So what sayeth you, what is that mysterious number?
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There are so many variables. Supporting yourself is a different matter than supporting an entire family. Supplementing $5,000 a month in pension and Social Security is an entirely different ballgame than not having those cushions. Having a job that will regularly add to and replenish your gambling bankroll is not the same as not having that income.
The return on a game is discounted by your error rate --- so if you can play a 99.5% game at the 99% accuracy level, that takes it to (about) 98.5%. How well do you play? How recently have you tested yourself?
There are some monetary returns that are hard to place a number on. How much is a drawing worth, for example? If you have enough tickets, surely it's worth something, but how much? And there will always be swings. $1,000 a month on average might be enough for somebody, but winning $20,000 once a year and losing $600 a month for the other 11 months might not be --- even though they average out to about the same amount.
Do you count food comps? And at what rate? A $100 comp at a steak house is hardly worth $100 if you would have eaten for $20 somewhere else without the comp.
Same with room comps. How do you evaluate how much they are worth? If the rate on the back of the door says $250 a night, would you really pay that amount if you didn't get it for free?
I count transportation costs as a NEGATIVE --- so if I have to spend $xxx getting somewhere to gamble, assuming I don't get reimbursed, that could change a 99% game into a 97% game. There are people who ignore these costs because they wouldn't be a winner if they included them and they like to think of themselves as a winner.
At some casinos you have a dependable mailer of the same amount every month. Let's say it's $100 a month. If you gamble $50,000 a month there to generate that mailer, it's easy to calculate that as a 0.2% benefit. But many casinos give you a different amount every month --- based on who-knows-what formula. It's harder to come up with a figure on how much that's worth.
How much is a free cruise worth --- especially if "free" usually means $500 in port fees and gratuities plus transportation to and from the port city? Not in the COVID-19 era, of course, buy the quality of my married life has been improved by these cruises and I definitely consider them a plus and will play extra to earn one. Many people have a very different calculus on how much they are worth.
Casinos give away "casino crap" that is often worthless. But not always. I've received televisions, wine, vacations, automobiles, jackets, etc., that I use. How much are those worth?
Sometimes you get gift cards. Do you count them as face value? Well, if it's from Walmart or Amazon, for me the answer is yes. If it's from "Omaha Steaks," not so much. if I can sell those at 80%-90% of face value, I will every time.
Even if I had one number (which I don't), there are a huge number of ways to come up with that number. Were I playing in Minnesota, for example, my choices of games that met my expectations would be different than if I live in Vegas, which I do. The games are still there, of course, if you know where to look.
Finally, you're going to have to find these opportunities for yourself. If I post about a $50/hour game online, the game will be pulled in less than a week. There will always be those who say that since they don't know about any positive games then those games don't exist. In almost every jurisdiction, however, good games may be found by the knowledgeable player.