The legacy of The Gambler
17 December 1999
By Mark Pilarski
Dear Mark,
Were you surprised when the Navajo Indians
recently voted against casino gambling on their
reservation? I thought that every tribe wants
casino gaming. Why didn't the Navajos jump on
the wagon train (pardon the pun). Brady M.
If you believe in the Navajo legend, of The
Gambler, you would know that gambling has a deep
cultural resonance for the Navajo. Their oral
tradition has many stories warning against the
dangers of overindulging in gambling. Also,
tribal president Albert Hales opposed the
measure because federal law requires the Navajos
to negotiate a casino agreement with the states.
Hale believes that such an agreement erodes the
tribe's status as a sovereign nation. Plus, the
tribe voted against casino gambling on their
reservation just three years ago. So, Brady, for
the above reasons, particularly the traditional
myth of an out-of-control gambler who goes out
and wins-and then loses-everything, I was not
surprised by the Navajo's rejection of casino
gambling.
As legend has it, the tale begins when the
Spirit of the Sun, a gambler himself, wants a
large piece of turquoise held by a Pueblo tribe.
The sun sends his son, The Gambler, to Earth to
wager for the invaluable sea-green stone. The
Gambler is unbeatable.
He wins the rain, snow, plants and flowers, and
everything else in sight, leaving the tribe
impoverished. Eventually The Gambler wins the
turquoise but wants to gamble against his father
for it. So the Spirit of the Sun teaches his
other offspring how to gamble and win the
turquoise back from his brother. The second son
is victorious and ultimately he shoots The
Gambler into the sky with his large bow.
So, Brady, you decide. Was it being at the
states' mercy, a rebuff three years earlier, or
folklore that tells its people to be very
cautious when it comes to gambling? Myself, I
believe in ni'hwiilbiihi, "the one that wins the
people."
Dear Mark,
I got into a beef with a pit boss over picking
up my pass line bet after the point was made.
Can a pass line bet be taken off the table once
a point has been established? Don D.
A pass line bet is a contract wager committing
your participation until an eventual outcome.
Sorry, Don; it lays, it plays.
Dear Mark,
In past columns, you've stated the benefits of
playing slots that advertise returns of 98.5%
versus machines that pay back 93%. Come on,
Mark, we're talking just a few dollars
difference. What's the big deal? Noreen D.
The "big deal" is that the casino knows the
average Joe and Josephine don't play through
their money just once but keeps playing their
tray (credit) return over and over again during
the course of their stay. That's why finding
higher payback machines is so important.
Example: On a 93% return machine if you were to
play your entire $100, you can expect back, "in
theory," $93. Of course, the casino anticipates
your playing the $93, so expect a return of $86.
Put in the $86, and your return will be $80.
Play through the $80, get back, $74. Can you
see, Noreen, how the casino is grinding away at
your crispy Ben Franklin?
Now, using the same example on a machine
returning 98.5%, put in $100 and get back
$98.50. Play that, and you'll get $97 back. Put
in the $97, expect a return of $95. Of course
this is all based on a pre-programmed computer
chip in the slot, but see how much better it is
to play the higher payback machines? It keeps
you in action much longer, long enough possibly
to hit a decent jackpot.
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