Room Comps

[case]

We are not high rollers by any means. Example if a casino offers 5 cent vp at good pay tables we will play. Our normal game is just 25 cent. Boulder Station in LV has full pay 5 cent, .10, .25, .50 and 1.00. We will often start with nickles and go up the scale to some dollars depending how we do.

Our game of choice is DDB but we also play DB and bonus deluxe. We do not play your game Phil (deuces wild) and the reason is there are very few premium hands. 4 of a kinds in DDB will keep you in the game a long time when they are hitting.

You would be surprised at how easy it is to score rooms and food. At total rewards casinos we both play on my card until I get diamond and then we use my wives card to get platinum. The key is to play a solid day and not say just for a couple hours and then leave. TR counts your daily average.

In Vegas we play mostly Boyd casinos. They count VP the same as slots so it is easy to accumulate points. Also with Boyd we each have a different home casino so we get extra offers from them. Mine is Sams Town and wives is Cal downtown. All the Boyd properties offer us tournaments and cash grabs each month with free rooms. We could probably get 15 rooms a month in Vegas.

If I was to show you our spending for a year you would not believe me. I am talking about our net loss and it is a loss but very small considering how often we are in casinos. We do not gamble every day but when we do we stay in one casino and do not spread our play with other casinos. Keep your average decent and they will reward you. If we are leaving a casino early in the morning and decide to play we will not use our players card that morning. This is more important to Harrahs (total rewards) than Boyd properties.

Some of you might remember in 2010-2011 total rewards ran a contest called "the great race". If you played in casinos across the country and got your card swiped you got reward comps. We did this and got max comps of 750.00 each or 1,500.00 total each year. We just use this for food and with the added food comps over the years are still eating on it.

We do good in VP tournaments as it is our game and we have learned over the years the correct hold for tourney play. Most people that are in it are not VP players so we do have an advantage, especially if it is a timed event. Yes you have to have some luck but it is easy for the most part to get in the money. Plus these are free and they include rooms and a banquet. This adds greatly to our bottom line.

We both retired early and like Phil our money is invested in the stock market. We are dividend drip investers with solid companies.

I realize some would not like this life and others would. It is a way for us to travel and do what we enjoy. We know staying in a casino the rooms will be good and food options are many. We have a family and that is what keeps us home at times *L*

Anyway that is my story.

[notes1]

I believe there are players who can live in Nevada and not end up becoming dealers. I believe there are players who can go to casinos often and not end up broke. but, it takes discipline, being a bargain hunter and maybe a bit of a tight wad. I appreciate folks like that. unfortunately, too many do not possess those qualities. as is the case with all spending, it is a matter of personal responsibility and living within your means. now, if we could only get the government to do the same.

[case]

Notes1, I agree 100% with what you said. Discipline is the key. Also you should have a plan if you are going to frequent casinos a lot.

[billryan]

In July, a small two casino chain ran $10 matchplays in the local free paper. It said one per day but no player card was required so I was able to use multiples most days. Got in about 80 before it ended, and am up about $350 from the one promotion.
Nothing great,but I had a bad month at VP and this kept me from reaching very far into my pocket.

[FloridaPhil]

[quote=case]You would be surprised at how easy it is to score rooms and food. At
total rewards casinos we both play on my card until I get diamond and
then we use my wives card to get platinum. The key is to play a solid
day and not say just for a couple hours and then leave.[/quote]We agree totally,  We are mostly quarter players ourselves and rooms and food are never a problem.  Many casinos are willing to give nice comps to quarters players if you play all day and are loyal. It is amazing how cheap video poker can be for a husband and wife team.  Our major difference is we do not have access to good pay schedules on the east coast unless we move way up in denomination.  The best we can find in dollars or less is 98.9% deuces.  We both like deuces and it's been good to us. Our upcoming trip to Vegas is a scouting trip to see if 100% pay schedules really do help that much. We are going to pound those positive deuces games the entire trip and report what happens on this forum.   If we can see any difference, we may move our extended trips to Vegas and do more of them.I'm pretty sure we don't want to "live" in a casino, but our trips keep getting longer and more frequent.  The only reason we ever played single coin was because the Biloxi odds were so bad.   A 96% game is a loser no matter what happens. Over a week's time, even a royal flush won't keep you in the black. A lot of people don't understand this and that's unfortunate.

[notes1]

I do have a concern about the positive talk about limited casino losses and consistent returns from dividend paying stocks or funds.

not a casino expert but know a little about the markets. those dividend paying stocks were not worth dog poop when the DOW dropped from 14100 in 2007 to 6500 in 2009. I think it is worth noting that gambling and investing have a similarity. one must have a long term time horizon to weather the bad times and enough safe money to hold one over, when things are really rough. those who are reading these happy stories need to be reminded that there are no guarantees with either and there will definitely be bad times.

spending on casinos should come from monies one does not need. it should not come from the monies that are needed for one's 401k or to pay down debt. in most all cases, one needs to have achieved financial security, before ever considering a schedule that involves so much time in a casino.

[case]

When the markets bottomed out in 2009 I bought. Stocks were on sale. I am a long term investor and the dips don't faze me as long as dividends don't get cut. There are no guarantees in this world. You can stick your money under the mattress....as long as your house doesn't catch fire

[notes1]

When the markets bottomed out in 2009 I bought. Stocks were on sale. I am a long term investor and the dips don't faze me as long as dividends don't get cut. There are no guarantees in this world. You can stick your money under the mattress....as long as your house doesn't catch fire

if you knew the exact bottom, you might be the greatest market timer ever, good for you. there were quality companies that were forced to cut dividends, due to reduced revenues.

my point was this, many do not hang in when the market drops, they get scared. many do not hang in, they need the money, because they do not have sufficient safe monies to live on.

[FloridaPhil]

Investing in the stock market and playing video poker have nothing in common except the possible need for patience.  When we invest in a company's stock it's because they have a proven record of performance, great management and good prospects for the future.  No one ever made a profit by selling stocks and panic is not an investment strategy.   Long term investing in the stock market has averaged well over 8% during the past 50 years.  Reinvesting your earnings and using the power of compounding is the key to accumulating wealth.  If I had sold all my stocks in 2008 and bought real estate, I would probably be dead broke right now.  If I had sold all my stocks and played video poker with it, I'm sure I would have been broke in 2009.  Investing in the stock market has made us both millionaires.   Our parents didn't have any money, so we had to do it all on our own.  We haven't spent a dime from our investments and we don't intent to until we need it.   It's a nice feeling to know it's there, but it's does not have anything to do with our enjoyment of video poker.

[case]

[QUOTE=FLoridaPhill]Investing in the stock market and playing video poker have nothing in common except the possible need for patience.  When we invest in a company's stock it's because they have a proven record of performance, great management and good prospects for the future.  No one ever made a profit by selling stocks and panic is not an investment strategy.   Long term investing in the stock market has averaged well over 8% during the past 50 years.  Reinvesting your earnings and using the power of compounding is the key to accumulating wealth.[QUOTE=FLoridaPhill]




Yes this was my point exactly....invest in solid companies who have a proven record of performance.

We do not cash our dividends either but our stocks have a drip and all goes back into more stocks. Over the years it has been the best investment I ever made by far.

Notes: you do not need to know when stocks are hitting bottom...just invest when the price is value and you will do fine. I did not necessary buy stocks at rock bottom but they were way down and on sale