Nudge wrote:
From: 007
Subject: Re: [vpFREE] Continuing Cannery Cuts & Some Advice(Long)
Nudge, this whole post is dripping with a sense of entitlement.
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Well, don't get any of it on you. It could be caustic.
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Did you consider the possibility that putting in penny machines in place of
the 8/5 Bonus machines that so many hustlers have been playing might be more
profitable for them and that that's all they should care about?
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Two part answer. First, you seem to attach a somewhat negative connation to
the word hustler. I do not. Hell, in the older versions of Danny Webster's
dictionary, the definitions are all about rapidly moving people, and the
possible jostling that could result. I prefer to associate the word with
someone who is always using his skill and brains to make money, always
keenly alert to an opportunity.
Wouldn't a bank robber fit that description?
Can we agree that there should be nothing
of a negative nature in that definition?
No. "Hustlers" are much, if not all, of how you described them, but
they're more. It has a selfish and dishonest connotation. They don't
mind profiting at the expense of others. I believe the ideal
businessperson profits by doing what is good for others.
Part two of my answer as to why
putting in penny slots may not be the best move for them can be summarized
in two words, fierce competition.
You might be right, but I assume that those who are in that business
are better at it than you or I are. My main disagreement with your
first message was the way it seemed to correlate the Cannery taking
out the machines that you played and them making a bad business move.
Unless you play at the Cannery primarily for fun and are a "good
customer" of theirs, I'd assume that taking out machines you liked
playing would be a good business move.
Let me see if I can alter your perspective. The analogy that I am
presenting will be like most analogies, not a totally perfect comparison.
Video poker and baseball are both games, although the latter is also a
sport.
There's more of an equal relationship between baseball teams than
there is between casinos and their customers. I believe baseball
teams all agree to their rules, whereas casinos don't consult
customers when they post their rules. Players playing constitutes
agreement with the casino's rules. But to some extent, I agree with
you. I believe there is some line, that's hard to pinpoint, past
which casinos break moral, if not legal, laws by suddenly changing
rules. "Management reserves the right to change this promotion" can
be translated as "we agree to this contract until we change our
minds." But I'd put taking machines out on the "moral" side of that
line. I'd put the Ellis Island barring players who had earned what
the Ellis Island said would be certain benefits for 6 months and
casinos which cancel promotions without telling anyone until someone
hits a jackpot that the posted rules say are part of the promotion on
the "immoral" side.