Page 8 - April 2005 • Southern California Gaming Guide

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAMING GUIDE
Two $450,000+ Wheel of Fortune® MegaJackpotTM Winners at IPala Casino Resort & Spa and Fantasy Springs Resort Casino!
t is said that patience is a virtue, and one she said. e lucky winner plans to pay o On their way home from San Diego, lucky Los Alamitos casino player is living student loans and her car, and also help her Luna and his brother stopped at Fantasy proof ! On her rst trip to Pala Casino husband fund a device he has patented. You Springs Resort Casino. A sticking button
can see a thrilled Mrs. McAlister on page 25. ey say that money changes people,
but for Oscar Torres Luna it will
on one machine prompted Luna’s move to the lucky Wheel of Fortune® 50-cent slot machine.
Excited, but calm, the Bloomington resident (also shown on page 25) is looking forward to his newfound nancial security and values the opportunity to continue his present occupation. “I like my current job and won’t have to change now,” Luna said.
“I am comfortable.” He also plans to pay o his home and car with his winnings.
15th at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino.
ESoboba Casino Celebrates 10th Anniversary with $100,000 Giveaway!
Resort and Spa, Vicki Lynn McAllis- ter, a medical records technician, waited patiently in line for 25 minutes to
play her favorite slot machine,
a quarter Wheel of Fortune®. Once she sat down, it took only min- utes for her to hit the top $464,613 jackpot!
p r o -
vide the security to keep things the same. e
56-year-old trailer technician was consid-
“I played Wheel
of Fortune in Vegas
Lincoln City and I really
liked the bonus round, so I
waited for the machine to become available,”
ering looking for a higher paying job, until he won a $452,252 MegaJackpotTM on a Wheel of Fortune® 50-cent slot machine on Sunday, March
and
very ursday in April, Soboba Casino is February’s anniversary month was so much fun at Soboba celebrating a decade of fun and excitement that they extended the celebration for two months! Check with a $100,000 Anniversary Giveaway! page 17 for further details, and go join in the giveaways!
Using Common Sense in a Casino by Jean Scott
P laying smarter in a casino does not necessarily require a lot of math knowledge and spe- cial skills. It is good, of course, to study the games and learn about mathematical odds, but what if you just want some simple advice on how to make your gambling bankroll
last longer in a casino? Here are some common-sense ideas.
or table for hours at a time. Go outside for a fresh air break. Hit the snack bar for a quick bite. Or stop in the race book and put a couple of dollars down and watch one horse race. You can also change machines or tables frequently to stretch tired muscles.
5. Play at a slower pace. Choose crowded tables so you are putting less money at risk by playing fewer hands. ere is no reward for speed demons on slot machines. So, stop sometimes to chat with your neighbors. Recently I observed a couple who took turns playing one video poker machine while the other watched, and every time they hit four- of-a-kind they stopped and hugged and kissed.
Do you think you are a pretty sensible person? You work hard. You pay your bills on time. You shop sales and budget your money carefully. en don’t drop your common sense at the entrance to a casino. Take it in with you and use the very same careful thought — and you will nd that you can play longer and have more fun.
Jean Scott, the “Queen of Comps,” is the author of the best-selling book The Frugal Gambler, a casino guide for thrifty low rollers, plus the sequel, More Frugal Gambling, now available at www.FrugalGambler.biz. Featured on “Dateline NBC,” “48 Hours,” and The Travel Channel, she stresses sensible, responsible gambling and shows how to stretch out casino fun time whatever your gambling bankroll.
1. Accept the fact that the main thing casinos o er is entertainment. Of course everyone wants to win, but be honest: You know that it is more likely that you will lose. So what is your real reason for being in a casino? You want to have fun, right? Too many people will not admit this to themselves; and when they lose, they feel very unhappy because they have “wasted” their money. e healthy attitude is to consider your bankrollyour“cost”forthisentertainmentchoice.
And what other entertainment option gives you a shot at bringing home more money than you took with you!
2. Choose your gambling bankroll from the part of your household budget marked“entertainment.”
is is money you sometimes use to dine at a nice restaurant or go to a movie or spend on a weekend getaway. is is not money you set aside for groceries or the mortgage or the kids’ school
clothes. Unless you are an extremely disciplined person, you should have this whole bankroll with you, in cash if it is a small amount, in traveler’s checks if it is a large sum. You should not take your checkbook or your ATM card or your credit card to the casino. Nothing will take the fun out of gambling faster than losing money that has been earmarked for necessities.
3. Choose your playing denomination carefully.
If you have been playing dollar machines in the past and your bankroll usually didn’t last long enough, then the sensible thing is play quarters. Lose too much playing green chips at the tables? Stick to red chips. Going down in denomination is probably the easiest technique to use to stretch your money.
4. Give yourself frequent breaks. Nothing will make you more sluggish than sitting at a machine
Page 8 April 2005
Column: The Frugal GamblerTM Gaming News (Continued)