I had a friend who went to Vegas quite a bit. She made good money in her business, so ... I guess it was fun for her. Not my thing, though.
We watched another episode, on CNN, of The History of Las Vegas, last night. Unbelievable who done concerts way back when and who has had a Residency for concerts. Wayne Newton said that Elvis, Dolly, Cher and Celine done major concert productions. Wayne was a draw, but not like the others. In fact, Steve Winn had a large theater built for Celine at Caesars Palace.
Done Vegas about 10 times. Into poker. Always stay at Fremont St. Sad thing is the Golden Nugget have stopped playing Tournies.
I used to watch the tournaments on TV all of the time. Those guys are smart...almost psychic. I recall Daniel Negreanu (who will turn 50 this year) and Phil Ivey as being among my favorites. There were a couple of women who played well, but I cannot recall their names. Poker was never anything I cared to master...I always preferred the track.
When Daniel, the Professor, the Brat, Moneymaker and others played, most who don't play anymore, we watched WPT a whole lot on tv. We were in Vegas one December when there was a WPT Tournament going on at the Bellagio Hotel/Casino. We were just inside the hotel/casino as some of the players we knew were coming in.
Southern Nevada Supplemental Airport - Wikipedia Take a look at this, especially the Terminals and Gates part. Both a 12,000 ft and 15,000 ft runways! Not actually in Las Vegas, but between Jean and Primm. Funny, Vegas is calling it theirs. IOW, southern Nevada needs a second International Airport, being the only one right now is the Harry Reid one in Vegas. Along with a "speed train", Brightline, that has already started building that will got between Rancho Cucamonga, CA and Las Vegas. It is starting to appear that Las Vegas is the ultimate vacation destination in America for many folks, as well as many who live here think the entire area of Henderson/Las Vegas metros are Utopia.
When I was a kid my Grandma lived in vegas, so we went a lot from SoCal. Everything was so cheap cause they were making so much money from Gambling. While I get it was the 60's & 70's, I remember 10 cent breakfast and dollar meals, I mean like Steak dinners, even later on it was still dirt cheap. Then the real greed kicked in, I think sometime in the 90's. Say what you will about the mob guys who used to run everything, IMHO the "business" people running the place now are way worse in so many ways. Not sure if they still "Whack" people, but I think you get what I mean. Of course I suppose you could say that about almost everything now LOL. But I just think it's ridiculous now what things cost there these days. I'm all about Capitalism, but unbridled greed SUCKS! And sadly it ain't just Vegas that thinks it's OK.
I remember those days--cheap food and shows. I think there was a turnaround because a lot of people eventually smartened up and went there as a vacation destination for food, shows and sights and stopped gambling so much. I wanted to go see the new casinos like the Venetian, that Star Trek one etc but at this point it is too expensive and walking distances are too far for me.
One guy, at a local casino/restaurant, was playing a penny slot and won $200. His wife was standing next to him. Right after he won the money, I looked at him (kiddingly of course) and said "well, it's time to go isn't it?" and he said "I'm an a-hole, so I'll continue to play". I looked at him and said, "Just remember, I didn't call you that, you called yourself that." An older lady, at a penny slot, won some $700. I looked at her and said "time to leave, huh?" and she said "are you crazy?" and continued to play. The other night, my wife decided to play at slot after we ate dinner. She had a Comp of $3.00 and added a $20 to that. Betting 2 cents, she won nothing. So, I gave her a $20 out of my wallet, she bet .75 cents and HIT!! Didn't bet another penny and walked away with $211. I got my $20 back and she got her $20 back, plus an additional $180. We left and went home!
If those 2 people (and others like them) did not do what they do, there would be no casino for others to enjoy.
Well, one thing for sure, we don't look at gambling the way we use to. At one local/small casino near us, we won $8 and left. People who go to The Strip to gamble, will never have to worry about them closing (the new/newer ones). The "High Rollers" are all over the place there. And, on weekends, those casinos are packed with folks on slots and card tables.
I will admit that when I've won playing $4 bets at the track, my wagers sometimes creep up to $10. I'm probably better than 50% in keeping them to $5, but when you look at how much you could have won... And I've never given back all (or most) of my winnings.
As I think I wrote before, Las Vegas, Reno and the like weren’t built on the big betting whales that play but rather on the small fish. For every whale there are a hundred thousand people who play the less expensive games: People who are not there to make money but for the adrenaline and dopamine rush of winning. And let us face the facts, Everyone wins when they gamble for any length of time and it’s the adrenaline rush when they win that keeps them playing no matter how much they’ve lost. Now, as a side, anyone want to venture why cash is converted to chips? I mean, it ain’t because they’re pretty and stack so easily. Answer: Because psychologically speaking, a $2.00 chip isn’t money. It’s a chip. Same reason some machines accept debit and credit cards. When awaiting for the next adrenaline rush, a debit card isn’t real money. Figuratively speaking, its the needle that supplies the dope.
That's an interesting point. When I would go to the track, I would bet with cash, and I'd get my winnings back in cash. Perhaps that's why it was so easy for me to stick to $4 bets.