In October 2006 I had the good fortune to come across two extremely beneficial personal development resources, The Secret DVD
Skeptics of affirmations and positive thinking refuse to accept that affirmation or positive thinking can be responsible for good circumstances and results to present themselves. I figured that my trip to Las Vegas in November could provide the perfect laboratory to test out “The Secret” and the million dollar experiment. The results would be immediate. I would be gambling for a week’s worth of time, so any quick random rushes of “luck” would be factored out. And I decided to experiment with different moods, thoughts, and alcohol intakes to see how it all shook out.
In my previous trips to Vegas, I had broke dead-even after expenses on every trip but one. It took some analysis to realize that I had always thought “If I can take a trip to Vegas, have a blast, gamble a ton, drink and eat at fine restaurants, and come back with the same amount of money I went out there with, it’s a successful trip.” And of course, that is exactly what would happen. I’d go out with $500 in my pocket and have a plan that I could spend $1500 total, and I would invariably end up coming back +/- a few hundred, with my profit being the great times and memories.
I decided to start thinking “Winning money at blackjack in Vegas is so easy” constantly. The week before I left I was planning what I’d do with my winnings. I kept programming myself that it wasn’t even conceivable that I wouldn’t win. I was giddy about how I was going to make a couple grand during my week’s stay. I told a few friends so that I would be held to it and have to report progress at the tables.
I got to the tables after my flight arrived, it was about 130am Monday morning. Vegas has a way of wiping away all exhaustion when you land. I walked around looking for a “friendly table”. I have no exact idea what that means. But I was looking for a dealer that didn’t have an obvious look of hatred towards the customers, but that is easier said than done. And I wanted a table that looked happy and festive, not miserable and anxious. Fortunately I was staying at TheHotel at MandalayBay, so everyone that can stay there is usually pretty happy about being there and perhaps it carried over to the tables.
My betting and monet management plan was simple. Play completely strict blackjack strategy from a strategy card I bought at the gift shop. Sit at the table with $300. Bet $25 a hand. If I went up $100-$150, bet $50 a hand. That was my elaborate strategy. I felt that it would be important to not vary my play, to help give the Secret and million dollar experiment a fair chance.
My first night/morning, I won $300. Not an astounding sum, but a great way to start a week in Vegas. A week in Vegas can be a blast or agony, and the start of the trip has a lot to do with it. If you find yourself hitting the ATM 2 hours after touchdown at the airport, it can quickly spiral into a debacle. Up $300, I was starting to nod off at the table, I think it was about 4am. The rest of my table had done pretty well also, a couple and a young kid. I went to cash out and they begged me to stay. “We were losing before you got here, please don’t go!” the wife said. The dealer even tried to convince me of one more shoe. But I left anyways, the tables weren’t going anywhere.
The next day on lunch break I hit the table. All morning while sitting in programming workshops, I was projecting positive vibes, telling myself “I can’t wait to go win a grand at lunch.” I felt the emotion of walking away from the table up one thousand…I was picturing it feeling quite good. I got enough good feelings going internally so that I felt a lump in my throat. I went down to the tables, found a friendly-looking dealer, and pulled out $300. I started thinking about this lady dealer like she was my long-lost aunt, boy did I think she was great. She seemed to pick up on the vibe, it felt like we were a team against the casino. 50 minutes later I walked with $1250! I went to cash out, and the dealer said, “I think you should stay, this is quite a run you are on. Can’t you skip the conference?” I thought about it but I was truly interested in the conference, and didn’t want to skip out when my manager had graciously paid for me to come learn new technologies. So I floated back to the conference…of course I spent most of the time enthralled with the black chips in my pocket, but I did manage to pick up some details of database lifecycle management also.
That night was nothing major at the tables. For some reason the “flow” (for lack of a better word) just didn’t seem to be there. I tried throwing back some vodka red bulls, but it didn’t change anything. I only won fifty bucks that night. Only. That was my mindset I was adapting, that I was not thrilled if I only won 50 bucks.
Tuesday November 7th was my 35th birthday. I woke up and took stock of things. I was up one thousand dollars. I was being paid by Motorola to come learn advanced internet architecture concepts, out in Las Vegas at a 5-star hotel. I had a beautiful girlfriend waiting for me back at home. Life was good. All of these things started getting me in a very, very good mood. I did not realize it, but I was practicing the gratitude that I always read about. I rushed down to the conference, ducking out to check my phone and hear some birthday wishes from friends and family. This only further increased my happiness. I thought how I could not wait to go win some more money downstairs at the blackjack tables. I repeated the million dollar experiment’s affirmation. On to the tables with this good mood!
I strolled through the tables, looking for a good table vibe. Just my luck, my friendly dealer from yesterday’s lunch was there, she gave me a big smile. I sat down immediately, and it was just like I had never left from yesterday’s lunch. Double-downs, splits, dealer busts, everything went my way. I was sure to tip her generously, it seemed like we were on the same team again. I had sat at the table with $300, and left it with $1300. “Man, I can get used to these $1000 lunch meetings with you!” I told her.
That evening I decided to take a break from the tables and treat myself to a swank meal. I was up 2 grand, the conference was interesting, time to appreciate my good fortune with a filet and some nice wine. Wednesday and Thursday I was not able to gamble during the day, I had various work conference calls to attend. How I missed my $1000 lunch date, it was torture! Both nights were relatively uneventful gambling wise. I was having trouble getting in the “Secret” frame of mind for some reason. The Million Dollar affirmation wasn’t getting me excited. I was breaking even at any table game I sat down at. Any Vegas veteran will tell you, breaking even is not the end of the world. But the big wins weren’t coming, the flow wasn’t there, I knew it and so I wasn’t even pushing it.
Looking back, being up $2000 caused my mind set to change. I started becoming fearful of giving back my winnings. I occasionally felt mild anxiety at the tables when the dealer was taking their hit card. This type of thinking helped sway my table luck from ultra positive to neutral (fortunately just neutral!)
Friday was my last day at the tables. I summoned all the good will I could think of. I went through all the things I was thankful of in my life. I said the million dollar affirmation. I walked into the casino, and I felt joyous. I literally felt excited about all the money I was going to win. The trick for me is that I have to convince myself that it really is going to happen. Saying “I’m going to win some money” but then feeling stupid about saying it, or immediately feeling sheepish and doubtful about what you just affirmed, that doesn’t cut it.
I couldn’t find my super dealer. I didn’t let that deter me, I sat down in front of some asian lady that was giving off good vibes. The 3rd hand in, she had an 18 and I had a 17 but she paid me anyways and gave me a big smile. And then the torrential downpour of chips began yet again. I won another 6-800 over the course of 3 hours. I celebrated that night with yet another immaculate meal. Some of the meals during these celebrations were a little too pricey for me to expense with Motorola. I didn’t mind, the casino was treating me so well it seemed like a modest expense!
Saturday I did not gamble. I had stayed over Friday night so that I could see Steve Pavlina give a workshop. He described the entire process and journey of creating his blog. It was a fascinating conference. Steve’s workshop and story convinced and inspired me to start my own blog. And you’re reading it now. What a week in Vegas!
where's the anabolic diet post? Used the Secret to get my Plasma fixed...Panasonic came over yesterday and it was fixed, free of charge.
Posted by: mark murrell | March 31, 2007 at 09:53 AM
Awesome story! Just for reference, what was your final net winnings?
Posted by: Andrew | April 04, 2007 at 07:16 PM
Andrew - Not sure. I went out there with 400 in wallet, came back with 2800. Went out to a bunch of meals and caught a cirque show. So I'm thinking 3k or so.
Scott
Posted by: Scott | April 09, 2007 at 10:04 AM
Will try system tomorrow, foing to Foxwoods
Posted by: Steve Kliternick | May 20, 2007 at 11:57 AM
Will try system tomorrow, foing to Foxwoods
Posted by: Steve Kliternick | May 20, 2007 at 11:57 AM
Looks like it's been a long time since the last post. I was looking up some information because I was curious to see if anyone has used the Secret for gambling. I went to Vegas and lost 2000 dollars. During the time I was losing I played like my usual self which is usually no good. I took $200 out and told myself this is it. What I did differently this time was kept repeating the affirmation I am getting wealthier and wealthier everyday and everyway. I turned the $200 back to $2200 before my flight home, and during the time I was feeling grateful and continuously tipped the dealer.By the time I was about to leave I was the only one standing at that table. Coincidence? I think not.
Posted by: Akira | March 03, 2009 at 04:22 PM