Mood: vegas lucky
At one time, you could play craps or blackjack at the Niagara casino with a minimun bet of $5. This was usually in the morning before the herd of gamblers arrived in the afternoon. A $50 dollars stake could get you a few hours of fun and you might win a dollar or two.
However, things have changed. The five dollar crap table is still there, but it's usually overcrowded. The minimum bet on Blackjack Saturday was $10 and that went up to $15 at 11:00 A.M.
When we arrived at the casino today, the minimun bet at Blackjack was $15 at 9:30 A.M. So much for a cheap table that you could play for hours. I only had $50 dollars to play with and used that up in 15 minutes. Fortunately, I won more than I lost and I walked away with $17.50 in winnings. For the whole weekend, I won a grand total of $30 dollars. I didn't play that long, because I didn't have a huge amount of money to gamble. I know my limit and I play within it.
My basic strategy is to bet my money a little at a time, than stop playing when my stake is finished and see how much I've won.
Obviously, the games at the casinos are moving away from the average player and going after the high rollers who are often complusive gamblers. To play for a few hours, probably, requires a couple of hundred dollars now. I don't like it, but what can I do about it. Just bring more gambling money to the casino, but play less in a year.