The next time someone complains to you that.....

[DaBurglar]

  I can understand how you would think that the Horseshoe in Hammond, IN with it's over 350,000 square feet of gambling space, would be considered small. To my knowledge Indiana has no restrictions on the number of gaming positions allowed in a casino located in Indiana.    like I said......never been to Indiana, birth place of the KKK......never plan on visiting it or any of its casinos, great or small.I would bet however, that the state regulatory body for gaming DOES indeed dictate precisely how many different slot/gaming machines each casino can ultimately operate (why you insist on calling it "positions" is beyond me....)      Either way, by having the number of machines SET, it then simply becomes a casino's job to situate things to achieve the best, most festive and lucrative results.   and it is a known established fact that the VAST majority of people enjoy being around and watching OTHER people while gambling (which also involves drinking, which engenders feelings of social good will and fun.)   I do not know why you want to debate this when all you have to go on is your own antisocial preference for being totally by yourself while you fantasize about winning while you play......its no surprise you enjoy "dreamcard"

[notes1]

db, i am not offended by anti smoking comments, it has become a national pass time.  first off, the 'witch' as you desribed her was obviously in the smoking section. why were you in there? i have been in enough AC casinos to know the majority of space is devoted to smoke free, so non smokers stay out. every smoker knows they are idots for taking up the habit. but, i guarantee you that within a short time period, i could find some habit, some dirty secret that everyone would rather not be known. no one is immune. as far as i am concerned, if some wants to smoke, eat, drink, gamble, drug themselves to death, that is their decision. as long as they are not hurting someone else, as long as they are not wards of the state, as long as they pay for their health insurance, it is their business. and, for those who want to argue smokers have increased health care costs, they also have shorter expected life spans, savings years of social security and medicare payments. what i do not need folks/do gooders/government deciding anymore what is good/not good for me. present the evidence and let the folks decide for them selves.   

[Tedlark]

DaBurglar I refer to them as "gaming positions" because that's how they're listed in the regulations.

I am convinced that you are just going through life in the most bitter manner that you can.

I doubt the State of Indiana would long for your presence within their borders anyway.    

[rascal]

I would like to believe that I am fairly logical --- with one exception: I cannot stand to have someone behind me watching me. It ruins my luck. I know, I know, Rascal's superstitious and all that. But I am just like Ted - I stop playing and just sit there until they get the message and leave. Plus - I have never had someone stop behind me and watch for the purpose of educating themselves about VP. Inevitably, the gawkers are people who ran out of money and have nothing else to do, or worse, they are people who ran out of money and are hoping I will hit something so they can boost me for a "loan".
Now, if the guy sitting next to me is playing and he occasionally turns to watch my masterful play, that's not a problem. But the gawker standing behind me? Leave, now!
Worst one I can remember not only stood behind me, but he started offering advice. He obviously did not know VP, because I was playing DW where Aces have no extra value, and this nitwit actually clicked his tongue and said, "Tsk, tsk, shoulda held the Ace, tsk tsk."

[FAA]

Inevitably, the gawkers are people who ran out of money and have nothing
else to do, or worse, they are people who ran out of money and are
hoping I will hit something so they can boost me for a "loan".
Now, if the guy sitting next to me is playing and he occasionally
turns to watch my masterful play, that's not a problem. But the gawker
standing behind me? Leave, now!-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Yep. The wretched souls have milked their sole gambling opportunity, their voucher, for perhaps half its face value and are now bored and broke. What I really don't understand in my area is why they're still shuffling around on their little treks. The boardwalk right out the door is beautiful and great for people watching most of the year! They must want to see everybody else bust out too.

[DaBurglar]

db, i am not offended by anti smoking comments, it has become a national pass time.  first off, the 'witch' as you desribed her was obviously in the smoking section. why were you in there? i have been in enough AC casinos to know the majority of space is devoted to smoke free, so non smokers stay out. every smoker knows they are idots for taking up the habit. but, i guarantee you that within a short time period, i could find some habit, some dirty secret that everyone would rather not be known. no one is immune. as far as i am concerned, if some wants to smoke, eat, drink, gamble, drug themselves to death, that is their decision. as long as they are not hurting someone else, as long as they are not wards of the state, as long as they pay for their health insurance, it is their business. and, for those who want to argue smokers have increased health care costs, they also have shorter expected life spans, savings years of social security and medicare payments. what i do not need folks/do gooders/government deciding anymore what is good/not good for me. present the evidence and let the folks decide for them selves.  Well I have no illusion I am about to change anything in your mind, and I agree in part with the whole "live and let live (or die)" spirit of this exposition of your philosophy.....but in regards SMOKING specifically as an issue, nope, I cannot agree with what you just said.....Firstly, anyone who has been in many of the AC casinos knows that even though the non smoking  & Smoking sections are theoretically kept apart, you KNOW that the smoke permeates the whole floor (or most of it) so "non-smoking" is truly a lot of smoke and mirrors because second hand smoke (even "diluted") is extremely harmful over long periods of exposure, and even if I stay in the NON smoking sections, I STILL reek of smoke.......its even worse if you go into places like "diamond cove" in the CET properties, there they have the smoking machines virtually NEXT to the non-smoke machineS!!   pointless!I am not a smoker, but sometimes, as I roll around I wander into the smoking sections and every now and then will sit and play, ONE HUGE reason being this undeniable fact (and annoying fact too):    Waitresses for whatever reason are more visible, plentiful or just plain available in the smoking sections!!!   You know this is true!   Some sometimes, when I want a drink, I will sit at a smoking machine, play a few hands until I get my beverage, and then bolt.....I used to think like you did that alcoholics, drug addicts and yes, smokers (who are addicts)  were/are only hurting themselves.....not at all true.    Aside from the obvious second hand smoke issue, as well as "functional alcoholics or drug addicts" who are able to get away with driving a car for several years until suddenly, they cannot and end up wiping out other innocent people and themselves, it is obviously NOT only their problem.You talked about healthcare costs as if they are not at all involved......I am shocked, especially since you claim to be a fiscal conservative, because like it or not, whether people have their own insurance or medicaid/medicare, when people lead unhealth lives and are forced to rely on the healthcare system to repair the damage and keep them alive (which given today's society means EVERYONE is given lifesaving treatment when they show up at an ER no matter what their finances or lifestyle choices), it increases EVERYONE's costs across the board!     And you cannot count on the theoretical shorter life spans of unhealthy people to "lessen their burden on society".....it does not work out that way.And sure, everyone has "secrets" or bad habits......but it is absurd to think they are all the "same" and that they all lead to the same end result.....wrong.    I may not want anyone to know I pick my nose, but that is hardly the same impact on society as someone who smokes crack or shoots smack three times a day.....And do not get me started on the societal cost of having 35% (over 1/3) of Americans severely overweight   or obese!    HUGE HUGE impact on all of us......and the next time you find yourself having a LONG LONG wait to get in to see your doctor (or even in the ER) when you are really sick or hurting, or even just to get a regular appointment, you will KNOW that other people's absurd lifestyle choices do indeed impact YOU.....

[Tedlark]

I would like to believe that I am fairly logical --- with one exception: I cannot stand to have someone behind me watching me. It ruins my luck. I know, I know, Rascal's superstitious and all that. But I am just like Ted - I stop playing and just sit there until they get the message and leave. Plus - I have never had someone stop behind me and watch for the purpose of educating themselves about VP. Inevitably, the gawkers are people who ran out of money and have nothing else to do, or worse, they are people who ran out of money and are hoping I will hit something so they can boost me for a "loan".
Now, if the guy sitting next to me is playing and he occasionally turns to watch my masterful play, that's not a problem. But the gawker standing behind me? Leave, now!
Worst one I can remember not only stood behind me, but he started offering advice. He obviously did not know VP, because I was playing DW where Aces have no extra value, and this nitwit actually clicked his tongue and said, "Tsk, tsk, shoulda held the Ace, tsk tsk."
   How true rascal, how true. We all are able to spot the gambler who lost everything they came to the casino with but yet they still can't manage to get themselves out of there. I had a woman approach me a couple years ago at Four Winds just after I got a hand pay and she flat out asked me for some money. I politely told her no and I then told the nearest casino worker who told me that they were looking for her because I wasn't the only one she had approached.    As for the player next to me; I have no problem as long as they are playing. We all sneak a peek at what's going on next to us but as I said, I will flat out stop play and just sit there until whoever is standing behind me leaves. Have I been called names and had comments thrown at me? Yes but I don't care. These people always seemed to walk away. Go watch the people down at the Wheel of Fortune slots but get away from behind me.   As for the "expert" who was coaching you to keep the ace - too funny.

[notes1]

 DB, when i said bad habits/dirty little secrets, i was thinking more along the lines of child abuse, cheating on one's taxes, beating your wife, stealing from your employer, etc, as opposed to nose picking. am not endorsing smoking, it is a dumb thing to do. as a fiscal conservative, check out the taxes paid each time a pack of those nasty cigs are bought. it adds up to an enormous amount of money, that was intended to offset the cost to society. and, shorter life spans/cost savings, is a reality, not a hypothetical. i qualified all the things people do wrong, as long as they do not hurt anyone else. it seems to be the prevailing wisdom these days that everyone knows what is best for everyone else. i guarantee you there are folks whose sole goal in life is to remove VP from the face of the earth. they will give you plenty of reasons, how it has negatively affected the lives of many. wouldn't it be worth it to abolish VP, if it improved the lives of just one person. this is the arguement you will hear on any issue that someone disapproves of.  sounds good, until it something you enjoy, they want banned for the common good.

[FAA]

Notes, most of us can take Charlton Heston's famous NRA gun quote and substitute VP for gun. Same difference! Try it.

[jetermacaw]

Quick story about the watchers, couple weeks ago at Harrahs AC I was into a very long [for me] session of about 5 hours on my favorite QQ machine. I got up to stretch my legs and this women jumps into my seat, mind you I'm standing right there I didn't go for an extended walk. Said excuse me but my card and money are still in the machine, she screams that I have been playing all night and I should let someone else play. I gave her the stink eye and she got up and left.