First time going to a casino as a 21 year old

[jmattbassplaya]

Any advice? Anything I should watch out for, expect, or take advantage of while I'm there?

I mainly plan on playing Blackjack the whole time as far as gambling is concerned.

[jp58]

Free drinks. You should be able to find plenty of free booze if you know where to look.

Oh and don't drink and gamble. That worked out really bad for me when I went with my dad to Tunica.

[jmattbassplaya]

Originally Posted by jp58

Free drinks. You should be able to find plenty of free booze if you know where to look.

Oh and don't drink and gamble. That worked out really bad for me when I went with my dad to Tunica.

Hahaha, I guess this is what parents look forward to in the Midsouth. My mom is taking me to Tunica with my other friend who just turned 21 and his parents

[MJ5150]

Don't accept free drinks from a beautiful woman then go to her hotel room. You'll end up losing a kidney in the deal.

-Mike

[rr5025]

What is up with this free booze stuff? I have never once been in a casino and got free booze!

Don't worry if you're down, you can totally just win it all back!

[MJ5150]

I got a couple free drinks at Mandalay Bay a few weeks ago, and I wasn't even gambling. I was standing by a guy playing slots, a waitress came up and asked what we were drinking. We told her, she came back and handed us two free drinks on the house.

I heard a rumor that if you hand a bartender a $10 bill and ask for a roll of quarters, you will get a free drink then too.

-Mike

[Hawaii Islander]

Before going to the casino. Take off your shoe. Take off your sock. Stick any cash that you don't want to spend on gambling in your sock. Put on sock. Put on shoe. Keep shoes on until you are finished gambling and leave the casino. Note: This was good advice before the advent of debit cards.
Still worth trying if you want to have cash leftover for food later. Gambling can make you hungry (or lose your appetite), depending how well you do. I spent 2 years in Las Vegas while stationed at Nellis AFB. Have fun!

[tplyons]

Take however much cash you wish to spend and leave the debit cards at home.

I usually take $100-200 and am okay if I lose it all. If you look at it as money spent on entertainment as opposed to gambling, it's a lot easier to remain emotionless about your losses. That's generally where you're tempted to take more cash out of the ATM.

[tastybasslines]

For me to enjoy Vegas, I just want to break even or win and claim my free drinks. I don't get crazy, just plod along and enjoy my buzz. Gambling is fun and a rush, especially for the first time, but stay cool.

If I could go back in time...I'd go to Fremont Street...they have laser shows and lots of cool places where you can play video games, get dollar hot dogs and just enjoy the people watching. 99 cent big beers, etc... That's alot of fun to me. Getting bent at the tables is a bad idea. Better to go to a club and meet some hotties. So much tang there, just waiting for guys to talk to them.

Be safe, and stick to the casinos, there are rougher characters outside of town. The cab drivers get paid big laydowns to convince you to go to certain places...they are all dialed in. Stick to your destination! Have fun man.

[Waterpilot]

Biggest thing is to set your spending limit and stick to it however you do it. When drinking and having a good time it's easier to spend a lot without really thinking about it. Otherwise, just have fun! Oh and penny and nickle slots aren't as cheap as it sounds when betting full.

[Staccato]

Take $20 dollars, and if you see your total including winnings reach $30, stop, smile and cash in.

Then, you'll have a story to tell.

The slots have about a 93% payback. That does not leave the odds in favor of breaking even. Most of the card & dice games are about the same. However, if you don't know the rules, you'll lose most likely lose money, and upset the other players in the process.

[Tat2dHeart]

Regardless of what I'm playing, I take only the money I can afford to lose.

If I'm playing slots - carry nothing but my player's card and my gambling money. Every time I win what I carried in, I cash it out and put it in my left pocket. Everything else goes in my right pocket. When the right pocket is empty, I'm done. Slots are a patience game. Your odds are better if you pick one machine and never leave it since the random win program is program is built by humans, it's a pattern and not truly random.

Mostly, I play cards. Again. I keep a tiny stack on the table and cash out my surplus often. Once the surplus is cashed out, I don't buy back in. This year my small winnings are paying for my Vegas trip to play in the WSOP next month.

[Downunderwonder]

Gambling is only fun if you think you can win, but you can't. Every single play is stacked in the house's favour. If you get up on the house then you need to gamble more to get the "rush" back and soon enough you will be losing. You can't ever win.

If you learn to play poker well you can win. Blackjack also, but the returns are very skinny unless you cheat.

[superbassman2000]

Originally Posted by rr5025

What is up with this free booze stuff? I have never once been in a casino and got free booze!

Don't worry if you're down, you can totally just win it all back!

the only advice I have with the free drinks is to not base your day around them. The last time my girlfriend and I went to Vegas, we were playing slots and and the waitress took our order and it took her roughly 30-45 minutes to come back. We weren't planning on sitting at slots for that long, but we wanted our drinks...long story short, sometimes it's just cheaper to buy the drinks

also, if you are looking for some free plays or something, join the casino's players club--typically they will give you an extra 5-10 dollars or something (hooter's in vegas was giving 100 dollars in promo slots on the day I went there)

[Downunderwonder]

Originally Posted by Stacatto

Take $20 dollars, and if you see your total including winnings reach $30, stop, smile and cash in.

Then, you'll have a story to tell.

... However, if you don't know the rules, you'll lose most likely lose money, and upset the other players in the process.

This is all stellar advice if you do gamble.

You should hear blackjack players complain about other players making the dealer hit when it wasn't in anyone's interests. Apparently it's somewhat of a team game even though it's not supposed to be.

[jordy_on_bass]

Stay away from the slots whilst intoxicated, I blew $1400 tonight...baaaah....

[rr5025]

Originally Posted by superbassman2000

the only advice I have with the free drinks is to not base your day around them. The last time my girlfriend and I went to Vegas, we were playing slots and and the waitress took our order and it took her roughly 30-45 minutes to come back. We weren't planning on sitting at slots for that long, but we wanted our drinks...long story short, sometimes it's just cheaper to buy the drinks

also, if you are looking for some free plays or something, join the casino's players club--typically they will give you an extra 5-10 dollars or something (hooter's in vegas was giving 100 dollars in promo slots on the day I went there)

Yeah I think its just the casinos I've been to don't do it which is BS if you ask me.

[pacojas]

save your money and buy a new bass or amp or maybe just save your money.

[jmattbassplaya]

Thanks for the advice guys! For what it's worth, I'm not planning on gambling much since throwing money away has never been something I've enjoyed doing I'll probably just bring out $40 and quit once that money is gone.

[Stu L.]

I'll be watching this thread and taking notes. I just got an email about a suprise birthday party in Vegas. I went to the casino on my cruise a few months ago and had no idea what I was doing