Bad Bob wrote:
Ain't got no money?
I was employed for several years as a casino security shift supervisor in Nevada -- this position entails an intimate knowledge of the gaming business, and promotion to this position, unlike supervisor spots in other departments, has to be approved by the CEO and Chairman because the responsibility involves having a finger in every pie, looking out for the entire spectrum, from money to status quo to liabilities, of management's interests.
If there's one thing you learn, it's that only an idiot would still be a gambler after seeing and experiencing what one does in that position.
That said, one biproduct of those years is that on the rare occasions I do place a bet, it is in person at a licensed gaming establishment, not through bookies and/or other middlemen.
The last time I gambled was at Harrah's in Joliet, Illinois, where I spent my birthday weekend in 2007. I won over $6,000 playing dollar progressive video poker and another $4,000 and change playing craps. Both were sort of quasi honest because my employment experience in Nevada taught me what to look for in machines and how a professional plays craps.
Before that, my last betting was on the Triple Crown races in 1995, while I still worked in the casino -- I used to play the ponies a bit, and I learned how from a professional handicapper -- and I won on both the Derby and the Belmont betting Thunder Gulch across ($100 to win, $100 to place, $100 to show -- my horse won both of those races) -- though I didn't fare well on the Preakness.
That's my most recent betting history -- as far as how I'll place a bet, it's more about principle than about money, the latter of which, for me, while I'm not rich, is not exactly in short supply.
You open a licensed betting parlor and give odds on the November 3 results, and I'll make a special trip there to place a bet.