Casino camping life hack

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Wasillaguy

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 10, 2022
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Location
Wasilla, AK
Between stays at campgrounds around the Phoenix area recently, we spent a night at Lone Butte Casino, west of Chandler.
Free with no registration of any kind, but they are rather particular about where you park, so I would advise talking with security before setting up.
Anyway, we go in for dinner and are looking at the menu at the entrance to the steakhouse. Guy walks up and asks if we're going to eat.
Yes.
He then hands us a voucher for $125.
He's a high roller and they give him these vouchers for gambling big, but there's a catch- the voucher is only good until midnight the next day. The guy is pissed at the casino for having a crappy rewards program, so he's seeking out someone to use his voucher so the casino doesn't make out quite so well.
So there you go. He can't be the only one, and it sure ain't the only casino. Stand and study the menu for a few minutes, could get a nice free meal.
 
We don't do casinos. I've worked too hard for my money to throw it away. I'm simply not a gambler. And I find it interesting that a "high roller" would be irate over his relationship with his casino. What does anyone expect. They are in business for one thing... to take your money.

OK, enough of the fussing.

Near where I live there is a casino / horse racing track (Anderson, Indiana). We were camping at Mounds State Park (Anderson, Indiana), and we had our 9 year old grandson with us. I decided to take him to the casino and watch a couple horse races. Kids cannot go into the casino, but they can go into the horse racing area and stands.

Earlier that day, I went over first and picked up a "program". Now, I will admit ..l. I've never done a horse race myself either. The lady at the sales window educated me on how the programs works, the races, the horses, the odds and all of that.

I took all that information back to the camper with me and my grand son and I sat down and I explained to him how it all worked and how the gambling works.

So he studied the program out and he picked the horses that he tough would win. We were NOT going to gamble, this was just for fun to make the whole event more exciting for him.

So, off we went. We sat through the first 6 races. And I'll be dog-gone! That little squirt picked 3 of those horses that came in 1st place! The one's I picked, none of them came in first. None.

After the 6th race, he was getting pretty board of the whole thing and we decided to leave. Maybe that was the one time I should have laid some money down based on his choices ... not mine!
 
I can't go into a casino without hearing a song run thru my head over and over. I've only been in one casino (land-locked "riverboat" casino in Kansas City?) and no one there looked like they were having fun. They were playing like their whole world depended "on the turn of a friendly card". It was very depressing.
 
I have to mention back in the 90's a friend was seriously addicted to horse racing. He was trying to tabulate statistics manually but was overwhelming. I don't gamble but I wrote a computer program for him. You would think it should be random but the program accidently showed us the winner pole position in race #1 would likely be the same pole position for race #1 the next day. Each daily race would be a varying pole position that stayed the same the next day about 70% of the time. Enough to allow him to retire early by betting every other day. Not saying anything was rigged because random numbers are never truly random. But it sure felt rigged.
 
I suspect that's why Casinos don't mind you parking in their parking lots, because they expect you will spend at least some money there, at least for a meal, and they've not "lost" anything, either, except the parking space for the time you're there, and they usually have plenty of that.
 
I'd be willing to bet that OP was catfished (please take no offense, they have slick lines and often are very convincing) ... the casino wants to get folks in the door with "FREE" money - so they eat and have "cash" left over. And as you walk out, you drop a coupon/ticket/cash into a machine and laugh and say "let's try again, we were really close." Then, when the free cash is gone you reach into your wallet because now you know it's the next roll/spin/card and perhaps a cocktail server had shown up and your free mai tai will be there in just a couple of more minutes so you hang around and...

We had a similar experience using a casino parking lot to (with hookups!) for free. When we checked with security they told us that we had to register so the casino knows who is on the property and that one hookup is taken (etc.). So, we went in and registered and when done got a map, show schedule, wifi password and a coupon for $40 as a registered guests. Well, we were in hog-heaven! We're getting paid to camp! So, we had a nice free buffet dinner and then went to the offline jumbotron to watch the horse races that one sector of the customers were betting on, had a cocktail each and walked out with $1 left over after feeding a few slot machines with their money.

And, when in my 30's with wife and kids in tow at a carnival, I was taken in by a carnival shyster that explained how some simple game worked, handed me $1 to try it and I won $2. I was cajoled into betting the FREE money and when it reached $0 I reached into my pocket. The game was sooooo simple and the bets and the rewards doubled with each play - before I knew it I had made two trips to the ATM and was down $3K. At first it seemed like fun and a sure thing, then it became a passion to get my own money back, until I realized that our vacation was nearly gone out of my wallet. The "gracious" shyster did give us some cash back so the kids could enjoy a few rides and a snack. Lesson learned.

If you do accept any free voucher, cash, coupon you need to have good discipline to NOT gamble your own money away. It's always a come-on and you always feel obligated to the giver.
 
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While I agree there are temptations in the casinos, I can assure everyone OP has spent plenty of time in casinos over the years and is not likely to be hoodwinked now.
It was just a little story of happenstance that we enjoyed and I thought others might as well.
I grew up with poker as the staple form of entertainment at family gatherings, played my share of blackjack and craps in Vegas back when you could find a $1 table, rode the Texas Hold 'Em wave and in fact paid for a cruise once by winning the on-board tournament.
Not saying I made money gambling but sure had a good time and always stuck with a modest, entertainment minded budget.
Now I'm old and have lost the desire for the most part. I like teaching the grandkids how to bet and bluff and not cry when you lose your nickels though. There are very good life lessons at a card table.
 
While I have had fun staying in casinos I do not like to blow my money there. I save it for the fabric/quilt shops. The food is usually good and not to spendy people watching can be fun.
 
We have spent the night in casino parking lots, but we no longer go to eat in them. We never found one where you didn’t have to walk through clouds of smoke in the gambling area to get to the restaurant. I understand their motivation; they want you to see all the excitement and bright shiny things and stop to play. Ha! I have taken an enough probability and statistics classes to know the house always wins in the end. The entertainment value is lost on me.

Funny story (maybe): My graduate program required two classes in grad level mathematics. I choose the probability/statistics track. t
The first class was in the summer term, and we had lots of Chinese students for some reason. The instructor used poker hand examples almost exclusively, and the poor Chinese students (and I!) had no idea what a “full house” was. The professor ended up giving us cheat sheets for the definitions. I still don’t remember them at all.
 
I was absolutely horrible with Math in school. I barely scathed by. But the one thing that really peaked my interest and I really enjoyed, and the only "math" I succeeded at was "probability." I still use it in the back of my head for almost everything. Some things you just "get" and some things you just "never get!" How to find the square root of 4 .... it's still impossible for me though!
 
That's a pretty sweet deal you got at Lone Butte Casino! You're right, there are probably other high rollers who are fed up with their casino's rewards program and are willing to hand out vouchers like that. Good call on studying the menu, it seems like a small effort for a big reward. [link deleted] You never know, you might be able to turn that casino win into an even bigger payout. Keep us posted on any other life hacks you discover on your camping adventures!
 
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I love the idea of getting a free meal just by pretending to study the menu. It's like playing a game of chance without even putting in any money. I'm going to try this next time I'm at a casino.
Also, thanks for mentioning Lone Butte Casino. I'll have to check it out next time I'm in the Phoenix area. Have you tried any other casinos around there?
Oh, and by the way, I'm new to the forum, so it's nice to meet you all.
 
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I'd be willing to bet that OP was catfished (please take no offense, they have slick lines and often are very convincing) ... the casino wants to get folks in the door with "FREE" money - so they eat and have "cash" left over. And as you walk out, you drop a coupon/ticket/cash into a machine and laugh and say "let's try again, we were really close." Then, when the free cash is gone you reach into your wallet because now you know it's the next roll/spin/card and perhaps a cocktail server had shown up and your free mai tai will be there in just a couple of more minutes so you hang around and...

We had a similar experience using a casino parking lot to (with hookups!) for free. When we checked with security they told us that we had to register so the casino knows who is on the property and that one hookup is taken (etc.). So, we went in and registered and when done got a map, show schedule, wifi password and a coupon for $40 as a registered guests. Well, we were in hog-heaven! We're getting paid to camp! So, we had a nice free buffet dinner and then went to the offline jumbotron to watch the horse races that one sector of the customers were betting on, had a cocktail each and walked out with $1 left over after feeding a few slot machines with their money.

And, when in my 30's with wife and kids in tow at a carnival, I was taken in by a carnival shyster that explained how some simple game worked, handed me $1 to try it and I won $2. I was cajoled into betting the FREE money and when it reached $0 I reached into my pocket. The game was sooooo simple and the bets and the rewards doubled with each play - before I knew it I had made two trips to the ATM and was down $3K. At first it seemed like fun and a sure thing, then it became a passion to get my own money back, until I realized that our vacation was nearly gone out of my wallet. The "gracious" shyster did give us some cash back so the kids could enjoy a few rides and a snack. Lesson learned.

If you do accept any free voucher, cash, coupon you need to have good discipline to NOT gamble your own money away. It's always a come-on and you always feel obligated to the giver.
Dave Ramsey said "whenever a person gets taken in a financial scheme, overwhelming odds are there was an element of greed on their part involved". I think the simplest is where the scammer mistakenly writes you a check for $1000.00 over the amount you've agreed on, then says since it was my mistake just write me a check for $900.00 and we'll call it a wash. "
I think it was Nicholas Cage and partner in "Matchsticks Men" who are sitting at a dining room table working a con on an elderly couple, they end up "errantly" writing the couple a check for more than was agreed on and the husband seeing the mistake nods for his wife to keep quiet. Cage and his partner shake hands with the husband and leave with their bank account #.
 
I love the idea of getting a free meal just by pretending to study the menu. It's like playing a game of chance without even putting in any money. I'm going to try this next time I'm at a casino.
Also, thanks for mentioning Lone Butte Casino. I'll have to check it out next time I'm in the Phoenix area. Have you tried any other casinos around there?
Oh, and by the way, I'm new to the forum, so it's nice to meet you all.
I have not tried any other Phoenix area casinos, as my RVParky app shows the others are not free.
Today we are heading to Quapaw Casino in Miami, OK where they have a free night with water/electric (8 sites, 1st come). Just have to register for a players club card.
 
Just a little correction, Quapaw does not require signing up for players club, and you can stay 3 nights free w water/electric. After that it's $10/nt. Bar has good beer price too.
 
And, when in my 30's with wife and kids in tow at a carnival, I was taken in by a carnival shyster that explained how some simple game worked, handed me $1 to try it and I won $2.
My similar experience was much younger and much "cheaper" -- $3 -- and ultimately very valuable.

I was in my mid-teens, visiting grandparents in a very small town. The carnival came to town and I earned $3 helping them set up (thought I was rich- well not quite, but it seemed a lot in the mid-'50s). That night I encountered the game where they have this machine blowing tennis balls up, the man reaches in and pulls out a numbered ball (for $1, or was it 50¢)*, and if you win (You usually do) you can take the winnings or try again for $2 (or maybe it was for $1)*.

Needless to say I lost my $3 in short order and was sadly disappointed that I couldn't do anything more that night. I've not gambled since.

* While I remember the $3 pay very well, I'm not 100% certain of the price of the ball.
 
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