Poker Poker Poker!: [vpFREE] Re: Limit Cell Phone Use In Casino ?

> 2a. Limit Cell Phone Use In Casino ?
> Date: Sun Jan 20, 2008 6:32 am ((PST))
>
> Howdy
>
> How often are we distracted by a lengthy cell phone conversation while we
> try to concentrate on our VP play? I can understand a received emergency call
> or someone calling a loved one to announce their jackpot hit. But turning
> your seat into a phone booth is uncalled for.
>
> I would like to see a posted sign requesting the patron to temporarily
> leave their playing area to converse so as not to disturb their fellow players.
>
> Banning cell phones I think would be unrealistic.
>
>
> What are your thoughts?
>
>
>

Cell phones are a distraction wherever they are - whether someone is making a call while walking down a street, sitting at the next table at a restaurant, on the airplane during the "permitted" minutes before takeoff / after landing, etc etc etc. My opinion is, the quieter the usual environment, the less acceptable the phone. Definitely not during public lectures, concerts, movies, etc., where everyone is in the room for the express purpose of listening to something other than your cell phone, AND (the important part) WITHOUT the interruption / distraction of your cell phone, as an essential element to enjoying the concert.

Other loud noises are equally offensive - loud conversations by drunks (usually slightly less interesting than those who are simply trying to be heard over the other noises), headphones with music that are so loud that they are really speakers, cars that are just one big speaker and are so loud that when they pull up next to you, you feel the vibrations in your own car -- and so on.

I heard someone tell a story once about someone speaking loudly on a cell phone, giving their number out to the other party to the conversation. The person took down their number and then called the "broadcaster" to thank them for telling us all how to reach them, and that he'd try to call them again sometime when they might find it as offensive as he just did!

Casinos, on the other hand, are already loaded with distracting noises, so it's just one more problem, but not as much of an offense to me - any more than the other distractions. I absolutely hate it when I go to bed after a four hour VP session and instead of dreaming of that flashing "call attendant" and the silly music that often plays (don't I wish it were the case that I saw that so much that I then dreamt about it when I quit), I dream of some machine (with no player sitting at it) yelling "wheel - of - fortune" at the passers-by -- and at me.

I've been tempted to call a floor person and tell them that I'm enjoying playing, but the noise from the other machine is going to force me to quit early to avoid a headache, can they please turn down the volume on that thing, or would they rather lose my business!

--BG

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