The myth. The Legend. Atlantic City. Saying I went to AC is a bit misleading since we didn’t leave the Tropicana Resort for more than five minutes, a brief foray into a somehow unnatural natural beach environment that felt awkward and uncomfortable from the moment we left “the bubble”; an artificial world with rules and lives that exist only within the cubic volume of highly conditioned air. It was not my first time in a casino, but it was the first time I have been in the company of casino royalty and treated as such. Eric is a gambler and The Trop wants his action, so they comp lavishly to He and his court; free drinks and extravagant meals to complement the complimentary suite. His end of the deal is to play their games and play big. And maybe bring friends who are at least willing to throw some crumpled twenties on the craps table. I have played poker before, but never with real clay casino chips. Ridiculously, my very first hand of Texas Hold ’em was pocket Aces, on which I managed to instantly lose half my chips. Two hands later came pocket Kings, which I lost to a grizzler banking on a 3 and a 4. Nearly wiped out, I held on until going all in on pair of Jacks, pair of Kings — lost to a flush. I sat stunned for a moment until the dealer asked if I wanted to buy in again. No. Since then, the experience has haunted me as I revisit the ghosts of my plays, yet I am fascinated and intrigued by this game’s multilevel action; knowing when to hold ’em, knowing when to fold ’em, knowing how to bet, knowing how to bluff, knowing how to read your opponents and knowing how to make every small advantage work to your favor. It is brutally beautiful.
I have to say, however, that the rest of the casino games are pretty stupid. They are games of chance with odds stacked always and usually heavily in the house’s favor. Baccarat is essentially like betting on a coin flip with commission. Slots are so frighteningly mind numbing it pains me more to think about watching the inhabitants of Slotsville more than my own $50 fail at the poker table. Craps can make die rolling very expensive. But that’s not to say that they aren’t fun and good for a little thrill, especially when your entourage gets hot and makes a stirring late-night comeback to win more than most people earn in a month… It is a warped economy for sure in the bubble, and while I lack whatever fearlessness might be required to confidently ride my luck, I felt moments of surging adrenaline and can see the grip it has on some. My bottom line is that I lost an amount I can afford and had a great time doing it in this parallel universe of timeless financial mayhem.