Gambling For Entertainment

I've seen a lot of posters here state that they gamble for entertainment only. IMO it seems to be one of the greatest hypes the casinos have ever pulled. They've successfully been able to separate you from your $$ before the trip has even started. Don't get me wrong, there is clearly an entertainment value but I've never went in thinking I'm going to lose X amount of $$ and that's o.k. because it was "entertainment" money. I always go in with the intention of coming out ahead. I'm willing to accept losses but I've never thought "I'm down $X,xxx but at least it was fun!" To me "entertainment" has a fixed price like $20 for a movie or $100 for a show ticket. Gambling offers the possibility of coming home from the trip with more than you came with, not to mention the other perks that come with playing.
So when you play for "entertainment" do you always play the minimum on slots or tables? I'm not knocking anyone. If you can take $50-$100 and play slots all day getting free drinks etc... I could see that as entertainment. Taking thousands of $$$ and writing it off before the trip even starts seems dangerous. At that point the "entertainment" tag seems like a cop out to justify losing which I'm sure the casino's just love.

 

Its not about planning to lose, and certainly not about expecting to lose.

It is about being aware that losing is possible (and even borderline likely), and budgeting accordingly.

When I go to Vegas, I want to win. I plan to win. But I gamble an amount that, on both psychological and economic fronts, I would be comfortable losing.

Moreover, when I look at my trip budget, I budget it as if the money will be lost. That way I know how much everything will cost in the worst case. And I can then more easily compare the cost of a Vegas vacation vs a non gambling one.

If I lose a little but not my bankroll, or win a small to moderate amount, because this is my vacation budget, it leaves me free to spend that money to indulge.

Buying an umbrella is not the same thing as hoping it will rain.


As for the specifics of what I do:

Budget gambling beforehand, separating gambling budget into days. When a day is done, if I have a partial loss or I win, that money is luxury money (fancy meals or other 'treats' I can spend on vacation). I can bring it home if I want, or spend it to have fun. The daily gambling budget is to avoid either crippling myself early in a trip with a big gambling session, or giving away a mostly good week with a bad session at the end. In terms of what I play, I play poker and play Blackjack (mostly flat bets). I've started to get into craps but only dipping my toes in it.

 

And with respect to this comment in particular, I think the casinos much prefer those gamblers who "expect" to come out ahead. Those players are less likely to stick to a constrained budget, more likely to chase to try to get even, and more likely to try to compound a win to get a big win.

I think you got the impression that these players keep on playing until they lose it, or play more recklessly on the assumption they will. Can't speak for everyone, but that's not me. I'd actually be somewhat surprised and very disappointed if I lost all my gambling budget for a trip at the tables.

 

I agree 100%. If you ask me, the "greatest hypes the casinos have ever pulled" is convincing people that they have a real chance of consistently going home a winner at a bunch of games that are rigged in the house's favor.

But as PT Barnum said, "there's a sucker born every minute".

Also, there's a big difference between hoping to go home a winner, hoping to break even, and expecting to go home a loser. I would argue that many of those - myself included - who tend to characterize ourselves as gambling for entertainment value actually fall into the "hoping to break even" category, not the "expecting to go home a loser" category.

Of course, everyone loves to go home a winner - but for many of us, knowing that the house edge is not in our favor, we look at going home having broken even at the tables - or having come out at ahead or at least even when figuring in the value of a comped vacation that can be worth thousands, if not tens of thousands, of dollars - is looked at as the real win. Going home with extra cash is gravy. Going home a loser because you spent the whole trip - and trip after trip afterwards - getting further & further into a hole because you bought into the casinos' hype that you have as good a chance at winning as losing at games that are mathematically rigged against you is what the "entertainment" gambler avoids.

 

Right, both of you play not to lose. You try and stay relatively even and get free rooms, food, show tickets etc... You both understand how the system works and try to take full advantage of it, which is still winning, just not with cash. I'm talking about people that seem to have conditioned themselves to losing larger amounts and justify it as "entertainment". In my personal experience this mainly seems to be slot players over table game players.

 

I always play maximum coin on VP or slots and when I play blackjack I'm a $25/hand or thereabouts guy. I want to win... I just don't get my shorts in a knot when I don't. It's not a "business" environment for me... it's about the cocktails, music, conversation and fun. I don't however to allow myself to get so immersed in the "fun" that I forget about the value of my money. That's something that's very important to me... I don't squander it, nor do I stress over it.

 

If I wanted to make money, I would just stay home and work. I'm going to Vegas for entertainment and therefore don't mind losing a certain amount of money because that is the cost of such entertainment. Of course, it is always better when you win !

 

I went to see a couple of shows a few years back and spent $188 for 3 hours of entertainment. It was the entertainment part of my trip. Whether I choose to spend it on show tickets or drop in into a slot machine is personal preference. At times, having a couple of hours to kill I have gotten a couple of rolls of quarters and enjoyed playing slots which I considered cheap entertainment. I think as long as it is not your grocery money or money for your kids clothes, it's fine. Don't spend what you cannot afford to lose.

Jimbo338

 

Playing for comps and drinks is not what I mean when I say I play for entertainment. It would be a lot cheaper to pay outright for the drinks or the rooms.

When I say I play for entertainment, I mean I enjoy the time I spend at the craps table. Throwing the dice. making the bets. Interacting with the dealers. Meeting other players. The superstitions and the language and the traditions. Celebrating when I win and blaming the dice when I lose.

I am willing to pay for that entertainment. It is the money I buy in with. If I lose it all, I am OK with that....it is the price of my entertainment. If I color up anything, I am happy. If I cash in more than I bought in, I am ecstatic.

 

Ha, good luck with that.

I go with the intention of having fun and bet this is accomplished a lot more than your intention of coming out ahead.

 

This whole conversation does not seem relevant here. Gambling is a form of entertainment. To judge people on a Vegas message board, claiming that the way they view vegas/gambling is wrong just doesn't fit. What I chose to do with my money, as long as I budget with it, is entirely up to me. How I view what I spend it on is also in the eyes of the beholder. If I have a disposable income that I want to spend, sitting in front of a slot machine, pressing a button, wishing for impossibility but expecting probability, then so be it. It is like any other indulgence, an expensive glass of wine I will piss out later, an expensive meal I will s*** out later, or a movie I will later forget. And sometimes entertainment is tied to the dollar amount. Though risking more, I find it more entertaining indulging in the dream of winning megabucks then the thrill of winning $500 off $5/hand blackjack -that is not wrong, it's personal preference - and each person is entitled to that choice. If I didn't find gambling entertaining, and I know I am going to lose in the long run, then why on earth do it?

 

I play to win. Bankroll mgt., setting loss limits, and exploiting the positive trends is what makes it all entertaining to me. The advantage is to the casino but that doesn't stop me from playing to win.

As long as people play sensibly and they can psychologically and financially handle the loss of their bankroll it's all good.

How people handle their hard-earned money is no-body's business but their own.

 

As Nick the Greek put it,

“The next best thing to playing and winning is playing and losing.”

 

This is how I look at it, a friend of mine goes to bars all the time spending lots of coin on drinks, food, etc. This is not my style I don't like to spend my $$ like that, (I also don't care that he does) but I have no problem spending the equil amount of $$ say gambling with the "chance" to come out ahead. neither one of us have lost our house or our wives yet .

 

Hey Now!
I agree with uno..
we very rarely eat out, and don't drink, so we pretty much save our duckies for gambling. There is a separate account for our BR. We make it last for the whole trip...

 

This is just a matter of perspective. $3k may be a massive amount to some and trivial to others. I'm sure you also would view a $2000 bill at a nightclub as dangerous as well when that is common for many people that frequent that scene.


I'm sure there are people playing beyond there means and making excuses to make them feel better about it. For those people calling it entertainment is just one of the many cop outs they can use though. You can't just assume if someone calls it entertainment that it is a problem.

 

Vice's

Everyone has their "vice"! I enjoy traveling and playing BJ & slots - That's my "vice". Life is meant to be enjoyed...Just DO IT!

 

I go to LV with a positive attitude as I do in life.

It is called "gambling". I always hope to win or break even but if I don't, I always have a good time. It is entertainment to me.

LV is an adult Disneyland to me. I'm a great wife, take care of my family but enjoy sitting, playing vp without anyone asking me for anything, except the cocktail person of course.

I have won quite a few times and tease my husband saying "where can you go on an all expense paid vacation" !!!

Everyone has different budgets and different values on entertainment.

I judge no one but do hope they stay within their means.

 

I respectfully disagree with your assessment.

For me it is entertainment. I play slots and I'm a Max bet kind of guy. I go in expecting to lose the money I take with me and if I do win it is an unexpected surprise.
If you go in thinking you're going to win big then what's to stop you from chasing your losses? When I sit down at a machine I will have a set amount to wager and
a stop loss set before I pull the handle. If I can play a game and 40 minutes later walk away up or with the same amount I started with then to me that's fun!
If I am lucky enough to come home with winnings or the same money I took out with me then that money goes into a drawer along with my players cards for my next trip.

Gambling can be an addiction or good old fashion entertainment...

 

no hype

For years, we had $50/day to spend, and had a blast. expected to lose it, hoped to win. (and did play games with better EV, and used ideal play) That is totally fair. Purely for entertainment.

People pay varying amounts of money for entertainment of all types--I struggle with those who pay $200+pp for show tickets; $600+ for a meal, $500+/nt for a room. But if you want a certain experience, you will pay for it. Who am I to judge?

Now I play TX Hold 'em--and I now do expect to win, and I have on every Vegas trip since I started playing--breaking even at worst. (I do have to admit to 2 losing trips last year; due to the nature of the trips, I was not choosing the best tournaments. Luckily,I won at other games--I was traveling w/ my mom--so still came out ahead)