You could sit down and space out at one for a while, or just drop a buck or two as you walked through on your way somewhere. As a young man I didn’t have the kind of disposable income that allowed me to sit at a $15 blackjack table for more than 20 seconds at a time, so I had to find a cheaper way to get my fix. When I turned 21 I went out to Las Vegas for the first time, as many folks do. It’s invigorating! Exciting! It’s what casinos are all about-the dream that in one instant everything will turn around and you’ll be set for life. Yes, I can see how you would find such a sight to be depressing, but I feel the opposite. Hopefully you’ll see some blue-haired old lady with a tube of oxygen strung under her nose and a Virginia Slim hanging from her lips, staring catatonically at the machine in front of her as she whiles away the hours hoping for a massive victory. I think of endless rows of slot machines as far as the eye can see.Īs you peer down each aisle you’re greeted by a cacophony of beeps, bloops and coins tumbling into metal bins. What do you picture in your brain when you hear the word “casino?” I’m sure some of you think of a raucous craps table exploding in celebration or a ball bouncing slowly on a roulette table as gamblers stare intensely praying their number comes up.
