Travel Blog

Have you seen people gambling for hours at the same machine? Maybe you have even done this yourself.  Zombie gambling can be described as: losing track of time; body stiffness from sitting too long; missing out on family activities; not stopping after winning a jackpot and losing the entire amount;  etc. Most of us have found ourselves in this situation and regretted losing all of our money or wondering where the day or evening went. Perhaps our friends or family members have tried to divert us from the slot machines to no avail. If these things describe your situation, it is time to take stock of yourself and make changes.

Avoid Zombie Gambling

Take time to enjoy the other amenities, get up from your slot machine after a specific amount of time to stretch your legs, go for a drink , take a walk outside etc. Break the repetitive situation your in and enjoy all of the other things that casinos have to offer.

Spend time with family who would really like to spend time with you. See a show together, go for a drink, even just for a walk together. Quality time like this is worth it for your own health, your relationship and financial well being.

Go for dinner or a meal at least. Zombie Gambling leads to poor nutrition, too much drinking and smoking and tiredness. If you come back from a trip to the casino exhausted and all you did was sit at a slot machine, it is time to change your habits. Break up the routine and you will find that you not only enjoy the excursion much more, you will not be nearly as tired.

We recently stayed at the Grand Casino Shawnee Oklahoma. We highly recommend this location and will also be returning to this location in the future. Easy access from the highway, covered parking, very nice hotel, lots of restaurants to choose from, and a modern clean casino with entertainment.

Slot Machines

There are over 2000 slot machines and slot players can choose their favorites from state-of-the-art reels, video, keno, and video poker machines spread over two casino floors.

Table Games

There are Blackjack, Spinnette, Craps, and Ultimate Texas Hold ‘Em, table games. There are monthly and annual poker tournaments.

Restaurants

There are eight restaurants to choose from high-end dining establishments to fast food dining such as Subway. The casino has free soft drinks and even free ice cream available on a self serve basis. There are multiple bars as well to choose from that compliment the restaurants, sports bar, and the entertainment area.

What We Liked

• Variety of slot machines well balanced with new and traditional machines
• Entertainment venue for concerts and shows
• Free soft drinks while gambling
• Free ice cream while gambling
• Buffet
• Hotel rates are very reasonable for the area
• Covered garage parking as well as a large surface parking area
• Easy access from all highways
• A safe environment in the casino, hotel and parking areas
• Pool area on the 3rd floor

What We Did Not Like

Considering that there are many casinos in the area, prices for food and beverages were average prices. We expected a little more competitive pricing. However, this is the only casino hotel combination in the immediate area with an entertainment venue as well.

This is actually a really nice place to stop at or spend a few days relaxing.

Slot Player Card

They have their own slot player’s card system. Slot members can take advantage of benefits at this casino and hotel only. Points can be used for meals, hotel expenses, and even gas at the local gas station.

If you have not taken advantage of slot player cards, there are a number of benefits that many slot players should consider. Free or discounted rooms, an email mailing list of promotions, free or discounted meals, access to entertainment, and a tax report outlining your losses and wins for tax claim purposes.

Parking

There is ample parking at the Grand hotel & casino in a large parking garage beside the hotel as well as surface parking. You can access the hotel from the garage via an elevator from all levels. The parking garage is also patrolled on a regular basis and it also protects your car from the weather.

Directions:

Getting to the hotel is pretty easy. Just east of Oklahoma City on I40. Watch for the signs and take the appropriate exit.

In our previous post we the 6 ways of reducing Belly Fat. They are: Eat Less sugar; Eat more protein; Eat less Carbs; Eat more Fiber; Do more Aerobic Exercise and Track your Food Intake against your calories allowed for the day. Sounds easy, right! Not so fast. The writer has been tracking his food intake using a handy app on his phone which provides calories consumed, tracks all of the nutrients as well as fat, carbs and protein consumed for the days and weeks. Without trying to actually change my food intake or the type of food, it is pretty interesting what the app is telling me.

Reducing Belly Fat – Food Tracking

Over the past seven days 52% of my food intake has been carbs compared to 50% objective as set by the app. Fat was 31% compared to 30% and Protein was 17% compared to an objective of 20% as per the app. This is without actually making any changes to my diet or watching how much I ate each day. Calories were also on target and all of my nutrients were not in bad shape. Sounds good right?

Not so fast. Because I am not losing any weight at all. While I am maintaining my weight, I really would like to lose weight. I am also not following the 6 ways to lose belly fat. I need to cut down on my carbs, increase by protein and do more exercise. More to come as I battle this belly fat weight loss challenge.

For more posts about weight loss and belly fat, click here.

Belly fat is a common problem for most men and many women as they get older. It is part of the obesity problem across North America. The writer is one of the millions looking for information that will help him lose weight. In particular lose that belly. There are proven ways to get rid of belly fat. As a blogger I like to write about things that I do some research on that will also help me personally. There are lots of theories about what causes belly fat. Of course how to get rid of it. For example, drinking too much beer, eating too many carbs. Also too much food with lots of sugar, not enough exercise and so on. We will do a couple posts on this subject, so stay tuned, but in the mean this is what we found.

6 Proven Ways to Get Rid of  Belly Fat

Eat Less Sugar – Sugar is added to almost everything to make things taste better. Foods, soft drinks and snacks all have lots of sugar in them and this adds to your overall weight and in particular your belly. Even beer has lots of sugar, but many people drink far more soft drinks which are loaded with sugar. Drink diet drinks or water to cut down. Avoid deserts and foods with lots of sugar. Real labels to check the amount of sugar that has been added.

Eat Less Carbs – such as rice, potatoes, breads etc all contribute sugar to the body. cut down on the amount you eat. If you have two slices of bread for breakfast reduce it to one and do the same for other meals.

Eat More Protein – eating more meat, eggs and dairy will also help increase your metabolism and burn more calories as well as sugar that you eat. Keep everything in balance. If you over do anything it will not be good for you. Focus on eating less carbs and eat more protein.

Eat More Fiber – fiber is hard to process in the stomach, lease you feeling full longer and as a result there is less temptation to eat more snacks etc. Fibre also helps bowel movements and keeps you regular.

Do More Aerobic Exercise – to burn calories and improve your cardio vascular system. Aerobic exercise also tends to burn more calories and fat around the stomach.

Keep Track of What you Eat – there are lots of apps on our smart phones that can help track your food intake and in particular the sugars, carbs, proteins and fiber that you eat. Look for trends and aim to improve your numbers over time.

Watch for our next post on this subject. For more posts about weight loss and belly fat, click here.

We would all like to win on one of the progressive video slot machines that populate many casinos. A win like this even after paying taxes would set us up for life. It would make a huge difference for ourselves and our families. But just how often are they won and is there really a chance to actually win a progressive video slot machines payout? The answer is yes of course.

We hear about people winning all of the time, however you must remember that the casinos love to advertise the payouts. they make a lot of money on these machines because they have all of the stats figured out and they will make far more money on these slots than some of the others. Still it can be exciting to just play and dream about these kinds of wins. This is part of the entertainment when you go to the casino. There are various types of progressive slot machines .

Progressive Video Slot Machines

Progressive slot machines come in three forms.

Stand Alone Progressive can have a fixed-top jackpot. On these machines, a specified percentage of the coins played is added to the award for the highest winning combination.

Proprietary Progressives. These are an in-house group of machines that are owned and operated by the casino. They are linked together.

Wide Area Progressives. These machines are linked together from multiple unrelated casinos. Think MegaBucks and Quartermania. With these progressives, the casino shares in a percentage of the winnings, but here, IGT owns the games. That sizable progressive jackpot is established by taking a certain percentage of all monies played on the machines from throughout the network, with the jackpot continually climbing as more players play the machines.

Using a $1 Megabucks machine as an example, these progressives return approximately 87 percent back to players compared to a standard $1 slot that returns roughly 94 percent. That 7 percent loss in your long-term return is tied up in a jackpot that you have little chance of hitting.

Our recommendation,  is to NOT make playing progressives the mainstay of your casino play. Your expectations when playing these machines is similar to hitting a lottery ticket.

Play a small percentage of your playing bankroll, and recognize that the true entertainment value is that of fantasizing about champagne wishes and caviar dreams, and not necessarily winning.

On this website and many others, we talk about nutrition and staying fit during retirement as we get older. This post is going to focus more on keeping our brains fit as we age to enhance our quality of life and allow us to enjoy it. Retirement and the aging brain are not something we typically think about. Let’s face it, you can lose mobility or have some other debilitating health issue, but the last thing we want is to lose brain functionality as we age. If we cannot think clearly and converse easily with other people then aging can be a very boring place to be. So what are some of the things you can do to focus on the brain and keep it in top shape?

Retirement and the Aging Brain

We lose cognitive function over time as we age and it is important to slow this down. Here is a list of areas you can consider to keep the brain fit in no particular order:

• Maintain social networks to exercise your brain
• Challenge yourself on a regular basis cognitively
• Learn new things every day or week
• Practice memory exercises, push yourself out of your comfort zone
• Play games, new hobbies, etc
• Retirement is stressful, find hobbies, find value in what you do
• Stay fit, exercise at least 30 minutes a day
• Consume healthy food to feed your brain
• Focus on proper meals with a healthy dose of vitamins
• Don’t smoke, it decreases the efficiency of the brain
• Manage alcohol consumption
• Push yourself outside of your comfort zone

For more lifestyle ideas and suggestions, click here.

Players of video poker machines are always trying to figure out the best video poker strategy. We get questions from various readers on the best approach in various situations. Should they hold a winning hand like the one in the picture or to try for the royal flush. This player has a straight which is paying  hand in all of the various video poker games. It is also one card off of a royal flush. Should he take the straight or go for the royal flush? The answer is a lot more complex than one would first think. What is the best video poker strategy?

Video Poker Strategy

In this particular game of Jacks are Better, a straight pays 20 credits, where as a royal flush pays 4000 credits. A conservative player will always go for the paying hand knowing that a royal flush has a an average of just once per 178,365 hands.  Another player who is more interested in taking a chance and getting a big payoff will go with a shot at the royal flush.

There are many outs in this situation, which could mean it might not be a total loss, if he does not pull the 10 of hearts which would make a royal flush. Here is a list of the possible outs or other winning hands:

• There are 2 outs for another straight, non royal Flush
• There are 12 outs for a pair which would only pay 5 credits, but at least there is a possible win
• And there are 8 outs for a flush which pays 30 credits, not counting the royal flush

With 22 possible wins, going for the Royal Flush is not such a risky bet after all. Although you might not win anything there is still a chance of winning something if the royal flush is not completed. We always go for the royal flush in this situation.

Las Vegas Mirage nighttime show looking at the volcano just before it erupts. Watch the show from in front of the sidewalk at night or from across the street. Both locations are excellent. You can feel the heat from the volcano in both locations. However, you can get more of a perspective of the entire volcano in front of the hotel when you are across the street. Most importantly the volcano erupts every 30 minutes with flames, spouting geysers, etc. But sometimes the show is canceled if winds are high. They do not want to risk damage to the display or danger to the people watching from the sidewalk which is actually quite close to the flames.

Las Vegas Mirage nighttime

There are lots of people standing around watching the show. Hold onto your kids, your purses, and your wallets. With the crowds of people, you never know what can happen.

Walk along the strip at night from in front of the Bellagio all of the ways down to TI. Lots of people to watch along the strip especially in front of the Flamingo and Harrahs. Some people are really weird along with others that are dressed as various characters. They want to have their picture taken with you for a price of course. Lots of buskers and impersonators who want to be paid for their picture.

Be careful, most people are average nice people but some are not.

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We recently read an article about a man who was going on a potatoes-only diet for 60 days. We wondered, Is a potato-only diet a good thing to do? It turns out that it is not all bad, but there are some things that anyone considering this approach should consider. The person going on this diet is a marketing agent for a potato organization and he wanted to show that potatoes are good for you and will not harm you if that is all you had to live on.

He has had them cooked many different ways, but there is no butter, cream cheese, or any of the other things that we often like on our potatoes. The Dietitians weighed in on this topic and these are some of the major comments they made.

Is a potato-only diet a good thing to do

• The potato is actually a good source of many vitamins but not all that the body needs.
• It does have a small source of vitamin C which will help humans avoid getting scurvy.
• Eating the potato skin gives added fiber which we all need
• Anyone on this diet should take a multivitamin

• The body needs 40 different vitamins and nutrients to remain healthy
• When it comes time to go off this diet, he should do it gradually
• He may experience some discomfort since the stomach etc is not used to the other foods.
• This is not a diet that should be considered for a long time due to health concerns
• Sugar levels, cholesterol levels, and weight should be monitored closely

The potato is a good source of carbs, vitamins, and fiber. Like most foods, it cannot provide a complete source of all of the vitamins that we all need.

For more general information about food issues, click here.

The Las Vegas strip at night taken from the Wynn hotel on the 36th floor looking south towards Treasure Island or TI and the Mirage casino. What a picture of the strip at night with all of the lights and glitz of the Las Vegas strip. We enjoy staying at the Wynn hotel. It is clean, it is glamorous and the service is impeccable. Although it is expensive to stay there, it is definitely worth the money.

Always obtain a free slot card and use it whenever you are playing the slots or the tables. You never know when they will send you a free offer of a room, free play or a free meal.

Las Vegas Strip at Night

Great views of the volcano at the Mirage casino which erupts at night! Most nights the volcano erupts every half hour unless the winds are too high. If they are too high it is cancelled and you probably do not want to be walking on the strip anyway.

We walked past Harrahs, Imperial and Flamingo casinos. There were lots of people out strolling, checking out the sights and listening to the music from some of the casinos as well as just people watching. Lots of buskers and imitation people were also out trying to make a buck – Elvis, Michael Jackson, and more. You need to pay if you want your picture taken with them. Some are pretty good , although most are poor imitations of the famous people they are trying to copy.

Also topless girls wearing pasties are available for pictures! This is a look at the underside of Las Vegas, however it you stick with the better hotels, you can enjoy all of the glitz and high class service that Vegas has to offer. There is none of this sort of thing around the Wynn or the Bellagio for example.

One of our readers wanted to know how many decks do the blackjack video machines use and what is video blackjack strategy should be? The general answer for most video blackjack machines is that they only use one deck. Table games can use several decks of cards. Sometimes as many as 7 or 8 decks shuffled together. Using only one deck in video blackjack sounds great compared to table games. Particularly if you are a card counter and keep track of the number of aces or high cards remaining in the un dealt cards.

But there is a catch and that is that the cards are reshuffled after every hand. Card counting cannot really be applied in the video blackjack games. Instead you need to be totally focused on the video blackjack strategy outlined in the chart on the left. Which lays out what you should do in every situation. It is based on the cards you have been dealt and the dealers up card.

Video Blackjack strategy

While this is a great strategy few people can remember all of the possible combinations and the action you should take in every situation. We suggest that you study the chart closely and form general rules for what to do in various situations.

For example, if the dealer is showing a 7 or higher, you need to hit if your cards total less than 17. If you have 17 then stay with the cards you have. If the dealer has a 6 or less showing there is a good chance her or she will go bust. You therefore should stay in most situations unless your holding an ace. You have a chance of getting a high count such as 20 or 21 which is blackjack.

Take a few minutes to study the chart and then practice with a deck of cards or an online video blackjack game.

One of the ways a casino ensures that they have the advantage is to manage the pay table for all games, including video poker games. In this post we will refer to jacks are Better video poker strategy. If you play other games such as deuces wild or double-double, the strategy of play will need to be adjusted accordingly. The best possible payout is 10 / 7 where the first number refers to the payout for a full house with 5 coins bet and the second refers to the payout for a flush. In the game shown in the picture, the payout is 9 / 6 which is favoring the house to a higher degree.

Jacks are Better Video Poker Strategy

For each reduction of one credit in the paytable for a full house or a flush, the return drops slightly more than 1%. You can use this as a rule of thumb to quickly determine the return on the game that you are playing.

Game Returns for the various payouts are shown below.

• 10/7 100.17%
• 9/7 99.11%
• 9/6 97.81%
• 8/6 96.73%
• 8/5 95.65%

These returns assume perfect play all of the time. Few of us actually play perfectly all of the time even if we know the recommended play strategy. The actual returns based on the nonperfect play will be lower than those stated above.

Practicing on a computer or smartphone app will help to achieve better play. It can be well worth the money if you are not playing up to standard. A small percentage improvement can make a large difference in your take home. Especially if you play on a regular basis.

Diet and exercise go hand in hand. Our last post discussed age appropriate exercise. We wanted to add some thoughts on what is an age appropriate diet wellness plan. Bottom line is that everyone should eat a well balanced diet to maintain their health. They should also eat the appropriate number of calories that matches their daily activity. For example someone who is working physically all day will need more calories than someone who sits at a desk all day.

You need to be careful about this aspect other wise you will gain weight as the years go on. I was told one time that I would gain about 10 pounds for every decade. While I am pretty active, the weight has been adding every year until I took control of the situation and made sure that I did not over eat.

What is an Age Appropriate Diet Wellness Plan

Aside from eating a balanced diet and managing total intake, there are other aspects that seniors for example need to pay attention to. Calcium loss is a big issue for many seniors, both men and women. Both diet and exercise leads to improved bone mass. Exercise can help delay the lost of bone mass, however lifting weights for some people who suffer from severe bone loss is not recommended.

Diet can contribute to bone mass. Eating foods that are rich in calcium for example coupled with calcium and vitamin D will help to manage the loss of bone in crucial areas of the body. Adding exercise that increases metabolism coupled with a corresponding diet can do wonders for managing bone loss.

Losing weight and keeping your BMI level down to 25 or less also helps placing less pressure on bones and joints. Make a plan and follow a well balanced diet and exercise plan today. Every little bit helps.

For more diet information and ideas about losing weight, click here.

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What is age-appropriate exercise? It is really any exercise that does not put your body into a stress condition in terms of heart and lung capacity, does not cause more aches and pains than you can handle, and certainly does not cause injury. You have to know your body. Different people can tolerate various levels of exercise based on past levels of exercise, their general health, and their weight. As we get older we also cannot do all of the things that we used to do. We might not be able to bench press as much weight, run as far, or swim as far. The point is that everyone should exercise and push themselves a little more each day without causing undue stress to their bodies.

What is Age-Appropriate Exercise

Take for example someone who has been a couch potato all of their life and suddenly decides that they are going to begin exercising. If they approach this challenge to aggressively, they could hurt themselves and they will get discouraged, leading to quitting before they even get started. Admittedly this is an extreme example, but this person should start out by walking a short distance every day and gradually build up the distance and the speed. After a few months, they may want to consider adding weights or cycling etc.

Someone like the writer who has exercised all of their lives, you begin to realize that you just cannot do all of the things you used to do. This does not mean you should stop exercising.  Rather it means that you should again do what feels comfortable. Someone with bad knees for example may not be able to walk, but they can cycle, etc. they can also lift weights and do other exercises that lead to burning calories and maintaining muscle mass.

Each person must find the right mix and the right level of intensity that allows them to stay fit, burn some calories, and maintain their overall health. Get started today with your own personalized exercise health plan.

For a lot more information on exercise, click here.

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If you have not already requested your win loss statement, it is time to do so. Order your Beau Rivage Casino Biloxi Win Loss statements now so that you can make a claim and get some of your money back or even better avoid paying tax on the money you won over $1200. For those readers who might not be aware, all jackpots $1200 and up must claim these wins on your income tax when you file it. If you happened to be Canadian or from some other country they will take 30% up front and it is up to you to make a claim and get your money back. Call your slot host and ask for a win / loss statement today.

Beau Rivage Casino Biloxi Win Loss Statements – IRS

The IRS wants it’s tax money on your taxable winnings even though your home country does not charge taxes on winnings e.g. Canada. You will have to obtain an IRS ITIN number and file an IRS income tax form if you are a foreigner. Eveyone will need a win loss statement from each casino that you gamble at in order to get some of your money back.

The only way you can do this is if you are using a slot card whenever you are playing. This is how the casino knows how much you play, calculates comp’s and can produce a win loss statement. If you do not use a slot card, then there is no win loss statement and no claim to reduce your taxes owing regardless if you are an American or a foreigner.

For more information on this subject, check some of other posts about this subject.

Baby boomers have been influencing our lives for the past 50 years. They are the single largest group to ever impact our economies. They impacted our lifestyles and many of the trends that we are familiar with. Diet programs and weight loss wellness lifestyle trends are now being influenced by this generation. They are now aging, retiring in droves. Many are figuring out what they want to do with the rest of their lives.

One trend is that they are done with diets and diet plans. No more starvation or giving up their favorite foods. No more fad diets and no more expensive diet plans. Instead, they are beginning to focus on wellness and balanced lifestyles.

Weight Loss Wellness Lifestyle Trends

Baby boomers, millennials, and older adults are saying they want to enjoy their lives. They want to live a healthy retirement and they want to extend their lives. Many are becoming convinced that balanced food consumption, balanced exercise programs with age-appropriate exercise is becoming more the norm.

Eating healthy foods, managing quantities, and regular exercise appears to be the new wellness lifestyle trend that is quickly becoming popular. Not only do they get to enjoy their food more, many consumers actually save money. By not investing in diet plans or investing in many of the diet medications and over the counter pills.

There is more money to use for other things now as well. Now they can really allow people to enjoy their retirement. Don’t forget to exercise as well. It does not have to be aggressive exercise. Going for a fast walk every day is one of the best activities a person can follow. Low impact walking protects your joints and still gets your heart rate up.

Try the new wellness lifestyle approach today to improve your life! For more diet information and ideas about losing weight, click here.

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The diet industry is huge. Diet plans, diet medications, diet foods and even diet operations are all part of the industry that almost all consumers focus on at some time in their lives. More and more we suspect that consumers adopting wellness lifestyle diets are giving up on the diet plans and all of the other stuff. They are simply tired of these fad diets, the yoyo weight gains and losses and the pressure tactics of many in the market place. There is a new approach that many consumers are simply adopting on their own.

Are More Consumers Adopting Wellness Lifestyle Diets

Instead of following a fad diet of some kind, they are focusing more on a balanced diet to maintain their weight levels. They are focused on turning to exercise and combining better food consumption to maintain weight levels. For many it means they can give up the starvation diets, the diets that can actually harm their bodies.

Instead they focus on managing their total food intake, their total calories, their vitamins and minerals. They walk every day to attain at least 10,000 steps. Which is defined as the average number of steps you should walk every day.

Many people also want to enjoy their lives. Which means enjoying the many kinds of foods that are available in our society. They are beginning to realize that moderation of food intake and focus on quality food is a better approach.  Foods that do not contribute to weight gain is better for them over the long term as well as their life style.

Personally, I like this change. It means I can enjoy the occasional desert, the pasta dish etc. All I have to do is enjoy a small piece rather than a large portion. Which I should not be eating in the first place. What do you think? Do you like this new weight management trend?

For more life style posts, click here.

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Have you ever found a slot ticket left in a slot machine? It just sits there in the printer slot after the previous player forgot to take it out and left it there. If it is for a small amount, there really is no concern, however larger amounts present an issue for many people. Even small amounts sometimes are challenged by the previous players when the eventually realize that they forgot to collect their slot tickets.

Slot Ticket Left in a Slot Machine

Every slot ticket has a serial number. They are date stamped, time-stamped and stamped with the machine they were removed from. They contain a lot of information and are easily traceable.

It is just not worth it to keep the ticket and play it or cash it. A small amount of money is not worth the embarrassment of a public confrontation or being accosted by security.

When a ticket is forgotten and the player comes back to collect it, they have several options. They can ask for the ticket and if refused, can also call security. Security can checked the videos to confirm who removed the ticket. If necessary track them through the casino and challenge them for the ticket.

This actually happened to a friend of ours. She waited over half an hour to see if the previous player was going to come back. They did not so she put the ticket in her purse and walked away to another slot machine. Security eventually caught up with her and demanded the ticket back.

Fortunately, she still had the ticket and provided it to security. Otherwise, she would have had to come up with the cash and return it to the original player. They had tracked her through the casino and easily found her to confront her about the lost slot ticket.

The moral of the story is that you should not spend it. If it is truly a large amount, call security immediately and report the situation.

How many times have you found credits left in a slot machine? It has happened to many of us and we all wonder what we should do. When you stop to think about it there is an answer to the question and it is really quite simple. The money is not yours and you should not spend it, take it or gamble with it. In 99% of the cases most casino patrons will realize that they have left their money in the slot machine and will come back for it. You really do not want to be embarrassed and have casino security demanding that you repay the forgetful player.

Credits left in a Slot Machine – Why?

If it is a small amount, let’s say a couple of dollars at the most, no one is going to worry too much about it. If it is more than that then you should take a few steps to protect yourself from embarrassment or worse. Why you ask? Here is what could happen and actually did happen to a friend of ours.

She found $87 in credits left in a slot machine one day. She waited for 5 or 10 minutes and when no one came to claim the credits she pressed the cash out button and received the slot ticket. Once she had the ticket, She then played her own money in that slot machine. After 30 minutes or so, she decided to move to another slot machine and wandered around the casino, in fact going to the other end, still with the $87 slot ticket in her purse.

A short while later a security guard approached her and asked if she had the ticket. The original player finally remembered, went back to the slot machine and found no credits in the machine. She then went to security who pulled up the video, saw our friend remove the money and then followed her around the casino until a security guard could physically track her down.

She naturally gave up the ticket, but what if she had spent the money or worse denied the claim. Now she would be pulled into the security offices and a possible charge levied against her. No one wants that. So the moral of the story is, do not spend the credits left in a slot machine. Someone will remember and security will track you down.

Our previous post about, “Why Should I Care About Body Mass Index”, discussed what BMI is and how to calculate it. In this post, we wanted to discuss how can I manage body mass index weight diet levels? the short answer is that your BMI level probably came as no surprise. You already know you need to lose weight. What this does is give you an indicator of how much weight you need to lose to have a healthy BMI number. The writer’s BMI is 29 with a weight of 194 pounds and a height of 68 inches. It does not take into account the level of fat you also carry.

Based on my height I need to lose 30 pounds to get down to a healthy BMI level of 25. For my body type, muscular and large-boned losing 30 pounds would be very difficult. I would be happy to get to 20 pounds of weight loss and a BMI of 27.

How Can I  Manage Body Mass Index Weight Diet Levels

I already exercise a great deal so I am in reasonably good shape. My personal problem is that I like to snack. You know peanuts, chocolate, chips that sort of thing. I am pretty confident if I could reduce or eliminate this area of my diet, I would drop weight pretty quickly with the amount of exercise that I do.

But that is the problem for the vast majority of us. Some folks do have serious health issues which cause them to be overweight. This does not apply to me. I have written a great deal on this website about weight loss and the need to control your diet combined with exercise. And yet I just cannot seem to be able to accomplish the same thing for myself.

Rest assured, I am going to continue to try to manage my diet to lose weight while exercising. BMI has given me a specific number to aim for not now. Just 20 pounds of weight loss is all I need. Click here of another post about BMI.

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As we near the end of the year it is time to request win loss statements in January. Check with all casinos that you have a slot card with and request the win loss statement to calculate your refund from the slot winnings that you received during the year. Remember that you must have a slot card. This is the only way that the casino can track how much you have gambled and lost during the year and provide a report to you. Once you complete your IRS tax filing you must file it by April 15 of each year. this applies to all US citizens as well as foreigners who want to reclaim some of the taxes that were deducted at source  i.e. at the casino from your winnings.

Time to Request Win Loss Statements – Example

Only US winnings over $1200 are taxed. If you are not from the United States, the casino will deduct 30% on the spot. The above winner won $9000 on the above combination, but had to pay $2700 in taxes immediately. They need a win loss statement.

Consumers are often surprised at how much they actually gambled when they get their statement. Often when playing with $20.00 it is not uncommon to play for over half an hour. Some times you win and sometimes you do not. But during that time, you can win over $100 in small jackpots. It is not enough to stop and your balance may never go over $30. However your loss at the end of it all is $120 while you won $100 for a net loss of $20. It is this loss that you are looking for on your win loss statement.

Every $20 of loss, nets $6 in refund depending on your other claims and income. It can be well worth the effort to request these statements.

Remember that the IRS has been auditing claims so keep all of your records.

Can also hire a professional but they will need the same information to complete your return.

Why Should I Care About Body Mass Index? The answer is that this is just one more way of measuring or providing an indicator of your health. It suggests whether you are overweight or not for your body type and height. Many people may feel that they are overweight, however when you take into account their height they are not actually overweight at all. A tall person can handle a great deal more pounds than a shorter person. However, if your body fat index is high compared to muscle, you may still have a problem. Remember this is just one more indicator.

Why Should I Care About Body Mass Index

Body mass index is calculated by multiplying your weight by 703 and then dividing this number by your height in inches twice. For example, the writer weighs 194 pounds and is 68 inches high or 5 foot 8 inches. My BMI is 29!

If you are under 25 you are considered to have a  healthy weight. Anything over 25 is considered overweight. If you are over 30, then you are obese and if you are under 18.5, you are considered underweight. I certainly do not feel that I am close to being obese, but this is definitely a wake-up call for me.

With a BMI in higher levels, consumers can be susceptible to various health issues. for example, you could suffer from heart disease, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, diabetes or even varicose veins. These are serious health issues that can cause serious problems.

BMI will not tell you how to lose weight. BMI is just one more indicator that you probably should lose weight. It will come as no surprise that you need to get your BMI level down to a healthy level if you want to avoid the serious health issues mentioned earlier.

For more information about BMI or Body Mass Index, click here.

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If you won this jackpot at the Beau Rivage you would definitely need to request Beau Rivage Biloxi Win Loss Statements to recoup some of the tax that you either paid on the spot or will pay once you complete your income tax forms before April 15th. This particular jackpot paid $9000 and the casino may have deducted $2700 on the spot in income tax. That’s a lot of money and something you want to go after. It is relatively easy to do and you will certainly get some of your winnings back from the IRS. Even if you are from another country, there is a way to recoup some or all of the tax deducted on the spot from your winnings. The first step is to request a win loss statement.

Beau Rivage Biloxi Win Loss Statements

What is a Beau Rivage Biloxi Win Loss Statement? Basically it is an official report that tells you much money you won in the past year and how much your lost in the past year. You will either have a net loss or a net win which you can claim. Claiming a net loss means you get some money back on those wins over $1200.

Request your win loss statement from all casinos you play at after Jan 1st. You should receive them within a few weeks. Depending on how much you have won, you may want to get all of the statements from all of the casinos to maximize your total loss and claim your money. Call your slot host or log into your online account and request the win loss statement. Many are automated and can be requested online, downloaded and printed at your home.

Collect from all casinos no matter how much you played. Remember that you must have used a slot card at each of these casinos. This is the only way that the casino knows how much you  wagered and the only way you can request a statement.

File before April 15 as per the usual deadline. If you have all of your information you can file earlier and hopefully receive a refund that much earlier as well. The IRS has been doing audits lately so some returns are late being assessed and refunds issued.

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If you are planning a trip to Atlantic City and staying at one of the casino hotels it is important to ask, what casino hotels are still open in Atlantic City. We will answer this questions and give you a status update on each one as of the time of writing this post. There is no question that Atlantic city is struggling due to a number of reasons including competition from other casinos in surrounding states. As well as economic issues related to taxes and tolls just to get there. For many patrons, it is just easier to go to their local casino.

What Casino Hotels are Still Open in Atlantic City

The following are still open and doing relatively well compared to results in 2013. After each hotel name we show the total revenue and the percentage change from 2013.

Borgata: 687.2, +10.7 percent
Harrah’s: 365.3, +2.5
Caesar’s: 330.6, -1.7
Tropicana: 297.2, +29.9
Bally’s: 224.8, -8
Trump Taj Mahal: 215.8, -16.9
Golden Nugget: 185.5, +48.4
Resorts: 139.3, +6.6

It should be noted that Trump Taj Mahal has been purchased and recently closed. Restructuring and union concessions have not worked out to allow the casino and hotel to stay open.

The remaining hotels and casinos are still open. However it should be noted that Caesars Corporate is going through bankruptcy proceedings. They own three of the above hotels.

Closed

Showboat: $110.5, closed Aug. 31
Revel: 98.1, closed Sept. 2
Trump Plaza: 45.4, closed Sept. 16
Atlantic Club: 3.9, closed Jan. 13

The Revel has been purchased. But is not near reopening due to lawsuits and fines from the city that are still under discussion.

The Trump Plaza casino will stay closed for at least 10 years as part of a tax savings measure.

The Atlantic Club is still closed. However, there are proposals to refurbish it into a water park and upscale hotel

Studies are showing that if you want to enjoy a quality retirement, eat less food. This does not mean you have to starve yourself. In the study a control group ate 12% fewer calories each day and lost 10% of their body weight.  A 12% decline in food is roughly the equivalent to eating one less muffin a day from Starbucks. The results demonstrated a number of findings. The main result being if you want to enjoy a quality retirement lifestyle, eat less food. There were a host of side effects that were positive in nature which would lead to a better long term lifestyle.

Enjoy a Quality Retirement, Eat Less Food

For example, cholesterol declined in a large percentage of people in the study. Weight loss also helped people who had joint problems. Self esteem improved and participants appeared to have more energy.

Diet also appears to trump exercise. Many people who exercise believe they burn more calories than they actually do. They tend to eat more as a result believing that they are ok because of the exercise. The control group in the study were specifically asked to continue with the same exercise regimen. This was closely monitored. As a result because they were actually eating fewer calories they actually lost weight.

One sure-fire method of eating less is to use smaller plates. If you switch from 12 inch plates to 9 inch plates, you are automatically reducing your calories by approximately 25%. This assumes of course that you do not go back for seconds. They also suggest a balanced diet rather than cutting one food group in favor of another. For most people this approach seems to work and the benefits will carry right through to later lifestyle enjoyment. Who wants to go into retirement with all kinds of health issues brought on by overweight?

Eat less now and you will be able to enjoy your retirement that much more. For more health related suggestions and topics, click here.

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It is a well known fact that sleep deprivation can have extensive health impacts. Yet we are all guilty of cheating ourselves of sleep. For some people it is only a day or two at a time and then we are back to normal. However for many consumers, especially seniors, cheating ourselves of sleep is actually the norm. The real questions is whether we would change our bad sleep habits if we actually understood the impacts of not getting enough sleep has on our health? We all feel that we are super humans and it will not affect us. In fact we may not even realize the impact until it is too late. So, what are the impacts when we cheat ourselves of sleep over the long term?

Cheating Ourselves of Sleep – Health Impacts

As the picture above shows the impacts on our health can be numerous. They can be significant if sleep deprivation is allowed to continue for too long. You decide which ones apply to you and if you need to take action now. We will expand on each in a little more detail:

• Risk of Diabetes – poor eating habits brought on by tiredness bring on diabetes
• Growth suppression – Same thing applies here as well. People tend to eat to obtain energy
• Risk of Obesity – eating high energy foods and sugar based foods as well as lower exercise leads to obesity
• Decreased Reaction time – can cause accidents when operating machinery
• Decrease Accuracy – errors made at work leads to poor performance
• Tremors – the body reacts to being over tired inducing tremors
• Aches – joint problems are increased
• Irritability – lowered levels of patience leads to bad interactions with others
• Cognitive Impairment – more difficulty in solving complex problems
• Memory Loss – lowered ability to recall details and even normal day to day events and details
• Impaired Moral Judgement – leads to poor decisions
• Severe Yawning – often and long are indicators of sleep deprivation
• Impaired Immune System – leads to more colds, sickness etc
• Hallucinations – severe sleep loss can lead to serious sleep issues

If you are suffering from any of these you could be suffering severe sleep deprivation. Talk to a doctor and perhaps have a sleep assessment to determine if there is some underlying cause. For more details about getting a good nights sleep, click here.

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Gamers who are wondering is the Borgata Casino Atlantic City still open will be pleased to hear that it is. They will not only be pleased to hear that it is, it is also doing very well. In fact for the year 2014, revenue was up 10.7% from a year earlier. It is too early to report 2015, but all indications are pointing in the same direction for the current year. There may be a number of reasons that they are doing well compared to the other casinos on the boardwalk.  Four casinos have closed and eight are still open. Of those that are still open, three lost money in 2014, while the others gained.

Is the Borgata Casino Atlantic City Still Open

The Borgata is located away from the boardwalk and some would argue that this is a competitive disadvantage. However once you are there, unless you take car, taxi or jitney, your pretty much going to spend your time at the Borgata. Coupled with the fact that it is relatively new and a nice place to stay at, the casino and hotel have actually grown in revenue year over year at a rate of 10.7%

It also must be managed well and financed well compared to the Revel, which was on the boardwalk and brand new. The Revel is closed and bankrupt. It may reopen, however it is too early to know what will take place with regards to the Revel.

With four casinos closing in 2014, the other remaining casinos have picked up their clientele. The Borgata has certainly benefited from this situation as well. Customers that would normally go to the Revel, Taj Mahal, Showboat, Plaza and the Atlantic Club are now going to the other hotels including the Borgata.

There is no doubt about it. The Borgata is the nicest hotel in Atlantic City and well worth the money when you stay in Atlantic City.

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Most healthy adults need from 7.5 to 9.0 hours of sleep every night on average. Not only do they get enough sleep, but their stages of sleep are not out of sync and also make sure that they are getting good quality of sleep. The graph at the left shows the typical pattern of healthy stages of sleep which contribute to better health, alertness at work and in personal life. Someone who is not getting enough sleep will not be alert on the job, less productive on the job, possibly even dangerous to themselves and others when operating equipment as well as grumpy or difficult to get along with. All of these things can affect your health, even your career at work as well.

Humans tend to sleep lightly for a period of time and then go into deep sleep known as REM sleep. The longer you stay in REM, the better your going to feel the next day in addition to sleeping for 9 hours. You will cycle in and out of REM during the night which is part of the bodies natural rhythm.

Stages of Sleep – Myths

Loosing One Hour of Sleep – even for on day will leave you less alert and active. you may turn to energy food such as coffee and high sugar items which contributes to weight gain.

Adjusting Quickly to Schedule Changes – it can take up to a week to adjust to different time zones after traveling or a shift change. We all get though it but we are clearing a lot less effective and will fall asleep at odd times.

Quality of Sleep is Important – Someone with low REM sleep, tossing and turning or a health problem like sleep apnea is going to have poor quality of sleep. They seldom get into REM and they wake up tired even though they have been in bed for even 9 hours.

Sleeping More on the Weekend – helps to catch up with lost sleep but not all of it. In addition, your sleep cycle is thrown out of kilter which contributes to poor sleep the following week.

Focus on quality of sleep so that you go through the proper stages of sleep. Go to sleep at the same time every day, wake up at the same time, get at least 7.5 hours to 9 hours of sleep every day and practice good sleep preparation to ensure that you sleep well.

For more health related topics, click here.

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There are 10 Laughlin Casinos and Hotels in the Laughlin Nevada area. We have listed them in alphabetical order later on in this post. They all have their positives and negatives. However for our money the Aquarius and the Golden Nugget are probably the nicest of them all. Some accept pets. Some have accommodations for RV parking. All but the Tropicana and the AVI are located next to the Colorado River. The Tropicana is across the street and within walking distance of the walkway that runs along the river to all of the hotels except for the AVI and Harrahs. Harrahs is located off by itself and really can only be reached by car, although it is in the town of Laughlin and on the river. The AVI is several miles away on Indian property, with a really great beach and pool area on the Colorado River.

Laughlin Casinos and Hotels – List

• Aquarius – smoking, RV parking, on the Colorado River, ok pool
• AVI – smoking, RV parking, on the Colorado River, beach, golf, nice pool
• Colorado Belle – smoking, limited RV parking, on the Colorado River
• Edgewater – smoking, limited RV parking, on the Colorado River
• Golden Nugget – smoking, limited RV parking, on the Colorado River, nice pool
• Harrahs – smoking, on the Colorado River, ok pool
• Laughlin River Lodge – smoking, RV parking, on the Colorado River
• Pioneer – smoking, limited RV parking, on the Colorado River
• Regency – smoking, limited RV parking, on the Colorado River
• Riverside – smoking, RV parking, on the Colorado River, antique car display
• Tropicana – smoking, RV parking

The rates vary a great deal at these hotels. However unless there is some large event taking place, you can usually find rates that we much less than $100 a night. They may even be free if you are using a slot card and call the casino host.

Regardless of when you retire, your age today, your weight if you want to Increase your Life Expectancy – Get Active. That is the bottom line message in this post. There have been lots of studies suggesting that people who retire early, actually die early. Some would say that it comes down to not having a purpose, having less social connections and generally less activity. Studies like this are also open to interpretation. For example, maybe you retired early because you were in poor health, perhaps you needed to look after a family member.

Those that did not retire early, did they last until they were 65? If they retired at 65, how much longer did they live? these are all questions that many of these studies do not address. But one thing is for sure if you want to live longer, be active. Walk every day, participate in some kind of sport etc. Also manage your risk factors. Stop smoking, stick to moderate drinking, maintain a reasonable weight level and exercise every day.

Increase your Life Expectancy – Get Active

Getting active can also be interpreted in many ways. It certainly includes some form of exercise that gets you active at least 30 minutes a day, every day. More vigorous exercise for an hour three times a week is great. Swimming, walking, running and bicycling are all great sports.

Retirees also need to look after exercising the brain. This can include volunteering, a part time job, and improving your social game as well. All of these things give you something to look forward to, something besides your aches and pains to think about and fun as well. We all need to have a little fun in our lives. By getting active in a social setting, we are meeting new people and we are experiencing new experiences. These all contribute to increasing your life expectancy.

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