There are lots of perfectly valid reason why people may need to borrow money at a casino (most are 0 risk situations), the OP is clearly not one of them.

Granted this thread was started 3 years ago, but ironically, literally as I'm reading it, my dealer heading to break asked me if he could borrow a couple of bucks to get something to eat because he forgot his wallet.

Lending a dealer a couple bucks to buy lunch >>>>>>>>>>> lending a random degen a couple hundred to gamble

Villain: Can I borrow $X?
Me: I don't lend or borrow.

And never say "Sorry". You don't owe them money or an apology.

Sure, you don't owe them an apology, but maybe the small benefit of being reflexively polite will overcome the draconian cost of having to utter the word "sorry"?

I always say sorry. Panhandlers, gambling degens, casino employees who have a side business selling insurance, and the other 20 people a day that I say no to - "Sorry, no" or "No, thank you."

It costs nearly zero anything.

No judgement either way, I tend not to use the word 'sorry' if I feel the request is absurd e.g. a degen pestering me for hundos in a casino. Someone asks me for a light, yeah I say 'Sorry mate, I don't smoke'.

When was the last time anyone got in trouble for being too polite?

When was the last time someone got in trouble or caused trouble by being not polite enough?

How many threads complain about overapologetic people?

How many threads complain about underapologetic people?

A degen asking every player in the room for money 'til one bites is not going to appreciate politeness. This sort of degen also views politeness as weakness.

When I plainly state "I don't lend or borrow" without a "sorry", they're never going to ask me for money again. It's pretty simple. It's not rude - I'm plainly stating the facts.

And in my eyes, asking players for money in a cardroom =/= polite.

True enough, but you being polite is about you, not them.

Heaven forbid someone in a poker room views you as weak!



When I decline politely, nobody ever asks twice.

Not sure why you're being so adversarial to the notion of not apologizing when you tell someone they can't borrow money.

What's your game?

Not sure why you're so adversarial about overapologizing.

My game is strong. I don't care if people think I'm a huge pussy. I actively encourage it, actually. The asker is going around asking for money, he's keenly aware of what and who is weak.

When I walk out of a casino, there's plenty of reasons for me to be looking around suspiciously. I don't need to gratuitously piss people off by "showing them who's boss" or being a dick at the table or rubbing my wins in their faces.

How do you people function in broader society? What happens when you're at a club and someone bumps into you and you spill a drink on a third person's shoe?

Ask Aaron Hernandez.

...

I would apologize because I was sorry.

I don't apologize to people when I tell them they can't borrow money because I am not sorry.

His situation was the catalyst for the comment, but I softened the situation to make it more ambiguous who "should" be sorry. The point is that everyone wins when everyone trains themselves to be over-polite. And most importantly, when two of the three people involved is overpolite and the third is a drunk *******, everything still works out (sometimes one overapologetic guy and two *******s works out too). Being overapologetic is the slack in the line of life that's doubly important in places where drinking and emotions are high like clubs and casinos.

Not even a little bit?

Like the next week you find out someone had degenned all his money away and went home and murder-suicided his family and you'd not even consider what would have happened if you had loaned him money?

How you set the bar for feeling sorry is a personal decision, but it's a pretty low bar to set so that you spend the extra effort to say one extra word. I'm not asking you to actually feel so sorry that you actually give money, only sorry enough that you'd say "sorry no" instead of "no."

And society as a whole would be a lot better if people did this in general, instead of making a mental calculation of exactly what is owed (manners-wise) and then aim for the absolute minimum.

To be clear, I'm never giving money. I'm not sorry that I have money and they have none. I'm not even sorry if I personally took their money at the table. But I am sorry that they're so desperate they're hitting up strangers for money. I'm sorry that their family will suffer because of bad decisions. And that's enough to justify saying "sorry no" instead of "no."

I'm gonna go find a backer tomorrow at the casino.

I lend money one time and borrowed twice. The times I borrowed $200 I got up with $400-600 (honestly). I played super cautious and got paid off. Can't say I was scared money, just tried to play my best. I don't like borrowing because I don't wanna give it back (though always do but it feels like ****). At the times I borrowed, I had only 2 buy in with me. I have 3-5 now and works out for me. If I'm out, I'm out. And I never asked, someone offered.

WTF. I'm pretty friendly with everyone at casinos, and I've never had anyone ask me to borrow money, lol. No way in hell I'd agree.

He would have almost certainly degenned away our money, too. So how does that change anything? Aside from the obvious fact that the odds of the loan being repaid have now gone to zero.

Don't lend money. If he does this a lot, notify the floor.

You've been running good.

They seem to ask when you are running good.

I wouldn't loan money to my own mother in a casino. I've never been asked by anyone either.

So that's why no one's asked lately.

I was thinking the same thing. That explains it!