Frugal Las Vegas - Actual Spending v. Budget

Well, if you leave out the gambling, I didn't do too bad.


Round Trip airfare : $261 actual (on target)

Conference Fee:  $295 actual (on target)
Parking at Airport : $0 (I'm being dropped off)
Baggage fees : $0 (flying Southwest)
Rental Car for 6 days: $125 actual (on target)
Gasoline : $18 actual (under by $22)
3.5 star Hotel off the Strip : 2 nights for $0 (comp based on the gambling I did in 2010 at the mystery shopping conference)
2.5 star Hotel off the Strip: 2 nights for $52
2.5 star Boutique Hotel in Vegas: 2 nights for $59

Food : $14 actual ($46 under budget.  Can you believe it?  I spent $4 on one meal; the rest are tips on free meals)
Souvenirs : $0 actual ($20 under budget.  I won a couple decent prizes at Binion's so I brought them home instead)
Other uncategorized : $7 ($31 under budget - I went to see the movie Jack and Jill)
Gambling: see below

Total Budget (sans gambling) : $831

Gambling:  Suffice to say I left this out for a reason.  It's really rather embarrassing.  I wanted to try the Martingale Betting System just to find out how I would do.  I was doing alright for a couple of days.  At one point I was ahead by $140 or so.  Then on one night, a statistical anomaly that I just can't figure out... happened.  I lost something like 17 hands in a row.  Granted, at one point I STOPPED doubling my bets and started over at the table minimum.  But then it just kept happening.  I kept losing hand after hand after hand.  I know it isn't so, but the game felt rigged!  In all, I lost $1,924 in gambling.  See, I admitted it.  Probably the stupidest thing I've done with my money since I bought a new BMW in 2009.