The short of it: Del, the creator of videos at NeonVacation, and me, the writer of blogs here, are creating an online group aimed at providing a little fun, with a little Vegas flavor, for anyone who wants to join us.
We're not casino operators, and we're not getting into the casino business, but for those who want to have a little of that Vegas action in their lives when they can't be in Sin City, splashing chips across the roulette felt, we have created the Las Vegas Fun and Games group.
If you want to contribute $3 or $5 to the pot for a game of chance, you might win enough for two of those expensive drinks at that fancy new Circa casino in downtown Las Vegas. Or 25 bottles of the latest $3 beer offered at the Fremont and California casinos.
Is that all you need to know? Join us here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/lvfunandgames
The long of it: Late last summer I was invited to join a "raffle club." A longtime friend was running a group, via Facebook, where you could "donate" a few bucks to a game of chance. The games varied a bit, as did the payout structure. Sometimes the winner received cash, sometimes the winner received a prize. Sometimes the winner had a variety of prizes to choose from. Good times, for sure.
Turns out, there are plenty of raffle groups out there. I was invited to join a few others. They all differ a bit. But at the end of the day, the purpose was the same...gambling. No matter the terminology used, it was low-stakes gambling. And many of us enjoy a little of that in our lives. It's part of the reason many of us go to Vegas.
My first thought wasn't, "How do I start my own group." But as the months progressed, I noticed there was something missing from these groups: Games of chance based upon sporting events. When it comes to sports, many of us will drop a few bucks on the outcome of the game we're going to watch, just to make the game a little more exciting, especially if we don't have a rooting interest in the outcome.
One of the things I noticed about the groups is that the people running them put a bunch of time and effort into doing so, from setting up the games to collecting electronic payments and running the games via live videos. And it culminates with disseminating the prize(s) to the winner(s). It's not labor intensive, but it takes time and attention to do it well. Most group operators take a cut of the prize pool, and people don't seem to mind that, myself included.
So my question was, "How can I make a group that's different than the others I have been a part of?" One that players will participate in and appreciate? A little brainstorming and a few discussions later, the Las Vegas Fun and Games group was born.
I needed somebody to help me get a new group going. To what extent, I wasn't sure, but I couldn't do it all on my own. I knew I wanted a Vegas themed group, so I reached out to a guy whose Vegas videos I've been watching for a while, a guy who has been dedicating greater time to his video content in the past year.
That's how Del and I started the ball rolling. We hope it rolls for more than a week.
What makes our group different? There will be a variety of games of chance, some linked to sporting events, others based upon games run through free gaming websites. All we need is a bunch of entries and a free online prize wheel. With that we can hold a "raffle."
But it's a Vegas group, so we'll try to find ways to have a little casino-style fun in determining some of our winners.
The prizes awarded through prize wheels or other games of chance will be done via live videos posted to our group. You do not need to watch live to win a prize, but the video will be there for you to review if you're not watching live.
And one of the important aspects of our group: The prize pool goes to the players. If there are 10 entries at $10 each, the prize pool will go back to the players. There may be $5 or $10 withheld from the prize pool, and that $5 or $10 will go toward bonus prizes or future games for members. Participation will have an added benefit down the road, without a doubt.
Bottom line: If people want to have fun and are willing to play, we won't collect a commission for our effort.
So, why should you trust us? As content creators, we are out there sharing our love of Vegas, and hoping you enjoy what we produce. We're not in the business of alienating consumers of our content. If you don't know of us, perhaps you were invited by a friend who does, somebody who knows that we, too, work for a living and are trying to bring a little entertainment to the world, through our love of Vegas. We're not going to jeopardize that trust after uniting a group of Vegas lovers for low-stakes fun and games.
And when the outcome is not linked to a sporting event that we have no control over, we'll make it a point to have an observer join us for the live videos of the game being played. When the video goes live, group members get a notice, so anyone who is available is free to watch the action as it happens.
All you need to do to participate is have an online payment account, such as Venmo, join our group and register for a game when it is announced. You need to be able to pay in U.S. dollars, and if we end up with non-cash prizes, you'll need to live in the United States to receive them.
With all that, let me close by saying that we hope you're interested enough to join us for fun and games.
-- Mike
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