Lucky Weekend in Atlantic City

After Thanksgiving, I went to Atlantic City (if anyone has been following me on Twitter, you would have known) because a friend just turned 21 and we were anxious to gamble (legally, for the first time). Gambling is not an accepted activity when it comes to smarter personal finance, but it certainly was a great experience.

Trip Costs and Expenses
We took the coach bus from Chinatown to Atlantic City. The round-trip ticket cost $18 but we were given a $30 redeemable coupon when we arrived. (This practice is used to lure people into the casinos, where they will hopefully lose more money.) So, we already had a profit of $12.

Firstly, much thanks to my friend’s mom. She was a frequent player of the casinos in Atlantic City and if any of you have visited a large casino, they often have rewards for those who rack up playtime at the tables. She was able to get us a room and covered our eating expenses at Bally’s with her reward points.

Gambling
Before the trip, my friend and I were strategizing for casino games and found that Blackjack would be our preferred game to win some money. What hit me really hard was to find that minimum bets were $10 and up. I’m the conservative type and I wasn’t here to play with thousands of dollars. I was expecting more like $1 minimum bets.

I came to have fun and to win some money, not to watch others do it. Sure, my wallet only had $77 in it and it wasn’t much. But with the hotel room, food, and trip pretty much costing me nothing, losing the money could be seen as paying for the trip. And if I win a little, that’s just gravy!

So… I hit the casino floor and gambled! I got $30 in chips to start (didn’t want to lose everything so early). My plan was to stick with the minimum and never bet more. Here was my progress throughout the night:

1. $30 in 5 minutes
2. $40 in 10 minutes
3. $40 in 10 minutes
4. $20 in 1 hour

I was on a hot streak. Lucky me. I found that once I won some money, I left and took a walk because, if I stayed too long, I will lose all my money. As you can see, I only won $20 after 1 hour compared to $30 in 5 minutes during an earlier session. Pacing myself after wins was a good strategy. In the end, I left with $207 when I started with only $77. The trip definitely exceeded my expectations.

The Winnings
All the money will go straight to my checking account for paying the credit card bill. I won’t just go off and buy myself a new toy or gadget. I know what my priorities are.

All in all, it was a rewarding, fun, and fortuitous experience. Can’t wait for next time…

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