The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority can go on an on about all their city has to offer — yes, the golf courses are impressive and Hoover Dam is worth a day trip to see — but the fact of the matter is people began flocking to this spot in the desert because of gambling. That's no less true today than 50 years ago. Otherwise we might as well go to Branson, Missouri, to catch some Yakov Smirnoff and Andy Williams shows.

And the Vegas gambling is a lot of fun. Usually. But it can be a downright bummer when gamblers don't have a plan and no sense of money management. There's nobody more mopey than the dude who's blown his whole budget on the second day of a four-day trip. So before you ever sit down at a table, decide on a few things:

• How much money am I willing to lose on this trip?
• How much money am I willing to lose on a given day?
• What table limits should I look for?
• How will I know when to leave a table if I'm losing?
• How will I know when to leave if I'm winning?

Answer these, and be disciplined about sticking to your sober, pre-gambling decisions, and you can minimize the danger of wagering over your head or playing with scared money.

How much money am I willing to lose on this trip?

Always remember you went to Vegas for a vacation, and you expect to spend money on a vacation. Pick a sum that's large enough that it's something of a splurge but not so large that it'll put you in a bind if you lose it all. If your losses mean you have to curtail your going-out activities for two weeks after returning from Las Vegas, that's no big deal. If the loss would mean working extra shifts for a month, that's a budget too large.

How much money am I willing to lose on a given day?

Take your trip budget and divide that by the number of days you're staying. That's your daily budget. Then take that daily figure and divide it in half. Now you have a daytime budget and a nighttime budget.

That's easy enough, but here's the part that's often harder to stick to: If you hit your budget limit for a given time period, stop gambling until the next designated section begins. This is regardless of how well or how poor the trip as a whole has been for you. So if you have a daily daytime budget of $500, stick with that, even if you got on a hot streak and turned a big profit the day before.

The benefit to dividing your funds into segments is that if prevents you from burning through all your money then going into the hole chasing losses. Watch for the lines that form at casino ATMs a few minutes after midnight. You don't want to be one of those people.

What table limits should I look for?

Probably the most common mistake gamblers make is betting too large. There's an old saying that claims "you have to bet big to win big," but that old saying neglects to mention that three or four bad hands in a row can break you when betting big. Small bets will allow you to weather a cold streak.

There is no formula that tells you how much you should bet, but a good rule of thumb for a Vegas newbie is to estimate how much they could bet per round — on a hand of blackjack, for example — then halve that. In other words, if you think you'll bet $10 per hand, try betting $5 for starters. You can always increase your base unit later if it's clear that doing so won't hurt you.

How will I know when to leave a table if I'm losing?

Maybe the most difficult thing for a gambler to do is to leave a table when they're losing. Being disciplined enough to walk away with a small loss, though, often saves you from an even larger one.

There's nothing hard-and-fast that will clue you in that it's time go, but following this one rule will help staunch the bleeding of your wallet. As soon as the following thought enters your head, immediately gather the chips you have remaining and leave the table: "I'm just going to play until I am back to even, then I'll quit."

How will I know when to leave if I'm winning?

If leaving the table while losing is the hardest thing for a gambler, leaving while winning is the second hardest. Staying too long is dangerous, though. Many a winning session has turned into a losing one because a player couldn't bring themselves to stop playing.

Here's the thought that is a dead giveaway it's time to pocket your winnings an move on: "As soon as I get 'X' dollars I'll quit." Don't wait for whatever mythical figure that is, just quit. Trying to reach round numbers is particularly a problem, so don't fixate on them. Really, what's the difference between a $487 profit and a $500 one?