Chicken Crossing the Road

2 August 2022

By Frank Scoblete

I do love those old “chicken” sayings. Here’s one of my favorites:

Question: “Why did the chicken cross the road?”

Answer: “To get to the other side.”

Yes, dopey at many levels but there is an element of truth in it. To get somewhere you want to go, well then, you have to move in that direction. You have to cross areas you might not want to cross but to get there then you must go through those areas.

Or, worst of all, you want to go where it is stupid to go. A chicken crossing a road stands a chance of being flattened and left for road kill. Maybe the chicken should be happy where that chicken is. Who wants to be squashed road kill?

Now, here is the tie in to casino playing; a very strong tie in: Players who are more concerned with their status in the eyes of the casinos and in the envious eyes of their fellow players often ask for a slap upside their heads or the crushing crunch of the car hitting them as they cross the road.

Players like getting comps. They often see these as rewards for their play but in reality, comps are rewards for their theoretical losses based on how much and how careless they may wager their money. Think of comps as small discounts a store will give customers to get the customers to think they are saving money by getting such discounts as they actually spend their money.

Low rollers look at high rollers across that road and many of these low-level players are envious of the amounts of money such high rollers play. They wish they could be high rollers and treated as if they are the true kings and queens of Lady Luck’s temples of chance.

To the casino executives, the high rollers are just players who will potentially lose more money over time – nothing more, nothing less. Looking across that road, the low-stakes player is merely looking at bigger losses. Certainly, if you have enough money to withstand such high-level play then have at it. But few players can play big stakes and that other side of the road those high rollers inhabit is essentially meaningless in the scheme of things.

There is also another way casinos set up roads for players to cross. These are called players’ clubs which have levels indicating how the casino rates you. That’s right; it is a caste system based on (yes, you know the answer to this) what kind of theoretical loss a player will have playing the way that player plays.

Players will be given cards that indicate where they fit in the scheme of things. When they start to play more often or for more money, their status will rise.

This status is often associated with a color or a name or both. For example, one club membership has the following: Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Diamond Plus, Diamond Elite, and Seven Stars. The color of each card will distinguish what level the player inhabits and that level will determine what comps a player can achieve by his or her play.

I can look at the road I’m thinking of crossing and whether for me it is worth that level of betting. I don’t play for comps; if they come, they come.

My game plan is to play what I can afford to play and leave it at that. How the casino rates me is their business. My business is to play the best strategies I can and wish and hope to win some money.

I am not a chicken that is big on crossing any preconceived roads.

All the best in and out of the casinos!

Frank Scoblete’s web site is www.frankscoblete.com. His books are available at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Kindle, e-books, libraries and bookstores.