Meet Mr. and Ms. Action

31 December 2019

By Frank Scoblete

Meet Mr. and Ms. Action

Casinos have a term for folks who bet with abandon, they call such people “action” players. In this case “action” means the players make many bets, often many bad bets, and they play for a long time with some “action” players betting high amounts of money, others smaller amounts.

What truly characterizes “action” players is the fact that they can’t reign themselves in; they want to bet and bet and bet some more. They scurry after comps if they are low rollers and the high rolling ones disdainfully use their huge number of comps imperially thereby showing everyone that they are the Orcas of the casino oceans.

Most “action” players enjoy being “action” players. They have a different emotional set than most casino gamblers who often pride themselves on their money-management skills. “Action” players can be considered those who let it all hang out and money management be damned.

I met Mr. Action on one of my trips to Las Vegas. He played blackjack and craps for extremely high amounts of money. He was, to put it mildly, a high roller of the first order and he enjoyed every minute of his casino time.

“The casino is my world,” he said. “This is where I can let myself go, have fun with no regrets. Winning and losing money is secondary with me; the thrill is in the actual action I give the casino.”

He enjoyed making even the worst bets at craps. “Oh, yeah, I know most of the bets I make at craps have high house edges but if they hit I can make some big money. That’s the thrill. I want to see the battles between me and the casino to be about big money. Just making even money on a craps bet doesn’t give me a thrill in the pit of my stomach. I want the rush of the kill.”

At blackjack Mr. Action basically plays at the table limit. “I use some form of basic strategy but I also use my intuition and the insights gained over decades of play. I’ll tell you what else I enjoy. I like the people oohing and ahhing about the size of my bets. It’s like I’m on display.”

How long does Mr. Action play? “Oh, I guess maybe eight to 10 hours a day, maybe more on some days.”

Now Ms. Action is somewhat different. “I don’t like a crowd around me when I play the slots. I like the one-hundred dollar machines and while I have to have a casino person there to record my big wins I prefer to just find myself a good machine and play it for however long I like. I don’t have any time limits on me.”

Does she play to make big money as Mr. Action does? “I want to win. You’d have to be crazy not to want to win. But this money I use is my play money. I enjoy the contest between me and the casino and a slot machine represents that contest to me. I mean the casino programs the machine to beat the player so if I can beat the machine then I have won the contest. Anyway that’s how I see it.”

Does Ms. Action play any other games besides slots? “I enjoy some video poker games so I am a machine person. I don’t like being at table games with a lot of other players. At the machines it is just me and the machine. I like that.”

Well, there you have a look from two “action” players. And by the way, Mr. and Ms. Action are married to each other.

All the best in and out of the casinos!

Visit Frank’s web site at www.frankscoblete.com.