I am going to respond with ONE e-mail to this Forum, as the administrator has suggested, since the original e-mail on this topic was posted here - and then if everyone wants to discuss this subject among themselves on http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FREEvpFREE/ that is fine. I don't promise to read all the posts on that site - I am far too busy to read more e-mails.
Which brings me to the subject at hand: I personally was very sorry when vpFree started up - not because of the personalities or issues involved - I am very neutral about those - but because it makes TOO MUCH e-mail reading for me when my body is barely able to keep up with all the things that my mind wants to do as it is. I have tried not to "take sides" and tried to be "fair" in my dealing with these 2 groups and I continue to post on both. However, it is very hard for me (and others) to keep up and I am constantly having to decide where to post what information or whether to clutter up everyone's e-mail Inbox by mailing to both, plus Lodestone, so I will be sure that everyone gets what I think is important information. Sometimes I just don't post at all because of all these decisions - or I can't remember what was posted where in the first place.
I DO post more information on Skip's list, especially if it is about specific casinos, because I figure there are fewer casino people on that list. I'm not sure if this is true, but it would seem that they might choose a free VP site rather than a pay one. Actually I wonder if ANY casino executive has the time to wade through all the e-mails of either one!
I DO feel a loyalty to Skip's website - this forum has been my "vp family" for many years - but it has nothing to do with economic issues. The items I sell on my website are very carefully chosen. I don't put the "frugal stamp of approval" on very many things - and when I do I truly believe they are extremely valuable to many gamblers.
I detect a sour attitude here about commercial endeavor. I'm not sure why people are so critical of this. Is it jealousy? Is it a lack of understanding that people who charge for gambling information usually work very hard and are not "getting rich" from this. I often say that I probably get minimum wage for all the writing I do - and far less than that if you factor in all the writing and speaking I do for free. Skip had his site free for a long time until the hours it took to keep it up became overwhelming. This burden became so heavy for John Kelly that he chose to give it up completely so he could take care of his family responsibilities.
Some people enjoy the responsibilities of a website and choose to give of themselves - their time and money - in this way. I think that is wonderful and I admire them for it. But that doesn't mean those who aren't able to financially give this much time and money to a website effort are mean old capitalists if they feel the need to charge to continue providing useful information. "A worker is worthy of his due."
So with that as a background - I want to discuss a few things about the information I put in MFG. First, I am surprised when people start analyzing my motives and assign to me all sorts of "reasons" why I wrote what - BEFORE they had simply asked me why? I have always been very open to questions and have patiently answered them at length in the past. I have developed thick skin down through the years since Frugal 1, and I am not upset by negative input. But when it comes from people on these two lists, people who have known me for years, I am disappointed that they don't at least give me the chance to explain when they know I would do so if I were just asked.
Now, to MFG. First, as many who know me have written, I did write this book over many years. That did influence my organization of material - although I did update it considerably just before I gave it to Huntington Press. However, that was well over a year before it actually came out in print.
Second, what opinions I write in MFG are not necessarily "God-given" truths - they are my OPINIONS. (If you read the beginning part of "Resources," you will notice that I say these are the resources I use, not the ones I think you have to use.) If you have different opinions, you are quite welcome to put them in a book you write.
Third, I think sometimes a lot of gamblers on this list forget that not everyone is experienced, has a goal to make a profit in casinos, or lives in or comes to Vegas often. I choose Skip's site as a primary recommendation because I think his site has more valuable information for the broad spectrum of players all over the U.S. His full-pay chart is the first one I go to when we are going to another gambling venue. No, I didn't make mention of the price - but I didn't for any other resource in that section that cost money either. Someone who went to the site would soon find out that information. Frugal does NOT mean the cheapest. Frugal means getting good value for your money - and I feel Skip's website gives most people good value for their money. That's my OPINION.
I am really sorry I got the wrong website URL for vpFree - actually this is the only error that readers have found in the book so far. And it is corrected in tomorrow's Frugal Fridays AND will be in the next printing of MFG. I just read over my write-up of this site on page 396. It did mention it was free, good for Vegas players, and gave a couple of things I liked about it or I thought were valuable. More and more "stuff" is being added to vpFree all the time - and I do mention it in Frugal Friday from time to time.
I am not mad at anyone. I just want both of these lists to be valuable resources to VP players - and not get side-tracked with petty arguments and personality clashes. I applaud Tom for taking this and other such subjects to another forum.
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____________________
Jean $cott - "The Frugal Gambler"
MORE FRUGAL GAMBLING can now
be ordered, autographed, at
http://www.FrugalGambler.biz
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