Today's addition is Frugal Gambler.
Since my feet were killing me on a number of occasions, I really had no choice but to grab the nearest stool and sit down. Not my fault that the only available stools in Vegas are smack dab in front of slot machines, right? Right! Since I have a rather addictive personality, thank goodness the stools were all in front of the penny slots!
I'd never been to Las Vegas before, but I have gambled a few times in my life. Not a lot, but a few.
Years ago we drove up to Windsor, Ontario to the casino on the riverfront. Parked the car in the designated area down by the river and caught the shuttle to the casino. Saved A LOT of money that day by accidently leaving the wallet in the car! Could only gamble with what was in our pockets, which wasn't much!
Have been to the casinos in Detroit, Michigan, too. Only about an hour away from us, so every once in awhile we'll take a break and go up to Greektown Casino in downtown Detroit. But there is always a method to our madness. Hubby gets $100 and I get $100. When it's gone, it's gone. We always stop midway through our trip and have some grape leaves, hummous, and assorted good food, and always end the day by going to The Astoria Bakery across the street from the casino. The best dang chocolate covered pretzels ANYWHERE!
We've stopped by a few casinos in our travels through Michigan, Tennessee, and the Carolinas and even gambled a bit on a Gulf Coast boat excursion one day. Never hit big, but never lost a lot either. Probably because we stick to our rules, which basically is one rule - NEVER EVER USE AN ATM CARD ANYWHERE NEAR A CASINO!
My other rule is whenever I cash out of a machine, I take the cash slip and put it in my purse. I continue to play with the cash I brought with me. When the cash is gone, I stop gambling. On the way out of the casino I stop by the cash-out machine and get cash for those tickets in my purse. I have never lost a bunch if I do this, but I have won enough to make the stay worthwhile and not go home grumpy.
I've decided that if I want to save money and not lose a bunch gambling when I'm anywhere near a casino next, I need to accidently leave my wallet in the hotel room and pack my foldable flats for when my feet start screaming at me so I don't plop down at the nearest slot machine - or worse yet, a blackjack table.
So, why is Frugal Gambler an oxymoron?
Well, because even if I follow ALL of my rules and don't lose much, gambling is the same as flushing money down the toilet. Period. In other words, there is no such thing as frugal gambling. It gets expensvie the moment it enters your mind to stick that bill in the machine. You'd be better off donating that money to a charity and getting a tax write-off. In fact, I know one you can donate to ... how about the "Oxymoron Diaries Get Out of Debt Charity."
Just kidding. Keep your money.
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