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Tales from A Casino

Published on January 21st, 2010
by Craig Carilli

I can only compare it to a gazelle sensing a cheetah in the wild.  That remarkable first step of sheer quickness towards the nearest point of escape.  This is the movement of the hardcore regular gambler when they get a phone call they can’t avoid.  This action is usually preceded by ignoring their ringing cell phone 5-6 times before finally answering it. Like startled prey they get to the nearest exit with a quickness not normally expected from people who spend hours at a time with their butts firmly planted in chairs at Black Jack and Pai Gow tables.  They are getting away from the distinct sounds of the casino.  Clanging dice cups and shuffling chips are loud on a table and the person on the other end of the line has no doubt heard these background noises while talking to this person in the past.  The amazing part of all this is that most of the gamblers will not only scoop up their chips as the leap from the seat, but also remember to shout, “lock my seat” so they will not lose their spot at the table after returning from dealing with the annoying non-gambler phone call.

The intrusion by work, family and friends is hard on the Gambler, but like all addicts they will not be undone by this.  There is always enough time in the day to sneak in a few hands even after hard promises of “no more gambling.”  They sneak in for a quick 20-30 minutes any time of day; before work, lunch, etc.

“I’m just here to win a quick 100 bucks and I’m out.  I’m not greedy.”  These are the famous last words of more than a few who end up not going home that night and calling in sick from work the next morning because their still in the casino.  Others will even come in for a few hands while they are supposed to be working.
One player fell into this last group.  Not quite a daily regular, but certainly a weekly one.  He did construction whenever he could get the work and would always show up to the casino after he was payed.  Not a sound investment strategy, but when you feel lucky, you feel lucky.  I hadn’t seen this player in over a week when he came in on a Tuesday around 2pm.  He sat down at a Pai Gow Poker table and cashed in a $100 bill for chips.  I overheard him say, “I’m just gonna double this and then I’m out of here.”  10 minutes later he had lost the $100 and pulled out another one.  Visibly upset, much more than normal when losing, he proceeded to lose that $100 and pulled his last $100.
That’s when his phone rang.
He took a couple of steps away from the table and after a couple of seconds said, “I’m at Home Depot now.  Sorry.  Sorry.  I’ll hurry up.”  I guess he figured the sounds of the casino could be mistaken for a busy hardware store and the nearest exit was a good distance from the table he was playing at.  He sat back at the table and bet his last white chip ($100).  He lost.  After asking the dealer and a few other players for money and getting denied, he left.  I have no idea how he convinced whoever had hired him on that job to trust him to go pick up supplies, but I know it would never happen again.  I don’t remember seeing him after that day, but not for any nefarious reasons.  More than likely he started playing at another casino or took a break for a while.
Next time we’ll get a close look into he world of a certain group of players that live in every casino I’ve ever worked in.  They never have money of their own, never seem to go home, but somehow stay fed and, most importantly, find a way to make the occasional bet.  They are the loud and terminally unlucky, “Shoe-shiners.”

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