All Inclusive?

We did a all inclusive package in Mexico. All inclusive is where you pay a flat rate for food and drinks. Our logic was that since the six of us (3 couples) would be enjoying casual cocktailing starting around noon, we'd be saving money by going all inclusive. I think it turned out in our favor.

Using my brother-in-law's drunken math, we paid around $100 per person, per night for lodging, drinks and food. That's not bad. The resort was a five star (which could be debated), had name brand liquor (e.g. Captain Morgan, Absolute, etc,.), buffets, and sit down, order-from-the-menu restaurants.

Using my now sober math, I'm thinking that if we would have paid individually, we would have paid around $200 a person, per day. Though I will admit, all inclusive may have increased our food and alcohol intake.

Do you do all inclusive? If so, do you feel like you got your money's worth?

Screwed In Mexico

When my brother returned from India he shared his experiences, including those of him getting screwed by practicing capitalists. His statement, verbatim, was "If you feel like you're getting screwed, you're getting screwed. And if you feel like you got a good deal, you're most likely still getting screwed."

You don't have to visit India to witness his wisdom first hand. Mexico is full of practicing capitalists, ready to milk every dollar from you.

While visiting Mexico this past week, I had the opportunity to get screwed (financially). The cab ride from the airport to our hotel (near Playa del Carmen) cost us $100. Our research before and after led us to the fact we should have paid no more than $60.

I purchased three cigars. The two Mexican ones cost me $16, which I found out later should have cost me less than $4. The Cuban I got for $7, but that took 15 minutes of negotiation - negotiation that had be walking out of the store twice. I probably could have gotten it for less than $5 if I wouldn't have gotten worn out.

Instead of upgrading our rooms with the hotel, I paid a worker cash under the table. The hotel upgrade was $120. He asked me how much it was worth to me. I said $80 which he accepted within seconds before I could retract my bid. While I saved $40, I obviously could have saved much more. So while I walked away with a better deal, I still felt screwed. A free beer afterward made me feel better. Slightly.

The box of Mexican cigars (of which I'm sampling one while typing this in my garage) cost me $21. They are $2 cigars, but being I bought these at the airport (ran out of time to buy them in Playa's market) I accepted the fact I was getting screwed.

Being a student of business, I kind of enjoyed the negotiation. But since I don't practice this art (at least not financially) I felt like I got taken advantage of.

If you're been to a country where you can negotiate price on everything, did you like it? Or would you rather be told what the price is and simply pay it?

Last thoughts on Vegas

As promised here are my last thoughts on Vegas. From what my former card playing buddy tells me, with only minor exceptions, half of the Vegas strip is owned by MGM Mirage and the other half is owned by Harrah's.

Why has there been so much consolidation? The casino business is so stamped out that buying and operating a new casino is almost exactly like any other casino you own. Meaning you can buy just about any casino, cut the management overhead and run casino A just like casino B. The only real difference is the name on the door.

I promise a new subject starting tomorrow.

Playing professional poker

I'm kind of running out of things to say about Vegas, but being I made a commitment to myself to blog for a full week on my recent travel, here it goes.

As I wrote about yesterday, I met up with a good buddy of mine last week. He originally went to Vegas to play professional poker. That is, he planned on playing cards for a living. Apparently there are a number of people like him who move to Vegas and try to make it on ESPN.

He's a pretty candid guy and I trust him. So when he told me it is possible to play cards to make a living, I asked for more information instead of assuming he's bull shitting me at which point I'd just stop listening. That's what I do when I start thinking someone is filling me full of b.s.

Anyway, from what he said he would work around 60 to 70 hours a week playing at either the Bellagio or Wynn. Being the margins in poker are small (or can be small), he had to play some big dollar "limit" games to make a profit. He treated it just like a job where he'd get up at 8AM and drive into work. His monthly take home was around $5,000 meaning he was making about $60,000 a year. Breaking this down per-hour, he was making around $20 an hour.

I asked him why he quit and basically it was because working 60 - 70 hours (sometimes more) wasn't conducive to starting a family. He also needed benefits which obviously were omitted by his employer (i.e. himself).

My takeaway was, yes you can make money playing poker. But playing poker is just like any other job. You have to put in your time and you may find that you have other skills (e.g. software engineer, plumber, sales) that compensate you more for you time and risk.

City Center in Vegas

Last weekend I golfed in Vegas with a good friend of mine who moved there to play cards professionally. He actually did alright, but had to switch back to something more stable after meeting his now wife. Since he worked as a plumber back in Savage, Minnesota, he acquainted himself with a local plumbing company in Vegas and found himself gainfully employed.

His current project is MGM MIRAGE's City Center. City Center is a $8.4 billion dollar hotel casino built right between Bellagio and Monte Carlo. You can get an idea of what this adult Disney Land looks like here.

From what I remember him telling me, the City Center is the largest project in the world right now. By dollar amount I assume. There are 10,000 people working on the job site, meaning that hours have to be staggered. He said it would be a nightmare having all 10,000 show up at 8AM, so his group starts at 4AM. The next groups show up in half-hour increments, or something like that.

What amazes me is that, given the economic downturn we're experiencing, Vegas continues to spend. Then again, I think he said the City Center was a four or five year project. So by the time this massive structure gets built, we should be rebounced and on our way to the next recession. And by that time, City Center 2 will begin construction and I can be amazed again as I'm sure that price tag will be even larger.

Free Drinks

One of the things I really like about Vegas is the free drinks when gambling. I actually consider this an obligation for the casino. If a gambler is willing to wager their hard earned money on a game of chance, they should be treated well.

Some of the smaller Vegas casinos will only offer tap beer or well drinks. At first this bothered me, but being I could play craps for $5, I felt a bit better about nursing a tap Miller Lite. If you play at some of the larger places on the Strip, you'll be offered premium drinks. My choices include Heineken and Jack Daniels, which were well represented last Thursday morning (until 7AM).

If your casino is running into financial trouble (are there any?), here is some advice. Instead of cutting back on liquor expenses, start giving away liquor and gradually raise the table minimums. It's amazing how a few free drinks can loosen up even the most fiscally conservative customers.

Testing my baseball betting theory

Well I'm back! And it actually feels very good. If you read my post on baseball betting, you're probably wondering if I put my theory to test in Las Vegas this past weekend. Yes I did so let's review the results.

First, let's refresh your memory. My theory goes like this; the Yankees, Red Sox, and Cubs have the most fans per team, and hence the large fan bases skew the money line so that it's advantageous to bet against each of them. Got it?

On Wednesday I had a situation which was unexpected. The Yankees were playing the Red Sox. Typically I'd argue my theory should be called off for head-to-head match-ups, but being my opportunity was limited, I bet against the Yankees figuring between them and the Red Sox, there were more Yankee fans. The Yankees won so I lost $10. The Cubs were playing the Reds and following my theory I bet on the Reds. Cubs won so I lost another $10. Things were not going as I expected.

Thursday was a tough day. After playing craps until seven in the morning with two new friends, one an Australian and the other a Director of Business for Costco in Washington state, I was running late to a one o'clock tee time and was unable to put my bets in. As it turned out, I made a large mistake. Yankees lost to the Red Sox and Cubs lost to the Reds. I'm not sure what the lines were, but I'm guessing I lost out on $25 to $30 in winnings.

Being fully repaired on Friday, I vowed to not miss out on the day's gambling. The Yankees and Red Sox were done with their head-to-head match-up allowing me to bet against all three teams for the first time. Yankees lost to the Orioles which gave me $15 in winnings. Now I was only down $5 from the beating on Wednesday. Unfortunately both the Sox and Cubs won putting me further in the red at -$25.

We left early Saturday so I didn't have time to bet, which was good because it would have cost me another $5 to $10 bucks.

All in all I lost $25 while testing my theory. If I would have bet that Thursday I would have come close to breaking even. My conclusion on the theory is inconclusive. Meaning that next time I'm in Vegas I'll be testing it out again to see what kind of results we end up with.