Your First Casino Trip

I%26#39;m interested in finding out how you people started going to casinos.

When was the first time you went to a casino? Was it your idea to go or somene else%26#39;s? How did you feel when you walked in? Were you excited? Was it like you had imagined it would be? What was the first game you tried? Were you lucky? How long before you went back? Did you go to the same place the second time? Have you ever decided you%26#39;ve had enough of casinos and stopped going for awhile? What changed your mind and brought you back?

The first casino I ever went to was in Monte Carlo of all places. Talk about starting at the top! I was touring through Europe with a girlfriend on a bus tour and we stopped in one evening. The atmosphere was very refined and the choice of games was limited. Baccarat, roulette, craps and black jack. Nobody was cheering and people spoke in hushed voices. It was like everyone was anxious not to be exuberant. In later years I went to casinos in Venice and Portugal. I never saw a slot machine. It took a trip to Vegas to show me that gambling could be fun and a place where people felt at home expressing their emotions, whether happiness or anger)

We went out of our way on a trip through the States to go to AC the second week Resorts opened and stood in line for almost an hour to get in. That experience was enough to scare me off AC till other casinos opened.

Your First Casino Trip

What a great topic! I had to really think back on that one. My first time was on a trip with a gal friend to Aruba around 25 years ago. The ';disco'; was empty every night so we ended up playing slots. I dont remember winning anything but when I got home I went to AC. I still remember the slots had those fruit--plums oranges etc.Its funny how my play has evolved. Went to Carib poker next, then Let It Ride, then VP! Now the table games are too slow for me so its VP and some slots.

Your First Casino Trip

My first time playing slots was in Aruba about 11 years ago. Later that same year I went to AC for the first time. I was hooked with the first pull.

Tracy

My first time playing slots was in Aruba about 11 years ago. Later that same year I went to AC for the first time. I was hooked with the first pull.

Tracy

I spent my 18th birthday (gambling age in A.C. at the time) weekend with my brother on my cousin%26#39;s boat docked in Margate. I had no money and as midnight approached, my cousin put $20 in my hand, told me to have a good time, and sent my brother and I off to the city.

I spent most of my free reading time in the year before the big day studying books on casino gambling and decided craps would be my game, so that%26#39;s what I focused on the last few months. I knew $20 wasn%26#39;t much money, but figured if I found a $3 table, I%26#39;d at least be able to get a few rolls of the dice in before it was gone.

We entered Resorts at about five minutes after midnight. Security guard stopped me as I walked in, asked to see my license then had to ask somebody else what day of the month it was to see if he could let me in. He laughed, wished me happy birthday and good luck.

What struck me the most walking the floor in search of a table was that people playing weren%26#39;t all smiling and laughing (and the women weren%26#39;t nearly as plentiful or beautiful) as they were in the Resorts TV commercial.

It was a busy Saturday night, with no $3 tables to be found. The best I could do was $10. I got my four red chips and put two down on the line. A point was thrown. And, armed with the knowledge that odds in craps were the best bet in the casino, I backed my bet with the other two chips.

Seven out on the next roll. We were back on the boat by 12:30.

I have to answer this in 3 parts.

My first trip to a casino was before I was allowed to gamble. It was back when Wrestlemania 5 was at Trump%26#39;s (really at what is now Boardwalk Hall). That must%26#39;ve been 17 years ago, meaning I was 15.

My first trip to a casino to gamble was when I went to Vegas with my sister in 1999 but I had no idea what I was doing and I had like zero bankroll. We stayed at the Excalibur. I played VP, badly. We took a craps lesson but didn%26#39;t play afterwards. And we didn%26#39;t %26#39;get%26#39; all the nuances of Blackjack.

My first trip to a casino to gamble properly was in 2004. My wife-to-be and I stayed at Caesar%26#39;s AC but I gambled at Bally%26#39;s Wild West. I taught myself basic blackjack strategy with Hoyle%26#39;s computer game and won about $500 (in real life, not in the computer game!). I haven%26#39;t gambled there since, though. Maybe soon. I can%26#39;t wait to go back!

Boy does this bring back memories . It was the winter of %26#39;88 . They year I met my honey .

Drove down during a massive snow storm . Followed the salter on the Garden State . Saw a bunch of cars that had skidded off the roadway . The good old 87 Ford LTD Crown Vic held her own .

Went to TRUMP Castle . Empty . The band that was supposed to play at the Wave never made it . Wound up getting drunk by ourselves at the bar .

At that time , discovered Joker Poker %26amp; was small player . Hit 2x on the quarter machines . 2 grand . I was hooked .

The rest is history . LOL

Went to visit a friend in Philadelphia right around the time I was 21. I hadn%26#39;t actually planned on going to AC, but he suggested it, so I said, ';sure, what the hell';. I won $200 playing blackjack along with filling up on the free booze. Funny thing is, I hadn%26#39;t a CLUE about playing proper basic strategy. Looking back, I I can see now why everyone at the table was yelling at me... LOL

Next night, we went back, I lost it all plus $200 more; that really sucked. I didn%26#39;t play again for probably about 3-4 years. Atlantic City was my choice though for my next visit.

As far as expectations go, I didn%26#39;t think I was really in a casino because I never once saw James Bond (must%26#39;ve been in Monte Carlo!). Other than that though, I loved the constant bojangling and frenetic pace of the place. I honestly don%26#39;t remember which place we went to, btw.

Once the casinos around here (Detroit and Windsor) opened, I went on a fairly regualr basis. I ended up winning most of the first few times I went, which led me to believe I ';couldn%26#39;t'; lose. Well we all know what happens when you start thinking that!....

Did not make it out to Vegas until 2001, I believe. Love both Vegas and AC, and I think Detroit will be better once the casinos there complete the hotel towers in 2007/2008.

Great topic CasinoSlotQueen! This was the question that would%26#39;ve been asked for sure at the now-aborted DRUNKFEST. LOL

Interesting reading.

JMP14--You won $500 and didn%26#39;t return? I%26#39;m afraid I would have been back in less than a week.

Gramms-Do you suppose you have given back the first 2K you won on Joker Poker or have the winnings continued? Is JP your favorite game?

Bud-I doubt whether anyone could have given an intelligent answer if the question was asked at DRUNKFEST. At least if the occasion lived up to its name!

Haven%26#39;t returned to Wild West to gamble. In the meanwhile, I%26#39;ve had a short yet disastrous trip to Harrah%26#39;s as part of a friend%26#39;s bachelor party, a break-even trip to Vegas and most recently a slightly winning trip to AC (my trip report came out a few weeks ago).

Oh, I won a few bucks in the cruise ship%26#39;s casino on our honeymoon.

If I had to guess, I%26#39;m still %26#39;up%26#39; in my short gambling career and I aim to keep it that way!

I recently added VP to my list of understood games and I%26#39;ve enjoyed the small losses and larger comps (compared to table games) it brings!

Mary and I first went to a Casino for Resorts opening weekend as the first casino in AC . I guess it was about 27 years ago . We used to go to many of the nightclubs and restaurants in the AC to Cape May corridor before the casinos came , so it was just natural to check this out . Things were much diffent then . Strict dress codes , especially on weekend nights . Waitresses couldn%26#39;t announce they had cocktails available .Machines were all coin in-coin out . Casinos had to have bands viewable from the casino from about noon till 6am . But I do not remember the age ever having been 18 to gamble as tubman stated ???? I know it was 21 and over to drink .