Have you been to a casino? How often do you go? If not, would you like to?
What games do you play? How much have you won or lost (if you feel like saying )?

A family member recently won $112K in the slot machines. She goes regularly as its her break from dealing with a terminally ill husband (never went before he fell ill). What a great thing to happen to her! She didn't know she'd won....wondered why the machine stopped letting her play. LOL

Me - have been in a few Atlantic City casinos, but never played. Personally, I have no desire to go. One word described them: Desperation I like to people watch but not at that place....it was just depressing to me....watching folks who didn't look like they had a pot to pee in throwing away what little they had. Yeah, I realize that I have a strong opinion on this subject.....I also don't buy lottery tickets. I'm one of those self-righteous people who make my money the hard way - I earn it.

So what do you think??

cj/

I have never been to a casino. I play the lottery occasionally, maybe 3-4 times a year I will buy a couple of scratch off tickets. My DH is a gambling addiction counselor and a drug and alcohol addiction counselor, and it is sad to see people addicted with gambling problems. They lose their homes, cars, get themselves so far in debt, etc. all because they think they are going to take that last little bit of money they have and win big. Unfortunately, Oklahoma has more casinos than any other state in the US, and they continue to build more.

I have not been to a casino in years, but when we have gone, usually play the nickle and quarter slots. I figure playing cheaply, you can extend your time in giving the casino all your money. Some people do win on the slots, but chances of the machine taking your money are greater.

A few years back, my mom won $10,000 on a quarter (or dollar) slot machine. Sounds good, doesn't it? Well, she gave it all back plus more within a few months. Problem is, if you win, the adrenalin rush makes you think you can do it again. Smart winners walk, knowing it will probably never happen again.

My take on casinos are they seem to attract people who cannot afford to lose money. I believe bankruptcies, foreclosures, and divorces have transpired at the result of paychecks vanishing from those who couldn't stay away from the casinos. Do casinos really need to exist within an hours drive of almost everyone? It's just ridiculous.

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I've gone a handful of times over the years. I'm pretty good about gambling; I go in playing for fun with the realization that the odds are stacked against me. I only play with money I can afford to lose and won't keep me up at night sweating bullets, lol.

I usually play video poker. I have also played Bingo.

On occasion, we have played the lottery.
Many years ago I played scratch tickets. I won small amounts three times in a row. The clerk insinuated I was cheating, saying 'I guess my drawer will be short'.

Never won it big.

I've known of people going there gambling their rent and car payments away.

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I like to go to Casinos. I haven't been to Vegas in about 3 years so it's due time to go. I like to play Blackjack...that's it. I'll only play something I feel I have some sort of control over. I hate slot, bingo and any of the video games and I don't play the state lottery either

We have a couple gambling towns about 1.5 hours away in the mountains and I went to one of them a month ago and had a good time. Good thing about them is that the min and max bet at the tables is $5 so you can't loose it quite as fast as in Vegas. Before last month though, I hadn't been there in 9 years so it's obvious I don't gamble a lot

I've won and I've lost. In Vegas, I've never really *won* if you take into account the food, entertainment and rooms while we are there. When I was 21-22 and lived in CA, I would drive up to state line about 2-3 times a month with a friend...that was fun. I never take too much to loose and what I take, I expect to lose so anything in my pocket is winnings to me

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live like 45 minutes from Atlantic City now, been there to go to the Surfs game but no desire to waste money on a casino.

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I go about once every 5yrs or more I went this year with my mom one night I came out exactly even I played the pennie machines. My favorite is black jack but with 3 kids I cant afford to play that anymore when I was about 21 I went about 5 or 6 times in a row played & won on black jack everytime & lost once $20 bucks & didnt go back for 5 yrs LOL I am too cheap & tight to loose even $20. I have seen alot of people around here when big bucks but I have seen even more file BK because they lost everything in the stupid casinos. I am sure glad I know my limits dh makes fun of it too because if I lost $10 I was ready to go he thinks I should loose more what a ding dong!! He should be thankful I am how I am

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mom of 3 greats girls

Have I been to a casino?

Hmmm, let me see, does 5 days a week, 49 weeks a year for 19 years count?
Yup the casino is my daily grind.

Do I gamble? On occation. Usually when family or friends are in town and want to go to the casinos.

When I first moved to this area, I didn't gamble at all. But as it's the easiest form of entertainment locally I started. Once started, it quickly got out of hand. And I do mean a problem. But my "thrifty" nature won the day.
Our guests run the gamut from the very wealthy (for our area) that are here a couple times a month, to retirees that this is thier idea of a daily hobby, to the problem gamblers that show up as soon as they have a dollar in their pockets.

Now for my two cents worth. And keep in mind this is my personal opinion and based on what I have seen over the years.
When I started in the industry, NV and NJ were the only legalized gambling in the US. And for the most part the people that came to gamble had giiven consideration to what a "gambling trip" would cost and that was all factored in before they left the house.

When gambling started to go nationwide, I think that people saw big tax revenue for their local governments. They didn't understand the other side of this cash cow. Gambling brings higher rates of white collar crime (think embezzlement, forgery, fraud), suicide, substance abuse/addiction, divorce, bankruptcy and foreclosure.
I would wager that if you have a casino in your area, someone you know has a gambling problem. And by that I mean they are scrambling to keep everything appearing normal. Or they have tale after tale of why they never have money. Or how their phone got shut off "by accident".
And don't be surprised if it's a sweet, white haired couple or the 20something cashier at the store where you shop. People that you would never in a million years think could have a gambling problem.

All that said, here's my advice. If you are going to gamble, think of it as entertainment. The money will be gone as surely as if you had spent it on a night on the town or a vacation cruise.

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Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass
It's about learning to dance in the rain.

think it sounds far more entertaining to watch "False Advertisting" strut her stuff...LOL

I truly enjoy going - but that said, my ds is 8 yrs old and I think I've been twice since he was born! There are casinos 30 miles from me, and it is a lot of fun to play the slots. I NEVER play higher than 25 cent slots and I only take in the $15, or $20, or $25 dollars that I can afford to lose. I leave the credit cards, debit cards and any other cash in my purse, locked up in the car.

About 10 yrs ago, my Mom started going and either the first or second time she went, she won like $800. She put that money in a hidden place in her house and every time she would go gambling, she would take out $40 or $50 dollars from there and either lose it, or win some to add to the "kitty". She still does that - she WILL NOT take money from her household accounts,etc. It has worked for her all these years.

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I have to admit over the years, I have seen almost everything. And I say almost just because everytime I think I have seen everything, something happens that makes me say, "Maybe now I've seen everything".
Anyone that works with the public will get to view amazing human behavior on a daily basis but I think that the "sinful" reputation and the party atmosphere of casinos makes people even looser than normal.

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Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass
It's about learning to dance in the rain.

We go occassionally to Tunica, MS or Metropolis, Ill. More or less just something different to do. We have a set amount to spend before we ever leave home and don't spend a dime over that. I usually play the nickel slots. I've never won much at all.

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I went to Atlantic city on my honeymoon. We didn't gamble. A couple of years ago a friend of ours won a luxury bus trip, so he took about 30 of us to a huge casino about 1.5 hours from here. Looked nothing like the TV commercial with evening gowns, dancing etc. Saw alot of smoking, unhealthy, desperate looking people. They seemed anxious and driven, not like they were having a good time. Not all mind you, but alot. It was very disturbing. This at the Foxwoods Casino in RI. The place is huge, and from what I hear, filled to the top 24/7. I cannot believe all the elderly people from my area that go 2, 3, more times per week. Some of them I am related to. I pray that when I am elderly, I will have the health and focus to do alot more fulfilling things with my time than hang around in a casino. I know several other people whose loved ones have a gambling problem as well. It is not prety, and extremely hard to deal with, especially when they are in the 'scrambling to keep everything looking normal' stage. There are many in my state who want to build a casino here. I am against it, but I'm sure it will happen in a short period of time.

This is what I observed as well. Desperation..... And in Atlantic City, boy, you went from all these big buildings and faux glitz stuff to slums if you walked one block in the wrong direction...

cj/

We went to Michigan City to the outlets. We stopped at the Blue Chip and I hated it.
There was too much SMOKE for me.

We didn't stay long and I don't care to ever go again.

When I was in college we went to Atlantic City a few times. You paid $10 for the bus and they gave you $10 in chips when you got there. We made that stretch for the whole evening. Played the slots, got free drinks, watched cheesy shows. It was fun. I never won anything though.

More recently, when we went to Aruba, we played in those casinos. We lost. Probably about $100.

Every now and then someone will give me a scratch card (in Yankee swaps, for example) -- I've won a couple dollars on those now and then.

I think it's fun to go to the casinos now and then, but I don't think there's any danger that I'd become addicted.

I've never been to a casino... I could see myself mindlessly feeding a slot machine though! Any time a game has a slot machine type mini-game in it I can't help but click my virtual money away

Real world money, though.... I like to hang onto that!

DH and I go probably a couple of times a year. Both of us like to play, but I play on the penny and nickel machines and he plays else where. Sometimes I win sometimes I lose.....however, 6 years ago we were in Atlantic City and I had my bucket full of nickels standing in line to cash them in...I was standing next to a wheel of fortune machine, one just like the one I had just got done playing....I put a twenty dollar bill and hit max credit....thinking I had just bet 15 cents..........the machine just began hooting and hollarin.....I won a little of 15,180 after taxes on a progressive machine (grand prize was 23,000 something). Turns out that 5 on the machine meant it was a $5 machine and not 5 cents. That was my first and last time ever playing $5 machine, it was pure luck...and I know it won't happen again to me. But I still like to go, I honestly spend anywhere from $50 to $100 ever time we go, and husband does the same. It is ALWAYS money we can afford to lose, and it normally lasts us 5+ hours. I do look at it at if DH and I went out to movie and a nice dinner we would spend close to what we spend in the casino.....so to me its just another form of entertainment. But we are still wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy ahead winnings!

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I went to AC once when I turned 21 with my boss. I wasn't prepared to go, she asked at the last minute and I had nothing better to do, so I went. I was broke in an hour, she had to buy me lunch.

DH has never been and one day we said we will go just so he can try it out. Now there are more indian casinos around here so we wouldn't drive all of the way there.

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For those of you who like slots excitement without the money, try
simslots.com
It looks and sounds just like real machines and it is truly all free!!

We married in Vegas, and got ID'd and questioned because there was a twelve-year-old playing slots next to us while we were waiting for the elevator. We were 21 and 24 at the time, and I was annoyed enough that I didn't even try gambling. We occasionally go to the casino near us when my in-laws are in town, because they have a buffet, but that's it for me.

I love gaming. We go to Vegas 3-4 times a year (from Florida) and go to our local casino boat at least once or twice a month. I got married at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. I never take more than I'm willing to leave there. We just got back from 11 days in Vegas and the entire trip cost me $500. That includes hotel, airfare, shows, food, and gambling. I'm mainly a blackjack player but have a lot of fun on the penny slots. I like to play craps from time to time as well.

It's all about moderation and knowing your limits. I can't wait until Florida legalizes class 3 gaming in every county. If they don't then the Native American casinos will do it without kickbacks to the state. Either way, I wish I could go play some penny games tonight without having to drive an hour to the coast and then sail out to international waters.

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oupiglet...addicted to free stuff!

We also love gaming...we just got back from Vegas. We were married in Vegas 3 years ago. We only take what we can afford to lose. We view it as entertainment.

There is a casino about 3 hours away that offers free hotel nights and food credits that we take advantage of 2-3 times a year. I have won two jackpots on 25 cents video pocker (both in one night) for a grand total of $2400.

My mom won $6000 on a slot machine the night before I got married! It's fun for us!

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~Mom to Andy-11/3/05 and Ryan-7/31/08~

I have never been to a casino and don't have any desire to go. I don't even buy lottery tickets. In my opinion, gambling is not a good thing.

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Yippee - I'm just back from the casino where I won $2600 on the craps table. I took $200, which I was fully prepared to lose for entertainment, but it ended up being a pretty high stakes game. Everyone at the table was winning and the pit boss started to freak out a little because they ran out of chips and had to call for money from the back cashier.

I only go about once every 6 months - but chose the right day to go today! My DH is gone this weekend so I had no one to tell. Fortunately there was an appropriate thread to post to

WTG Girl!!! I'm just thrilled for ya.

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Woohoo! Way to go pmt88th! CONGRATS on your winnings!! Whatcha gonna do with them?

cj/

I've been to Vegas once years ago with my parents. It was ok- I guess I see the fascination with it- but I got bored there. Same with my sister.
My parents used to go for each of their birthdays and then their anniversary each year. They set aside how much they wanted to spend gambling and played off of that. If they won, they took the winnings and put it aside. Once they were out of their original stash- they stopped. They were both lucky every now and then- my Mom won 12,000 , 8000 and lesser amounts- and my Dad would win 1000 here and there. They usually broke even. After my Dad died in 2002. my Mom has only gone 1X with friends- too many memories she says.

Of course 2-3 years before that they discovered online gambling too. So that's what my Mom does now- she's just as practical as before too- heck I think she's done better with them- she usually wins about 200 a month free and clear- she has also won about 8000 this year on top of that which she is saving.

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Awesome run on that craps table!!!

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oupiglet...addicted to free stuff!

Me and my DH also go to Tunica!!!!!

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