what you are worth to a casino

[notes1]

there was a time that hitting diamond status was worth the loss. i could take a charter flight, with my wife (who does not gamble), get free rooms/food, not need a car, get gifts and see some entertainment. these were great trips that i could not buy for less than what i normally lost during the trip. if you played VP with just a little bit of skill, got some resonable lucky results, we could go on a three day trip, all inclusive, for $700-1000. where could two people go on a weekend vacation, do what you love doing, have a great time and spend that same $700 to a grand?  now, it has all changed. that same time spent in the casino might cost $2k, not a good deal.

[DaBurglar]

there was a time that hitting diamond status was worth the loss. i could take a charter flight, with my wife (who does not gamble), get free rooms/food, not need a car, get gifts and see some entertainment. these were great trips that i could not buy for less than what i normally lost during the trip. if you played VP with just a little bit of skill, got some resonable lucky results, we could go on a three day trip, all inclusive, for $700-1000. where could two people go on a weekend vacation, do what you love doing, have a great time and spend that same $700 to a grand?  now, it has all changed. that same time spent in the casino might cost $2k, not a good deal.100% agree with this entire post, it was the same for me for MANY MANY years (up until around 2011 I'd say...)   Playing in Vegas/Reno from 1995 thru 2009, and then even the first couple years in AC, I could easily justify what gambling I did because of the way the comps worked at MANY different casino corporations and their respective properties, and the CET-Diamond example that Notes described was exactly how I viewed it....The fact that it is now no longer possible to do this (or at least extremely difficult) is simply a symptom of the "saturation"  and "maturing" of the gaming industry, and I do not think it will ever really return to a equilibrium whereby people like myself, or notes (since it seems he and I are roughly on the same 'level' in terms of what and how we play) can justify playing like we used to....Notes, if I am wrong in equating our levels of play, I apologize, but just for reference, here is what I mean:I Only play 25 cent denom video poker (90-95% of my play is at this level....the other 5% or so is mixed between micro stakes of 5 cents  and dollar denom)  .....  I play on the average once every 3-4 weeks for a average "stay" of 4-5 days, and allow myself to lose about 500 bucks a day before I quit.    Prior to 2010, rarely if ever did I have days where I would hit that Loss threshold...extremely RARE (less than 1 in 10 days).    Since then, it has become increasingly common (1 in 4 days at least) with no good reason for this change......reduced paytables obviously help increase the losses, but they have NOT been the sole cause and the simple fact is, paytables have been on the decline for a long long time, way before 2010........

[notes1]

DB, to answer your question, you are reasonably accurate, with my play. been playing since about 2006, only play quarters single line, unless triple line (nickel), never bet more than $1.50 total, never 'chase', maybe 3-5% slots, never play JOB (boring) and only play max coin. i have changed one thing about my play, i do it less often and i am not happy about it. actually, i am pissed about it and that is why i first came to this forum, i wanted to know if others were having the same results as i was (overall, the answer is yes), what were others doing about it (i have read some good ideas) and were there any casinos that folks felt were treating VP players better than what i was seeing. the answer to that last question, seems that outside of going to vegas, i hear the same results from most others.  like everyone else, i really enjoy hearing about the great days that someone has, but i also like reading the posts from players who tell 'how they gave it all back'. it is not that i enjoy in their misery, but, then i am more likely to believe those who post both ways. lucky larry and olds come to mind. and, while i disagree with some of what you say, i totally believe your posts about your gambling results. so, instead of going away for 2-3 day trips, i now limit the majority of my play to single day play. do not like, but that is all i am willing to lose.

[DaBurglar]

DB, to answer your question, you are reasonably accurate, with my play. been playing since about 2006, only play quarters single line, unless triple line (nickel), never bet more than $1.50 total, never 'chase', maybe 3-5% slots, never play JOB (boring) and only play max coin. i have changed one thing about my play, i do it less often and i am not happy about it. actually, i am pissed about it and that is why i first came to this forum, i wanted to know if others were having the same results as i was (overall, the answer is yes), what were others doing about it (i have read some good ideas) and were there any casinos that folks felt were treating VP players better than what i was seeing. the answer to that last question, seems that outside of going to vegas, i hear the same results from most others.  like everyone else, i really enjoy hearing about the great days that someone has, but i also like reading the posts from players who tell 'how they gave it all back'. it is not that i enjoy in their misery, but, then i am more likely to believe those who post both ways. lucky larry and olds come to mind. and, while i disagree with some of what you say, i totally believe your posts about your gambling results. so, instead of going away for 2-3 day trips, i now limit the majority of my play to single day play. do not like, but that is all i am willing to lose.good post.....and I agree with your conclusions here.....You have stated you visit AC and I have not heard you disagree or dispute what I have personally experienced in AC the past several years......but what about Vegas?  how often do you get there?My main reason I do not simply take my money to Vegas and ignore AC is due to mobility/access and the pain and aggravation of air travel.    Also, it is fairly easy for me to get to AC via Bus (I live 10 minutes from Greyhound station, so voila!   with minimal effort I am on my way to AC  versus all the hassle of flying......these days, it is extremely cumbersome to go thru airport security with my own wheelchair since they now must literally take it apart before allowing it on the plane.....I totally agree with this do no tget me wrong, but when you consider that versus simply hopping on a bus, its just too easy ...!)    Still, my Vegas plans for the year (which change a lot) currently have at least three trips scheduled, with room for a fourth if and when I experience more of the same awful results in AC in the next few months when I go there.   We'll see.....

[notes1]

DB, do not go to vegas a soften as i should, maybe once every other year. between the time it takes to get there and cost of airplane tickets, it does not make up for the better paytables. but, like everyone, love vegas. i sympathize with your disability situation, it has to have an impact on your travel planning.  couple of suggestions, you can consider;-you like poker, play more poker-other than vegas, the results from playing VP are not much different from one location to another. the only difference i see are that busier casinos seem to be luckier for me.-go to the casino more often, but stay shorter time periods. that is how i get my fix.-either accept AC video poker as is, stop playing there or quit complaining. accept it.