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... And putting it all on red or black.
People must do it, in fact it's probably pretty common.
Even so, it must be a terrifying/ exhilarating experience.
If you won, could you stop yourself and walk away? Or "just bet half of the winnings again" then walk away, or at least tell yourself you would...
Could you deal with the crushing blow of losing every penny you had if it went wrong?
crushing blow of losing every penny you had if it went wrong?
Meh, it's a Tenner... no biggy 🙂
No, my uncle was chairman of Genting Casinos.
The house always wins.
I went to Vegas once and won £32 playing roulette. never gambled since
If I went back to vegas it would be to go here
https://www.thepunkrockmuseum.com/
nah because you'd lose it all very quickly - the odds are stacked against you - and then you are stuck in vegas with no money waiting for a flight and feeling crushed.
the trip itself would not be cheap and then the ramifications of dealing with the loss at home. very bad idea.
If I was in Vegas with every penny I had, and was prepared to end up with nothing, I would be visiting brothels and drug dealers, not casinos
Vegas brothels would probably give you a more lasting reminder of your trip than losing all your money at the tables
People must do it
Have you ever been to Las Vegas? They like to portray it as glamorous as Ocean's 11 or Rainman, but the reality is rows and rows of folks called Ethel or Ray; all wearing slacks with elasticated waists and golf shirts that aren't safe around naked flames, soullessly feeding dimes into slot machines in an attempt to use their children's inheritance before they die.
Have you ever been to Las Vegas?
Yes, quite a few times and even got married there (second marriage, didn't want any fuss and we were going anyway)
The slot machines are as you say but Blackjack, Roulette and especially Craps are great fun.
I have never left Vegas with less money than I started (on gambling anyway - removing the food and drink costs)
Funnily enough this question sort of came up during Sam Bankman Fried's trial.
A witness testified his approach was, if you could flip a coin and heads would improve the world by over 100%, but tails destroys the world altogether, he would do it repeatedly.
In a remarkable coincidence, his business was destroyed altogether.
Nope, my idea of hell, and ive never gambled in my life as ive never had "spare money", apart from a few 10p coins in the fruit machine at the chip shop as a kid
Nope.
There was a TV programme o few years back where a guy did just that. Sold everything and put £200k ish iirc on red or black on a single roulette spin. That’s not even 50:50 as there are two green (0 & 00) in American roulette. Fortunately for him he won. He was a serial gambler/ poker player and the whole thing was pretty depressing. Still watched it all though.
I was in Vegas a few years back and popped into Binions Horseshoe to check out the Poker tables. Every table was full of muppets gradually losing money to one "pro" per table ...
There was an apprentice at work that took his full paypacket, complete with 7 days overtime money to the casino and put it all on black. He'd lost it all before he'd got halfway through his beer.
My idea of hell, so no.
I had the misfortune of going to a couple of casinos in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, a horrid experience. Across the road one steps into California where the rules were completely different and a much nicer place with beautiful scenery, wildlife and a much nicer vibe.
Chap I lodged with would go pretty regularly, as casinos would comp his room & food, and would come back with stories of winning thousands.
And just as regularly, he would come back without any stories. I assume he didn’t stay in the room the whole time on those trips.
I've never gambled, but on our first visit to Vegas, (we were married by Elvis, pretty sure he was the real Elvis actually), I spotted a very distinctive looking lady working one of the slot machines.
After we'd had a torrid time booking into the hotel.... "Mr & Mrs C Lapsley? We've booked you into this room here... Erm, no thank-you, Mrs Christine Lapsley is my mother and I'm not sharing a bed with her!" we eventually got all the rooms sorted and went to bed.
In the morning, as we headed out for lunch, I saw that same woman getting taken from the casino in a wheelchair, sobbing her heart out and crying that she'd lost everything. I've never been interested in gambling, but that pretty much sealed the deal for me.
Mr Craig Lapsley, married to Kerry Ramsay, who's sister Kirsten was there for the wedding as well. The hotel had only booked one Miss K Ramsay in as they thought it was a typo. They eventually were going to let Kerry and her sister share a room, but were still insisting that I sleep with my mother! I'm not from Fife!!!
Add gambling onto all that stress? I think my head would have exploded!
Oh, and it all worked out in the end, I got to share a room with Kerry, we've been happily married for 20+ years and I didn't have to sleep with my mum.
Chap I lodged with would go pretty regularly, as casinos would comp his room & food, and would come back with stories of winning thousands.
And just as regularly, he would come back without any stories. I assume he didn’t stay in the room the whole time on those trips.
Indeed. For a high roller, they'll cover flights, food, hotel, and whatever else you care to request. Because they know you'll lose more in the casino than they spend...
Vegas is high on my list of places I wouldn’t visit even if somebody else paid for it. A shiny funfair in a desert. No thanks. I’d rather go KLF and just burn money
I sometimes trust a fart when I probably shouldn't, Russian roulette is gambling isn't it? 😀
Not something I've previously considered but now you've mentioned it I might just go for it. You only live once.
I sometimes trust a fart when I probably shouldn’t
Vague ass?
Ray Winstone voice >> " It's a mug's game mate,don't be a mug" << Ray Winstone voice
I have no desire to go to La Vegas, whether to gamble or not. The irony of an evocative name - but a name/place that is the antithesis nominative determinism.
According to something mentioned on the F1 coverage last weekend, Vegas's second busiest weekend is when Amazon have their annual conference there. The busiest weekend is when the rodeo world champs hits town. I've never ben interested in gambling, going to Vegas or in rodeo, but that could be a really weird and fun weekend.
Visited Las Vegas at the end of a family driving holiday through California and Nevada years ago. The rest of the trip was great but Vegas was dire. It really brought the puritan out in me, being there with young kids probably didn't help. Just a seedy Blackpool on steroids. The zombies feeding the slot machines from buckets 24/7 really stuck with me. Just sad. A quite depressing temple of shallowness and excess. Lots to like in the US, but to my mind Vegas is a distillation of the worst.
I've been to Vegas numerous times for work and holiday. When I've been their for work, it's usually at one of the large casinos/hotel complexes and I generally get to stay in some REALLY nice rooms.
When I've been there for holiday, it's only using it as a gateway airport to the National Parks (and some great mountain biking as well) just over the border in Utah or Arizona.
But, yeah, a horrible place otherwise.
Vegas is high on my list of places I wouldn’t visit even if somebody else paid for it. A shiny funfair in a desert.
I dont get this attitude. Everywhere is worth a look at least once if you get the opportunity. Especially if someone else is paying.
When I say Vegas is shit I'm speaking from experience and I can tell you all the real life stories from first hand experience.
I’ve been to Vegas numerous times for work and holiday. When I’ve been their for work, it’s usually at one of the large casinos/hotel complexes and I generally get to stay in some REALLY nice rooms.
Same here, been several times for work staying in the Wynn and Venetian, rooms (and some of the food) are amazing, but I'm sure it costs a fortune.
Everywhere is worth a look at least once if you get the opportunity. Especially if someone else is paying.
Agreed. First time was a novelty, but as I have no interest in gambling or paying huge sums to entertain myself.......
But, yeah, a horrible place otherwise.
Agreed. I'll be back there for an event in a few months and would much rather be doing it elsewhere.
Indeed. For a high roller, they’ll cover flights, food, hotel, and whatever else you care to request. Because they know you’ll lose more in the casino than they spend…
There was a video doing the rounds there of some Cryptobro showing around his hotel suite, usually $40k per night but he said they'd bumped it up to $400k for the F1 weekend and he was staying for free. He seemed to believe he was a true high-roller, but I was sitting there thinking what a massive loser you must be when casino's are letting you stay for free.
Do you own a VW Poopscoop?
According to something mentioned on the F1 coverage last weekend, Vegas’s second busiest weekend is when Amazon have their annual conference there.
Depends how you define busy. I went to that conference a few years ago along with 40,000 others. The casinos were complaining the place was full of geeks not spending money on drinks and gambling so I did my best to redress the balance.
Ed Thorp and Claude Shannon did ok doing it. They are likely much smarter than the average forum member though. Gambling is always taught to be wrong, but it's good if you have some kind of edge. Not likely to be found in the average casino these days. Probably better investing it all in lego and waiting a year.
Wouldn't go to Vegas if you paid me. Blackpool on steroids.
I went to Vegas... Didn't spend a penny on gambling.
Not a logical way to make money. I'm out...!
DrP
Used to spend my wages from 16-18 on horses and at greyhound track. Hit 19 and never again. It's taken too long to amass the pennies I have.
Do buy the odd lottery ticket though.
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not been. Would like to experience it, but for 24 hours rather than days!
Thinking about it, given a hypothetical lottery win, I might visit just for the fun of plonking a couple of hundred bucks down on a couple of different tables, but I’d be more interested in getting out into the desert, and maybe checking out some of the airforce bases, although most of the work that Area 51 used to do is apparently going on at an even more remote site, where it can’t be seen from a nearby mountain top. 🤷🏼
Gambling is always taught to be wrong, but it’s good if you have some kind of edge.
Remember listening to a documentary about a UK professional poker player - he'd get up very early in the morning & play all the drunk Americans, if the table was too tricky he'd leave he wasn't there to massage his ego just to make money
There was a TV programme a few years back .......................
I remember reading that in a newspaper, this guy I think
I’ve been a few times for work and as a non-gambler it’s a people watching place for me. It just seems a massive waste of money to me that relies on human greed, addiction and other less desirable human traits. Still good people watching.
I used to stay in the Detroit Greektown casino a lot when I worked there. The rooms were epic and cheap. It was much more Blackpool than Vegas when it came to people watching. Pretty depressing and I didn’t go in the casino much.
My wife and I had 4 days there as part of our fly drive honeymoon (SF -> Napa Valley -> Tahoe -> Vegas -> Monterrey) and it was fabulous. We spent $50 each gambling but that was our limit and of course we lost it pretty quickly. But if you like the glitz and glamour (!) and the sheer OTT light shows and rollercoaster that go through casinos, and the helicopter trip over the Hoover Dam, to the rim of the Canyon and then back right down the strip with Viva Las Vegas coming through the headphones, then it's great. If you don't like that then you'll hate it.
Have you ever been to Las Vegas? They like to portray it as glamorous as Ocean’s 11 or Rainman, but the reality is rows and rows of folks called Ethel or Ray; all wearing slacks with elasticated waists and golf shirts that aren’t safe around naked flames, soullessly feeding dimes into slot machines in an attempt to use their children’s inheritance before they die.
If you think that's bad, try Atlantic City. We had a sales meeting there one year and it's exactly as described except they bus them down from the greater NY area for free and give them a cup of $20 of dimes to feed into the machines. It's the low level and horrific version of comping bed and board for the high roller because they're then trapped there until the bus goes back hours later with nothing to do but keep feeding the machines. Depressing.<br /><br />
***
Random musing strategy. Start roulette with a $1 on red or black. It's a 50/50 chance (ignore 0 or 00 for now). If you win, put the extra $1 in your pocket and start again.
If you lose you're $1 down.
So then put $2 on whatever you did before - it doesn't really matter apart from the cod probability that eventually reds and blacks will even out so you don't want to chase a run, etc.
If you win, you're $1 up (won $2 but we're $1 down from spin 1), put it in your pocket and start again with $1.
If you lose, put $4 down. If you win you're $1 up (+4 -3) and you pocket it, and start again. If you lose do it again with $8..... and so on.
All things being equal every few spins you'll be putting $1 in your pocket and covering any losses in between.
At times you might have to hold your nerve with a $32 or $64 bet, but it will come good, it has to.
OK - the downside is 0/00. There's 36 numbers and assume you have both 0/00 then it's not 50:50 any more, it's 18:20 = about 5% tax on your gambling. And for that 5% (which in most cases will be IRO 4 or 8 buck stakes, so 20-40 cents) your drinks are free while you're gambling.
So - if you get lucky and get a run and bank a few $ on the way, great, if not you're getting pissed for cents!!
OK – the downside is 0/00
And 000...
I've been a couple of times though never gambled not even a slot. There's lots of free entertainment to draw you in, pirate battles, volcanoes, water shows then you can pay a little for the theme park rides built into a lot of the hotels. Rooms and food are good and inexpensive for what you get.
We only went to one all you can eat buffet, the food quality and range was amazing, but we saw one diner take two large dinner plates to the desert area (which provided modest sized bowls) and fill those plates with a mountainous amount of cake and ice cream, then waddle - as they were morbidly obese - back to their table to tuck in. After that the thought of going back made us heave a little.
Been to Vegas a fair bit and had a great time on every trip. I’ve always taken cash I can afford to lose. I’m not impulsive or have addictive traits, so for me it was just a fun trip. We gambled, but in all honesty we spent more time at the restaurants and bars.
I wouldn’t ever gamble what I couldn’t afford to lose. I’ve occasionally won fairly reasonable amounts. I’ve been incredibly lucky to have never lost too much. Each trip I’ve always come back home with some cash, not always from winnings, but sometimes from just not gambling or spending it all.
I never take any access to my bank accounts. That’s just a personal rule, I take cash and an emergency travel card.
I did watch Lennox Lewis fight Hasam Rahmed in his re-match. To watch a heavyweight world championship fight was an experience and well worth the money.
I honestly don’t recognise the descriptions above. The vast majority of the people I encountered were just similar to myself, people there for a good time.
I wouldn’t ever gamble what I couldn’t afford to lose.
I only gamble intending to lose, I see it as a spend rather than chance - money for time playing, if I get a payout that just buys more play. I think it stems back to being a kid a friend had an old tic tac toe 1p slot machine his dad had fixed up that he used as a money box - he let us play it on the basis that you could keep any winnings becuase on average the machine was always the winner so you were over time adding to his savings. One day the machine totally paid out which was exciting except I'd just cleaned out all his savings, so I resolved to play them all back in again, which took ages because of course you keep winning money back.
What's fun about Roulette is it's very equitable - everyone at the table is playing their own game to match their own pocket and appetite for risk. I spent a night in a casino with some friends having each got a tenners worth of 25p chips to see how long me could make it last, and how much fun we could have losing it, anything we won we played again - we all had to come out on zero. Managed to string a goods 3-4 hours worth of entertainment (and after hours drinking) out of it though. I was putting 25p across four numbers while silent, steely-faced, sweating, Chinese businessmen around me were sliding thousands of pounds worth of chips around the table but we were both having our own fun.
The odds in roulette are the same everywhere though. If you don't pay for flights to Las Vegas and a hotel you'll have more to put on red. No Black. Definitely black........ wait!
Only been to Vegas once on as a stop off between snowboarding in California and Utah
For me it was interesting in in a social science sort of way. People watching especially around the gambling tables and all you can eat buffets. The big casino hotels are huge impersonal machines for extracting money from people. I found them quite opressive
Tried playing roulette - started with $100, double it within 30 minutes lost it all in another 45. Reinforced my view that gambling against the house is a mugs game. Never subsequently felt the desire to gamble in a casino again.
Upside, accommodation, food and booze are cheap. Easy access to some amazing countryside.
we saw one diner take two large dinner plates to the desert area
Was that in this casino?
So the odds of doubling your money are just under 50%, otherwise you are penniless.
If I doubled my net wealth today, It would be nice; no mortgage, nice nest egg for replacement car when needed, helping kids at uni, better holidays etc. But not so life changing that we could quit our jobs.
If I lost everything today, it would lead to constant anxiety, stress on relationships, perpetual guilt, not to mention having to move to a crap area where the kids will end up shoplifting to fund the tattoos needed to cover their track marks.
So, on balance, no.
Wouldn’t go to Vegas if you paid me.
i would, if I’m going to gamble, may as well do it with someone else’s money..