[Editor’s Note: This post is written by Bobby Vegas, who’s proud to call himself a “scuffler,” someone who uses every advantage in casino gambling: trip planning with airline points, promotions, MRB and other coupons to improve his edge, discover new venues, lower food costs, get discount or free rooms, etc. Over 60 trips to Vegas in the past 25 years, Bobby’s first choice video poker, followed by a form of advantage play at roulette using Non-Linear Recurrence Theory and other AP techniques applied to sports betting and craps. “Diverse games and strategies allow for the most fun, at the least risk, for as long as time will allow,” he says. He’ll be writing about specific experiences, how he employs all the tools of the trade to his advantage and profit. Bobby, you have the floor.]

Friends, fellow Vegas nuts, couponers, scufflers, and advantage players — lend me your eyes, for maybe five minutes.

This is my first blog for Anthony and LVA and I’m thrilled to share my take on how to win more, lose less, extract the highest value, and have a great time, all in Vegas.

I’ve been a hard-core video poker advantage-playing scuffling LVA/Vegas fan for 25 years. I’m a modest net winner at gambling and sports betting, though that doesn’t mean all my expenses are covered. Actually, I’m not always concerned with that and you’ll learn why in later posts. What I can say is I extract maximum value at a very low cost and very low risk.

Like others before me, I learn the games, plan carefully, use every advantage offered, don’t do anything illegal, and have a really great time. What follows is my Vegas evolution over 25 years, why my business associates took my advice on how a five-star villa at Wynn was a value play, and why my friends call me Bobby Vegas.

When I first came to Vegas in the ’90s, I stayed at Imperial Palace. At the time, it was so tired and nasty I didn’t want to take my shoes off in the room or even on the bed. It’s now the Linq.

I was there to make a presentation at a lighting-industry sales conference for my client, Joe T, from Philly. Joe practically grew up on the Boardwalk in Atlantic City, so Vegas was no big thing for him, but I was a Vegas virgin — literally my first time. And I was the last presenter of the day in a room full of bored sales guys who were anxious to get out and hit the tables.

“Hi, guys. My name is Bob G and Joe T here can vouch for me.”

Eyes were already glazing over.

“I sell reflectors, lamps, ballasts, fixtures, and exit signs and each of you has a bag of literature from me. My name and number are on everything, but more important is the five-dollar casino chip in the bottom of every other bag.”

“Hey! I got one!” the first guy exclaimed.

“Yeah! Me too!”

“Hey, this guy’s all right!”

“So,” I concluded, “since it’s the end of the day, you need anything? Call me. That’s it. Now let’s par-tee!”

By happy hour after my first presentation on my first trip to Vegas, I had eight new clients.

Fast-forward 25 years and upwards of 60 Vegas trips later.

It’s summer. I still sell lighting and work with Joe T. We do a lot of sports betting and advantage-play roulette, but I’m partial to video poker. And now I’m running a trade-show event.

For this affair, I convinced my manufacturer to go in on what I call the “Ultimate Vegas Value Play.” Rather than spending $150,000-$250,000 on a booth at the Convention Center, we dropped $50,000 at Wynn/Encore for a two-story 6,000-square-foot three-bedroom villa with a view of Resorts World and down the Strip, including a butler, for four days. Folks really liked the billiard room, elevator, two kitchens, bathrooms bigger than their apartments, and a view they’d never forget. We did all our trainings there from 8 a.m. till 6 p.m. The Villa was $5,000 a day. With all the catering, etc., the four days cost less than $30K.

We also held a dinner at the high-end seafood restaurant, Lakeside, for 50 clients. With $3,000 for wine and a $2K tip, that came to $15,000.

All in all, we blew people’s minds, landed whole new regions with our key clients, and launched a new product line.

My only regret? That I didn’t have a preexisting travel-agent arrangement, as I missed out on the 10% commission, but I’m working on that.

The moral of the story is it’s all perspective. Sometimes spending $50K can be a value play.

In future posts, I’ll concentrate on more practical topics, such as an MRB coupon run from the Plaza to El Cortez, secrets of the Downtown Grand, extracting max value from a short trip, Bobby Vegas’ Vegas rules, and much much more.

Now, let’s par-tee!