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Casino visit

December 7th, 2008 at 11:34 pm

I realized that I haven't posted about any casino trips for a while. We've actually gone quite a few times. My wife and I have enjoyed going to one of the PA casinos that is about 25 minutes from home, less than half the travel time as to Atlantic City. It is easier for us that way since we have to leave our daughter home alone when we go. That way, we aren't out as long. We can be there and back within 3-4 hours.

Anyway, we took a ride there yesterday. I convinced DW to play blackjack with me and stop throwing money away on slots. She likes playing them but I know the odds are horrible. At least at blackjack, you've got a good chance of winning.

So we both sat down at a $10 blackjack table (these are electronic tables, not live dealer games). She started with $100. I started with $200. We played for about 20 minutes and she was up to $205. I was actually down a bit, maybe $170 I think. She decided to cash out and go play slots. She'll usually budget $100 for play so this way, she'd be playing just with her winnings. She also had $25 in free play that the casino had sent her.

I continued to play and ultimately walked away with $285. Not bad - a 42.5% gain on my investment. Sure beats my stock portfolio.

My wife, of course, went to a slot machine where she lost her $100 and the $25 they had given her, so she ended up ahead by just $5, though I suppose that still represents a 5% gain.

We had lunch at their diner and I had comp points for that so it was free.

This was actually my 6th winning trip out of our last 7 visits, so I've been having a pretty good run of luck. Hope it lasts.

Posted in Casino related | 8 Comments »

8 Responses to “Casino visit”

  1. HouseHopeful Says:
    December 8th, 2008 at 01:11 am 1228698698
    1228698698

    Glad you guys had a good time. You said you went to a PA Casino. Have you guys ever tried Delaware Park. Believe it or not, that place is pretty awesome.

  2. disneysteve Says:
    December 8th, 2008 at 02:40 am 1228704042
    1228704042

    I've been to Delaware Park once, about a year ago. It is very nice. I love that it is totally smoke-free. Unfortunately, it is about 45 minutes from home and if we're going to drive that far to gamble, I'd rather spend a few more minutes and go to Atlantic City where there are lots of other things to do. I have told DW that I want to take her there sometime, though. Just being smoke-free is enough reason to drive down there.

  3. Nika Says:
    December 8th, 2008 at 04:07 am 1228709274
    1228709274

    I too only play blackjack - because I like to make at least some decisions while gambling.

    I always join DH when he goes to Vegas on business travel.
    It is fun and we average loosing less than $200 gambling in a 5 day trip. (we make up for some of it in free alcohol).

    Congrats! unexpected money feels great Smile

  4. swimgirl Says:
    December 8th, 2008 at 06:54 am 1228719257
    1228719257

    I'm really not much of a gambler. But at one point several years ago, my husband was offered a job in Las Vegas (totally unrelated to tourism) and we had many laughs about "double or nothing" on the paycheck every month. Glad you did well, Steve!

  5. disneysteve Says:
    December 8th, 2008 at 04:54 pm 1228755267
    1228755267

    Nika - I don't play blackjack because I want to make decisions. I play it because I want a game where I actually have a reasonably good chance of winning. I don't enjoy throwing money away. I think slots are fun and I will drop $20 in one every once in a while, but I know I won't ever come out ahead playing them.

  6. moneybags Says:
    December 9th, 2008 at 01:44 pm 1228830249
    1228830249

    In IL, all casinos are smoke free, yeah for me! There was an article about it recently that blamed the poor revenues this year on the smoking ban, not the economy. Basically, if people need to smoke, they have to leave the machines, etc., and most gamblers are smokers.

  7. disneysteve Says:
    December 9th, 2008 at 05:18 pm 1228843091
    1228843091

    moneybags, they've pulled the same garbage in Atlantic City, blaming declining revenues on the smoking restrictions. Of course, that ignores the fact that Pennsylvania, New York and Delaware all have casinos now so they have a ton of competition that they didn't used to have. Plus, of course, the economy hasn't exactly been the greatest and until recently gas prices were sky high. The smoking issue is a tiny piece of the problem.

    I also don't believe that most gamblers are smokers. 80% of adults in this country are non-smokers. Surely, the other 20% can't make up the majority of gamblers.

  8. sicilyyoder Says:
    January 4th, 2009 at 06:08 pm 1231092526
    1231092526

    I stay at casinos when I travel, because they ahve good buffets and nice rooms- and several are along my route.

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