Wierd discussion about Casino Arizona at a wedding

*TT* · #1 07-29-2007, 01:07 PM

Last night I was at a wedding with some well known posters here at 2+2, talking about Casino Arizona. We all agreed the action is incredible, we also agreed that the money seems plentiful. But the one thing that didn't agree upon was who the consumer is.

Because CAZ is in Scottsdale one would assume the majority of the customers are wealthy locals, but my experiance has been that the majority of the customers where inbreds, Nascar Dads, and drunk gamb00ling yokels mixed in with the ocasional doctor/student. It seems that nobody else has had the same experiance/perception as me, they see rich people everywhere.

So what gives? Is my radar off, or have I been showing up at Casino Arizona at the wrong times?

Howard Beale · #2 07-29-2007, 01:24 PM

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Last night I was at a wedding with some well known posters here at 2+2, talking about Casino Arizona. We all agreed the action is incredible, we also agreed that the money seems plentiful. But the one thing that didn't agree upon was who the consumer is.

Because CAZ is in Scottsdale one would assume the majority of the customers are wealthy locals, but my experiance has been that the majority of the customers where inbreds, Nascar Dads, and drunk gamb00ling yokels mixed in with the ocasional doctor/student. It seems that nobody else has had the same experiance/perception as me, they see rich people everywhere.

So what gives? Is my radar off, or have I been showing up at Casino Arizona at the wrong times?

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First: Are you saying that it's a waste of my time travelling to LV or LA to play? I really want to get out of town every now and then just so I can see 4 different walls. Or, ANY walls, until CAZ finishes it's new facility.

Second: It may seem as you say but the players run the full range from a lawn care worker to very wealthy businessmen. I think the way some of them dress has something to do with your perception and the number of tattoos. I don't like tattoos (so don't dump on me, folks) but when I see people covered in them AND wearing tank-tops I don't think much of them either but mixed in w/ them (and sometimes looking like them) are many well-off people from all over the metro-Phoenix area. One guy (who I thought was 'just some guy') turns out to have one of the biggest RV sales operations in the area. I was told that 'the worst' 08 player 'owned half of Chicago'. So you never know. Poker is very democratic. Anybody can be 'anybody' and it could be all the beer they're drinking that is making you think that way.

A quick story:

A few months ago I had a pain in my kidney area. I jokingly asked 'is anybody here a doctor? I've got a pain and I think I have kidney cancer.' One guy says 'I'm a nuero-surgeon but (pointing to the player in the 1 seat) HE'S a Nephrologist' so I went over to him and got a free consultation. Still, I beat him when the occasions arose. I already had my free consultation.

*TT* · #3 07-29-2007, 01:48 PM

Howard - Its odd because you can generally tell when someone has money in Vegas, LA or Vegas. They dont have to dress the part (but that is often a giveaway as well), but there is something different in the communication that makes it a bit obvious. I can look at someone in a trucker hat wife beater, tats, and drinking a beer and say to myself this guy probably is wealthy. At Casino Arizona I don't notice that as much unless the guy makes it really obvious by talking about his job or something like that.

Like i said in the OP, it was an odd conversation... I feel so judgmental just posting this thread [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

Howard Beale · #4 07-29-2007, 02:48 PM

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Like i said in the OP, it was an odd conversation... I feel so judgmental just posting this thread [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

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Don't feel bad. After I first moved from NY to AZ I went back to NY and played for the last time at the Mayfair Club after the first bust and just before it was shut down. People asked me what Phoenix was like. My answer: It's a weird combination of urbane cosmopolitanism mixed with an equal dose of Hee-Haw. And that still holds true. There's ballet, opera, symphony and a vibrant art and theater scene right along with hordes of people to fill the rodeo, monster truck and cage fighting events. And then there are the gun shows (I've only seen TV coverage but I'm going to go to one sooner or later for laughs) where these characters show up dressed in camo. That's got to be a hoot.

*TT* · #5 07-29-2007, 02:51 PM

"urbane cosmopolitanism" - can I quote you? Thats exactly what I see when i visit Phoenix. Except when i am at CAZ its a lot more hee-haw.

Howard Beale · #6 07-29-2007, 02:57 PM

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"urbane cosmopolitanism" - can I quote you? Thats exactly what I see when i visit Phoenix. Except when i am at CAZ its a lot more hee-haw.

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Howard (not my real name) can turn a phrase, can't he? Sure you can use it. And if'n you want some more in the way of Hee-Haw we can visit a gun show together when you visit. Hopefully one will be running.

Hass · #7 07-29-2007, 01:58 PM

I know of a few doctors, a few business owners, restaraunt owners, professional atheletes.

TT, where are you from? I am from Arizona and have been around many people my entire life that have loads of money and look like "nascar fans" and the like. Hell I'm a golf pro and drive a 4-wheel drive pickup with camoflauge interior. I guess there is just a lot of us that are born and raised in small towns and the "hick" never leaves us.

*TT* · #8 07-29-2007, 02:09 PM

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I know of a few doctors, a few business owners, restaurant owners, professional athletes.

TT, where are you from? I am from Arizona and have been around many people my entire life that have loads of money and look like "nascar fans" and the like. Hell I'm a golf pro and drive a 4-wheel drive pickup with camouflage interior. I guess there is just a lot of us that are born and raised in small towns and the "hick" never leaves us.

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I am the associate publisher of a magazine in Phoenix, when I am out there (every few months) I have to attend a lot of society events - so I am no stranger to people with money in Phoenix/Scottsdale, I do business with that crowd. Its a very different group of people at CAZ of course, that might be part of the reason why I have never seen the wealth at CAZ.

PS: I am from NYC, but live in Vegas now.

Hass · #9 07-29-2007, 02:24 PM

lol. I've been called a Hick from many a lot of New Yorker's. Went to college with a few, they thought I was the biggest cowboy they had ever met. I don't even own boots or a cowboy hat anymore.

The only thing I can think of is that people in Arizona don't care if they look rich when they play poker. Don't people in Vegas and NYC wear suits to do everything?

Howard Beale · #10 07-29-2007, 02:41 PM

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I don't even own boots or a cowboy hat anymore.

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So there once was a time.........

Please borrow some boots and a cowboy hat and wear them to the cardroom so that I can see what you look like in them. I'll gather up a collection if you wear a 'Western' shirt w/ a bola to go with the outfit.