Vegas, Baby

January 15th, 2009, 2:11 pm PST by Greg

As some of you know, Kat and I are heading to Las Vegas tonight. Of course, we will see things and do stuff, but that’s not what I’m worried about right now.

I’m psyching myself up to actually gamble something while I’m there. Any previous gambling experiences I’ve had have ended with me thinking “shit… now I don’t have five dollars.” But, I figure I’m probably not going back to Vegas with any regularity, so I’d better do it while I’m there.

So, I’m worried about how to look the coolest while I’m losing whatever money I decide I can part with. My options, as I see them:

  1. Slot machines: These are easy enough, but I might as well put curlers in my hair and chain smoke. Plus, the house advantages are criminal.
  2. Roulette or Craps: These two are easy enough to understand, and have decent house advantages. But they rely entirely on luck, so how cool could one possibly be while playing them?
  3. Blackjack: Very good house odds, and require intelligent choices on my part to do well, so that’s pretty cool. But getting the good house odds depends on playing well, which for me would require sitting there with a strategy card. Decidedly uncool.
  4. Of course, there’s always the last option: I’m too old to look cool anyway, so I should just give up and hit the buffet.

Opinions?

Edit: Eugene’s comment reminds me of another option: poker. I refuse to be one of those guys that sits down at a poker table practically screaming “I started playing poker when it was trendy and have played with my friends three whole times” and then proceeds to lose everything to guys who are actually good at poker. Plus, I’m not even that good at it.

I wonder if they have Euchre tables.

2 Responses to “Vegas, Baby”

  1. Eugene Says:

    Baccarat is cool, but kind of uncommon.

    Craps, if you take the time to learn how to roll dice, can rely on skill. It’ll take longer than 12 hours to learn though.

    Of course, you could always don a baseball cap backwards, put on some sunglasses and enter yourself in the local Texas Hold ‘Em tournament.

  2. Ryan Says:

    Budget some amount of money you’re prepared to spend on gambling, go there, play a bit, see what you like, and play it within your budget.