Friday, May 8, 2009

Riding Out The Wave

..........I am a firm believer in riding out casino winning streaks until it's gone. It ain't gone yet.
$600 plus 2 weeks ago; between $70 and $100 last week (I just haven't figured that one out, but I KNOW it was at least $70) and $175 tonight. I wasn't really even having that great of a time - I sat at 3 different blackjack tables. The first 2 were just not the right crowd.
The "right" crowd has the right attitude. Potentially inexplicable, so I won't try.
The third table wasn't any better, but I forced myself into the right mind frame regardless, closed everyone else out, and came back from behind. At $175.00 ahead and not feeling like sticking around all night long - well actually I was $185.00 ahead - I pushed all my chips forward, gave the dealer a $10 tip - he gave me a winning streak of which I was betting minimum $20 bets every hand that went on for a while to get me ahead, headed to the cashier's window, changed up and got out of there.

I decided to get the boys some Jack-In-The-Box food - they love the tacos - 2 tacos for 99cents. Got 12 of those and ordered 2 Jumbo Jacks without mayo or cheese. I get home - yes, there are 12 tacos, no there are not 2 Jumbo Jacks, there's one. This particular store has stiffed me before and I should have known better - dump the bags out onto the counter and count everything. I called them up. Yes, the manager already knows about it - whoever the person was that was supposed to get my order right, realized the mistake and reported it to the manager. I am NOT driving back there to get one single friggin' Jumbo Jack. The manager beat me to it: I'll leave a note in the office for the manager (GM) and it will include the Jumbo Jack plus freebies.

Yes, that's the reply I want to hear. I was cool with that and hung up after giving my name for that note. Still............

I got another freebie today as well - free car wash. It's a place that changed owners - new owners decided 2 weeks of free car washes and then after that, some good deals as well. They have the right idea, I'll give them that. I drove up, got in line. I was pretty wary - what's the catch? Basic wash is free, I expected that. Premium wash - 4th tier up - is also free. Now what's the catch with THAT? You have to buy a $60 wax job. No thanks. We'll give you the wax job for $30 plus 2 free washes. Nope, just want the basic wash. The guy gave up on me. Lol. He did end up getting $7 from me for upgrading from the basic wash to an interior job plus tire treatment and other add-ons. Hey, that wash job was a $20 deal for $7, I wasn't complaining and they did a great job. Included shampooing the floor mats. The guy at the "end" of the wash spent 20 minutes on shining my wheel rims, scrubbing the interior and so-forth, I definitely tipped him. You know, if I weren't facing frickin' financial chaos, I would have definitely gone for the $30 wax job - it's HAND waxed PLUS 2 free PREMIUM washes. Okay, I know, I can wax it myself for $5. Whatever. I left there happy, is all I can say about that.

So, my winnings. I spent $10 at Jack's Crack, the rest is going towards bills. Umm, well - I should say, $100 into the M-Power reader (electricity) and $50 towards the water bill. Darn, I lied now that I think about it. The new Star Trek movie is out and I have been waiting for that thing for a while now. So, $7.50 for the matinee, probably tomorrow. I will drink water and buy nothing and be happy to see it on the casino's dime. THEN the rest goes towards bills.

In light of extremely bad news this week, I've had a good day, and darn I'm tired. It's WAY past my bedtime.
G'nite.
ben

3 comments:

Fijufic said...

I have lost a $5 bag of nickels in a casino once.

I promised my grandfather I would not ever do it again. I have never been back to the casino as a result. I'm not that lucky. You were very smart to walk away with your winnings.

Bobby

Fin said...

The dealers and pit boss in Miss told me that they (the staff) feel like they are on borrowed time. Day after day someone else loses their job and visitors and revenue are way down as a result of the depression.

BenB said...

Bobby: I dunno, maybe 3 years ago or so now, I spent a few months playing an online blackjack trainer. Literally thousands and thousands of hands of blackjack. After I got that down, I went for the real thing. I've refined my "style" and I know when to leave. I ride out streaks until they're gone and then I don't go back for quite a while.
Fin: I've heard and read that all over the place - at this particular casino you wouldn't know there's a recession - or would you? The place is jam-packed with people whenever I go. But, I think, some of these people (at least some of them) are there out of desperation. Rule of Casino gambling number 1: NEVER go to a casino if you are desperate for money. I just say that because of some of the looks on their faces. I sit there and watch people pull out 1 $100 bill after another, losing and losing and losing- and the look on their face ever more sour.
Oh, you did say depression. I suppose you are right about that conclusion, we are in a depression. They reported "fewer" job cuts last month. Yeah, it was "only" like 600,000. Every month, a medium sized city's worth of people lose their jobs. How long can THAT go on?
I'm just glad to have walked out of there with their money.
ben

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