General

$200 on black next
Then $400

It's gotta hit.

Boss wrote:

That was the original plan!

MrBean wrote:

The problem is that you took gambling advice from Wesley Snipes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awcx-gTQDLM

Whatever you do, definitely don't go to him for help with your taxes.

When I had been in my profession for about 10 years and making what I thought was a decent salary, I went to a convention in Philadelphia. The organizers arranged for buses to take anyone who wanted to go to Atlantic City for one evening. I wasn't a gambler, but I went because a friend wanted to go. I walked around just to watch. My friend played black jack most of the evening and at the end of the night had came out a few dollars ahead. He pointed to one of the other guys from our group at the table and told me he had watched that guy sign off on three $1,000 vouchers over the course of about 3 hours. (Adjust for inflation and it would be more than twice that today.) All I could think was "How much money would I have to make to feel OK with gambling away $3,000 in one night?" I couldn't come up with a figure anywhere near my salary.

MrBean wrote:

I did this once at Poto in Milwaukee. Can't remember if was black or red, but I hit it. Took my $$ and walked away...to the slots where I eventually lost it all over about 3 hours.

I don't know how people can gamble. It's so damn stressful. When I was 18 the company I worked for sponsored day trips to Atlantic City. It was $25 for the bus. We were given 4 free drinks on the way down which I sold for a buck or two because I didn't drink. I would have given them away, but the ladies offered cash. When we got to the casino they gave us $30 in quarters. I played a couple dollars in the slots, then went to the beach and read a book. I'd buy a cheap lunch and go home. That is my idea of a great day in Atlantic City.

I look at a casino like entertainment. I go in with a set amount of money I'm pretty sure I'm going to lose, no different than going to a movie. I generally spend the first hour or so checking out the games, odds, etc. not playing a whole lot. By then I have my strategy laid out and see what happens. That said I've stepped in a casino less than once a year for my legal life to gamble, and the most I've ever lost is less than $50.

The thing I found interesting about the casinos was that as you went to the higher floors, the games got more expensive and exclusive. The main floor was mostly crammed with quarter slots and black jack tables. The second floor had fewer slots and the tables were more spread out. The top floor was definitely for the high rollers. The gamblers were separated from the observers by velvet ropes.

The area around the casinos in Atlantic City was nice, but it looked like just a couple of blocks away in any direction was a slum. It did not look safe to go away from the casinos at night.

KCPenguins wrote:

This is exactly what we do on the rare instances where we're at a casino. I go in with like $40 that I fully expect to lose and see how it goes. I tend to play it all through until it is gone unless I get really lucky with a win worth talking away with.

My wife will do the same with $40, but she keeps all of the "winnings" regardless of how small. In other words, if she bets 50c and it pays out 25c that spin, then she keeps that 25c. Whatever she has at the end of the $40 that she walked in with, she leaves with. (i.e. she never plays it through again). Sometimes she walks away with $10. Sometimes $50.

All that being said, the BEST I ever did in a casino was this... We were in Vegas and it was like midnight after a show -- and I was in charge of keeping track of one of the "talents". In other words, make sure that he doesn't drink too much, doesn't get mobbed by any crazy/drunk fans, and makes it back to his hotel room at a reasonable hour because his family was coming to visit the next day. Some "co-workers" take him to the bar in the middle of the casino to chat. 3 hours later and I'm doing everything I can at almost 3am to convince him it is time to leave so that he can get some sleep before his family arrives in the morning. He finally agrees. During these 3 hours, we had moved the couches around a bit as more and more people gathered in his group in the bar. Now that we're finally all leaving, I step back in to move the furniture back into place because I feel bad that we moved stuff around and don't want to leave it for the staff. (Note that I don't drink, so it is 3am and I'm the only one that is sober...) So, I push the couches back into place and a casino chip falls out from under one of the couches.

$500 chip! Sweet! I couldn't believe it. It seemed old, so I was afraid that they might not cash it out (they often have limits on how old a chip could be). After I got him back to his room for the night, I went straight to the cashier and, sure enough, valid chip worth $500!

My wife was a little upset that I hadn't gotten back to the room until 3am. Until I showed her the chip.

Sweet! Wish I had that kind of luck.

Wooooooo stumbled into the casino after a Browns game tonight. Turned $50 into $300. Cashed out and bailed!

Any other good gambling luck stories out there?

MrBean wrote:

Yeah, I knew this guy on this gaming website that almost ruined things, including his relationship with his wife, by YOLO'ing too much on GME and Doge...

He seemed to have pulled out of it ok, but now and then he still blows $50 at a casino with hopes that it'll just keep working out for him...

I hit Lucky Ladies side bet the first time I was on a cruise. Had $10 on it, paid out 1000 to 1.

I hit the fire bet on craps on the first trip where I learned to pay craps. This was around 2-3 AM, and the table went nuts. I didn't even play the bet (not all casinos have it, it's trademarked IIRC) but was tipped out big time by the table.

A few minutes later, Taylor Hicks from American Idol creeped out of a club into the casino where the table was and hung out because there was a big early morning crowd. He cooled me nearly instantly but was really nice and chatted with everyone. I walked away with ~$2700 from the tips/my table winnings. I only played $5/$10 tables at the time, but easily my best win from an excitement standpoint.

John wrote:

haha, sounds like a big dummy!

I'm a filthy casual poker player... Texas Hold'em is my preference.
It's not casino related, but there was a game night $5/game plus $5 for best hand end of the night.
I ended up winning the 2nd game of the night, and the reason I would consider it "good luck," is I kept playing based on how the cards were dealt and more times than I can count I somehow got lucky winning with "trash cards," and this ticked off my friend. He was like "No way you can win like that. If this were the Poker tournament, you'd be out of the game so fast."

Some friends/family and I went to a casino for my birthday last year. I went in with $200 for my wife and I; when it's gone, it's gone. After doing the typical walk around and playing a few slots, one friend and I sat down at a black jack table. $10-15 a hand, I don't recall exactly, it may have switched back a forth a couple of times. I just played really conservative, safe bets the entire time and waited to hit on double downs to split the hand. We sat there for hours and I won several hands worth $200-350. A few people would get up and walk away disgusted, but most people we played with were really cool and congratulatory towards me. Some people even started placing bets in my spots of the board. I ended up cashing out with $1350 (initial $200 included). It made for a really fun evening and we stayed way longer then we intended as I kept winning.

Afterwards we all went out for dinner and jokes were obviously made that I would be paying. I did offer to pay, but ultimately my party would not let me because it was my birthday.

Obviously, I've never had that kind of luck at the tables, and I've gone back a time or two since then and have only ever made it out ahead $50 or so.