There is a documentary about Las Vegas called The Player and you can easily find it on You Tube. The title is The Player – Secrets of a Las Vegas Whale with Trish Regan 2017.

Millions of people go to Las Vegas for entertainment and to gamble. Most will lose something but they often are not going expecting to win. There are a few players who are professionals or can make large bets. The bigger the bets, the more they can win or lose and the big players are called Whales. If you are going to Vegas or any casino the best odds are in Baccarat and Blackjack. The worst odds are the Big 6 spin the wheel game but many will try.

There are rules which the Casinos follow:

if you win $1,000 the casino will comp you or give you feebees of $200 the next time you come.

If you win $200,000 the comp will be towards $80,000. The reality the cost of the plane to get you to Vegas and the exclusive hotel or housing will not cost $80,000.

To beat the Casino you will need to do a couple of things: one be good.

You will need to remember the longer you play, the greater the chance the house wins. The casinos are about math and what is the expectation a card comes up for you and the house, but there are inefficiencies in the system.

The reality is you are not playing the casino but the dealer and since he/she is human, they can make mistakes, as you will make a mistake. For a whale, there is built in advantage because often the Casino gives them up front spending money or $50,000 to start. If the player can get ahead, the odds are better for them. It will take a great deal of focus because the Casino will try to do things which make it harder for you. The Casino dealer will slow it down, they can change dealers, they will give you free drinks, people will typically gather around as the amount of money being bet gains in size.

If you look around the country you will see many more casinos than in the past – Vegas is still the number one place to go. Many of the smaller Casinos around the country are run by companies from Vegas and their strategy is for you bet there, and occasionally give you feebees or comps to come to Vegas to bet. As a gambler you have two tasks – one try not to make mistakes and know when to fold them and when to let it ride.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, there are fewer freebees or comp – maybe a light meal at the Annual Meeting, however the same strategies come in play. The idea is not to lose your money which leads to investing in profitable companies. If you follow the market, occasionally you will notice companies going out of favor for a variety of reasons. if you have done your homework it is possible to buy a low prices and wait as the price comes back (value investing) or searching for inefficiencies. The trick is you probably can not see them everyday. Take your time, stick to profitable companies and you can be better off in the future.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.