Pictures and video are in and thoughts on casinos (just scroll to the bottom if you don't want to read the random garbage)
I remember when Georgia first decided to open up the Georgia Lottery. As a lottery has gone GA has done a fairly excellent job with making sure the money gets to where it should go. Some states haven't, like Texas.
Dad use to go buy a lottery ticket every-now-and then. He would usually only buy one. Sometimes he'd get three and let us bubble in our birthdays for the winning numbers. Dad never won.
I also remember Mom and Dad going to a casino in Aruba. Mom played the slots. Mom was always happy playing $5 worth of nickel slots. Dad went to the roulette table and placed a few lucky bets. We ate his $15 of winnings in ice cream later that night. Dad also use to go to Vegas on buisness trips. He'd come back with good stories about watching some guy lose $2000 in half an hour. But dad used all of this to teach a lesson.
Lesson 1. you don't win the lottery. period. Dad figured he could either buy a candy bar or a lottery ticket. The candy bar went towards his cholesterol numbers and the lottery ticket went toward education. So most fridays he went with the ticket. I think sometimes he went with both.
Lesson 2. Roulette. When you go into a casino know your odds. Your going to lose. They don't power all the fancy lights in Vegas with the guys who walk out with winnings. If you gamble, be sure you plan on losing that money. Dad would sometimes play roulette and see how long he could play on $20. It was never about winning, just burning time and having fun. He got to where he could last about 3 hours on $20.
I've taken heed of Dad's advice. Twice I've walked into a casino with $25 to see how long I could play. My target was to beat Dad's 3 hour mark. The first time I made it 15 minutes.
Roulette is the Murphy game of choice. 36 spots on the wheel and one 0. Sometimes there's 00. Some bets are simple, others more complicated. Numbers, odd, even, red, black, and 1/3's are the simple ones. All except for the numbers carry relatively decent odds. 1:1 payouts for odd/even red/black and 1:2 for the 1/3's (each bet covers 1/3 of the board). I've found that idiots bet on numbers, corners and inbetween lines. I've watched many a player loose serious cash betting on scrambled numbers. 1/36 that the ball will hit your number with a 1:35 payout. Big gamble=big payout. But dad taught me to play for time not money. So I've bet the higher odds, simpler bets.
The first time I lasted 15 minutes. That is before I worked my $15 into $60, more than enough to cover the price of the room I slept in that night and the Dr. Pepper I was originally searching for. Tonight I went into another casino. Armed with $25. The roulette table was empty. I initially placed three bets; red, 25-36, and the first line. $15. The ball landed on 32(?) A red number on the first line between 25-36. I placed two more bets. Black 25-36. $10. The ball hit 26 black. Solid. But once again I couldn't beat my dad's record 3 hours. I walked away.
Its important to remember there's only one guaranteed way of winning in a casino. Don't play. Go in and watch some asian guy drop $2000 on long odds. Honestly the roulette people have pretty good control over the wheel and ball. I watched one guy who didn't like doing the math hit the easiest spot to calculate the winnings on the board 3 times in a row. They try and spot numbers. On both occasions I was being set up. I was just smart enough to walk away when I was ahead.
Oh here are the pictures I got developed from the trip so far.
And me bungy jumping off the Nevis high wire. Jumping with 440ft of air beneath me. All total I fell something like 400 ft or so. CRAZY!!!
I remember when Georgia first decided to open up the Georgia Lottery. As a lottery has gone GA has done a fairly excellent job with making sure the money gets to where it should go. Some states haven't, like Texas.
Dad use to go buy a lottery ticket every-now-and then. He would usually only buy one. Sometimes he'd get three and let us bubble in our birthdays for the winning numbers. Dad never won.
I also remember Mom and Dad going to a casino in Aruba. Mom played the slots. Mom was always happy playing $5 worth of nickel slots. Dad went to the roulette table and placed a few lucky bets. We ate his $15 of winnings in ice cream later that night. Dad also use to go to Vegas on buisness trips. He'd come back with good stories about watching some guy lose $2000 in half an hour. But dad used all of this to teach a lesson.
Lesson 1. you don't win the lottery. period. Dad figured he could either buy a candy bar or a lottery ticket. The candy bar went towards his cholesterol numbers and the lottery ticket went toward education. So most fridays he went with the ticket. I think sometimes he went with both.
Lesson 2. Roulette. When you go into a casino know your odds. Your going to lose. They don't power all the fancy lights in Vegas with the guys who walk out with winnings. If you gamble, be sure you plan on losing that money. Dad would sometimes play roulette and see how long he could play on $20. It was never about winning, just burning time and having fun. He got to where he could last about 3 hours on $20.
I've taken heed of Dad's advice. Twice I've walked into a casino with $25 to see how long I could play. My target was to beat Dad's 3 hour mark. The first time I made it 15 minutes.
Roulette is the Murphy game of choice. 36 spots on the wheel and one 0. Sometimes there's 00. Some bets are simple, others more complicated. Numbers, odd, even, red, black, and 1/3's are the simple ones. All except for the numbers carry relatively decent odds. 1:1 payouts for odd/even red/black and 1:2 for the 1/3's (each bet covers 1/3 of the board). I've found that idiots bet on numbers, corners and inbetween lines. I've watched many a player loose serious cash betting on scrambled numbers. 1/36 that the ball will hit your number with a 1:35 payout. Big gamble=big payout. But dad taught me to play for time not money. So I've bet the higher odds, simpler bets.
The first time I lasted 15 minutes. That is before I worked my $15 into $60, more than enough to cover the price of the room I slept in that night and the Dr. Pepper I was originally searching for. Tonight I went into another casino. Armed with $25. The roulette table was empty. I initially placed three bets; red, 25-36, and the first line. $15. The ball landed on 32(?) A red number on the first line between 25-36. I placed two more bets. Black 25-36. $10. The ball hit 26 black. Solid. But once again I couldn't beat my dad's record 3 hours. I walked away.
Its important to remember there's only one guaranteed way of winning in a casino. Don't play. Go in and watch some asian guy drop $2000 on long odds. Honestly the roulette people have pretty good control over the wheel and ball. I watched one guy who didn't like doing the math hit the easiest spot to calculate the winnings on the board 3 times in a row. They try and spot numbers. On both occasions I was being set up. I was just smart enough to walk away when I was ahead.
Oh here are the pictures I got developed from the trip so far.
And me bungy jumping off the Nevis high wire. Jumping with 440ft of air beneath me. All total I fell something like 400 ft or so. CRAZY!!!
posted by Paul Murphy at
11:39 PM
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