Thanks -- we've received a lot of positive feedback lately, so we figure we must be doing something right; it's always gratifying to hear back, especially in those instances when it's from the person who originally submitted the question, letting you know that they read the answer and were enlightened or entertained by it. It would be great to be able to give everyone a heads-up when their query comes to the top of the pile, but sadly time doesn't usually permit, plus we sometimes jiggle with the order in which upcoming questions are scheduled to run, so we'd hate to jerk your chain for nothing. (To the person who wanted a biography of Ed Thorp, yes, it will come, but we haven't found the time to do justice to it yet; likewise the one about the slot team that hit a jackpot at Caesars; and the one about the Las Vegas race track that was due to run today. Just bear with us!)
In terms of how many questions we receive per week, it varies, and is likely a reflection of how engaged our audience is with the recent answers. On average, however, we receive between four to eight questions per day -- today there were seven new queries, including this one -- although sometimes there's a spike, as with October 22, when 10 questions arrived, or November 4, when we received 13.
We keep most questions on file until they (or a close equivalent from someone else) has been answered, and at one point had access to an archive of more than 20,000 stockpiled queries; however, a couple of email moves have since taken place, so we're down to around 1,500 that are readily to hand. Those we delete on sight tend to be duplicates of past QoDs that we've already revisited (this column has been running since May 1, 2005, so that's a lot of Questions of the Day we've already addressed), or questions that are are either irrelevant, offensive, too niche or self-serving to be of interest to anyone but the questioner themselves, or else totally outside of the remit of this column (as in the case of someone who wrote in awhile back asking what to do because they thought a family member was being stalked).
We confess that we do have a separate sub-folder reserved for what are categorized as "Stupid Questions," but which is also a dumping ground for the incoherent and unintelligible etc. Occasionally, we indulge ourselves by airing our pretend answers to some of these, and perhaps it's time to investigate that Pandora's Box once again. It's all intended in good humor, but everyone needs to vent once in awhile, right?
As to what criteria we can guide you by if you'd like to have your question answered, do check the QoD Archives before you send it. We often receive a query that's pretty much identical to something we answered only a week or so prior, so you'll just be wasting your time to send it again so soon (and you'll hurt our feelings by revealing that you didn't read it when we ran it!) You don't have to be an LVA member to do an Archive search using a keyword or phrase; your search will bring up the questions, you just won't be able to read the answers without an up-to-date member login.
We like history, especially if it's a quirky topic (like the recent one on Henderson's Fun-land adventure park, for example) and we're not averse to getting our hands dirty with some serious sleuthing (e.g., the 11/22/13 question about Wayne Newton's talent show on E!, or the 10/03/13 epic about TV shows that had featured a "gang goes to Vegas" episode), but those ones often take awhile to get to, since we need to devote a chunk of time to them. Topical stories are cool every now and then, but those with a longer shelf-life, whether they be informative lifestyle-oriented topics or gambling-strategy queries, are popular with us since they have mass appeal and will have future relevance. We tend to stay clear of politics and other polarizing subjects that we feel are beyond the scope of this column, although we're not shy of addressing sensitive subjects, like the 11/30/13 question about casinos being sued for the effects of secondhand smoke.
We're also always keen to encourage submissions for future Reader Poll ideas, since we've run so many already and it can be tough coming up with new ideas all by ourselves. Again, just check to see if it's run before; if it's a new idea, so much the better; if not, is it a subject that's worth revisiting and has enough time elapsed to have potentially changed the outcome or the relevant factors affecting votes? If so, please feel free to submit your suggestion.
Thanks again for your interest, and do keep those ideas coming. Without them, there would be no Question of the Day!
