BIZARRE "LUCK" ON MARCH THIRTIETH

Prior to New Jersey gaming licensees being permitted to gamble in Atlantic City, a friend and current supporter of "MORE GLIB ThAN PROFOUND" told me that he liked playing (gambling) in Connecticut.  He said,"They all 'know' me and treat me like a king." I wanted to remind him (but didn't) that the kindness of a host is nothing more than a superficial marketing ploy.  Try hanging out there without spending money and see how long the welcome wagon lasts. Duh, you'd think he'd recognize that because we (employees) repeatedly see it and participate in it here.

With that in mind, today is March 30th. It was on this date in 1985 that one of my wife Sue's friends from the old neighborhood, in honor of her new husband's 30th birthday, came to Atlantic City for an over-nighter and to introduce the groom to us.

Its NOT important that the wife was a lawyer but it is important to know that the husband was a psychologist. It is also important to bear in mind...and I'll try to be politically correct here, by not calling this gentleman a fat guy. But because of the oath I took in Journalism Blog School, as well as my overall commitment to truth justice and the American way, I can not in good conscious merely say that he was heavy-set-- ergo, let's just say you wouldn't want to get between him and the last pork chop.

Back in those days I was a craps dealer at the ill-fated Atlantis Casino. For those of you who aren't privy to the Atlantic City landscape of 1985, all the casinos in relation to pay and prestige were about the same with the Atlantis being the only exception. Unfortunately, the Atlantis did not stick-out as being better than the rest...it was a toilet.

So when this couple surprised us with this visit, my employer would not grant me a last-minute day off. I put my name on the E. O. (The Early-Out, is a list designed to let people go home early when the casino is satisfied that they have more than enough personnel to open each shift or to also release more people as business dies-out later on).

In the hope of me getting out early, my wife took them to visit me. They entertained themselves in and around the Atlantis, and came back to spend two breaks with me.

At that point, the husband (it was his first exposure to a casino), asked Sue to show him how to play roulette. The girls watched him for a while and then drifted away to get caught-up and do some intense gossiping. When they came to visit me on my next break, they told me the husband was playing roulette. Soon there after, the girls became tired and bored. They told the husband that they wanted to leave, but he was having too much fun and wanted more time.

The girls managed to occupy themselves again but when they returned, hubby wouldn't leave. They gave him twenty more minutes. When the wives came back, the barnacle played the "birthday card" and refused to budge.
This time my wife said, "How much are you in (how much money have you bought in for)?"
He said, "I got twenty dollars worth, five times."
"Oh, I thought you were getting killed and were trying to get your money back."
"No, I'm just having fun."
"Well look, I gotta go to work in the morning...how much money do you have left?"
The husband counted his chips and said, "Thirty bucks."
Sue said, "Good, today's the 30th and you're thirty years old--put the whole damned thirty dollars on number thirty and let's get out of here."
He ignored the feminine wiles of his wife.  But the intensity of her ensuing a dirty sent the proper message. Surprisingly, he did exactly what Sue suggested by putting the whole thirty bucks on number thirty...and WON !!!

The fellow penny-ante players in recognition of his good fortune pounded his back and shook his hand as he asked, "How much did I win?"
The previously anonymous floor supervisor chimed in, "A thousand-fifty, sir."
"Good," said Sue. "Get up! Cash out and leave!"
The supervisor said, "Sir, would you like to be rated?"
Hubby said, "What's being rated."
"Well for one thing, if you're hungry..."

The husband carried his food comp to the casino coffee shop like a trophy. They ordered three shrimp cocktails and two filet mignons. They each had a shrimp cocktail and hubby ate both steaks with all the trimmings...and washed the whole shebang down with a couple of Heinekens.

The "rush" he got from playing was one thing...the bigger thrill from winning was incredible...being congratulated and treated like a superstar by strangers was sensational...BUT...being royally served free gourmet food was orgasmic.

You'd think a psychologist would see through the casino subterfuge but this man didn't. Somewhere in the past 22 years, we fell out of touch with them--but with the knowledge that he had become a degenerate gambler.