My Weekend Spent as a Casino Whale

It has long since been a dream of mine to be referred to as a casino whale, if not for life then at least just for one weekend. So I guess I can say that I aspire to be ultimately referred to as a casino whale, something which I’ve only had the pleasure of experiencing for just one weekend. That type of life is addictive and I could really get used to it, trust me, and I reckon I’m on the right track because currently there are very few casinos into which I walk where the management doesn’t know I’m in town. If they don’t they soon become acquainted with yours truly.

I’m not quite at the level of a permanent casino whale, but I did indeed spend an entire weekend as one. So for those of you who don’t know, a casino whale is that guy whom, when he rolls into town, the casinos in the know pull out all stops to try and lure him to their casino establishment since they’re fully aware of that “whale’s” big spending habits. You might be surprised to find a limo waiting for you at the airport, with a complimentary offer to stay at the casino’s high-rollers suites or presidential suite. What you have to do in exchange, of course, is gamble at that casino and you’re expected to really splash the cash.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing because as you know, the bigger you bet, the bigger you’ll win if you do win, of course. That’s not the point however — the point is the casino whale lives in somewhat of a bubble within the casino industry, with the whole experience being more about enjoying all the perks and hospitality surrounding the casino industry. If you have the kind of money a whale has then you could very well organise a helicopter ride yourself, but it’s that much more fun when someone else does it for you and you don’t have to worry about any of the details of the logistics of something like that.

I despise caviar, but somehow it tastes better if it has apparently been flown in fresh from some exotic coastal location — I say “apparently” because you can never really know with these things when someone who ultimately just wants your money is trying to butter you up.

Now I can’t divulge the name of the casino which treated me to being a casino whale for that one weekend, purely because casinos don’t want to be exposed to be ‘whaling’ in this way as whaling is ultimately just a marketing ploy on the part of the casinos. All I’m prepared to say is that it’s located in Las Vegas and I sort of had a hand in making sure I’m at least in contention to be a whale for that one weekend by simply heading straight to the Vegas strip right after I’d won some big money at another casino whose parent company operates several other casinos in Las Vegas.
All I can say is trust me, life is that much more fun as a casino whale!