Page 25 - June 2012 • Southern California Gaming Guide

Bob Dancer: Video Poker
WFive Hundred Dollars Isn’t the Same as Five Hundred Dollars
hen Shirley and I nished a cruise recently, we scheduled separate ights back home from
plans got cancelled for some reason, and Shirley was able to get on a ight a couple of hours after mine.
Hollywood, or any of the other places I play. From Orlando, because she was planning on visiting a girlfriend there for a few days. ose experience, I know that my annual score at some of those
When I checked in, I told the Southwest Airlines (SWA) people that if the ight was oversold, I was willing to be placed on a later ight, so long as I got to Las Vegas before midnight. I ended up getting bumped and catching a non-stop ight four hours later that arrived in Las Vegas within minutes of Shirley’s arrival.
places will be negative and at some of these places it will be positive. But at the start of any year, I have no idea which will be which. Ranking the casinos top to bottom in terms of actual pro t, the ranking in 2010 was di erent than it was in 2011, and I expect that 2012 will be di erent again. I’m generally playing with a relatively small edge — and the swings can go either way.
But the $500 from SWA is “found money.” is is outside of my business plan. While Shirley and I together have averaged about $1,600 a year (I think — I don’t have an exact accounting for this) from this source over the past 15 years, it’s not money I count on. To me this is like shopping during sales, or buying a car from the auction rather than from a dealer, or even turning o the lights when you leave a room. is $500 received is a result of spending/conserving my wealth wisely.
I keep close track of my gambling wins and losses. e $500 loss at the Palms went on my gambling log. at’s a taxable loss. (At least for me: I le as a professional gambler.) e $500 from SWA didn’t go on that log. Since it’s in the form of a gift certi cate, I’m not reporting it as taxable income. I don’t have a special list for it anymore than when Shirley pays $20 for something on sale rather than $80 retail. We don’t record that $60 savings anywhere. It’sanuntrackedwealthadditionthatoccursnaturallyif you live thriftily.
ese things are important. Gambling at a 101% rate while having money-leaks in the rest of your life isn’t a winning way to go. Although it is better than gambling at a 99% rate while having the same money-leaks.
Listen to Bob’s radio show Gambling With An Edge, on Thursday evenings 7 to 8 p.m. Pacific Time on radio station 1230 AM in Las Vegas online at klav1230am.com. Dancer’s products may be ordered at bobdancer.com or at 1-800-244-2224 Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific Time.
celebrate too much over Royals, and I don’t worry too much over losses.
I can’t guarantee that I’ll be ahead for the year on December 31st, but I’m willing to bet you 5-to-1 that this will be the case in any year you choose, be it 2012, 2013, or 2014. (I have con dence that I’ll be able to do it after that, but it’s just a guess. Who knows what the state of video
poker gambling will be in three years?) And I think you’d be a fool to bet against
We y SWA enough that Palmsisn’tarealloss.Iknow meonthis—bothbecause
ere are various “payment plans” SWA uses to
pay their “bumpees,” and I
received a $530 voucher to be “To me, the $500 loss at the used on future SWA ights.
this is almost as good as cash. e only downside is that when you use this voucher, you don’t get frequent yer miles, so that might reduce the value of the voucher to $500 or so. Still good.
A few days later, I was playing at the Palms. I ended up losing $500 that day.
To many people, this would be a wash. $500 ahead one day, $500 behind a few days later.
Not to me.
I believe my methods work, and also because I would be in control of my betting over the last few days of the year. If I were a little ahead, I might shut things down if I had a bet riding on whether the result is positive. If I were a little behind, I might use some sort of double- up-to-catch-up system to get positive. While that’s not an intelligent way to gamble on a regular basis, if there were a sizeable bet involved, it just might be the smart way to go in that particular case.
At the end of the year, it doesn’t matter much to me whether this year’s wins came from Palms, Gold Coast, South Point, Silverton, M, Sam’s Town, Planet
To me, the $500 loss at
the Palms isn’t a real loss. I
know there are swings up
and down. I strongly believe
I’m going to come out ahead
at gambling over the course
is slightly ahead or slightly behind is irrelevant. I don’t
there are swings up and down. I strongly believe I’m going to come out ahead at gambling over the course of a
year. Whether today is slightly aheadorslightlybehindis irrelevant. I don’t celebrate too much over Royals, and I don’t worry too much over losses.”
of a year. Whether today
JUNE 2012
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAMING GUIDE
PAGE 25