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Frugal
Tips by
Jean Scott
Q: We saw you and Brad on "Dateline." You both looked good, but was everything they said on that show really true? A: Every time Brad and I appear on TV, we get a flood of mail–e-mail and snail. And we would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who says such complimentary things. It makes us feel that we have friends all over the country. That is my definition of being lucky–and we are two very lucky people. No, not everything that was said on the show was exactly accurate. A little background here. The "Dateline" crew filmed us for two 12-hour days. They seemed very committed to portraying our lives realistically. However, none of the crew knew very much about casinos and gambling. I tried to give them as many details as I could so they could produce a balanced picture, but the glamorous stuff always impresses more than all the study and VP schedules. So, when they took all that film and cut and mixed it until they got the 10 minutes to be aired, some details came out, well, not quite right. No, we don’t "make a living" gambling. Brad receives a pension that would allow us to live comfortably if we never went into a casino and we have savings and investments from a lifetime of frugality. However, we do play in the casinos about 80 hours a month (the total for the two of us). Because we’ve learned to use the comp system wisely, we don’t have to spend much of our own money for food, entertainment, gifts and many other expenses. So comps allow us to have a champagne lifestyle on a beer budget. And, no, we didn’t buy our condo with the money from one giant jackpot. We had a couple of years when we were fortunate to enjoy long stretches at the good end of the winning/losing curve, but it was still won the way we always win–grinding it out over a long period of time. Q: The program showed you enjoying luxury comps. How did you get them by playing only quarter video poker? A: Their description that we play $1.25 a hand for a total of $600 per hour came from my describing how we started out our first few years at video poker. Yes, we got lots of comps back then, but the upscale comps they showed us enjoying at the Venetian came from our more recent level of play–on dollar Triple Play and Five Play machines–at $15—$25 a hand. If you looked closely, you could see us feeding hundred dollar bills into the machine. Q: Do you get paid for being on shows like "Dateline" and others you have done? A: I was paid money for being on one TV show, "To Tell the Truth," where I was like any other guest. The three "Jean Scotts" split $2,000 because we fooled only two on the panel; my share was a whopping $666.66. I haven’t been paid for filming any other show. However, even though we spend many long days with TV film crews, don’t feel sorry for Brad and me. After our "Dateline" segment, The Frugal Gambler shot to #2 on amazon.com and is now in its fourth printing. Q: Do you think that the widespread publicity given The Frugal Gambler and other gambling resources will make it harder for the skilled video poker player? A: This issue has been debated for many years now. The debate began long before my book came out. First it was with blackjack and card counting; lately it’s been about video poker. It’s true that casinos do take countermeasures when they see their bottom line adversely affected by skilled players; there has been a steadily decreasing number of good video poker opportunities for the dollar-and-up player. However, this hasn’t been a problem for the recreational quarter VP player, especially in Las Vegas. It seems that when one casino takes out full pay Deuces Wild, another casino or two puts them in.
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