The Was An Interesting Read

Confessions of the Man Who Wins Big When You Lose It All in Vegas

One-third of my gamblers are like Larry. They’re so rich they can lose a million dollars and not impact their lives. The second third are young, and as their age and wealth increase, their gambling increases right in step; my biggest guy at this moment, he started out as a $50,000 player and now $50,000 is his first bet. The final third should not be here. They’re the most fun but they should not be playing with me. They’re gambling above their means. They will be fucking broke at 50. For the first time, after 28 years in the business, I have more $100,000 players under the age of 40 than over the age of 40. I worry about them. They make money in some tech thing and think they can beat the game. Don’t forget, if you lose $100,000, you’re losing $100,000 that you paid taxes on. So you really lost $150,000 of what you earned. If you have $10 million, and you do that on a regular basis, you will go broke. Twenty-five years ago, my biggest players were all in their 50s or 60s or 70s. They might have been burning through their 401(k)s, but they had already lived life.

Whatever your situation, though, you should bounce around from casino to casino, rather than sticking with one host in one casino -- unless, of course, it’s me. Hosts know who plays where and competition makes them work harder for you. If a host at Bellagio hasn’t seen you in a while and he finds out that you recently played Wynn, he will over-comp. Loyalty is for airline programs, not casinos. And don’t be afraid to ask for stuff up front. Most people ask for airline compensation at the end. Ask for it first and you’ll get it whether you win or lose. Finally, use credit lines or wire money into the cage to get the best comps. We want to know what we can win -- and, truthfully, we often win it all. I can’t tell you how many guys wire in $100k and vow that they will lose only 40, that they’re doing it just to look good and get a better room. Last guy who wired in $100,000 to get the wraparound terrace swore that he would lose 30 or less. He dropped $96,000 and gave the last $4,000 to his wife for shopping.

(Thrillist.com)