Moving to and living in Las Vegas

[Rob_Singer1]

"We love living in Vegas. Of course it is not a perfect city - where is one?"

Very true. A city is a city in this country. You make the best of what you get,
and if you don't like it you are free to move on.

"The traffic is bad - but that is true in a lot of cities."

The traffic in LV seems to have a special misery to it. And that becomes
exacerbated by the incredible numbers of junk cars with irritable drivers
roaming the city streets.

"There is a lot of highway construction going on - but that means things will
be better in the future."

I-215 is one thing, but I-15 is quite another. It is by far the worst, most
dangerous and messy inner-city highway in the civilized world. Never appearing
to be even close to repair completion, it is hardly the right cup of tea for
the many unfamiliar drivers who literally bet their lives on it every day.

"The cost of living is reasonable, compared to many other sections of the
country. The lack of state income or inheritance taxes makes this a major
financial plus for many people. The politics stinks at times - but I don't
know many cities where it smells much better."

That's reasonable.

"True, there are some negatives that are major. The air quality is quite bad a
lot of the time - so anyone with lung problems should not move here."

I'd have to believe people who move to LV are not the least bit concerned about
whether the air is good or bad.

<<Almost everyone who lives here has some kind of self-destructive weakness.>>

Now we're getting to the root of the problems in LV, and why it it always seems
to be such a sensitive subject with transplanted 'locals'.

"This is not a valid conclusion, judging from my broad experience with all
parts of the local population. This town is made up of all sorts - just like
any other town - from the good to the bad."

That is understandable, however, LV is hardly comprised of the same ratios of
good to bad as in all other cities. What is it that draws all the bums into
town? That which they cannot have--the money. And what about the majority of
those who've moved there in the past 15 years? The same thing--the
money....only not the kind you get from working, because the wages are far from
decent. Relocaters simply believe they will make daily withdrawals from the
casinos, and when they can't the downward spiral begins. No one will admit
either way to that, so it doesn't make sense to say anything further. I know a
lot of people enjoy living in LV, and I think that's great. I'm just one who
believes the quality of life is much better away from it all.

···

From: "Jean Scott" <QueenofComps@frugalgambler.biz>

[Jean_Scott1]

<<That is understandable, however, LV is hardly comprised of the same ratios of
good to bad as in all other cities. What is it that draws all the bums into
town? That which they cannot have--the money. And what about the majority of
those who've moved there in the past 15 years? The same thing--the
money....only not the kind you get from working, because the wages are far from
decent. Relocaters simply believe they will make daily withdrawals from the
casinos, and when they can't the downward spiral begins. No one will admit
either way to that, so it doesn't make sense to say anything further. I know a
lot of people enjoy living in LV, and I think that's great. I'm just one who
believes the quality of life is much better away from it all.>>

This is your opinion - and one that you repeatedly harp on in columns, with references to me, Bob Dancer, etc, ever so slightly veiled. I merely will comment that you do not know the facts about me or Bob Dancer, etc. and to constantly infer/imply that we are lying about our positive results is very unprofessional because you are judging people with no evidence. Just because you had a gambling problem in the past (which you tell us yourself), does not mean that everyone who gambles has a problem.

However, I do not wish to discuss this further - and I will refrain from posting any more on this subject.

···

____________________
Jean $cott - "The Frugal Gambler"
MORE FRUGAL GAMBLING can NOW
be ordered, autographed, at a pre-pub
discount, at http://www.FrugalGambler.biz

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[staninnv]

I have to agree with Jean's thoughts. I moved here two years ago
after working for thirty years in Milwaukee and putting up with snow
and cold. I love my life here. I get up everyday and my biggest
concern is, where am I going to play today? I have gambled everyday
for the past two years unless I'm out of town. My bills are paid
each month and I eat almost all meals at the casino. My friends from
out of town and our daughter who lives and works here also eat with
us often. I don't much care for traffic jams and avoid them whenever
possible so they are not a big concern to me. Both my wife and I are
drawing good pensions which are NOT being taxed by the state.
Last year I lost $1,300 but got 7K+ in food comps. This year after
eight months, I'm ahead by a couple k and still love to eat out at
the casino using points earned. This may not be everyone's idea of a
great life but it's mine. It's 8:15pm here in Henderson and I'm just
about to jump in my pool containing 88 degree water. Life is good!

[mkl54321_mkl54321]

Rob Singer wrote:
That is understandable, however, LV is hardly comprised of the same
ratios of good to bad as in all other cities. What is it that draws
all the bums into town? That which they cannot have--the money. And
what about the majority of those who've moved there in the past 15
years? The same thing--the money....only not the kind you get from
working, because the wages are far from decent. Relocaters simply
believe they will make daily withdrawals from the casinos, and when
they can't the downward spiral begins. No one will admit either way
to that, so it doesn't make sense to say anything further. I know a
lot of people enjoy living in LV, and I think that's great. I'm just
one who believes the quality of life is much better away from it all.

Jean Scott wrote:
This is your opinion - and one that you repeatedly harp on in
columns, with references to me, Bob Dancer, etc, ever so slightly
veiled. I merely will comment that you do not know the facts about
me or Bob Dancer, etc. and to constantly infer/imply that we are
lying about our positive results is very unprofessional because you
are judging people with no evidence. Just because you had a
gambling problem in the past (which you tell us yourself), does not
mean that everyone who gambles has a problem.

Jean, the only point RS made was that the vast majority of players
are losers, and implying that they are losers because they are
unrealistic about their prospects. Personally, and restricting my
observation to locals who I know well, for every ACTUAL winner there
are TEN wannabes who read Frugal This and That and download strategy
tables, etc. etc., and expect every fullpay VP machine in town to
behave like their own personal ATM. Even given the HUGE--and
unwarranted, IMHO--assumption that all the VP machines are honest,
it's still BRUTAL to exploit half-percent or less theoretical edges
that require perfection to realize.

I would also estimate that 90-95 percent of the locals pounding away
at, say, Sunset Station are gambling addicts. They may indeed be
able to live with their addiction--money- and time-wise--but it's no
less of an addiction for not usually being fatal.

Could these people have a social life, or some other kind of life,
exclusive of the casinos? Probably. It's a free country, and a
person can do as he or she wishes, but the addictive nature of
gambling in general and VP in particular often forecloses other
options. Clever marketing ploys ensure that you visit the casino as
often as humanly possible, and stay there much longer than you had
intended.

Personally, a life spent staring at a TV screen, inhaling pigarette
smoke, and scurrying all over town to cash $5 coupons fills me with
horror, even if it DOES earn me a theoretical $7/hour, plus comped
buffets. There are so many OTHER things to do in life. That
includes, BTW, the LOL oxygen-tank crowd.

I know this is your meal ticket we're talking about here, and
certainly you disagree with me, viewing Vegas as Shangri-La, but
SOMEONE has to remove the sugar-coating. I hope that your upcoming
book outlines how there are about a tenth of the VP opportunities
today that existed five years ago, how slot club benefits,
particularly for the "advantage" VP player are being ruthlessly
slashed, and how the winning (or breakeven) player has become
persona non grata in not only Strip casinos but many "locals'"
joints as well. If you fail to point this out--in essence,
that "Frugal Gambler" is now functionally null and void--you are
doing your readers a disservice.