hitting the royal and it not resetting.  We kept playing and an hour later Brad hit the higher progressive amount on the machine next to me.  We weren’t sure what was happening but the suits were scowling at us and shut down the whole bank of machines after they paid Brad!

We mostly stayed at the quarter level 3 ½ years with just a few forays into 50-cents and no inclination to go up to dollars.  Still hitting promotions heavily and learning to use the slot club comp system to the max, we were getting most of our rooms free, usually covering our expenses, and often making a small profit.  I was still keeping a “trip diary,” as opposed to logging daily or sessions numbers.  In our first year of VP (’92) we had 4 trips and won 3 out of 4.  Then we had what we considered a fantastic 1993, staying in casinos 106 days and covering expenses plus a $4579 profit.

Our flying high trips crashed in 1994, and we had to face the reality of the roller coaster of even “good” VP played with lots of promotions and benefits.  We won on 3 trips and lost on 6, with some of the losses high enough to make us a little uncomfortable with our decreasing bankroll.  I noted in my diary:  12 days of playing VP and not one royal.  No, we would not go up to dollars and face possible losses 4 times as much!

The first half of 1995 we went to the other side of the bell curve – the good side. In fact, we got lucky in a Stardust drawing and I won a car.  And we started to feel a little better, realizing that volatility was just something that we would have to get used to.  But we were happy being low rollers and I had even started taking notes that I might put into a book “someday,” one that would help others be successful low rollers.

And then came another big decision in July, 1995.  Stay tuned.

Posted in Advantage Play, Blackjack, Casino Promotions, Comps, Couponing, Craps, Memories, Non-Vegas Casinos, Slot Clubs, Travel, Video Poker | 8 Comments

35 Years of Advantage Play – Part 5

Posted on June 5, 2020 by queen of comps

Last week I ended my blog by stating that for our first 8 years of gambling the “total casino experience” was more important than our financial bottom line.  That is not to say that we could spend lavishly without thought.  For one thing, we had a very modest amount of discretionary income at that time, and we certainly weren’t people who would go into debt or tap retirement savings for entertainment options.  However, our goal was not to make a profit in gambling but to take reasonably-priced vacations by playing smart BJ and using the slot club benefits and comp system.

As tourists, “living” in casinos for long periods of time, although we played BJ several hours a day, we were always looking for fun things to do when we weren’t at the tables.  We both loved to travel, so we would often choose destinations where we could combine sightseeing and casino play.  We hoped from casino to casino couponing around town in Reno and then taking a scenic drive down to Tahoe. When we were in Atlantic City, we would leave the casino often to do our power walks up and down the boardwalk and perhaps drive to other beach towns and hit their boardwalks too. Several times we took a side trip by bus to see the sights of New York City, a memorable one over Christmas to see the holiday decorations.

We took a short-term cat-sitting job in Maryland so we could tour the sights in Washington and then found out about gambling in some of the local firehouses.  It was run as a “charity” and the food served by the ladies auxiliary was terrific.  And the BJ games, staffed by volunteers, offered good rules so we sat down and played.  We were very naive back then and didn’t wonder if everything was on the up-and-up since there didn’t seem to be any good oversight much less governmental regulations.  After awhile I told Brad I was going to go play poker.  I don’t know my thinking at that time to make such a bad move.  Unlike Brad, who had played poker his whole life, I had little experience in the game, barely knowing the basics. Maybe the gambling gods take pity on silly amateurs.  Anyway, about an hour into this low-stakes Hold’Em game I was in shock when I ended up making a royal flush hand. I tried to stay cool but I think my face probably turned white –   I didn’t get any calls on the river and the pot was small!  However, I did take down the $500 bonus being offered for that hand.  No friendly congrats – the table was full of frowning local old men who didn’t appreciate an out-of-town interloper.  Brad and I hightailed it out of there very soon after!  It might have been a “charity” endeavor, but we suspected it probably was run by a criminal element.

We expanded our travels out of the country, taking six cruises during this time period, always playing blackjack in the ship casino between shore excursions.  We hit Central American and island ports, went through the Panama Canal locks, and then a long Mediterranean voyage visiting many sea ports.  We even rented a car and took a long road trip around Europe, where we visited and played BJ in a London casino, in one in Luxembourg, and two different ones in the Netherlands.

However, we spent the most time in Vegas, with longer and longer visits after Brad retired.  And in Vegas there was never an end to entertainment options.  Since long brisk walks was our exercise of choice those days, we could hit the many casino promotions up and down the whole Strip, like no-fee daily slot tournaments and free pulls on slot machines.  With some you would always win something, maybe just a free drink or a kitschy souvenir:  keychains (I used to collect these and had dozens), magnets (I still have some of these on the front of my frig), cheap logo hats or Fannie packs.  But at times you could snag something more valuable:  a T-shirt, a free afternoon show ticket, or maybe a comped buffet.  I don’t know how many Sands mugs we picked up as we walked the Strip – probably dozens – so many that all our friends and relatives started declining these “gifts.”  And– of course – we always hit the free popcorn at Slots-A-Fun.

I don’t need to mention how important couponing was during those days;  I’ve written about it many times.   Not only were these a positive play, often a better return per hour than playing low-level BJ, they gave us a break in our long walks and a chance to check out many different casinos. In my first Frugal book, I talk about how we would tip maids and they would save coupon books former guests had left behind.  I remember one valuable coupon book that was often found by the maids, because many visitors weren’t going to go off- Strip just to use a coupon.   But they gave us motivation to take the coupons and hike from the Strip over to Palace Station several days a week, with one memorable visit when we hit a big payout on the free keno coupon.  I also remember Brad telling me we should be “fair” and not just play a few hands to use a VP coupon and then run.

“Okay, we’ll play for a little longer,” I relented.

And then what happened?  He hit a $1000 royal flush.

“I don’t think the casino is going to be impressed with your fairness!”

When we stayed downtown, there were never-ending interesting things to do – the ubiquitous promotions like on the Strip and many coupon books that often included free food.  One – I think it was the Plaza – had a coupon for a free breakfast – pancakes? – and there was also a coupon that you gave to the waiter that covered the tip!  We used to buy valuable coupon books given out freely by the Western Casino from those customers that preferred cash to coupons. One coupon was for a free bingo session. I have always hated bingo – thought it was the most boring game one could play.  But free is free and I temporarily lowered my standards, successfully picking up some cash wins!

Another interesting thing we did when we were downtown was to go to court.  We’d go to the courthouse and asked a security guard where the most interesting trial was going on and he would point out that courtroom.  We enjoyed some pretty good juicy drama!

I never remember using a taxi to get around those days – not frugal I thought – so we would use the bus or shuttles to add new destinations to our daily walks.  Once we started to drive from Indianapolis to Vegas to stay long periods, avoiding the cold Indiana winters, we could expand our entertainment activities.  We liked to visit companies that gave visitor tours, learning the manufacturing details for cranberry juice, clown figurines, potato chips, chocolate candy, and marshmallows. This last one was popular when the grandkids came to town. Speaking of kids, we spent a lot of non-gambling time entertaining out-of-town friends and relatives.

I could write endlessly on the fun factor in Las Vegas, but I must wrap up this long detour.  If you are interested in more of these memories, I talk a lot about our early casino years in my first Frugal book, especially in the chapter “Long Term in Las Vegas.”

I will return to the math in my next blog, reporting how changing games gave our positive expectation a major boost!

Posted in Advantage Play, Atlantic City, Blackjack, Casino Promotions, Couponing, Harrahs Lake Tahoe, Memories, Non-gambling Activities, Non-Vegas Casinos, Reno, Slot Clubs, Travel, Vegas History, Video Poker | 8 Comments

35 Years of Advantage Play – Part 4

Posted on May 28, 2020 by queen of comps

Last week I took a slight detour off memory lane for a news flash about a possible tax break being considered that might be of interest to both recreational and more serious casino gamblers.  (If you want more info about this tax issue, I suggest you check out my fellow LVA blogger’s discussion on this.  In fact, I highly recommend David McKee’s “Stiffs & Georges” if you want sharp, insightful, fear-no-one casino business news coverage, no matter how controversial.)

I did add some old nostalgic photos to that last blog.  To answer one question about one of them:  No, the picture with the MGM lion was not photoshopped.  However, the thick glass partition between us and the lion did not show!

Now back to the memory path where we left off in the late 80’s when Brad retired and we excitedly embarked on a  travel life full time, making frequent flights from our home in Indianapolis to Vegas and staying longer and longer each trip by learning to maximize the comp system for free room nights and other benefits.

We were still playing blackjack, but I was starting to read about video poker.  In January of 1990, Brad insisted I go with him over to the Stardust, where he “confessed” he had been going for a few months.  I knew he had been taking long breaks from our BJ sessions at the Westward Ho when the count turned bad but didn’t wonder about them too much since he has always liked to “wander around” other casinos.  I knew one favorite haunt was Slots-A-Fun because he would always come back with his free bag of popcorn.  (Brad has always been an eagle-eyed scout for free popcorn, and one thing that influenced his “like” for the apartment complex we chose this year was a movie room in the clubhouse that has an always-full  fresh popcorn wagon!)

When I finally agreed to go over to the Stardust with him, he showed me a bank of nickel VP machines with a small car on top.  “I’ve been trying to win that car.”

I repeated my constant refrain, “We have to stick to BJ; machines are for losers.”

“But these VP machines are so much fun.  And no pit bosses breathing down your neck to see if you are one of those terrible card counters.”

Then I saw a banner about a “slot club,” something I hadn’t known about.   I decided to check it out, and finding it was free and gave some free benefits, we joined.  I told Brad that if he was going to play these machines sometimes, at least use this slot card and we can see if we earn some freebies.

My memory about this time is not very clear.  I think we “fiddled around” playing a little bit of VP and perhaps I had read to look for 9/6 Jacks or Better, maybe in one of the freebie publications I would pick up in casinos while looking for promotions.  Not sure I had seen – and certainly hadn’t studied –  strategy details then.  Just playing “seat-of-the-pants,” using experience we had gained in live poker.   How little did I know about VP then!

We did start playing BJ at the Stardust and showing our slot cards –  and those freebies the slot club had advertised started appearing in our mailbox, usually 3-night comped rooms and often parties, which were even better than those we were offered by the Westward Ho.  And always pictures – casinos took a lot of pictures those days.

My financial records are still not very detailed for ’90-’91.  Even though we are traveling out of town more now that Brad is retired, when we are back in town we are still ravaging the Tonk games at the Moose and the crap games at the Catholic Monte Carlo’s, adding fat profits to our gambling bankroll.  However, we are still adding to our casino win/loss figures our travel expenses, which include airfare and any room nights and food that wasn’t comped.  So that total is still a minus figure.  But I had learned so much by then about running down special promotions and using coupons and slot club benefits that our long vacations were taking less and less money out of our pockets.  Actually if we counted the value of the comps we were on the plus side!

WAIT!  Suddenly, looking over my notes for these first 8 years of casino gambling so I can write about them, I am hit hard with the realization that there was something more important to us than winning those days.  It wasn’t just the games we loved -it was the excitement of the total casino experience.  My notes are very sketchy on financials, but I had put in many details describing the fun stuff we did the many hours when we were not sitting at a BJ table.

So…in my next blog I will stray temporarily from the arithmetic  of advantage play and tell you about some of that fun stuff during our early casino years.  Seems like I remember that more vividly!

Posted in Advantage Play, Blackjack, Casino Promotions, Comps, Craps, It's Personal, Memories, Slot Clubs, Video Poker | 9 Comments

News Flash

Posted on May 21, 2020 by queen of comps

I am temporarily stopping my memory serial  about Brad’s and my 35-year walk down the path of casino advantage play to bring you some possibly good news for gamblers during this terrible pandemic.

Gaming industry leaders are once again seeking to change the reporting threshold for slot machine jackpots and bingo winnings, saying the $1,200 figure is antiquated and needs to be increased.  They believe the Trump Administration’s effort to identify regulatory reform opportunities could be the vehicle that allows the industry to finally reach its goal.—Howard Stutz, CDC Gaming Reports 

You can read the whole article here.

Of course, this news may not be nearly as important as it would have been back a few years ago when good gambling opportunities abounded.  Especially for video poker advantage players, the worry now is that paytables will be slashed even more  and/or promotions will be anemic as casinos try to plump up their bottom lines during low customer numbers  as the casinos start to reopen.

It is definitely a wait-and-see period.

——–

I will continue the walk down memory lane in my next blog.  But in the meantime, here are some very old pics I just ran across.  Maybe some of you had some of these same poses from back in the 80’s.

Posted in Advantage Play, Casino Policy, Coronavirus, Good Reads, It's Personal, Memories | 9 Comments

35 Years of Advantage Play – Part 3

Posted on May 15, 2020 by queen of comps

1989 was a major transitional year in our lives.  The government was in the midst of a RIF (reduction in force) for civil service employees.  Brad had in his 30 years at Naval Avionics in Indianapolis, but although he was only in his late 50’s and was able to continue working, we decided it would be a smart move for him to take the generous buyout and retire.  Did the thought pass our minds that we could now go to casinos more often?  You bet it did!!

We decided to change our gambling style and leave the junkets, where we would need to take –  and sometimes lose –  several thousand dollars for usually just 3 or 4 days of fun. We figured we could take that same bankroll to Las Vegas, stick to playing lower level blackjack stakes, and we could have fun for longer periods of time.  So, we planned our first after-retirement trip for the month of June in Vegas.

Things did not go well.  We hit a long losing stretch the first two weeks.  We got a little scared – me especially!!!!   I told Brad we must change our air reservations to return back to Indianapolis a week earlier.  He didn’t think that was necessary – we weren’t running out of money and we were still having a lot of fun.  I said I just couldn’t have fun losing money that fast.  He had been gambling his whole life and knew all about volatility.  I just hadn’t had enough experience.

Well, the minute I changed the reservations, we started winning and that next week recouped most of our earlier losses.  We could have changed back our reservations to stay that 4th week, but we decided to go home at the 3-week mark and enjoy our hard-won victory.  I needed a rest after my first fierce battle with volatility.

We flew to Vegas a couple more times that year and many more in ’90 and ’91, increasing our stays from 10 days to up to a month.  We went through other losing streaks, but we were learning not to panic but just keep on the track of advantage play.

As we had learned in the earlier days, comps and promotions would be the thing that would smooth out the rough patches during these years. We had decided to no longer do those high-level junkets to exotic destinations, but in fact the casinos were not offering these as much anyway.  We did take advantage of something called “charters,” catering to more mid-level gamblers. These packages would bundle flights and free rooms and sometimes other perks.  You could purchase the package for a low price or you might be comped the whole package if you had a previous history of play. We did a couple of these from Indy to Atlantic City.  (And there are – or were before Corona – many of these same type of charters available currently.  For example, Harrah’s Laughlin brought in hundreds of players every month from smaller cities all over the country.)

We were getting many of our room nights free during these years, but not all.  So, we did many “Gambler’s Sprees.”  I forget the details now – what we paid – not much I don’t think – but I remember they would usually provide 3 nights free room and a certain number of gambling chips and perhaps some other perks like free meals or shows – always a good value over the cost.   We did one or more of these during our long Vegas stays – mainly at the Riviera, Stardust, and 4 Queens.

The casinos were promotion-crazy during this time – and I never saw a promotion I wouldn’t check out.  Slot tournaments abounded, often including comped room nights – some being free for established customers, but even some that had an entry fee  provided high-value comps.  We really jumped on the “cash programs,” like pay $200 and get $400 in chips.  We even did a couple of the crazy Stupak Stratosphere packages.  And I don’t need to talk about coupons – most of you have heard many stories of my incessant search: sweet-talking  – and a few tips – to get the room attendants to save all the coupon books left behind by former occupants;  walking from one end of the Strip to the other to use a high-value coupon; and to my daughter’s embarrassment, picking through mustard-laden trash at the Westward Ho for unused mini-breakfast coupons.

During these early 90’s when we weren’t traveling to Vegas and other gambling destinations, we were still making a lot of money – to cover our travel expenses – playing Tonk at the Moose Lodge.  And still plundering the Catholic Monte Carlo’s.

——-

Okay, quit begging and I’ll stop to answer some of your persistent questioning.  Here’s how I made money at the crap tables.

This was not casino craps – this was “street craps.” A dinky crap table with no nice green felt with markings, just a plain wooden surface.  A shooter would throw out to the middle his bet – whatever amount he could afford.  Then one person – or several people if the bet was large – would throw money to “cover” it.  (The middle was a bad bet since the church would take half of the money before paying the winners!!!) Once the “church’s money” was covered, all of us around the table could do side bets.  This was fast and furious action.

If the number rolled was “8,” I might throw down $10 or $20 on the side in front of me and shout “no 6.”  Someone who wanted to bet on the “6” would cover my bill with his corresponding bill. But if the table was full, I might have several people wanting to bet me, so I would have a row of bills in front of me all properly “covered.”   Some would want the “8” too.

“Okay, if you insist, I’ll cover the “6” and the “8” – just throw your money down here.”

If you know craps math, you know I had a nice edge.  But here is where the fun really started.  I would offer the same “no” bet whatever the numbers these crazy side betters wanted.  And the men (mostly young men at the table) would fight to get their bet down on my money even if the number was “4” or “10.”  When the shooter made the number, I would loudly complain as everyone picked up the money in front of me. However, when a “7” came up, I would just smile and scoop up all the bills, not wanting to draw any attention to the fact I was collecting fistfuls of money.

Occasionally some old codger would mutter something about “odds.”  The young men would ignore him, “We’re feeling lucky betting here with Grandma.”

I didn’t feel like it was my place to explain that some women – even old ones – could, contrary to widespread common belief, understand craps!

Posted in Advantage Play, Atlantic City, Blackjack, Casino Promotions, Comps, Couponing, Craps, Four Queens, It's Personal, Memories, Stratosphere, Travel | 5 Comments

35 Years of Advantage Play – Part 2

Posted on May 9, 2020 by queen of comps

The saga continues.  After I posted Part 1 and then re-read it, I realized how the “background material” was overwhelming the “financial report.”  I must tighten up and quit rambling I said to myself.  But then I read all the comments here and on Facebook where I also post these blogs.  Seems that many enjoy reading the “stories” and are liking the idea of my weaving in the figures leisurely as I detail the memories.

Despite the heated argument of what should and should not open up again during this pandemic there seems to be almost universal agreement that people at high risk (like the elderly and those with medical issues) should continue to stay at home – perhaps indefinitely. So, it looks like I might have plenty of time to reminisce while wandering unhurried down this 35-year path. And surprising enough, without her knowing in advance about this project, daughter Angela brought me for Mother’s Day a most wonderful inspirational gift she had made – 2 albums of pictures she had found while going through old boxes of keepsakes found in her closets and mine. I will never run out of memories!

To continue about our early blackjack years, almost from the first I realized that the comp game was going to be an important factor in becoming successful gamblers. Later down the path when we were able to make a profit from our actual play, we would consider comps as “gravy.”  But during these early years we included the comps since we really were not as skilled at card counting as we wanted to be.  Brad had a natural talent for numbers and was better at it than I was.  Words were more my forte, and although I put in a lot of study and practice and effort, I found I would lose the count too often, having to go back to basic strategy until I could restart.  Another reason we were including comp benefits in our figures was that we were also trying to cover expenses, like airfare.

During 1986-89 we found a comp benefit that afforded us vacations that were beyond our wildest dreams – gambling junkets.  Actually, a junket host found us – at the BJ seminar we had attended during our early study of the game.  I look back on this time and still am amazed that these two novice players with a pretty modest bankroll felt they could go from red chips up to green.  These junkets had pretty high minimum gambling requirements. We sometimes protested that we were afraid we wouldn’t qualify, but the junket organizer would just brush off our fears and say that he needed us to fill up the plane.

So off we went every few months.  A small executive private jet to Tahoe. With a group on a commercial flight to Puerto Rico.  With most of the couples on these junkets only one of them gambled – so Brad and I managed to keep qualifying since both of us played.  A charter to Atlantic City. A flight to the Riviera in Las Vegas.  A phone call from the junket guy, “Did we want to go to Santo Domingo?”  Of course – that sounded exotic.  All we had to ask was “Where is Santo Domingo?”

And finally, the ultimate invitation: “Would we like to go on a 7-day trip to Monte Carlo, with a 3-day stop in Paris on the way?” That took a little while to ponder – there was a hefty 20k upfront deposit to assure that we gambled to the required minimum level. That deposit, if lost, and possible heavy losses at the BJ table would pretty much wipe out our savings for gambling for the next year or two or three – or forever.  The thought was scary.  But it sounded like a trip of a lifetime.

And it was.  Here is Brad in our ornate French Provincial digs at a luxury Monte Carlo hotel.

And we were easily able to gamble to the required minimum level – but kind of a funny story about that.  Funny now – but scary then.  We were gambling with French francs – Brad and I at 2 different tables.  After the first hour, I went over to see how Brad was doing and about had a heart attack.

“Stop! Are you up or down?”

“If I win this next hand I’ll be about even.”

“Thank goodness.  Pull all those chips back!”

Although he is usually very good with numbers, the francs had confused him.  He had been betting $500 a hand instead of what he thought was $50.

Sometimes the gambling gods take pity!

Oops, I need to finish now and I haven’t put in the figures for 1984-88.  My records are so messy.  I need to pull out non-casino winnings (which were large at Tonk and Catholic Church Monte Carlo craps) and travel expenses and drill down to BJ numbers only. One exact figure is that we spent 224 days playing BJ during those years. However, exact win/loss figures are not so easy to come by.  It looks like the numbers circled in red outnumber those in green.  But as I go through and add the estimated value of the high-level comps we enjoyed during that junket period, it looks like we were comfortably financially achieving our goal of “breaking even” and having wonderful vacations.

Next blog will take up our journey in 1989 when Brad retired and we became full-time casino wanderers.  And glory be – I finally started keeping more organized records and will be able to give a more exact financial picture.

Posted in Advantage Play, Atlantic City, Bankroll, Blackjack, Comps, Craps, Harrahs Lake Tahoe, It's Personal, Memories, Non-Vegas Casinos, Travel | 13 Comments

35 Years of Advantage Play – Part 1

Posted on May 4, 2020 by queen of comps

I’ve dragged out boxes full of hard-copy gambling records from the last 35 years. They safely survived two major moves – from Indianapolis to Las Vegas and now to Georgia, where they are scattered all over my office. When every desk and table and cabinet surface is full, the floor becomes an organizing station.

How to tackle this monster project! How to describe such a long road!  And how can I give a final financial report when there were so many stages and changing circumstances.

I guess I will start at the beginning – that’s always a good starting point! I will give some details about our activities and the gambling environment so that when I mention the financial details they will make more sense than if there was no background information.  An important note here:  I did not keep good records in the early years. How could I know then that 35 years later I would really want to remember some of those little details!

After our first trip to Vegas in 1984 as purely unknowledgeable recreational gamblers, we had decided that we needed to study so we wouldn’t lose as much as we had that time and we could go more often.  We didn’t know about video poker then – most people didn’t – so we started studying blackjack.  We read books from the library and went to a seminar and bought a workbook that described and gave instructions for card counting.  We practiced at home with cards on our kitchen table.  If there was Internet help, we didn’t know about it since I didn’t yet have a computer.

That first trip in April – when we had stayed at the Landmark but played mostly at the Westward Ho – generated a surprising invitation from the ‘Ho that came in the mail just a couple of weeks after we returned home. Wow!!! Free room for 3 nights, free mini-breakfasts every day, a free tournament, and a free party. “Free” had always been my favorite word and now I was seeing a wonderful world opening up to us just by giving our names to the BJ pit boss on that first trip.  I’m not sure I even realized then that these were called “comps.”    But “free” was a strong enough word to get my attention.

Soooo…we felt we just must return to take advantage of these free things, a feeling that would be an overwhelming motivator for the next 35 years.   We crunched the numbers and decided that with the Westward Ho freebies we could afford an “inexpensive vacation” back to Vegas in Sept.  On this second Vegas trip Brad ignored the slots he played – and lost on – that first trip and joined me at the BJ table where we both started using our very rudimentary card-counting skills. Then in November we went on our first cruise – a 4-night trip on the Carnival on which we were less excited about shore excursions in Freeport and Nassau than playing BJ, honing our skills in the little ship casino  from the time they opened until they closed  down in the wee hours of the morning.

We continued  getting regular  mailings from the Westward Ho so returned in March and May of 1985 and despite the sketchy records I have for this time period, I did note our first (of many more as we would find out later) airline bump of $800 TWA credit.  Hurrah – that would pay for our next TWO trips to Vegas!  Coupled with freebies the ‘Ho sent us regularly, we could take more frequent vacations than we would ordinarily be able to afford.

Our next casino trip was a 10-day road trip to Atlantic City, with lots of BJ play every day. Still doing very sketchy record-keeping.  But after modest losses (in red) in our previous low-level BJ play, I finally could add a green entry for this trip: “Broke Even.”   And a note I added then makes me smile now: “We know how. Start cumulative records.”

Little did I know how little we knew!

We were still in the “elementary school of gambling.”  But I did start keeping a little more detailed records, although diary-style in a 3-ring binder, adding pages frequently as our casino trips increased.  (It would be years until I broke down and bought a computer although I continued with mostly pen-and-paper records to the very end.)   Although Brad was still working full time, he had a lot of vacation time in his government job, and we took many casino trips for the next few years. At the end of 1988, I made a summary in my diary of those first 5 years: “33 casino vacations at the cost of $287 each.”

Looking back at my skeleton notes now, there is a problem with those figures.  First, we counted all expenses for these trips, including airfare.  And casino visits weren’t the only kind of gambling we were doing.  When we weren’t out of town on those usually short 3- or 4-day trips, we were doing heavy Tonk play at the local Moose Lodge just down the street. We never could figure out exactly what advantage percentage we had in that game full of mostly – how can I put this politely…well …not very savvy gamblers. All I know is that we made enough money over those years to pay cash for our Indianapolis condo and finance a lot of our travel during those years. I also made a lot of money at Catholic Church Monte Carlo crap tables. (That is a long and so far untold  story in itself.)  And we added all that income to our casino gambling figure.

There is another problem with my figures those first 5 years.  We had the common mindset that one could never beat a casino game.  I figured we could maybe break even counting cards at BJ.  But I was quickly learning that if you played the comp game wisely, you could take marvelous vacations for free.  And that was our only goal those early years.

I can see now that this “financial report” I promised may take more background explanation than I planned.  So, I just added Part 1 to the title and I will continue this saga in my next blog.

Posted in Advantage Play, Atlantic City, Blackjack, Comps, Craps, It's Personal, Memories, Slots, Vegas History, Video Poker | 14 Comments

THE NUMBERS GAME

Posted on April 24, 2020 by queen of comps

Someone reminded me that, when I wrote about our February visit back to Vegas, I promised I would talk about our casino play on that trip. In the Feb 26th blog I wrote: “I will probably surprise you with details about how much we played and what games we chose.”

How the world has changed.  That Vegas trip, probably being our last, was a high-point in our life at the time. That occurred less than two months ago!  But today it is far back in my mind; so much pandemic chaos fills my brain and floods my thinking – as it does for most everyone.

Is talking about the details of that visit a suitable blog topic?

Right after we came home from that trip, I got to work on our 2019 taxes.  At that time the tax return deadline was still April 15, and I needed to gather up all the paperwork and send it by mid-March to Russell Fox (who not only was a valuable contributor to the last edition of Tax Help for Gamblers but our personal tax preparer as well).

When I finished that job for the 2019 return, as was my custom every year I transferred some of that information to our cumulative gambling record covering 35 (!) years.  (This record is mostly hard-copy since I never really embraced spreadsheets.  I’m lucky to add and subtract on Excel!)

It was at this point I was hit with the realization that this was now a final gambling accounting – for us.  It was our long-term.

I have talked about long-term and short-term ever since I began writing about gambling 22+ years ago.  For us, when we started advantage play 35 years ago, I believed in my head the math concept of the long-term – but in real casino life it was hard emotionally to take big one-time losses and even harder when we were in long stretches and it seemed we would never see another royal flush.  But hard as it was, we kept the faith.  We also buckled down during those times; we became more disciplined, studied harder, scouted more for better EV game choices, and were extra careful not to over bet our bankroll.

So, I have decided, starting in my next blog, to share with you some of the financial history of our 35 years of advantage gambling.  It is a picture of a wild roller-coaster!  But maybe it will help some of you who plan to get on that wild ride again when casinos finally open. And then I will eventually get to the question I posed here earlier – maybe talking about the short-term will shed more light on the long-term.

A personal note here:  I have been battling allergy, sinus, flu, and cold symptoms for a month now – everything except a high fever.  Of course, the thought crossed my mind that I might have the corona virus, but I really didn’t think so.  I often have had this allergy-based battle in the spring, and it wasn’t surprising that I probably wasn’t sensitized yet to the pollen in GA.  Finally, going to the doctor for some antibiotics when it seemed like viruses were leading to more serious bacterial issues, I was given a Covid-19 test. Not surprising, knowing GA was way down on the scale of testing, I didn’t get the results back for 10 days but I was happy it turned out to be negative.  Now I just have to be patient while my bronchitis – very slowly – goes away.

(Speaking of testing.  My grandson Zachary, who hadn’t been  home from Afghanistan very long, is again away from his family.  His National Guard unit has been activated once more – this time to fight the Corona virus.  They have been decontaminating nursing homes and now are helping to set up more much-needed testing sites.   I am so proud of him – and proud of his wife Taylor who is holding down the fort at home with 3 sweet but never-still kiddies!)

And a final note: I don’t care that our governor is letting us out of jail today – far too early according to the scientists and doctors I choose to trust.  Brad and I are staying in for a good bit longer.  We are seasoned gamblers but I like the odds a little more in our favor!

Posted in Bankroll, Coronavirus, It's Personal, Medical, Taxes, Video Poker | 14 Comments

Scattered Thoughts

Posted on April 15, 2020 by queen of comps

I always have a list – actually many files – titled “Things I Will Write About Sometime,” many coming from reader questions and comments. Here are some of those things – some recent – some old.

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Learning a new word, from someone who responded to my sadness about not being able to hug my little great-grands during this pandemic.  He said I am missing “oxytocin.”  Yes, I can’t wait until I can satisfy this “cuddle hormone.”

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Many readers have commented about the Blackjack Ball that I wrote about in an earlier blog.    I think there is perhaps a growing interest in blackjack, particularly among players who in the past had concentrated their casino action to VP. For one reason, this stay-at-home period has given them the extra time they knew they needed to study a new game. And another reason is that many fear that video poker conditions, which had already been deteriorating fast before the shut-down, might become even worse when casinos open again.  They want more options.  In that blog I gave a list of links to writings about the Blackjack Ball.  Here are a couple more recent and very detailed ones by Henry Tamburin – Part 1 and Part 2.

One caution here: This Corona shutdown, no matter how long it lasts, will not be enough time to become a “blackjack expert.”  The learning curve for any gambling game is steep and long. It is not just learning the rules and strategy.  It isn’t even just practicing for hours or even days on software programs.  That is all good but it also requires in-person experience – lots of it.  For someone who is just starting out on the BJ path – or any other game path for that matter – the best you can expect when the casinos reopen is to lose a little less money than you would have if you never studied.  And for the recreational gambler that is a worthy goal.

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Every once in awhile a newbie would ask me whether Brad and I gambled smart when we first started visiting Vegas.  That first visit was in 1984.  Just last month we reached the 36-year milestone.  I would point them to a blog I wrote 6 years ago about that first visit.

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A few people have been asking what happened to my queenofcomps.com website. It was run by someone else since I am not technically savvy enough to handle such a thing.  It served a good purpose for many years, but needed a major update.  So, it was decided to have visitors to that site re-directed here to the LVA website.  Much of the information there was updated and you can now find it by just looking above this blog and you will be able to click on a couple of new tabs.  The “About Jean Scott” one is a bio with info that has been accumulating for many years  – and I added needed up-to-date details.  Click on the next new tab and you will find links to articles that often reveal unfamiliar details of our frugal gambling life.  You will also find a list of  websites and resources that can help you achieve better gambling results.  I plan to keep these pages up to date as things change, probably majorly when the casinos reopen.

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And now for a recent comment here on my blog.  I often get a smile from many of the comments you all write.  But this one made Brad and me laugh for hours.

It is with the greatest respect I write this…
I’ve told endless numbers of gamblers about your book The Frugal Gambler. It changed the way I play and I have so enjoyed your informative comments. Thanks again.

But, I write this to let you know that I predicted this would happen……..if you and Brad ever left Vegas the entire place would shut down!

Posted in Blackjack, Comments, Coronavirus, Gambling Resources, Memories | 3 Comments

Stop Being Sensible????

Posted on April 5, 2020 by queen of comps

I have had trouble settling down to write this blog.  And the truth of the matter is that I am slightly depressed.  Everyone is slightly – or majorly – depressed these days, you might say.  But the Corona virus is not what is keeping me from writing this blog.  It is the result of reading another blog – VitalVegas.     I had seen mention of this blog for years, but I had been too busy writing books, and articles, and my own blog while fitting in personal in-the-casino activity to give this blog a read.

Well, I have more leisure time now.  And for a couple of nights I have been staying up half the night to catch up on this new-to-me writing.  I am blown away by it.  Perhaps partly because I am so familiar with the subject material – I have been to or heard about or even written about most of the subjects.  But most of all I am in awe about a writing style that grabs the reader by the neck – and never lets go.

I long to write like that.  But my work will never be described as edgy.  For over 20 years I deliberately tried to avoid as much as possible pointing out the negative aspects of Las Vegas and casinos, concentrating on giving positive advice on how to cope with the reality.  I took the little-Miss-Sunshine role.  And to be absolutely frank, at times I didn’t name names because I wanted to protect my own hunting grounds!

In the last couple years or so, I did begin to point out areas where I thought casinos were being unwise.  I never blamed the casinos for not wanting people like me who were negatively affecting their profitability (even though I thought they were overreacting to an extremely small issue) but I saw and wrote about those draconian actions that were negatively affecting all their customers.

I thought about the comparison between “VitalVegas” and this blog.  Probably the most common adjective readers – even my most loyal fans – would use to describe “Frugal Vegas” might be “sensible” (like sensible shoes – not very fashion-forward but more comfortable).  I wondered if I could make this blog a little more edgy, a little more in-your-face.  I could try – maybe?

But I did think of one possibly more forward-thing I could do – I could start taking and posting selfies.  I have always considered them in the realm of anxious middle-school girls who lack self-confidence – and, not surprising, many of their male counterparts (most who have temporarily dropped out of the human race to become monkeys who are fixated on their private parts). However, sadly, also the adult realm seemed to be crowded with narcissism. So I tried to stay out of that realm.

But yesterday Brad and I was sitting on the beach at our apartment complex lake, not near anyone else so we were observing proper social distancing, and a new thought popped into my head. Time to try something new – and besides I wanted to show how a faux palm tree, with colorful coconuts, could lift one’s spirits – at least temporary – in this dark time.  Here is my first selfie:

NOTE: I will unfriend or de-friend anyone who comments that I am looking good. I don’t look particularly good at all. I haven’t put on makeup or curled my naturally straight straggly hair for weeks – and I don’t plan to do so for at least a month – and maybe longer.

Here is my second selfie:

You may comment on the second selfie if you don’t gush – the longer I don’t cut Tom’s hair, the curlier and thicker it looks, which seems a little unfair to me.

I’m not sure if I will ever take another selfie.  It didn’t seem to inspire me to write edgy words and I don’t feel like addressing anyone right in their face.

I may just have to continue writing sensibly until I can find a new and comfortable style.  Hang on, readers, who knows what the future holds here.

Posted in Casino Policy, Gaming Writing, Interesting Reads, It's Personal | 18 Comments