A Night at the Casino

One cool, starless night I won my first casino jackpot. There was no frills, news coverage or thrills to it. The casino was a small 8 table game room in the Flamingo Beach. But I had beaten the casino dealers again and this time hit the jackpot. That night my life at casinos would change.

Most casinos do their best to protect the players and themselves for the criminal element with the surveillance cameras and a large security force. This casino was no exception. I played three Pai-gow poker hands and won them outright. My casino bankroll started to grow.

Encouraged by the casino high limits, I placed higher bets. This time I bet four $500 chips. I won again. The casino changed the dealer and sent a dainty, knock-out model to the table. I loved this casino.

I remembered the reality TV Show that always started with the punch line: A casino is a facility that accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are often placed near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships and other vacation attractions. Some casinos are known for hosting live entertainment events, such as concerts and sporting events. Worldwide there are about 4750 casinos. Let’s go to the casino.

So here I was at a Flamingo Beach casino, but winning my hands off. My bankroll was well over $250,000 – including the jackpot. The model shared four more hands of Pai-gow poker. I was still betting $2,000 per hand. I won three. Another player joined the table. He started by betting a $500 chip.

He lost. I won again. Oh, I love this casino.

Casino games usually have mathematically-determined odds that ensure the house retains a long term advantage over the players. This advantage is called the house edge. Tonight I was the house. We played for another hour or so, before they changed the dealer again. This time it was a man.

It suddenly dawned on me. The casino management was trying to distract me. Break my lick. First a model, now a show boy. The casino failed, I was not gay. I won another half an hour more. And then it happened.

A tall man dressed in a black suit walked up to me and told me to follow him. He must work with casino for his uniform was labeled with the name and had the casino colors. I turned in my chips then followed him.

He led me to an office at the north wing of the casino. There were two other men inside and the taller one introduced himself as the General Manager of the casino. His demands were few. My games were honest but they wanted to lower my limits, or I had to change the game to keep the same limits.

I agreed to lower my limits to only $500 per game. The casino was still no match. After another hour of play, I was still winning more than I was losing.

At about one o’clock that night, I left the casino. My total winnings were about $273,000.

That year I visited the casino over ten times more but never won again. I played pai-gow but always lost more than I won. I guess it was something about that night. Just a clear, starless night with a cool wind.