Hit, split, double down?

Sitting here in a room that is still too cold, even though I adjusted the thermostat, waiting for an idea to strike. Seems a waste of time. We moved from the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino to the Isle Hotel and Casino yesterday. Faye got comped to 2 nights here. I was planning on playing golf today but... the course I wanted to play was booked up this morning and it's still awfully windy out so I probably won't play. No big deal but there is little to do if one doesn't gamble.

I used to gamble, years ago it seems, mostly Blackjack. But that become boring many years ago. You sit at a table with a dealer who is either indifferent or obviously faking interest. You start with a stack of chips which shrinks or expands but mostly shrinks as the cards fall in front of you. There may be others at the table with you, maybe you make a little small talk about where you live, or maybe you just concentrate on the cards. Concentrating on the cards does no good, they come out of the deck in whatever order they will. You have no control over them at all. Even the dealers have no real control over them... unless they are cheating. And they don't cheat, there's no percentage in it. First, it can get them fired. Second, the casino doesn't need them to cheat, the odds are always in favor of the house. Third, they get paid the same whether they win or lose.

Contrary to popular belief, the house doesn't gamble. It would be surprising if the house even considered taking a chance. They don't need to. Consider the Blackjack dealer. He or she has specific rules which control his or her play. Hit on 16 or below, stay on 17 or above. No splits, no double downs, no decisions to make. Your absolute best odds at a Blackjack table exist only when there is just you and the dealer and then only if you play using the same rules the house does. It's rare that you are alone at the table, though. Usually there are one or more additional players. These players will do things which help the house make money. They will hit when they shouldn't, not hit when they should, and change the order of the cards and the number of cards available to you just by being in the game.

You do not stand a chance.

The slot machines are even worse. They pay out here at 95%. That means they, over time (and no one seems to know what that time span is), pay out 95% of what the players put in. In other words, you are guaranteed to lose.

The worst part, to me, is that casinos are freezing. For some reason, the temperature in the casinos is around 68 or 70 degrees F. For me, that is uncomfortably cold. I feel like I am sitting in a refrigerator.

You would think that investing in casino stock would also be a sure thing, wouldn't you? Doesn't work that way for some reason. I suppose that the stock market operates on different rules. Not sure we stand a chance there either.

Still, here I sit. Until tomorrow morning when we take the long drive home.