Seemed appropriate to cover this subject at a time when Mr. & Mrs.
addict not only struggle with the machines---little dicky just can't
seem to muster up the gonads to look me in the eyes and make his
false claims. It's all got to do with his gambling problem, as we
well know. Enjoy!
···
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Don't Get Roped Into Moving To Las Vegas For The Video Poker
By Rob Singer
Have you ever wished you could just clear the slate by going back in
time to erase some of your more foolish mistakes? Well, welcome to
the world of gambling, where people make the mistakes of their lives
all the time without thinking. `Flying by the seat of their pants'
isn't quite the phrase for how some players end up facing the reality
of the situation. Many get in over their heads, only to find there's
no way out.
Since I began playing video poker in 1990, I always wondered why most
of the people I met were from "somewhere else". It was a rare find to
hear someone say "I'm a Las Vegas native, born and raised right
here". But then I figured out why: People move to this city not for
the aerospace industry or Corporate America home office
opportunities. They move to be closer to the gambling.
While there's a myriad of reasoning behind each and every gambler
who's made the move, you never really know what part of it they're
making up on the fly. And video poker players? Hey, fishermen are
known to be more believable then these people. You start with
innocent tourists who suddenly get a first-time taste of the
machines, and then just try to pry them away.
Over the years I've learned two important lessons surrounding my
gambling profession: First, no one wins at video poker without the
proper planning and doses of good fortune along the way; And second,
the more anyone plays the game the more they will lose, barring
extreme and consistent good luck and the ability to just get up and
leave when that does happen.
Want to argue that point? Then tell me just how it is that the local
casinos keep renovating and growing, and just how it is that more and
more of them continue to appear! HELLO folks
.they wouldn't be doing
it if there weren't piles of profits waiting for them! And what game
is it that most locals absolutely LOVE to play? Yes, you've got it,
only I forgot to say "LOVE to play every day because of a
pathological addiction!" Even if you've never been to a course
called `Business 101' you can figure THAT out.
Since I had my first book published in 2000 that identifies some of
the main pitfalls of the game, I've talked to many video poker
players living in Las Vegas that have moved in from other parts of
the country. Invariably, every single one of them will first say they
didn't move here because of the gaming, but rather because of
the `outs' like the weather, taxes, or the cheap food or maybe even
to `retire' or for another form of work. But by and large, the
majority of these people are die-hard gamblers who just cannot live
without the video poker machines. They might deny that fact, but they
know that we all know the real reasons why.
I've also found some who live in town during the winter months and go
home for the others. The reason for that? Is it for the pollution
that comes with the winter weather? How about the lack of traffic on
the streets of Las Vegas? Or maybe it's for the safe feeling they get
when walking in most parts of town where those local casinos are
located. But when push comes to shove, I almost always discover they
had a gambling problem at the Indian casinos `back home' and were
hooked enough to transfer their habit closer to the machines so they
could get their daily fix without much effort right here! Sad, but
true.
As pathetic as it sometimes is, most or all of these `relocaters'
will never tell the truth about why they moved or how they lose all
the time. They are compelled to create a fictitious feeling of
comfort, and they have the dire need not to be discovered for what
they really are or have really done. Worse still is in how they treat
their spouses or partners. They drag them into their darkness just to
share the pain. I find that when they talk to me about what they've
gotten themselves into, they become the masters of BS. But I do
understand. After all, who in their right mind would EVER want to be
known for a weakness such as gambling, and as degenerate an activity
as daily video poker play?
No casino game is more addictive than video poker, that's for sure.
As an interactive game, it gives the player the opportunity to make
thousands of choices before the final result is out. That's also why
it's the game of choice for most local gamblers. There's also the
mountain of promotions designed to rope in every regular player on
demand. Combined with the relatively ease of getting bundles of comps
and gifts from the slot club, it's very simple to understand why
these poor souls just can't say no.
Almost exclusively, those players who either have a name in this
business or can be found surfing the various video poker sites, will
say they moved to Las Vegas for anything other than gambling, but
they win every year. Hmmm
.. Then isn't it somewhat strange that
whenever I talk face-to-face to a transplant who admits they came to
town to be closer to the video poker machines, they can't find enough
words to describe how frustrated they are that they cannot win? Ever.
No, they don't say they made any mistake of any kind, but I guess
that all depends on the degree to which they are currently paying the
piper and the video poker piper is hungrier than most. Myself, I
can't imagine making a move just to be closer to the machines. That's
really sick. One of my strictest rules while playing is never to be
greedy. And that's precisely the reason so many people do move to Las
Vegas.
Of course, with the real estate pricing boom, there's a certain
faction that will suddenly become high rollers when that big
homeowner's equity loan check gets cashed, but as they chase those
past losers it's not likely to end a happy story. At the end of the
day, many people tell me they shouldn't have moved. Some do return
home and actually STAY there. Those folks sound as happy as any I've
ever spoken to. I can't guess why.
Las Vegas is a GREAT town to visit, and many fine people have
obviously found it as a fabulous place to live. But those who come
simply to be closer to the machines are another story and they know
it. When the local casino managers who regularly have the best
video poker pay tables in the state see the influx of gamblers,
they're certainly not going to ask what the reason for the move was.
They just want to make sure you didn't forget your wallet, and that
you didn't leave your gambling problem at the door!