Oh, No, Don't Do That

16 November 2021

By Frank Scoblete

• These fellows are making what I believe is a big mistake. They are artistically posting their wins on Facebook. They show chips they have won sitting in their hands. They show great meals they have ordered. Yes, they are joyous. No doubt about that.

I can see that they are proud of their luck and want to share their happiness with their friends on Facebook. But publicly acknowledging what they have won is not a good idea. In fact, it could be a somewhat bad or a very bad idea.

Aside from the fact that total strangers will know of their good fortune, something more important will do (or might do) the same --- the IRS. Casino wins are taxable income, even if those wins are not gargantuan and none of these wins are in that monstrously large category. Still, they are notable wins. Wins to be proud of.

Still, if the IRS insists taxes must be paid then taxes must be paid.

Sharing one’s good fortune with friends in privacy is a great feeling. You can be proud of what you have done and your friends can also be proud of what you have done too.

I’d stay away from public displays of this type.

• Simple facts: Losing streaks occur in slots and video poker far more often than at the table games – except if you bet one bet on an inside number at roulette.

Players of these machines are a patient lot. They have to be because the wins can be substantial – if they hit. If you aren’t patient you won’t have the playing endurance to wait for the big one.

Of course, the big one doesn’t always come; sometimes the little big ones don’t come often enough to signal a winner. Still, slots are the number one game in the casino by a huge margin and video poker has a rather large following too.

Playing these machines does indeed call for patience.

• Is there a kind of collective consciousness that sometimes consumes craps players? Is that why craps tables can occasionally explode as the winning rolls make conjoined mates of everyone or almost everyone at a table?

You find that it is rare other casino games have groups of players screaming and shouting with each other or slapping each other “five.” You find this as a unique craps phenomenon.

Yes, there are some players who go against the grain, those usually despised darksiders who bet the don’ts. The rightside players who are betting with the shooters and with the numbers have no love for these renegades.

Many rightsiders think the darksiders should leave the tables or that the casinos should remove those darkside bets from the game.

It is rare that darksiders will scream with joy when the shooters seven out. Perhaps they fear the wrath of the rightsiders.

• Are more women playing craps than ever before? It does seem to me that more women are at the tables. As far as I know, there is no official tally of what percentage of craps players are women. It used to be almost none; now it seems as if it is “some.”

All the best in and out of the casinos!

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