I haven't been to Harrah's Horseshoe this month, and I have a daily freeplay offer of at least $15 every day (can go up to $1000). Freeplay must be played through a slot machine once before cashing out -- which I've never done, by the way, as I will play freeplay until it's all gone… similar to the Bodog ads on this blog -- all revenue was deposited into my casino account, and I'd blow it all on blackjack. Freeplay is designed to get you in the door, the casino counting on the fact that the bells and whistles will lure you in to spend much more.
Well-intentioned me would go right before midnight, use one coupon, wait till midnight, then use the other, then go home. Or maybe play some poker while waiting for midnight to come around. (The casino has been open for 17 months and I've only played poker there once.)
Oh yeah, the casino is about 35 minutes away, and there's $6 roundtrip tolls.
Is it worth it? I have this struggle often.
How about free buffets in the Diamond Lounge and $15 in miscellaneous food from the deli? I've used the food comp on big cookies before. Somehow knowing that the $1.50 retail value of the cookies end up costing me $300 each makes them taste better.
How about the fact that I have to turn in the rental car tomorrow morning and I filled the tank when I only needed to fill it 3/4. That's free gas and mileage going to waste.
To sum up, that's $30, free buffet, $15 in cookies, and $6 tolls.
How much does the above need to be before you say yes (for me, the tipping point is the $15/day… $10 per day is a dealbreaker)? If you're normal in the head, you know this isn't worth the effort. Logically, I also know it.
But gambling ain't logical, and my twisted reasoning for going is to take advantage of the casino, to make them hurt. (Yeah, $30 will really make a dent in their profits, bad economy or not.)
A friend offered to buy up my freeplay coupons, paying me $30 a day not to gamble. He then offered $100 to not gamble this week.
I turned him down.
I didn't want his money, I wanted the casino's.
Better might be if we made a deal where I had to return his $30 and pay another $30 if I gambled that day.
I'd probably still do it.
Like in Michael Powell's
The Red Shoes but substituting gambling for dancing, if you were to ask me what goes on in my head, "Why do you want to gamble?"
I'd respond, "Why do you want to live?"
I was debating whether to go, right up until 9:15 p.m., as 10 p.m. was the cutoff for the buffet. Then it would only be $30 freeplay and $15 cookies.
What probably saved me was mamagrub calling again to talk about another Vegas trip she just returned from.
A gambling story saved me from gambling.
But that's not entirely true, as I deposited $500 via my already hurting credit card, ran it up to $1402, and then lost it all, all in online blackjack.
Getting me out of the house and away from online gambling is a positive.
I wonder how many people view a casino's freeplay as losing less than sitting in front of the computer.
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