Several people have emailed and asked me questions about how we started out, how we support our lifestyle, and so on. I thought I’d post answers to a few questions, along with a link to an article that tells a little more about us.
Q: How did you get started doing this?
I write a monthly column called Road Report for Midwest Gaming and Travel magazine.
Q: How do you support this lifestyle? Are you retired? Are you professional gamblers?
My wife Chris and I both still work, and we’re blessed to have jobs that are 100% portable. We can work and earn a living anywhere we can get on the Internet and use a cell phone.
No, we’re not professional gamblers, but we’re serious recreational players who try to wring the most value out of our entertainment budget, and our travel budget as well. For the RV side of this lifestyle we have saved many thousands of dollars over the years by dry camping, and by using the military RV park system. When it comes to casino camping, in addition to our own research we use these resources:
- Jane Kenney’s excellent book “Casino Camping, a Guide to RV Friendly Casinos“ available most everywhere RV related books are sold. I highly recommend it!
- Steve Bourie’s “American Casino Guide“. Although it’s not RV-specific Steve has the most comprehensive listing of casinos I’ve found in one place. The book includes some great coupons.
Q: Being in casinos so many days a year, don’t you lose a lot of money? How can you afford it?
We actually don’t lose as much as you might think, and some years we come out ahead. For 2007, we were down $64 at the end of the year including all gambling results (video poker, poker, and other games). This doesn’t count all the comps we earned, just the cash balance. This year as of today we’re down a lot more than that, but the year’s not over! In past years we’ve finished up quite a bit too.
We follow Jean Scott’s philosophies and try to be “frugal gamblers”. You may have noticed that I mentioned Jean before. She’s the author of several books on gambling, comps, and video poker.
FREE BOOK
I have an extra copy of Jean’s first book “The Frugal Gambler”. This is the second edition, updated and re-published in 2005. If you’ve never read it and would like to, I’ll send it to the first person who asks for it. Post in the comments saying you’d like to have it, and send me a private email or PM with your mailing address.
Happy travels, and good luck in the casinos,
Mac