Last time I flew cross country, my companion and I split three extra legroom seats on Jet Blue.
Sorry to hear that. I would think an Advantage Player could afford better seats?
Flying first class used to be a luxury. These days, it's almost a necessity. We live in Orlando. Each and every flight is filled with screaming kids. They scream on the way here because they are excited. They scream on the way home because they are tired. In the back of the plane, your legs go to sleep and you can't move. You might sit next to a 400 pound person that overflows the seat. The service and the food suck. If that's the way you must fly, I don't envy you.
I think this forum places too much emphasis on the finances of VP and not enough on the enjoyment of the casino experience. We go to the casino to sit back, relax, get away from the everyday routine, talk and enjoy each other's company. We don't require full pay games to make that happen. If your casino experience is bad, perhaps the problem is with your expectations?
Can't speak for anyone else, but I won't play anything less than a 99% game. They are still available to me in AC, but when they are not, I won't play. That simple. I guess I'm not addicted after all.
Let's see. Fly to Vegas and play good games or spend twenty hours driving 1800 miles plus for a weekend of bad games.
Flying to Vegas on either Jet Blue or SW,every fifth trip is free.
Some folks just don't get it. But watching them disparage things they don't understand is half the fun.
Billy, when there are no more good games in Vegas will you still play VP?
I believe most players will. We will still need experts, but they will have to rewrite their books. This will sell even more books. Everyone will become Jean Scott. It won't be much different.
To me it's a no-brainer. Skip Biloxi, fly coach or business class to Las Vegas every 3 or 4 months and you'd be a much happier camper. You already mentioned that they send you offers now anyway, if they include free rooms and some food, what's the boggle.
We can't always fly off to Las Vegas every time we wish to play VP. We have to make these decisions where we play most. Comps are part of our winnings. We consider comps as anything the casino gives us for playing at their establishment. The surroundings where we play should be included in our comps. If you have a choice of playing full pay deuces wild in a smelly gas station bathroom or 98.9% deuces in a luxury resort overlooking the ocean, which one would you choose?
Where did I say to fly off to Las Vegas every time you wish to play video poker? I said to scuttle Biloxi.
Billy, when there are no more good games in Vegas will you still play VP?
I believe most players will. We will still need experts, but they will have to rewrite their books. This will sell even more books. Everyone will become Jean Scott. It won't be much different.
Phil why do you continually say that video poker is completely different in Las Vegas than almost anywhere else in the United States and in another breath make the comment like you did above?
I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. Right now, I have the opposite problem. Too many good promotions to exploit them all.
As I didn't play the lousy games at Aqueduct, which was twenty minutes from my house in NYC, I'd say the chances of me playing poor games without a promo that kicks them up is almost nil.
Phil why do you continually say that video poker is completely different in Las Vegas than almost anywhere else in the United States and in another breath make the comment like you did above?
I don't believe Vegas VP is that much different. There are more choices that's for sure. Promotions are more generous. The difference between full pay deuces and 98.9% deuces isn't great enough to make me want to go there. I've played full pay games and they don't pay any better when I play them. We're happy with what we have and wouldn't change a thing. If the casinos in our State had positive $5 games, we wouldn't play them. If they had the same game in quarters, we would. It's all the same game to us, only the risks are greater.
We're not addicted to the dream of VP riches. We enjoy the casino for the fun of the experience itself.
A few days ago on this forum OTABILL asked the question "What would you like to see discussed on the Recreational Forum?".
Here is something we can all relate to. It is no secret that playing positive VP games is essential if you want any hope of making a profit from VP. Are positive VP games essential to your personal enjoyment of the game?
Here is an example. We regularly make the 9 hour drive to play VP in Biloxi. We stay free at the Beau Rivage, one of the nicest casino resorts on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. They will fly us there for free, but we choose to drive. The VP odds at the Beau Rivage are not the best. The hotel, staff, casino, restaurants and comp programs are exceptional. However, not enough to make the games profitable by any stretch of the imagination. About 30 minutes away in Bay St. Louis is the Silver Slipper Casino where the VP odds are much better. Still not positive, but among the best in Mississippi.
Compared to the Beau Rivage, the Silver Slipper is a dump. The smoke is so thick you can cut it with a knife. Your clothes reek from tobacco. The clientele is mostly locals. The machines are dirty. There is no view except for an occasional butt crack. Should we play at the Beau Rivage where everything is first class or choose our VP games strictly by the odds? What would you do?
On my desk are a stack of offers. A number of them are from MLife. As everyone knows, their casinos are all over the country. These offers come to us from our play at the Beau Rivage. MLife casinos are not always known for having the best VP odds. Should we throw them away because we can't play positive games at their casinos?
When my wife and I make a decision on where to play our VP, odds are not the most important factor in making our decision. This might mean sacrificing odds for a better casino experience. Obviously, if we can get both, the choice is easy. Red Rock is an example of where we can get both. Unfortunately for us, it's 2,200 miles away. Two first class plane tickets and a rental car runs about $2K. Are the better odds at Red Rock going to make up the difference? Sadly no.
Do you always play the best games despite what else comes with your trip to the casino? Just curious.
Appreciate your starting this thread. We never looked at what was the best game percentage-wise. We played the games we liked, namely DDB progressives. Occasionally, we would play non-progressive DDB or TDB. As I have mentioned numerous times we were spending our money for a night's entertainment Why play a game we didn't find entertaining? We would rather spend our discretionary entertainment budget elsewhere. Other folks have a different outlook. That's their prerogative. What annoys me is when they dis anyone who thinks differently. You can see that in some of the posts on this and other threads.
I think many people would play at a casino no matter what the odds were. Most people nowdays don’t have enough basic math skills to check out paytables or even care. Look at all of the people who play the mindless penny machines. The average return on these is around 88 percent give or take. Look at what the lotteries rake in too with a 50 percent return to the people. I think what will govern the success of the casinos is how badly they can beat up the patrons before they stop coming. Right now they are walkink a fine line and losing ground. The economy is booming compared to recent years and casino profits are dropping. They are trying to make up the difference by offering alternate ways to make money like conventions, theme parks, entertainment, and booze. They are trying to buy up real estate in many different areas, and run stores and restaurants. Personally, I don’t think it is going to work. At least not for the Native American casinos in my area. I don’t think they have the expertise to do this properly. The turnover in employees is unbeliveable. Their training is poor for the most part and they continue to erode pay and benefits. Of course favoritism abounds too where tribal members get preference. They are many times not the sharpest pencils in the box. I have seen them over the years throw away so much money on useless decorations and renovations or promotions that are expensive and don’t work. Anyway, that’s just my 2 cents worth. The market is getting saturated now and there are only so many losers to go around.
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