I was in my local casino the other night talking to a fellow regular casino vip who said to me “Dave, I’m a loser. I can’t do anything right lately. I feel useless. I’m the biggest loser here.”. I often hear that type of comment from players, and I’m always quick to retort it. Keeping your mind right in a casino is a positive weapon.

My response to my colleague was this: “Brian, just because you come in to the casino and lose, either or one night or on multiple nights, does not make you a LOSER. You are a person, who has had some unfortunate luck and has lost. Losing does not make you a loser.” It’s important for all of us to see the clear distinction between a casino player who has lost, and a true loser. Once the casinos have you thinking you’re a loser, they’ve got you. Suddenly when you lose you start to believe “Oh well, I’m a loser, so I deserved that”… and it can soon become a self fulfilling prophecy. Stay clear of that negativity!

In the same way, winning lots of money does not make a person a “winner” in my book. I’ve known people who have made many thousands of dollars on tables in a night (and I’ve been amongst them sometimes), and whilst some of those people are very pleasant, others are the rudest and most obnoxious idiots you could ever hope to meet. They treat the service staff and dealers with rude comments and actions, they treat the casino facilities with vile contempt. A player like that might win money – but they don’t win favours, friends or the respect of fellow VIP’s – or at least, not mine. To my mind some of the biggest winners are the true losers.

So, concluding: come to the casino. Win or lose, you shouldn’t change as a person. Your bankroll might change, your ability to buy things might change, but you’re still the same person who walked into that environment. Never lose sight of that. If you forget who you are and what you stand for / believe in, then the casinos will hold even more power and influence over you – and that’s not likely to result in good things.