Road Runner Posted January 17, 2023 Share #1 Posted January 17, 2023 We have a first-ever (in this area), big-ass casino opening a few miles from my house next week. The Rivers Casino. I don't like gambling houses where people are induced to throw away their hard-earned money. I'm sure there will be jobs and income for the area, but, in many cases, it will be at the cost of those who can't afford to lose their savings and/or their financial support for their families. I'm sure the casino owners will make a fortune on this endeavor, but I see no real upside for our community and for visitors who will be partaking of this venue. What say you? 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Road Runner Posted January 17, 2023 Author Share #2 Posted January 17, 2023 The Rivers Casino in Portsmouth, VA, schedule to open on Monday. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikeman564™ Posted January 17, 2023 Share #3 Posted January 17, 2023 I enjoy playing blackjack But I haven't been to casino since IIRC 2016. Detroit has three: MGM, Greektown, and Motor City. Our neighbors to the south in Windsor, have they're own also. Then Toledo,OH has one. I've been to them all. I go for entertainment. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsharr ★ Posted January 17, 2023 Share #4 Posted January 17, 2023 Vegas is fun for people watching, good dining, some great shows. I do not like to gamble, so I usually don't. Or I set aside $100 and when it is gone, done. That sort of thing. I have stopped at one of the Riverboat type casinos in Louisiana and did not like it. Walked through the casino / aka smoke filled pit of sadness on a cruise ship and walked right back out. Have never been to one of the Oklahoma, Native American owed casinos, so cannot speak to them 2 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerrySTL ★ Posted January 17, 2023 Share #5 Posted January 17, 2023 5 minutes ago, Road Runner said: I'm sure the casino owners will make a fortune on this endeavor, but I see no real upside for our community and for visitors who will be partaking of this venue. What say you? A big money maker will be governments. For example, Illinois depends on casinos and slot machines for part of its budget. It is interesting how things that were illegal, such as the numbers game, slot machines, and weed to name a few, become legal when the government wants more money. I've been known to waste a few bucks at casinos. I wasted about $60 on a cruise ship's casino last month. I waste more on lottery tickets. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikeman564™ Posted January 17, 2023 Share #6 Posted January 17, 2023 1 minute ago, jsharr said: Vegas I went once w/ friends to see a fight. Great time., I have no desire to go back. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirtyhip Posted January 17, 2023 Share #7 Posted January 17, 2023 I am not a fan, as I hate throwing away money. Someone with addictions can get ruined from this kind of a place. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddmaxx ★ Posted January 17, 2023 Share #8 Posted January 17, 2023 17 minutes ago, Road Runner said: We have a first-ever (in this area), big-ass casino opening a few miles from my house next week. The Rivers Casino. I don't like gambling houses where people are induced to throw away their hard-earned money. I'm sure there will be jobs and income for the area, but, in many cases, it will be at the cost of those who can't afford to lose their savings and/or their financial support for their families. I'm sure the casino owners will make a fortune on this endeavor, but I see no real upside for our community and for visitors who will be partaking of this venue. What say you? You will find good entertainment and restaurants there as well. The closest to me is Mohegan Sun. In their arena we can attend concerts or basketball games and other events such as boat shows, auto shows. There are several decent restaurants and a couple of really good ones. There's a very nice hotel if you have relatives coming to visit and you're out of room. If the casino wasn't there the folks you are worried about would find some other way to burn their money. The rest of us do a bit of gambling with restraint and a hard limit on how much we spend, except for my oldest son who is a world class poker player (not quite final table yet) who at times supplements his income by playing. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BR46 Posted January 17, 2023 Share #9 Posted January 17, 2023 I wouldn't like having one in the area...I know people who lost everything to the casinos. When traveling Wo46 and I will boondock at casinos but we go in eat have a drink....maybe gamble 20 bucks between the both of us. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Road Runner Posted January 17, 2023 Author Share #10 Posted January 17, 2023 5 minutes ago, JerrySTL said: A big money maker will be governments. For example, Illinois depends on casinos and slot machines for part of its budget. It is interesting how things that were illegal, such as the numbers game, slot machines, and weed to name a few, become legal when the government wants more money. Not only the local government, but also the local politicians, I fear. There will be a fortune to be made by local administrators, I'm sure. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddmaxx ★ Posted January 17, 2023 Share #11 Posted January 17, 2023 When P&W laid off about 30,000 workers in the early 90's the casino's saved a lot of families by providing enough employment to keep the state running. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddmaxx ★ Posted January 17, 2023 Share #12 Posted January 17, 2023 3 minutes ago, BR46 said: I wouldn't like having one in the area...I know people who lost everything to the casinos. When traveling Wo46 and I will boondock at casinos but we go in eat have a drink....maybe gamble 20 bucks between the both of us. That's the way we do it. A meal, some entertainment, and maybe $20 in the slot machines 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longjohn ★ Posted January 17, 2023 Share #13 Posted January 17, 2023 I don’t gamble. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post donkpow Posted January 17, 2023 Popular Post Share #14 Posted January 17, 2023 I don't gamble, either. I play the stock market. ER, uh, I mean I don't gamble. 2 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Further Posted January 17, 2023 Share #15 Posted January 17, 2023 I'm not a gambler. Aside from that I hate everything about a casino, I hate the swirly carpet they all seem to have, I hate the music they all play, I hate the despair I see on all the faces in there. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheep_herder ★ Posted January 17, 2023 Share #16 Posted January 17, 2023 We have a lot of small ones in our area, and I am sure a lot of money is lost in each one. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirby Posted January 17, 2023 Share #17 Posted January 17, 2023 I don't gamble and don't find any entertainment in losing money. I don't see why they find it fun, but I don't have anything against someone who sets aside a given amount of money they can afford for entertainment, but there are also a lot of people who lose more than they can afford. I went to Vegas decades ago when I lived in LA to see the sites I'd seen on tv. It was so long ago that I saw Frank Sinatra in concert. My Mom always had an interest in seeing Atlantic City, even though she shared my view on gambling. One year there was a skating event at the Boardwalk Arena, so it was a perfect opportunity to see what was going on and try some of the restaurants without spending too much time at the casino. In AC,there were a lot of sad people who seemed to spend their days gambling, but the weekend attracted a more hip crowd who came for a weekend of shows, clubs, dining and a bit of gambling. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kzoo Posted January 18, 2023 Share #18 Posted January 18, 2023 “The house ALWAYS wins.” 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddmaxx ★ Posted January 18, 2023 Share #19 Posted January 18, 2023 The two large CT casinos have now been around for about 30 years. In the last few years they seem to have altered the business modes from straight gambling to being entertainment complexes and a center for business conferences. There will always be the gambling but the last time I was there back before Christmas, there were more people walking around looking at the shops and checking out the restaurants then there were on the gambling floors. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Further Posted January 18, 2023 Share #20 Posted January 18, 2023 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralphie ★ Posted January 18, 2023 Share #21 Posted January 18, 2023 I don’t like them. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shootingstar Posted January 18, 2023 Share #22 Posted January 18, 2023 It's enough we have the government run lotteries, the stock market. Full stop there. I've never liked casinos because most people lose enough money fast enough. I really hate it that the First Nations (native American Indians) run casinos as a way to make money. Because it appears to be a fast way to it...I guess? Is there any other reason? Or maybe I don't want to hear those reasons. The problem is casinos get further dirtied with other stuff ie. money laundering. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airehead Posted January 18, 2023 Share #23 Posted January 18, 2023 2 hours ago, Dirtyhip said: I am not a fan, as I hate throwing away money. Someone with addictions can get ruined from this kind of a place. People addicted to gambling will bet on anything with or without casinos. Lottery is the same. A dollar and a dream. i,would prefer not to live near a casino. Traffic, etc…. Also Atlantic City, NJ is a sad place a few blocks from the glitzy casinos. Families do not go to the beach there anymore. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
groupw Posted January 18, 2023 Share #24 Posted January 18, 2023 2 hours ago, JerrySTL said: A big money maker will be governments. For example, Illinois depends on casinos and slot machines for part of its budget. It is interesting how things that were illegal, such as the numbers game, slot machines, and weed to name a few, become legal when the government wants more money. I've been known to waste a few bucks at casinos. I wasted about $60 on a cruise ship's casino last month. I waste more on lottery tickets. The cynic in me says we traded one form of organized crime for another. That said, banning vices has never worked. Might as well regulate them and maybe bring in some revenue in the process. Those who are going to do financial harm to themselves gambling will always find a way. I could name a half dozen guys in my old city who were bookies on the side. The irony is I know a couple were opposed to the new casino coming in publicly because they said it would do financial harm to vulnerable families. Privately they feared it would take a bite from their racket. There is now a casino 3 miles from me. I have only been there for the movie theater and I’m told they have a couple decent places to eat. @Randomguystayed at the other that’s on my way to work. He liked the food there. There are a couple concerts I may see, but I have little interest in gambling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrAzY Posted January 18, 2023 Share #25 Posted January 18, 2023 Personally I like to play cards at a table every few years. I tend to not really win or lose, but it is just something fun to do. Mostly I play 3 card, the odds are in the houses favor, but if you get a good hand, it makes up for all the crappy cards dealt 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petitepedal ★ Posted January 18, 2023 Share #26 Posted January 18, 2023 I haven't been in years...and when I went..I was always a big spender $5 to $20... Last time..probably 20 or so years ago...I was there with a older fried who made a habit of going...I spent my allotted $20..and was bored..my friend gave me $20 more and told me where to play (apparently he was there often enough to know those few machines were a bit loose compared to others) I started plunking in coin and won like $90...paid my fried back his $20 and just hung out til he was ready to leave... 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bikeguy Posted January 18, 2023 Share #27 Posted January 18, 2023 2 hours ago, JerrySTL said: A big money maker will be governments. For example, Illinois depends on casinos and slot machines for part of its budget. It is interesting how things that were illegal, such as the numbers game, slot machines, and weed to name a few, become legal when the government wants more money. Yeah... exactly. I've told WoBG it's now legal because of the money that can be made. How many 'deals' have been made here to acquire a license for selling weed, or opening a place to gamble? No corruption here. 3 hours ago, Road Runner said: I don't like gambling houses where people are induced to throw away their hard-earned money. I'm sure there will be jobs and income for the area, but, in many cases, it will be at the cost of those who can't afford to lose their savings and/or their financial support for their families. I see it as a way to tax people. Of course many (if not most) of the people who gamble are the people who can't afford the gambling losses that they will experience. They all want to hit the big jackpot. IMHO It's the biggest regressive tax ever created. Ironically 70% of the instant millionaires who win the lotteries go bankrupt in a few years. So the person who hits the big one at a gambling establishment will, probably blow their winnings SOON after they win. 3 hours ago, jsharr said: I set aside $100 and when it is gone, done. That's our plan too. Then again it's been decades since we have gambled. WoBG and I both don't like to gamble. That said maybe once or month or less, we will buy a lottery ticket. I'd like the opportunity to be part of the 30% who don't go bankrupt after winning. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bikeguy Posted January 18, 2023 Share #28 Posted January 18, 2023 10 minutes ago, KrAzY said: the odds are in the houses favor, Las Vegas got built because of the odds being in their favor. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrAzY Posted January 18, 2023 Share #29 Posted January 18, 2023 Just now, Bikeguy said: Las Vegas got built because of the odds being in their favor. Not true. IT was all because of Elvis and magicians that made it what it was.. the money as income was just a bonus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisL Posted January 18, 2023 Share #30 Posted January 18, 2023 I have probably spent more time in Vegas than everyone here combined and can count on one hand the number of times I have gambled. Many of the slots are more complex now and you don’t get the coins plinking in the tray any longer. I’d rather not put my ATM or credit card in the machine. I’d rather see a show & have a good meal than gamble. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prophet Zacharia Posted January 18, 2023 Share #31 Posted January 18, 2023 4 hours ago, maddmaxx said: If the casino wasn't there the folks you are worried about would find some other way to burn their money. You don’t even need to go to the casino to gamble. Either online or on your phone app, plenty of possibilities. I tried to play roulette the last time I was in Aruba. It was boring. I played a few slots and left. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BR46 Posted January 18, 2023 Share #32 Posted January 18, 2023 17 minutes ago, Bikeguy said: Las Vegas got built because of the odds being in their favor. I have a friend who goes to Vagas 4 to 5 times a year and tells me that he almost always wins. Vagas doesn't keep the lights on by giving away money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bikeguy Posted January 18, 2023 Share #33 Posted January 18, 2023 1 minute ago, BR46 said: Vagas doesn't keep the lights on by giving away money. Exactly... When the first gambling boat/casino was built in Joliet, they were in our service territory. We installed power to the site. You get to meet lots of the people who work at (or manage or own) a business when you are installing power. I remember as an incentive, many of the casino employees were given a small fraction of the profits as a bonus to work there. A few years later we found out... the profit sharing ended. The employees were making too much money. They only got hourly wages after that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zealot Posted January 18, 2023 Share #34 Posted January 18, 2023 Charlestown Raceway is local here. It doesn’t bother me. But I don’t go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parsnip Totin Jack ★ Posted January 18, 2023 Share #35 Posted January 18, 2023 Gambling isn’t my thing. They couldn’t build those nice buildings by giving away money. They’re in the business of selling the idea of winning it big. Part of that sales pitch is having a small pool of winners promote them and fleecing the rest. It’s a form of entertainment, just not my thing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
team scooter Posted January 18, 2023 Share #36 Posted January 18, 2023 I'm not a gambler, but while snowmobiling I've taken advantage of their motels, gas station/stores, restaurants, etc that were built nearby mostly catering to the casino patrons. Often in towns that don't have much else going on to draw people to the area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dottleshead ★ Posted January 18, 2023 Share #37 Posted January 18, 2023 I have one 10 minutes from my house 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razors Edge ★ Posted January 18, 2023 Share #38 Posted January 18, 2023 14 hours ago, Road Runner said: How do you feel about Casinos and gambling? Casinos I like them pretty much only in the places they used to be - Vegas, AC, Reno, Monaco, Baden Baden, etc.. Less is more, by a LONG SHOT. Sports betting I find better on-line than through illegal bookies. I'm not a fan at all of horse racing or dog racing. It's generally a sick sport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dottleshead ★ Posted January 18, 2023 Share #39 Posted January 18, 2023 Blackjack or bust. It's usually bust so I leave it alone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parr8hed Posted January 18, 2023 Share #40 Posted January 18, 2023 I spend money on some really stupid shit sometimes! All in the name of entertainment. If you look at gambling that way then it makes sense. Spend a couple hundred bucks for entertainment. And who knows, you might actually make some money? It can be fun and exhilarating. But you have to set a limit on how much. How much you will stop at. Take 100 with you and quit when that is done. Quit when you are up 100. Whatever it is, has to have limits. OTOH I think it is extremely sad when you are at a casino and you see people throwing away what is obviously their last dollar. Breaks my heart. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razors Edge ★ Posted January 18, 2023 Share #41 Posted January 18, 2023 2 minutes ago, Parr8hed said: I spend money on some really stupid shit sometimes! All in the name of entertainment. If you look at gambling that way then it makes sense. Spend a couple hundred bucks for entertainment. And who knows, you might actually make some money? It can be fun and exhilarating. But you have to set a limit on how much. How much you will stop at. Take 100 with you and quit when that is done. Quit when you are up 100. Whatever it is, has to have limits. OTOH I think it is extremely sad when you are at a casino and you see people throwing away what is obviously their last dollar. Breaks my heart. Very true. I love Vegas. I really enjoy the crowds, the random nonsense, the variety of stuff to do, and the gambling. We play craps. But we only play craps at the "cheaper" casinos where the minimum is $1 (or, nowadays, $5 and under). You can play craps for a LONG time with $100 starting pot, and just doing the minimum bet plus using simple bets and odds. My strategy is to "bank" money if I am up early - ie if we get well above the $100 in chips early on, that becomes the money we continue with. That's rare, but it also happens enough that you can play for an hour or so, and walk away with $50 extra or down to your original minus $50, but you got some interactive entertainment and "free" drinks for an hour or more. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parr8hed Posted January 18, 2023 Share #42 Posted January 18, 2023 50 minutes ago, Razors Edge said: Very true. I love Vegas. I really enjoy the crowds, the random nonsense, the variety of stuff to do, and the gambling. We play craps. But we only play craps at the "cheaper" casinos where the minimum is $1 (or, nowadays, $5 and under). You can play craps for a LONG time with $100 starting pot, and just doing the minimum bet plus using simple bets and odds. My strategy is to "bank" money if I am up early - ie if we get well above the $100 in chips early on, that becomes the money we continue with. That's rare, but it also happens enough that you can play for an hour or so, and walk away with $50 extra or down to your original minus $50, but you got some interactive entertainment and "free" drinks for an hour or more. I played dollar craps on Freemont street years ago. I had a "system" figured out. What to bet, when to ride the pass line, when to set a point, at what point to walk away from the table. I netted 154 dollars that day. But I was too drunk to remember my system for the next day. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12string Posted January 18, 2023 Share #43 Posted January 18, 2023 gambling venues really are a way to prey upon the poor and weak willed. Sure, they can be useful entertainment, but that depends on the customer. When the first casinos opened in AC, they would offer up free busses, $20 in quarters, and a buffet pass - to get people hooked. My wife and I couldn't afford to go out anywhere so we took them up on it regularly. Free dinner, maybe drop a few quarters, walk the boardwalk, use more quarters for dessert or fudge, get home with a few extra dollars in our pockets. I haven't placed a bet of any kind since they stopped that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MickinMD ★ Posted January 18, 2023 Share #44 Posted January 18, 2023 I don't like the big, organized nationwide gambling phenomenon that sends billions of dollars out of people's wallets - mostly people who can't afford to lose the money. Even the NFL is promoting gambling now and celebrities - usually black men whose ad is aimed at low income black men - are featured often during NFL games. Their effect on children's lives is beyond disgusting. When Maryland legalized gambling some years ago and allowed four large casinos to open, a lot of social workers asked how much more money the State was going to provide to take care of unfed kids, broken homes, homeless and sick people due to all the money lost at the casinos. There was an estimate that the cost would be three times the taxes the State and Counties raked off the casino operations. That hit home to me because my father went through a several year period where he gambled his paychecks away. My parents barely held on to their home and we were the poorest family on the block. In 2010, the Christian Science Monitor reported negatively on the impact of big-gambling, noting "Gambling has costs in the form of bankruptcy, broken families, extra crime, depression, suicide, and so on. Gambling loses its "discretionary" aspect for problem gamblers. The gambling industry has emerged as an economic mainstay in many communities," creating jobs, sometimes reducing unemployment and welfare payments, the National Gambling Impact Study Commission concluded in 1999. But it also calculated that gambling costs society about $1,200 per adult in social costs...Ten years later the costs would have soared." Of course, the counter-argument is that "The gamblers know the risks so it is their responsibility." But that's not true because it becomes the taxpayers' responsibilities to provide free school lunches, free health care, suffer from increased crime, etc, etc, etc, due to large gambling operations that are heavily promoted with celebrities, etc. to fool you. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikeman564™ Posted January 18, 2023 Share #45 Posted January 18, 2023 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikeman564™ Posted January 18, 2023 Share #46 Posted January 18, 2023 2 hours ago, Parr8hed said: Freemont street is a cool street 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BR46 Posted January 18, 2023 Share #47 Posted January 18, 2023 17 hours ago, Bikeguy said: Las Vegas got built because of the odds being in their favor. 30% of the time I win every time 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddmaxx ★ Posted January 18, 2023 Share #48 Posted January 18, 2023 I like the go cart track at Foxwoods. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2Far ★ Posted January 18, 2023 Share #49 Posted January 18, 2023 Not my cuppa tea. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Kosciuszko Posted January 19, 2023 Share #50 Posted January 19, 2023 On 1/17/2023 at 6:43 PM, Further said: I hate the swirly carpet they all seem to have I'd wager it makes for a better contrast so people and objects stand out for the security cameras 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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