Life is a Road Trip

Many people take a poker or gambling trip. Las Vegas counts on the average person spending about two thousand dollars, not counting transportation, to do one to Las Vegas.

I am fortunate to have done a poker road trip at least 2-3 times a month this last year, including some to Las Vegas, and it never costs me anything for food or lodging. Poker playing allows me to do that. And it is not because of “comps” for poker players. In fact, there are little or no comps for poker players. (Remember, the casino is only “renting the table and dealer” to the players, by taking 1-4 dollars out of each pot and putting it down the slot in the table.) The players are playing each other for the money. The casino’s make very little if anything on their poker rooms.

I am fortunate to have 7 places to play poker within 30 miles of my home in San Diego.
Add another 20 if I am willing to drive 90 miles to L.A. and of course take the total count of places for me to play, to over eighty, if I am willing to go up to 280 miles from my home to Las Vegas. (I know I can stay home and play anytime, even in my underwear on-line, but it is just not the same. In fact, I usually lose on-line.)

I don’t want to drive even 30 miles and then feel like I have to stay if cards are running bad or it doesn’t seem like a good table to me. I would rather take a couple of minute stroll to the poker room from my home and when I ready for a nap or just to take a break stroll back home and come back a little later.

So how do I get “free poker road trips whether I win or lose?

I have found the perfect way to do that. I just take my RV for overnight poker trips, even if it is here in San Diego where I live. Before or after commuter’s rush hour, (one of the perks of poker playing as a business is “rush hour” has nothing to do with being stuck in traffic) I drive to the casino, park in the RV section, shut the curtains, and go into the poker room. It doesn’t make any difference if I play the next hour, next 6 or all night. Whenever, I want, I walk back to my RV, sleep in my own bed, work on the computer, read, make dinner or sleep. I never drink when playing cards, but if I did it would also take away the risk of paying for a drinking & driving violation. (No need to tip the cocktail waitress, valet or luggage attendant either when I visit poker rooms in my RV.)

While I am there I have a private security force watching over my “RV and making sure I stay safe on my “walk home”. Not, only rich people have private security services and 24/7 surveillance of their homes. I do and I don’t pay for it. Talk about “emergency response time”, one time I called the casino when I thought I saw some suspicious activity near my RV and armed police were there in 45 seconds. I pay nothing for my private security force to protect my RV home, no land taxes, and no space rent. A few of the Casino’s have RV parks. But, in my thinking why would I pay for an RV space when they give me free parking and I have my own, water, power & sewage? (grin)
By the way that “suspicious activity” turned out to only be someone who had locked their keys in their vehicle.

Here at Sycuan Casino, the RV parking is up on a mesa surrounded by beautiful mountains and closer then where I usually park when I come in my car. I refer to it as the “penthouse suites”, when I tell people I am staying at the casino overnight.

The poker economy part of staying here is I can play 2 morning and 2 evening tournaments with just one overnight stay for a total buy-in for all four tournaments of less then $100. I have placed for the money in 4 of them here at Sycuan in the last year with my biggest win being $2500. All three of the other times I placed in the money only added up to about $900 total

Also, since poker rooms have promotions at non-peak times, I can come in for a promotion time and go back out to the RV when the promotion period ends. Speaking of promotions it is time to go buy-in for $50 at a N/L table and win $50 from the Casino if pocket aces get beat. Guess what hands I play during those two hours? I have found a sure-fire can’t lose poker proposition, now, if I can only plug the “rake” leak in my game for those two hours. (grin)

P.S. Let me also clarify that you can find some comps for poker players. In Oceanside when I play the $20-40 hold-em game you can order anything on the menu you want for free, and when I play in Pechanga I earn $1.50 per hour with my free casino club card. They have a number of nice places to eat there. I always eat very well, and for free at those two places. Other, casinos do have some free comps you can earn with your club card. However, the two I mentioned are my personal favorites.