The perception of things you do in retirement

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Son_of_Perdition

Senior Member
An interesting side note of my interests, I neither drink alcohol (too many alcoholic uncles) nor smoke, something I did in my stupid younger days. I exercise (walking) eat properly for BS & weight loss, but why it is I am ostracized because of my love & skills in a casino environment. I was talking to my neighbor the other day telling him about my planned trip to Las Vegas, I was retelling the logistics of the trip & my aversion to flying but now have to admit it is the most realistic method. I noticed I had lost his interest when I mentioned how I like the whole LV experience. His eyes glazed over, he changed the subject somewhat.

I asked him how is my interest in gambling so different from his enjoyment of deep sea fishing. He tells how expensive it is even though his friend has a large enough boat to spend a few days on water. He also flies down to Calif gets on a plane with his other friend at least once a year & travels back east to pickup a restored vintage vehicle to drive back. I jokingly call him 'Rainman'. What is so different about his passions versus mine. I'm also positive mine are cheaper, I get the same enjoyment & high from my trips. I used to 'gamble' on the stock market but 2008 put a damper on that. With LV you can travel the world without leaving town. It's all a tourist trap (I'm not fooled!) much like the trappings you would see at the Taj Mahal or the Pyramids of Giza. Smoke & mirrors to get your money. Never show the real conditions in those places, too horrible!
 

Son, you should do what you enjoy. If your friend doesn't enjoy it, no big deal. Everybody isn't the same.

My husband and I enjoy many of the same things, but we also have things we enjoy on our own. He likes horse racing. I like reading mysteries and adult colouring books. But we both like long distance cycling, kayaking, travel.
 
I think Las Vegas is fun. I went a couple times in the 90's. Not sure if I would go again. I only play the slot machines. There are also other things to do than gamble there. Someone told me once that they looked at gambling as entertainment. Don't spend more than what you set aside for. I went to Las Vegas with X amount of money to spend for everything and always came back with money in my purse.
 

I went to Atlantic City back in the 80's. I have no desire to go back or to go to Vegas, but for those that do, that's fine. Everybody doesn't enjoy the same things as me either.
 
I like LV too....not much of a gambler, but love the shows, food, shopping, seeing the hotels and just people watching, the last time my friend and I went we rented scooters to get around, had a great time.
 
I too would like to cycle, but my wife says because of my stenosis my balance would be a problem getting on & off my bike. Living in Oregon is a bikers/hikers paradise. Kayaking is something I also would like to do but with a bad back I wonder how strenuous is would be to sit in that position very long. As for travel which I enjoyed, I've been to every state in the US (except ND as mentioned many times). I travelled to every county in non-communist Europe except the British Isles visited Japan, Taiwan, Okinawa, Thailand, Old Mexico & most parts of S Canada. Loved travel but developed a fear of flying as I aged. My wife loves gardening, books & crafts. I like movies, don't challenge me to a game of Six-degrees of Kevin Bacon, trivia & card games. We get along fine now since I discovered sub-titles.

Here's a caveat about gambling, one author I read wrote that if you set a limit to lose you've already lost. Others push that the #1 rule is money management as your best tool. I too set a limit never take credit cards or extra cash, & fill up my gas tank before I enter a casino.
 
Son_of_Perdition said:
I too would like to cycle, but my wife says because of my stenosis my balance would be a problem getting on & off my bike. Living in Oregon is a bikers/hikers paradise. Kayaking is something I also would like to do but with a bad back I wonder how strenuous is would be to sit in that position very long. As for travel which I enjoyed, I've been to every state in the US (except ND as mentioned many times). I travelled to every county in non-communist Europe except the British Isles visited Japan, Taiwan, Okinawa, Thailand, Old Mexico & most parts of S Canada. Loved travel but developed a fear of flying as I aged. My wife loves gardening, books & crafts. I like movies, don't challenge me to a game of Six-degrees of Kevin Bacon, trivia & card games. We get along fine now since I discovered sub-titles.

Here's a caveat about gambling, one author I read wrote that if you set a limit to lose you've already lost. Others push that the #1 rule is money management as your best tool. I too set a limit never take credit cards or extra cash, & fill up my gas tank before I enter a casino.
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It would be tough to do long trips in a plane with a bad back, or to kayak. Scotland is incredible for bicycling and more and more paved trails are being built all the time.

I think we've discussed Thailand before, right? It's our winter home now!

I enjoyed my day trip to Atlantic City in the 80's and I actually walked away with more money than I went with. $100 more. I played Roulette for hours and hours. I could see how it could easily become addictive. So I'll just stick with our lottery.
 
Ameriscot said:
It would be tough to do long trips in a plane with a bad back, or to kayak. Scotland is incredible for bicycling and more and more paved trails are being built all the time.

I think we've discussed Thailand before, right? It's our winter home now!

I enjoyed my day trip to Atlantic City in the 80's and I actually walked away with more money than I went with. $100 more. I played Roulette for hours and hours. I could see how it could easily become addictive. So I'll just stick with our lottery.
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I went to AC twice in our travels, it is a different world than Vegas. I'm sure I witnessed a group of wiseguys shooting craps at one casino, one shooter in particular stared a hole though me while I was watching. Everyone was in suit & tie, had a young girl hanging at their sides. As I left I kept peering over my shoulder to make sure I wasn't being followed. In Vegas the dress code is more relaxed in the less ostentatious casinos. I feel at home there.

Gambling addiction is nothing to the addiction of those small 4 inch screens on smart phones. You can look anywhere nowadays see hunched shoulders looking, texting, reading those screens. That's what I call addiction. People have walked off cliffs, had fatal car accidents & walked into traffic while locked onto their screens, I never, never talk on the phone while driving, I turn it off. The only time I take it is when I drive alone, but it's still turned off. My smart phone resides on my side table usually off to save on the battery. I'm not important enough to be connected 24/7 & I personally hate talking on the phone. Something I did for 35 years in my career. Hate it, HATE IT! Last week our granddaughter & her husband came, I walked out with the burgers heading for the grill, he finally observed how much weight I had lost. My God! you look great. I stopped said if you had looked up from your phone once in awhile you probably would have noticed. It brought a nervous laugh from those in hearing range. I forget sometimes what he looks like since the only thing I see is the top of his bald head.
 
The difference between his passion and yours is that his are his and yours are yours. Doesn't sound to me like yours are out of control life destroyers. If he falls off the boat he could end up the bigger loser. Reading your initial post, I couldn't help thinking it sounded like a scene from "Grumpy Old Men. :laugh: Enjoy yourself. This is not a time to be worrying about what someone else thinks.
 
Underock1 said:
The difference between his passion and yours is that his are his and yours are yours. Doesn't sound to me like yours are out of control life destroyers. If he falls off the boat he could end up the bigger loser. Reading your initial post, I couldn't help thinking it sounded like a scene from "Grumpy Old Men. :laugh: Enjoy yourself. This is not a time to be worrying about what someone else thinks.
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The guilt stems from my early upbringing & 'Mormon' roots they want to dictate & control your every action & thought. I find myself swearing off when I do eventually lose but it's like the joke goes about the guy talking to his shrink about the problem of his brother who thinks he's a chicken, the shrink says I can probably cure him. To which the brother states we're not sure we want him cured, we can use the eggs.
 
I hate it when I am trying to talk to someone about something I am interested in or enjoy doing, and they stop listening or change the subject. It's rude, and it makes me feel rejected and stupid. I don't try to carry on a monologue, just my side of a conversation.
 
I love Vegas. There's so much to do there beside gambling that I'd never get bored. My method for gambling is to put my gambling money (and it's never more than $50) in my right pocket or a special pocket on my purse. I take money out of there. What I win goes in another pocket or purse pocket. When I run out of the gambling money that's in my right pocket, that's it. I'll then see what's in the other (winnings) pocket to see how I've done for the time I've been there. Usually, I've lost about 3/4 of it, but I've had a great time doing it. As long as I can stick to those rules, I can have a very reasonably-priced Vegas trip. I don't stay at expensive hotels, I don't eat in expensive restaurants. I certainly don't buy expensive souvenirs (though I did buy myself a necklace once when I won $100 on $1 spent in a dollar slot machine).
 
I've been to LV once and enjoyed it, not doing any gambling at all. I loved the hotel with the fountains, Cirque de Soleil, and lots of other things to see and do. I did put $1 in a slot machine (I lost) just for the experience, but I would hardly call that gambling. It's a fun place to visit, but once was enough.

I certainly don't see anything to criticize about someone else enjoying casinos; it's their money to do with as they please.
 
My sister and many in her family love to go to Vegas, some gamble, some don't. I'm not a fan of crowded cities except for short visits to London or Sydney, etc. I'd prefer to go to Grand Canyon and other sites and some may find that boring. To each his/her own.
 

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