Quote Originally Posted by Midwest Player View Post
Dbs6582, this site is mostly a blackjack site, and I was wondering how you did on blackjack this past year. Did you have a winning year? Did you answer the poll question? I hope you don't feel guilty if you won a few bucks at the casino. I'm sure the government won't miss the few bucks in tax income you caused by reducing the casino's profit.
Midwest Player, yes I had a winning year. I’ve said that a couple times on this forum. I think I answered your poll question...but I’m not sure since you have so many polls. Believe it or not, your polls are not the most important thing in my life. Lol

Yes, I do feel a little guilty when I win money from my local casinos. I’ve said this on this forum many times. I’m surprised you missed it. I’m currently living in one of the poorest states in our union and our local casinos are kind of like the local bar, where the community comes together to enjoy a little gambling, music and social interaction. Since I feel a little guilty winning money in these casinos, I usually try to be one of the biggest tippers to give back a little to the community. I know it’s not much, but it makes me feel better, and it definitely makes me more liked at the casinos, and with the dealers and waitresses.

The situation is different when I visit larger casinos in larger states. I know this isn’t being totally consistent, but the reality is I don’t feel bad when I extract money from a larger casino. When I lived on the east coast, I never felt guilty taking money from Foxwood or MS but I also didn’t play there much because I didn’t care for these big impersonal casinos.

When I go to casinos, my objectives are a little different than most APs. For me, it’s about more than just winning money. I like the entertainment, and interaction with the locals. As Zee has said, it allows me to interact with people I wouldn't normally interact with at my job. Casinos are a way for me decompress after a busy week at work.

I can tell some of my comments have struck a nerve in you. Sorry about that. The reason I brought this up is to point out the real reason states have legalized casinos (casinos didn’t just pop up on their own). It’s to raise revenue for the State. They are now legal in 42 States, and I expect in the future all 50 states will legalize them. They aren’t legal in Texas yet and It’s causing Texas to lose a lot of revenue to neighboring states, where huge casinos have been built just over the Texas state line to take advantage of the Texas market. Texas has a lottery so it’s just a matter of time before they legalize casinos.

Rather than thinking of taking money from a casino, an AP should remember what they’re really doing is taking money from the state and local governments. Basically, what we’ve done is discovered a loophole in the govenrment’s voluntary tax program. There’s nothing wrong with that and it’s legal, but we shouldn’t have any delusions we’re doing anything great by taking money from a casinos. Hope that point didn’t pop your bubble that you were on some great moral crusade by taking money from casinos.