What are your lifetime gambling losses

[Stephen]

Hey all,

I actually made this thread hoping someone could make me feel better but It will also make an intreresting demographic description. When you respond please disclose your age.

I have lost £6.4k playing online poker and I am only 20 years old. I've won a lot previous but OVERALL I've lost about 6.4k on a turnover of £17k

Over a lifetime, assuming I stop now. Is that an "acceptable" gambling loss assuming I don't gamble again? I had a go, I lost - I could chase the loss, but that's pretty dumbass.

[MattShizzle]

Maybe 10-20 dollars total from when I bought lottery tickets and in friendly games with friends/family. I'm 37.

[Stephen]

Maybe 10-20 dollars total from when I bought lottery tickets and in friendly games with friends/family. I'm 37.

Can I get anything positive out of this long, drawn out experience?

[Berthold]

Long ago, lost at the casino what would now translate into ~30 to 40 € (was worth more back then).

Lost a bit more (but I'd estimate it, in sum, 1k at most) by regularly playing Austrian lotto ("6 out of 45") for quite a few years.

[Politesse]

None so far. I'm 25.

[Ozymandias]

I did buy a lottery ticket once, so that would make my total losses £1.

[Stephen]

:parrot:

I feel great

[MattShizzle]

My recommendation would be don't gamble period, unless it's in "friendly" games. Even a little knowlege of statistics will show you you'll lose money in the long run.

[Stephen]

My recommendation would be don't gamble period, unless it's in "friendly" games. Even a little knowlege of statistics will show you you'll lose money in the long run.

I only ever played poker against others, not the house.

[neilstone40]

The most gambling I've ever done is £1 on the lottery each week and I once put £2 on a horse on the Grand National.

I've never played a fruit machine (as a kid I was told gambling was evil) but in reality it took me ages to figure out how they worked. All I saw was people shoveling money into them and getting very little back. (In fact I've only even played arcade games a couple of times in my life)

Don't know how to play poker or any other card games apart from blackjack (again the upbringing thing). I can do a few card tricks though and am pretty good at throwing them...

So I suppose if you add up the lottery tickets you're talking about £104 a year + my £2 horse racing bet..

[Kracker]

None so far. I'm 25.

Damn Girl ! I've got a pair of boots older than you are !!!!!!;)

[DanB]

None so far. I'm 25.

Damn Girl ! I've got a pair of boots older than you are !!!!!!;)

Do they have penises, too?

[rog]

None so far. I'm 25.

Damn Girl ! I've got a pair of boots older than you are !!!!!!;)

Do they have penises, too?

Does Politesse ?
just ignore me I'm being daft

[rog]

In answer to the OP I think I'm about even at 34; I see gambling as an entertainment, not a money making endeavor - and the only reason I'm about even is winning a grand on roulette from a pound when I was 18, it's been up and down ever since, but I only bet little sums.

The thing is, I really don't care about sports unless there is a bet on it, maybe that's sad.

[Berthold]

Does Politesse ?
just ignore me I'm being daft
Politesse has mentioned a wife in some other post.

[rog]

Does Politesse ?
just ignore me I'm being daft
Politesse has mentioned a wife in some other post.

Sorry, just back from the pub, as I say ignore me, it's the phallus's thing that amused me.

[Politesse]

Does Politesse ?
just ignore me I'm being daft
Politesse has mentioned a wife in some other post.

Not all wives have husbands. Not in California, anyway.

[Stephen]

Does Politesse ?
just ignore me I'm being daft
Politesse has mentioned a wife in some other post.

Sorry, just back from the pub, as I say ignore me, it's the phallus's thing that amused me.

Wehey!

I'm drinking Desperados tonight, if you're creative and desperate(os) it looks like a cock doesn't it?
http://nedcolville.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/desperados.jpg

[Berthold]

Not all wives have husbands. Not in California, anyway.
Oh, sorry. :notworthy:

And, congratulations about your location!

[Politesse]

Not all wives have husbands. Not in California, anyway.
Oh, sorry. :notworthy:

And, congratulations about your location!

(My wife does though)

[Ozymandias]

(My wife does though)

For a second there I thought you were saying your wife had a penis...

[Politesse]

(My wife does though)

For a second there I thought you were saying your wife had a penis...

You never know these days.

[rog]

(My wife does though)

For a second there I thought you were saying your wife had a penis...

You never know these days.

For a moment, I thought your wife's husband had two :rolling:

What was this thread about again?

[Stephen]

(My wife does though)

For a second there I thought you were saying your wife had a penis...

You never know these days.

Trufax. Damn feminists :D

[Politesse]

(My wife does though)

For a second there I thought you were saying your wife had a penis...

You never know these days.

For a moment, I thought your wife's husband had two :rolling:

What was this thread about again?

No, just one really long one.

I think the thread was about Stephen needing reassurance on the size of his billfold.

[Free in Freeport]

Hmm. Probably several hundred, but less than a thousand.
I buy lottery tickets maybe once a month. I've won a few dollars here and there.
When we went to vegas, the only time I played slots was while waiting in line for the buffet. I "self sustained" until we got into the foyer.
Biggest single gamble was a $100 raffle ticket for a million dollar house.
I lost my shirt in strip poker once.

[Wizofoz]

If I'm in a town where there is legal gambling, I will sometime sit down at a Black-Jack table and gamble $100- on the basis I'm happy to lose it.

If I EVER end up $75 up, I walk away.

Statistically, i MUST be down- but it has never been enough to hamper my lifestye in the least, and is actually one of the more economical forms of entertainment I indulge in (NO, not hookers- look up Extra 300 and you'll see what I mean)

If at 20 you've turned over 17K and lost 6? You've got two problems-

The fact that you gamble excessivley,

And the fact you're not very good at it!

[rog]

I've played poker 10 to a table and won a few times, not cash games, but small prize tourneys - but this was with people that I knew. I would quite enjoy going into a larger game to try my luck; I guess £30-50 pounds would be the sort of money that I would want to spend on a seat, at the very least it would be a day out!

[Goodchild]

This year I started picking up a powerball ticket every week just for a bit of fun and you never know, so I don't really consider that gambling because I'm just doing it as a lark. If you do consider that then I've probably lost $80 playing the lotto.

Before that I would gamble occasionaly with friends and always had a firm policy of playing only with a set amount of money. If I lost that, I was out. Whenever I won I would put half of my winnings in my pocket and consider it out of play. By gambling in this manner I'm probably up a couple thousand over the years.

And I'm 41.

[Stephen]

SO how can I feel better about all of this?

[rog]

SO how can I feel better about all of this?

Thank your lucky starts it was only six grand? I really hope that you didn't borrow that cash!

[Stephen]

SO how can I feel better about all of this?

Thank your lucky starts it was only six grand? I really hope that you didn't borrow that cash!

No. I work.

[Politesse]

SO how can I feel better about all of this?

Stop gambling so much? Learn to bluff?

[Berthold]

And, though it probably does some things to the central nervous system, it's less unhealthy than alcoholism. :evil:

[rog]

SO how can I feel better about all of this?

Thank your lucky starts it was only six grand? I really hope that you didn't borrow that cash!

No. I work.

I'd strike this one down to experience then mate & try to avoid it in future. These Internet gaming sites are designed to just suck money out of your bank account; bluntly: if you're shit at it, leave them alone! :)

[Stephen]

SO how can I feel better about all of this?

Stop gambling so much? Learn to bluff?

You are all thinking I am completely shit - I'm not. At one point I was £7k up...

A lot of my losses were high stake all in pre-flops with KK against things like QQ and JJ, only not hiting a K whilst opponent hitting three of a kind.

[rog]

SO how can I feel better about all of this?

Stop gambling so much? Learn to bluff?

You are all thinking I am completely shit - I'm not. At one point I was £7k up...

A lot of my losses were all in pre-flops with KK against things like QQ and JJ, only not hiting a K whilst opponent hitting three of a kind.

You should have cashed out when you had them money then, also the mark of a good poker player is that them make money over the long term.

Another suggestion, if you really can't leave it alone - they have 10cent games on willhill, set yourself a monthly budget and don't' go over it - play the cheapest of games and then if you feel the urge to play for higher stakes only do it with what you have won so far that month. cash out at the end of the month if you are winning.

[Ozymandias]

You are all thinking I am completely shit - I'm not. At one point I was £7k up...


You lost £6k. Trust me, you're completely shit.

[Stephen]

You are all thinking I am completely shit - I'm not. At one point I was £7k up...


You lost £6k. Trust me, you're completely shit.

Ok.

Whatever.

I am shit.

Can someone pooper scoop me into Richard Bransons back yard? Because my internet is liquid feces.

[rog]

You are all thinking I am completely shit - I'm not. At one point I was £7k up...


You lost £6k. Trust me, you're completely shit.

Ok.

Whatever.

I am shit.

Can someone pooper scoop me into Richard Bransons back yard? Because my internet is liquid feces.

I hate to agree with fubg, but, if you were in it to make money you failed miserably - give it up. If you were not in it to make money you spent, say, 60quid a week doing something that you enjoyed....

But... 7k up, that I wonder about. were you playing cash games? at what level and for how long?

[Stephen]

You are all thinking I am completely shit - I'm not. At one point I was £7k up...


You lost £6k. Trust me, you're completely shit.

Ok.

Whatever.

I am shit.

Can someone pooper scoop me into Richard Bransons back yard? Because my internet is liquid feces.

I hate to agree with fubg, but, if you were in it to make money you failed miserably - give it up. If you were not in it to make money you spent, say, 60quid a week doing something that you enjoyed....

But... 7k up, that I wonder about. were you playing cash games? at what level and for how long?

Relative flash in the pan. £2/4 and £5/10 bb

[rog]

If I were you I wouldn't do that again. Really, is just stupid to play £10bb if you haven't got £3k to risk and had a bloody good reason to think that you would manage it before you started.

I'm not trying to tell you off, it's your cash do what you like; but if you can't win at 1penny stakes you're not going to win at ten pounds.

[Stephen]

If I were you I wouldn't do that again. Really, is just stupid to play £10bb if you haven't got £3k to risk and had a bloody good reason to think that you would manage it before you started.

I'm not trying to tell you off, it's your cash do what you like; but if you can't win at 1penny stakes you're not going to win at ten pounds.

But I can win at 1 penny stakes....

I can win at £5/10 stakes.

This was over 2 years... with a turnover of £17k

And I do have money to risk because I work full time and still live at home. And I have no intentions of having a family OR significant other so I have nothing to save for. The world is my oyster.

[rog]

If I were you I wouldn't do that again. Really, is just stupid to play £10bb if you haven't got £3k to risk and had a bloody good reason to think that you would manage it before you started.

I'm not trying to tell you off, it's your cash do what you like; but if you can't win at 1penny stakes you're not going to win at ten pounds.

But I can win at 1 penny stakes....

I can win at £5/10 stakes.

This was over 2 years... with a turnover of £17k

As I say, if you're playing for cash, winning consistently is the mark of a good player.

[Stephen]

If I were you I wouldn't do that again. Really, is just stupid to play £10bb if you haven't got £3k to risk and had a bloody good reason to think that you would manage it before you started.

I'm not trying to tell you off, it's your cash do what you like; but if you can't win at 1penny stakes you're not going to win at ten pounds.

But I can win at 1 penny stakes....

I can win at £5/10 stakes.

This was over 2 years... with a turnover of £17k

As I say, if you're playing for cash, winning consistently is the mark of a good player.

Fair enough, I don't care anymore.

I'm a looser.

[rog]

You probably have other skills :)

[Berthold]

Doesn't gambling enhance the success with the ladies (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuEOGMzSLoQ)? :D

[Goodchild]

set yourself a monthly budget and don't' go over i

This right here is good advice IMO. It's ok to lose money at something you enjoy doing, that's no different than paying for a movie ticket. It's when you keep chasing the pot while you're losing and going deeper and deeper into your cash reserves that it becomes a problem. Set a limit and when you reach that limit just tell yourself "well, that was fun!" and let it go.

And IMO, you're not a bad player ... you just at this point lack the self control to know when to stop perhaps?

You say that your lifestyle currently allows you to absorb such losses and I won't doubt that that is so, but it won't always be that way. If you don't learn now when to walk away then you may later in life find yourself losing things even more important than money (home, family) due to a bad gambling habit.

[Stephen]

Doesn't gambling enhance the success with the ladies (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuEOGMzSLoQ)? :D

Who cares, Im mostly gay, incidentally bisexual but want to be single for the rest of my life. And I hate country music.

[Stephen]

set yourself a monthly budget and don't' go over i

This right here is good advice IMO. It's ok to lose money at something you enjoy doing, that's no different than paying for a movie ticket. It's when you keep chasing the pot while you're losing and going deeper and deeper into your cash reserves that it becomes a problem. Set a limit and when you reach that limit just tell yourself "well, that was fun!" and let it go.

And IMO, you're not a bad player ... you just at this point lack the self control to know when to stop perhaps?

You say that your lifestyle currently allows you to absorb such losses and I won't doubt that that is so, but it won't always be that way. If you don't learn now when to walk away then you may later in life find yourself losing things even more important than money (home, family) due to a bad gambling habit.

Some good points, thanks.

[Stephen]

I'm such a shit...

After self excluding myself from LITERALLY 22 different game rooms, I ended up depositing 30 quid on WSOP. Ill report later.....

[Prosthetic Head]

Never gambled, or understood the appeal.

[Stephen]

Never gambled, or understood the appeal.

I don't care if you havent gambled but to miss the appeal is pretty unempathic of you.

You can win a months wages in 2 hours playing online poker. And I have done that.

Sure, you can loose it, but that's part of the appeal ultimately - but I prefer to live, and take risks. I prefer to skydive, climb and push limits. I don't live in bubblewrap.

Crossing the road is a gamble

If you prefer to buy a NS magazine then well done you. I found that on the internet under the freedom of information principle.

[Stephen]

Currently $40 up (£25GBP?)

I can prove this for people who think I'm bullshitting (assuming it matters)
http://i55.tinypic.com/2f0akk3.jpg

Still 6k down though......

[Prosthetic Head]

I don't care if you havent gambled but to miss the appeal is pretty unempathic of you.
and...
Crossing the road is a gamble
I almost put a fucking disclaimer in my previous post, I really did. Something about the meaning of gamble, that I (and YOUR self are entertaining). I suppose I should not have given you benefit of the doubt..my fault.:rolleyes:

If were discusing risk, then I have been sky diving 9 times. I drive my car in a manner that scares the shit out of my brother. Thats really about it though.


No reason to get deffensive. Thats a tell you know:cool:

[Jobar]

If you count investing as a sort of gambling, I've lost way, way more than you. But that's not strictly games of chance.

I don't gamble, if you define that purely as playing games of chance. Hell, when I went to Vegas (to the first nationwide meetup of posters to Internet Infidels, back in 2002) I decided it would be practically a sin to go all the way to Lost Wages and not even gamble a penny- so I bought $50 worth of dollar tokens, and played the slots at the airport waiting on my flight out. I decided I'd play until I either doubled my money, or else lost it all. Heh- I never even got back to $50, though I did win a few times.

My advice to you is from Robert Heinlein's Lazarus Long:

There is no such thing as ‘‘Social Gambling". Either you are there to cut the other blokes heart out and eat it--or you’re a sucker. If you don’t like this choice--don’t gamble.

I've always chosen not to gamble, myself- but you might possibly ask David B. for some advice, if you decide to keep on. (If you decide to gamble with him, though, I expect you'll wind up paying for his advice! ;))

[Stephen]

http://i53.tinypic.com/ejif42.jpg
http://i53.tinypic.com/ejif42.jpg

[Politesse]

SO how can I feel better about all of this?

Stop gambling so much? Learn to bluff?

You are all thinking I am completely shit - I'm not. At one point I was £7k up...

A lot of my losses were high stake all in pre-flops with KK against things like QQ and JJ, only not hiting a K whilst opponent hitting three of a kind.
Aww, I was just joking. People do tend to lose money when gambling, whether or not they are good at it. I'd only keep up with it if I found it personally entertaining enough to be worth the expense. Which I don't, but I understand that other people do feel that way, especially about the card games. I used to have a friend, Navajo raised Ute, who was a dealer at one of the Indian casinos. I'd be too afraid to play against her, but she was a damn pretty thing to watch at work; I could see why someone might be willing to be swindled at her table.

[Roo St. Gallus]

I only engage in small stakes gambling. For years, I've played poker with a group of friends. It's quarter ante, with nickel, dime, quarter bets with a fiddy cent limit per bet. I'm there for the social interaction, not the winnings. Nowadays, it costs me a crapload less to do this than to attend a cinema screening where I purchase a beverage and snack. Just the theater ticket alone would usually just about be a wash with an entire evening of poker with friends.

I've never bought a lottery ticket, nor played any floor game at any casino. I tried slots, but lost interest before I made it through my roll of nickels. All I needed to do was see how the casinos 'waste' money on flashy decor (all that superfluous lighting ain't free), 'cheap' meals, and 'cheap' drinks. The house is the only guaranteed 'winner'. It's all rigged in their favor.

Occasionally, I will accept a proposed wager on some silly concept, which I usually win, or put money on an office pool, which I usually lose. I usually win at the former because I only take bets where I know I'm already the winner. I don't bet on sports.

I had a friend who lost his wife, his family, his car, his house, his job and basically his life to video poker. Once the gambling parasite gets it's blood funnel into you, it can be tres destructive.

All in all, I figure in the more than forty years I've been 'gambling', I've probably broken even on it. I'm 58.

[Notta]

It's not about how much you have ever been 'up', it's about whether you win or lose in the LONG TERM.

And you've lost quite a bit of money, haven't you? If you had invested it, even if it lost value in the SHORT TERM, in the LONG TERM you'd have even more than when you started. Isn't that the point of gambling? To try to make more money?

You have effectively taken your money and flushed it down the toilet. You have nothing to show for it. You took chances and lost it. Regardless of the times you won, overall you lost much more than you spent.

You should read about probability and how to play poker if you want to win more often. You need to know more about when to walk away instead of continuing to play, hoping you'll make back your losses.

[Silly Sausage]

I've made more than I have gambled, but I'm very cautious about what I spend on poker. I might put a fiver a month on our poker account, and if I have a good win I might stick another fiver on and withdraw the rest of the profits.
I once played in a tournament with a £1 entry fee. After 5 hours, I made the top ten and I was so thrilled at getting that far I honestly didn't care how much I won. I came 8th and won £80, but for me, it was just the thrill of knowing I beat a fair few people along the way. I put £5 back into the account, withdrew the £75 and had a good night out with that money. :)

[alien billie]

Hi Stephen, my lifetime losses are probably of a similar order to yours.

I think my behaviour was more foolish than yours for two main reasons: firstly I was gambling on slot machines (UK fruit machines have a horrible return, about 70%. For comparison, a standard Roullette wheel returns about 97%). Secondly, I was gambling during the poorest periods of my life, when I was unemployed or a student.

Some unwelcome memories that this thread has brought to my mind:

Going out for a night on the town, but finding myself walking home an hour or so later with no money left.

I could sit in a pub with my back to the fruit machine, chatting with friends, but I'd still know exactly how a punter on the machine was doing just from the sounds.

A vivid one, this. The smell of metal on my hands on the way home, but not having any actual coins left.

Coming back to my friends after a visit to the slot machine, there would be two possible conversations. Usually: "How did you do?" "Lost" "How much?" "Uh, about a tenner". Or the rare alternative: "How did you do?" "Put £12 in and won £35 so £23 up, got the jackpot, thought there was more to come so put in another fiver and the feature dropped in and then repeated". And of course the first answer actually means considerably more than a tenner, "well I went to the bar and changed a tenner after I lost all the change I had in my pocket, and now the tenner's gone too".

The sick feeling in my stomach and the quiet despair after losing money that was needed elsewhere.

One much more recent reminiscence that is more relevant to you. In my last job, I worked with a feller who'd just recently decided to return to work after supporting himself with online poker for 18 months. And he was doing fine financially too, it was the horrible lifestyle that got to him. He would work all night, tabbing between 20 or more tables at a time. As well as a deep mathematical understanding he also used software to statistically analyse his opponent's play, and that was how he was able to play enough tables to earn a living. So think on this, when you're at the tables, there's people out there who are farming you like a chess Grandmaster thrashing a room full of schoolkids.

If you don't like that thought, there's two options available - get off the tables, or else do it properly - get the heavy-duty poker theory books out of the library, knuckle down to some serious maths and learn how to play properly.

If you want to give up but you're struggling, my only advice is that it's easiest to break habits during a big life change. So if you change job, or move to a different area, or start/end a relationship, try deleting all your poker accounts at the same time.

Whatever you decide, all the best.

[Monad]

0

[Evilbetty]

Since I learned to play Blackjack I am now up on my lifetime total is up about 2k in the past 6 months. This doesn't include the casino comps I have also received in that time. Before that it was just spending money to look at the pretty pictures on the slot machines and drink for "free." So I didn't gamble often.

[Pendaric]

I'm 43. I'm probably down a couple of grand over the last 25 years.

That's through poker sites, lottery tickets, and casino blackjack and poker.

Thing is, I don't care. I can afford the loss, and I view it as the cost of my night's entertainment, just the same as a film ticket or the drinks bill.

If I go in to a casino, I do so expecting to lose £20 - and when I've lost that I walk away and watch for the rest of the night. If I end up winning then cool, but the point is to enjoy a couple of hours entertainment, not to win or lose.

It is possible to make money at casino blackjack if you can count the cards skillfully - I've read quite a few of the books by people who have done that. The casinos ban them when they realise what they're up to. The vast, vast majority of people don't invest the time needed to have that skill.

It's also possible to make money at poker, because that's your skill against the other people at the table - there isn't an inbuilt house edge. If you are better at it than the others at the table - and it is possible to learn those skills - then you can make money.

Not saying that I've ever been, or will be, good enough at either game to do it, but I know that they aren't necessarily guaranteed losers for people who are prepared to put the effort in and work with a proven mathematical strategy.

[Stephen]

I'm 43. I'm probably down a couple of grand over the last 25 years.

That's through poker sites, lottery tickets, and casino blackjack and poker.

Thing is, I don't care. I can afford the loss, and I view it as the cost of my night's entertainment, just the same as a film ticket or the drinks bill.

If I go in to a casino, I do so expecting to lose £20 - and when I've lost that I walk away and watch for the rest of the night. If I end up winning then cool, but the point is to enjoy a couple of hours entertainment, not to win or lose.

It is possible to make money at casino blackjack if you can count the cards skillfully - I've read quite a few of the books by people who have done that. The casinos ban them when they realise what they're up to. The vast, vast majority of people don't invest the time needed to have that skill.

It's also possible to make money at poker, because that's your skill against the other people at the table - there isn't an inbuilt house edge. If you are better at it than the others at the table - and it is possible to learn those skills - then you can make money.

Not saying that I've ever been, or will be, good enough at either game to do it, but I know that they aren't necessarily guaranteed losers for people who are prepared to put the effort in and work with a proven mathematical strategy.

I'm really not that bad at poker, and I've had my fair share of masterclass moves myself. The thing with poker is tilt. You could be firm favorite to win a hand all the way up to the turn and loose by the river card.

With me, my losses are down to a mixture of playing high stakes no limit, and some really, really bad luck.

Poker is a skillful game but it does have a vein of probablility underpinning it.

[Pendaric]

I'm really not that bad at poker, and I've had my fair share of masterclass moves myself. The thing with poker is tilt. You could be firm favorite to win a hand all the way up to the turn and loose by the river card.

With me, my losses are down to a mixture of playing high stakes no limit, and some really, really bad luck.

I'm sure you're not terrible at it, but don't do yourself a dis-service by fooling yourself about your skill level.

Over the long haul - and you've been doing it long enough for it to count as that - your losses/wins reflect your skill level. Everybody hits hands where they lose unexpectedly. Those with a high enough skill level to make money at it are good enough absorb those losses, or good enough to minimise the occurrence of those situations so they don't affect them.

Don't play high stakes no limit if that is where your losses are. And don't prevent yourself from getting better by blaming it on luck, because that just stops you looking for ways to improve your strategy. If you think you aren't doing anything wrong, then you have no reason to try to do it differently.

Top players win over the medium/long haul, and they are playing with the same probabilities that you are.

[Pendaric]

Poker is a skillful game but it does have a vein of probablility underpinning it.

Not over the long term.

Casinos win because they understand statistics perfectly and have a strategy that gives them an edge. For all the games they host have 'a vein of probability underpinning them', they understand enough about how numbers average out over a long enough sequence to win predictably at them.

It is possible to do the same as an individual playing poker if you play perfectly over a long enough period of time. Probability affects short runs, and diminishes in it's impact the longer you play.

Being down on a night has no reflection on your skill level. Being down over several months or years does.

[Ray Moscow]

My lifetime gambling losses are about $25. I'm old enough to know better.

[SteveF]

I've been to Vegas three times and I'm up a couple of hundred dollars. Unfortunately I'm down a couple of hundred quid in British casinos. I've only been in them a few times, after big drunken nights out and initally did quite well, which encouraged subsequent drunken visits. Whereupon I lost. The humorous drunken aftermath of the first stage of the mini losing streak can be viewed here:

http://talkrational.org/showthread.php?t=13451&highlight=fuck+casino