Vegas

[Jayvegas420]

I didn't know that.
Are all the shows different?

[Jayvegas420]

Won all the sports bets I made last night.
Also hit for $105 at the $2-46 FLEX AT eXCALIBUR.
Leaving with $442.

[InTheDrink]

leaving? after your biggest hit?

common JV!!!

[Nick Papageorgio]

Please post final figure of amount lost at Monte Carlo earning hours. Thanks.

[Jayvegas420]

I lost $90 in the Monte Carlo Poker Room at the cash games.
I win the $100 for the kings cracked.
So, I guess I won $10 over all.
I earned 28 hours.

[Jayvegas420]

Played another 3 hours before I left. Had Al Schoonmaker sign my copy of Poker Player Magazine too!

[Sledge187]

Played another 3 hours before I left. Had Al Schoonmaker sign my copy of Poker Player Magazine too!

Reminds me of the time I met #214 in the Heartland poker Tour standings in 2011, Wille "Butter Milk" Barnes!!! Lifetime winnings well into the 4 figures.

[Jayvegas420]

four figures!
Much better than my 2 figure profit!

[Nick Papageorgio]

We have to figure you won more than 10 pot in which they took a dollar in 28 hrs, so you end up in the -. This is why you should stick to low rake rooms.

[Jayvegas420]

I also paid close to $150 in tips.
For the dealers & the waitresses.

[Jayvegas420]

Heading Home.

[InTheDrink]

so 2700 was really 2258

jay you dont know which dollar could have vaulted you into the life of riches....could have been one of those last 442 guey

[LVHerbie]

We have to figure you won more than 10 pot in which they took a dollar in 28 hrs, so you end up in the -. This is why you should stick to low rake rooms.

A friend of mine played in the same freeroll as Jay, finished in the top 10 for a dime, and probably won money in the 25 hours he spent qualifying. I'm guessing if Jay had matched those results you would argue that he had found the best low stakes play in Vegas?

[Jayvegas420]

Top 10
Lessons for Living in Las Vegas

10. Never decline or ignore criticism or advice from anyone.

Information is power.
Right or wrong you can always take something from the advice of others.
I hadn't dropped a nickel in a slot machine over my 33 year gambling career. When LV Herbie told me there's a +ev method to playing the slots I thought, "Oh boy, I got a real live one here." Had I have ignored him & disregarded his method, I would have missed out on some easy cash. So, I listened & learned. Without going into great detail, I took advantage of the promotions that casinos offered new players & at virtually no risk to myself, I made small profits at each casino. BigDofBA said "I wouldn't last 5 days", he was wrong but, I used this to motivate myself. Criticisms & opinions are like ass holes, everyone has one!
To be completely honest, even though I didn't apply all the advice given to me here, I learned from all it. The good, the bad & the useless.

9.Maximize your profits & minimize your risk.

Stay away from table games that have a finite house edge. Sports books take juice as do the poker tables. These are the types of games where you can maximize your profits & minimize your losses.
Black Jack, Roulette & other pit games have a house edge in addition to taking your cash while you play & lose. Horse racing & Bingo have a variance that will kill your bank roll much quicker. Like 5Mike5 said. "There's no poiont in betting Horse Racing favourites. He was right. My bank roll was much to small for that to prove lucartive. Slot machines can only help you succeed if you hit huge jackpots consistently & most slot machines have a very high variance. GunShard hit this on the head in post #64. His post could have been said any better. Minimizing your variance is what it's all about if you wanna try to last in Sin City.

8.Don't spend money on items that you can get for free.

MikeYanks23 hit on this early in the thread. If you're gonna drink there is absolutely no point in paying for it. This also applies to things like utensils & towels & toiletries. It's not a party & if you can't afford these types of luxuries you go without them, or find a way to get them for free. This is why getting player cards everywhere you play is essential, as Grits n' Gravy posted. Nothing wrong with a free meal or a free night's stay every now & then.
We'd all like to take a limo everywhere we go but, sometimes you gotta call a cab. Why pay for a cab when you take a bus for cheaper? I chose the even less-expensive route & walked everywhere. If the Casinos are gonna subsidize some of your costs there's no sense in turning that down. When you're 1st starting off on a minimal bank roll there's no shame that I can see in taking the odd fork or knife from the buffet before you leave. A roll of TP here and there from casino bathrooms is a less noble but, fairly victimless necessity. Even though Opie thinks it's disgusting, you can get comp points with all player cards & get a free pack of smokes (if you really need them), in 1-2 hours of game play.
Match - Plays, Free Bet Cards, Drink Tickets, Meal Vouchers etc are all ways to obtain things you want or need at absolutely no expense to you! Insttead of tipping every 15 minutes for small bottles of water, take Monitor-Tan's advice & pay a dollar for 3 hours worth of water.
The multitude of things that Vegas oiffers for free are virtually countless.


7. Treat casino employees with respect.

There are many reason to do this. 1st they can always be your ally in many situations. They can help you out when you most need it & can pass the word the word on to the sups & pits & up to the shifts that you are a stand up character. 2nd they have a job to do & for the most part casino employees have no vested interest in you losing.
3rd only a douche degrades people when they are at work trying to earn a living. As a former dealer I am aware that some gamblers can be hard to deal with especially when losing. Don't be that guy. BIGDAY treats his servers well & in return they treat him well, this is how it works in Las Vegas.


6.Never get a job!

The only reason you would try to live in Vegas is to avoid the daily 9-5 grind. I appreciate that living in Las Vegas would be much easier with a 9 to 5 but, is that really fun? Is that really why most people would be moving there? The point to this thread was to stay there while gambling & surviving. Anyone can flip burgers or wash dishes, only a select few have the mental stamina to endure the anguish that this type of grind places on your psyche.
If you're asking "would I rather clean toilets or flip cards on the strip?", the answer would be yes. That would be the easy route but, again I ask, "is that any fun?" Is that really how you wanna wake up every day? Like Cheme82 said, it's not for everybody.
You can work in any city in any town in the world.
Vegas is for gamblers like us.

5. Keep to yourself & walk away from trouble.

You don't need to become involved with other people's problems. This applies to the gaming tables as much as it does to the bars or the lobbies of hotels. You're not in Vegas to be a super hero, there's enough of them begging for cash on every corner of the strip. I know this. I paid Spider-man 3 dollars to kick him in nuts!
Even though this doesn't apply to me, hookers & hustlers fall into this category as well. Stay away from them at all costs & don't attract any unwanted heat or attention. You're not staying at the Aria or the Venitan, things can get strange in a hurry when you venture too far from the strip. You're in Vegas to make money not to be a show off.


4. Money management.

Never gamble outside of your means. If your bank roll is $2,700.00, you should never be placing bets higher than $54. Tying up more than 2% of your bankroll is probably not a good idea. Going all in is never an option, no matter how close to tapped you may be.
From a gambling stand point money management is crucial. From a cost of living perspective it is equally important. As your bank roll increases so should your individual daily stakes. As your bank roll decreases so should your stake.
This is a perpetual game we all play. There's no "end game" & us grinders & gamblers know this.
Game & show tickets are luxuries that we need to decide whether we can afford on a situation to situation basis. Moving your entire bank roll ALL IN & doubling up sounds like an enticing play but, in the end if you become comfortable with doing this, you are sure to eventually miss & find yourself sitting in Terminal 2 at McCarran airport.
When guys like Cuse 0323 & MLD & D2D & Soul 786 were calling for the all in bet I just couldn't do it. Yes, partially because I didn't have the balls but, mostly because I never think that is a good idea. I'm sure they truly felt that they were giving me the best advice they could but, I never feel that this is your best option when you are trying to survive.
High3rEl3m3nt might have been onto something when he stated that "All is never something that he would endorse but, every now & then a 20-25 unit wager might be what you need when on a cold streak."



3.If you can't stop drinking, at least keep it to a minimum.

After spending close to one month in Vegas, it appears that this is one of the greatest lessons I needed to learn. Drinking excessive amounts, regardless of winning or losing, is a lesson I am still learning. Anthonydiamond, Erock87, Soul786, iwinyourmoney & others recognized this flaw that I have & tried to warm me about it.
It's hard to turn down free liquor but, when you think about it, it's really not free at all. Take into consideration that you are tipping on every drink served to you & add to that, the decisions you are making while you are getting progressively more & more drunk. These are not likely the most sound decisions you could make & you start to realize that it's not really FREE ALCOHOL.
I used to think that I played a tight game of poker & I also thought that this was a bit of a detriment & the alcohol helped me change my game play for the better, turning me into a more aggressive player. Not only is this not true but, even if it were, I can do this without drinking obscene amounts. Vegas is a town that will punish you severely for bad judgements & poor decision making. This is not to say that having a couple of beers during a tournament or a drink at half time is out of the question but, you have to drink in proportion & know when alcohol is affecting your better judgement.


2.Keep everything in perspective & don't lose sight of the bigger picture.

I didn't mention this is the thread because there some things that I felt I needed to keep private but my bigger picture was to pay for my daughter's school. She's only 15 but college is coming up quickly. I wanted to try & pay for her entire college experience so she wouldn't have years of debt repayment to look forward to. I wanted to do this the way I wanted to do it, without having to clean toilets or answer phones or stock shelves. Sadly, the greatest city in the world & it's bright lights & lawless nights made me lose sight of the bigger picture.
And I allowed it to happen.
But I have to do what I have to do. There's a really good movie called Office Space where the star of the movie Peter, when trying to explain what one should do with his life, "What would you do if you had a million dollars & didn't have to work?"
The theory being if you answered, "I'd buy old cars & fix them up.", up should be a mechanic.
If you answered, "I'd buy pets & take care of them.", you should be a veteranarian.
Your answer was what your career should be. The star of the movie replied that he never had an aswer for that question. If he didn't have to work he would do nothing. Absolutely nothing. I was always under the impression that this was my anser too but, I now realize that if I had $1,000,000.00 & didn't have to work I would still be gambling. It's what my Father showed me to do when I was 7 years old & it is all I have really been able to do to generate any sort of substancial revenue.
My best advice is:
Start with the essentials, whether it's to pay week by week for food & a roof or save enough money for 20 buy - ins at the $1-$2 NL Game, it doesn't matter, you need to start somewhere. As you slowly succeed, expand your short term goals to include things like extra toiletries & stocked fridges. If, in the short term things aren't panning out the way you thought they would, decrease your bet size & never give up. Creating short term goals are the way to achieve your long term goals.
I almost lasted a month with $2,700 but in the process I made alot of mistakes but, I did learn from those mistakes. Little things like finding the best weekly/monthly room rates, while remaining relatively safe is something that will save me a lot of time & effort next time. Where to eat $3.99 buffets & get the cheapest groceries is a step I can skip next time. Saving money, not betting horses or roulette to a few days to really sink in.
So, I really have learned a lot . I was depressed on the last day there & felt like a failure. But just writing this now I feel this swelling of accomplishment because without this month under my belt I would have leaned nothing about how to survivle in Vegas.
I also learned a lot from the contributing posters in this blog. Once you can get over the things that Vegas offers that inevitably disctract you, there's a good possibility that you can beat that City.


And the NUmber one Lesson Learned :


1. Don't post a blog on a sports site full of degenerate donkeys!!!!

[greenhippo]

All in never being an option when you're down $2300 of your $2700 roll after two weeks.

Love this shit.

[High3rEl3m3nt]

Can number 10 exist without number 1?

[Jayvegas420]

Jayvegas humour.

[High3rEl3m3nt]

Well, I hope the next time around is more successful, though it sounds like you ended up recovering some of your earlier losses. Thanks for sharing the thread. It was entertaining and interesting, one of the better threads that I can remember reading.

[William Walters]

I didn't mention this is the thread because there some things that I felt I needed to keep private but my bigger picture was to pay for my daughter's school. She's only 15 but college is coming up quickly. I wanted to try & pay for her entire college experience so she wouldn't have years of debt repayment to look forward to. I wanted to do this the way I wanted to do it, without having to clean toilets or answer phones or stock shelves.

Jay...........there are no shortcuts to hard work pal. Your intentions were commendable, but if you want to help ease the burden of educational loans for your daughter roll up your sleeves and get to work. It's never too late.

Entertaining thread........the first week or so was fantastic.

[Jayvegas420]

You read the thread on Saturday when it was my 40th Birthday right?
Sometimes it is a little too late, at least for a regular career.
Thanks for the picks too, by the way!

[William Walters]

You read the thread on Saturday when it was my 40th Birthday right?
Sometimes it is a little too late, at least for a regular career.
Thanks for the picks too, by the way!

This past Saturday..........the 30th? There were only a few posts in the thread. What am I missing? The part where you work with abused women?

[Jayvegas420]

Those bitches just won't listen!
I played in the Monte Carlo Free Roll that day.

[InTheDrink]

the 10 things you learned post is depressing

if you dont know half that stuff within 10 minutes of walking into a casino for the first time youre in trouble

anyway, entertaining read....sorry it didnt work out....then again that 442 could have hit on a 20 team dog ML parlay and made you rich

[Jayvegas420]

Witchita St To Win The Title, parlayed with the Suns & Magic tonight, parlayed with The Flames parlayed with Matt Kuchar to win the Masters, parlayed with Ryan Coture to beat Ross Pearson.
Yeah I coulda lasted another 3-4 months!

[pokernut9999]

You read the thread on Saturday when it was my 40th Birthday right?
Sometimes it is a little too late, at least for a regular career.
Thanks for the picks too, by the way!

You did not learn too much pal , better chance of starting a career at 40 then winning a college education gambling.

[tto827]

If that was really your goal, the end result every time was going to be that you were $2,700 further from your goal then when you started unfortunately. This trip seemed to be more for fun, which is understandable, but if you really could have put the cash to good use, why not play online and not waste the cash to stay in hotels and eat out when you have a family and a home?

[BIGDAY]

Nice work Jay. I can imagine it to be a grind.

Im heading there in June. But just a planned trip with the Mrs for a few nights.

[Jayvegas420]

Same here. June 4th

[opie1988]

Jay.....had no idea that you have a 15 year old daughter.

Now there's at least 2 reasons you seriously need to give up the disgusting fukkin cigarettes.

[InTheDrink]

Same here. June 4th

[vividjohn45]

rule #11 in
Vegas don't pay for a hooker when you can be one urself.

[vividjohn45]

http://everything-las-vegas.blogspot.com/2008/10/how-much-do-hookers-in-las-vegas-cost.html

could of stayed longer jay.

[Jayvegas420]

Going for a few days with my wife.
Watch the WSOP.

[InTheDrink]

not for nothing but how ya gonna afford it

[Jayvegas420]

It's only a few days, I should be able to save a few hundred by then.
My wife has more than $2,700.00!
She's not a cheap fukk like me!