What is your gambling plan for 2016?

[Dan Druff]

I am curious what everyone plans to do this year regarding their gambling habits, especially as compared to last year.

Do you plan to "play for a tier level" (such as Seven Stars) and then mostly shut down for the calendar year once you earn it?

Will you be playing more, less, or the same as you did last year? Why?

Where will you be playing, and which games? Will this be at all influenced by a degradation of paytables or game rules?

Do you plan to take any trips to gambling destinations?

Personally, I will be shutting down all play at all casinos which don't offer 99%+ video poker games, aside from running freeplay. Not only are those games bad for the player, but I hate rewarding casinos for degrading their paytables.

[redietz]

This is an interesting question. I did 95% of my sports betting in Las Vegas during the 80's. During the 90's, it was 50/50 LV versus offshore. Then it went almost 90% offshore. Now I'm transitioning back to a larger percentage in LV.

I do not play anywhere with less than 99% video poker paytables, so that small chunk of my gambling recipe should be unchanged. It'll be mainly Boyd with a smattering of Stations and South Point. I was disappointed to see how little your tier at Boyd, as at CET, affects offers. So I won't be going out of my way to play more at Boyd versus Stations or South Point or Plaza or Four Queens or wherever.

[Rob.Singer]

I'll probably make around a half dozen trips to casinos in NV. this year. I just made the first, I'm going to Laughing & LV in late April, then there'll be a few more trips to Lake Tahoe when we get back after the summer.

I don't worry about paytables because any strong player with the proper plan, bankroll, and discipline can win on any machine. On my trip this week I had no idea going in what I wanted to do as far as a vp plan, so I didn't play until just before leaving. My wife said she'd like to get this $1200 set of Sur LA Table pots & pans for our Az. kitchen so I used that as a goal. I played five sessions of 25c thru $2 ARTT until I got a total of $1219 ahead, then quit. We went to get the pans in Scottsdale on the way back.

Slot card status or ranking means nothing to me and it should mean nothing to anyone who does intelligent gambling. Play where you want when you want either with or without a card--but don't let that card control your play. I played at South Point only and I used a card, on 8/5 BP, 9/5 ddbp, & 8/5 TBP+ ($2 only on TBP+). The payback % means absolutely nothing to anyone who is capable of playing a structured strategy with the right bankroll, and who actually has the required discipline to stop playing when their plan says to stop playing.

[regnis]

Redietz--I don't know which offshore you use, but have you ever had a problem getting paid? My friend had a problem with one of the big name brand off shores. He was a long-time sports and horse better. Win some lose some. He was in a little bit of a bind so I was giving him horses at Woodbine. He won a few thousand--nothing huge--and they refused to pay him and shut him down. Upon inquiry, they told him they didn't want his horse play as he was clearly getting "steam". Ultimately--we got him his cash and he can't play horses. He continues to bet sports with them which I wouldn't do.

[HardEight]

I will just retain Saphire level, no more. My interest in casino gambling is fading away, I do not enjoy it as I once did. I'd rather go fishing.

[regnis]

I have also been phasing it out and will continue to decrease my play. I usually get to Vegas for other reasons a couple times a year and will play a little for entertainment. Same if I am on the east coast I may stop in AC. But the local casinos I have pretty much eliminated now other than as a tag along if some friends invite me for a night out. The VP has become too tuff. There never seems to be a roll in craps anymore. And I pretty much will stick to horses for my gambling.

[jbjb]

To be more aggressive on table games. New opportunities are getting tougher to find.

[arcimede$]

Since my positive machines have been taken out that will reduce my play and denomination significantly. However, my tier level is set for this year so I get a lot of freebies and cash offers. The one I will use the most is the free golf. That will keep me going a few times this summer and then I will probably stop playing altogether. I may take a trip out to Vegas at some time.

[redietz]

Redietz--I don't know which offshore you use, but have you ever had a problem getting paid? My friend had a problem with one of the big name brand off shores. He was a long-time sports and horse better. Win some lose some. He was in a little bit of a bind so I was giving him horses at Woodbine. He won a few thousand--nothing huge--and they refused to pay him and shut him down. Upon inquiry, they told him they didn't want his horse play as he was clearly getting "steam". Ultimately--we got him his cash and he can't play horses. He continues to bet sports with them which I wouldn't do.

I've never had a problem getting paid, other than when that huge offshore (Millennium Sports) with umbrella sites had an issue when their CEO decided to touch down in Texas. This was about 12 years ago. One day the CEO is on CNN saying sports gambling should be legalized , and that he'd love to pay US taxes; a few days later, he's flying on a plane that touches down in the US and the feds arrest him and seize his laptop and the laptops of everybody with him.

It's a long story, but I lost about 12K on that. Fortunately it was the off season, so I had withdrawn most of it.

I think the offshores are much more sensitive to horse players than sports. If you win, they will shut you down. Even Pinnacle shut down one person I know regarding horses. I actually think it's better to get shut down than to get analyzed and have them piggyback you in horses.

[Bill Yung]

... so I get a lot of freebies and cash offers. The one I will use the most is the free golf. That will keep me going a few times this summer and then I will probably stop playing altogether. I may take a trip out to Vegas at some time.

[Alan Mendelson]

Dan are you going to surrender Seven Stars this year?

When I was at Caesars this weekend, there was a player who sat down next to me at a VP machine, inserted his Seven Stars card, and said "I have to get 688 more points before I leave tonight." He said his goal was 2500 tier points for the day. With about 200 points left to go he was moaning because he just put his last $100 bill into the machine and his wallet looked awfully thin at that point. I don't know if he made his goal, but he was slamming the screen as he missed draws and I left.

[jbjb]

...With about 200 points left to go he was moaning because he just put his last $100 bill into the machine and his wallet looked awfully thin at that point. I don't know if he made his goal, but he was slamming the screen as he missed draws and I left.

He should've learned those "special plays"! :-P

[FABismonte]

I may hit the minimum for Seven Stars in 2016, but spread out my action to MLife as well as dipping my toes in downtown casinos. It makes no sense to play CET for more than 150,000 in tier credits, the minimum for Seven Stars. Why CET would discourage additional play by giving poor incentives after that level is reached is just another example of how screwed up is the Total Rewards system. The incredibly tight video poker action in CET Las Vegas certainly is another source of discouragement. Depending on my incentives at Mlife and other casinos, I may decide to stop at 80,000 Total reward credits which is close to my current level just to get the $750 flight allowance at Aspirations Level 2.

FAB

[Alan Mendelson]

I have no plan for casinos just as I have no plan for when I will go to a movie or to a restaurant.

I do have a plan when I get to the casino. That plan is to have a loss limit and a rising stop-loss when I do win.

Which casino I go to will be a decision based on the best offer.

I don't play for points and don't care about Total Rewards or MLife levels.

It will anger some that on my last trip I stopped play just about 400 points shy of a 5,000 TR bonus. But when I was done I was done.

[james40]

We are not going to take a trip to Vegas this year, we are looking at Hawaii for our November trip. I don't really care about pay tables or tier levels, we visit Vegas for food and shows with gambling as a distraction. I maintain Platinum by use of the Total Rewards credit card, I use it for business and it gives me plenty of credits for meals,rooms etc. We will probably make the same number of trips to Tahoe, 4 to 5 visits this year. We just went up for a couple of days of snow fun, had a free room at Harrahs, but gave them minimal play as we were tired.

[shlack]

I did not renew Seven Stars last year and do not have a plan to this year. I did notice they bumped me down to Diamond as of two days ago. That was nice of them to not send me all the way back to Gold/Platinum.

As of now, I see no reason to earn Seven Stars again. Yes, the last time I earned it I came out ahead. I don't think that would be possible nowadays.

I'm spreading my play to casinos/casino chains that still have good video poker paytables. Even though I am losing at these casinos (damn!)