Recently
Donald Trump ended a five-year impasse on building a
catering hall and restaurant at Jones Beach. The developer will invest more than $24 million to build the
facility in Wantagh, LI. It will
include a restaurant for 400 and catering areas that could accommodate up to
1,250 guests. He will be given a
40-year lease. The deal was held
up due to the basement Trump wanted to build and the state balked because it
was a flood zone. Yeah, I am not
buying that. It seems the state
found a loophole until the proper palms could be greased. The Donald now has a foothold on the
beaches of Nassau County. Can
gambling be far behind?
gam·ble
v. gam·bled, gam·bling, gam·bles
1. To
bet on an uncertain outcome, as of a contest.
2. To
play a game of chance for stakes.
3. To
take a risk in the hope of gaining an advantage or a benefit.
4. To
engage in reckless or hazardous behavior
There are many diversions that are provided to
the masses by the 1%. Their
favorite is pitting us against each other instead of rising up against
them. I urge people to watch
C-SPAN instead of FOX or MSNBC.
Make an informed decision for yourself, don’t be told what to think. But that is a blog for another
day. When not causing dissention
between the lower ranks, the 1% provides us with gambling. And when it comes to gambling, Trump
trumps them all. Remember the
house ALWAYS wins…that is why he is part of the 1%. The game is forever in his favor.
In my 20’s I spent way too much time with
these distractions…and gambling was among them. Maybe that is why I am not part of the 1%. We would frequent the casinos in
Atlantic City. During that period
in my life I spent a lot of time in South Jersey…and AC was only a short drive
away. Surprisingly I did very
well. My college buddy was always
lucky so I would back him when he was the shooter in craps. One time when our game changed to roulette he got even hotter. With
his system, he hit 9 out of 10 roulette numbers. A little TOO hot for the Casino’s liking…the pit boss closed
the table. No matter, we would
stay in the casino until the 5am closing.
In the early 90's, one of my trips to Atlantic City was
part of a bachelor party. This
consisted of high school friends so my college companion would not be
attending. I could not ride his craps
coat tails. We arrived at Trump
Castle with our large group late Saturday afternoon. We checked in and split into two groups. One went straight to the casino, the
other off for some “entertainment” and dinner. I was in the latter.
The second group obviously did not contain the hard-core gamblers. Many were surprised I joined them. I figured I could always gamble later
since the casino was open until 5am.
As it approached midnight, two of us broke off from the pack. We headed to the casino to see if we
could find the others, but to no avail.
No big deal…we just hit the tables. Black Jack was my friend’s choice that night. I indulged in any game of chance so I
joined him. For the next two hours
my friend continually cashed in, while I stayed around even. Waitresses filled us with alcohol as we
either hit or held. After a dealer change my friend checked
his watch and it was a little after 2am.
He was wobbly and winning so he was calling it a night. I headed back up to the rooms with him,
but no others from our crew had returned.
Not tired, I was off to the casino on my own.
Craps is a quick game, and a quicker way to
lose money…but it was my game of choice.
I was able to join one of the only two craps tables left open at that
point. The dice had just passed my
spot, so it would be a while before I was the shooter. It was quite the eclectic group since
it was the last remaining diehards.
As I was waiting for my turn, the waitress proceeded to bring me
non-stop beers. The 1% like the
masses to gamble drunk, it increases their odds even more. Surprisingly, when it came my time with
the dice, I got on my own roll. If
you are not familiar with craps, if you don’t roll a 2, 3, 7, 11 or 12 on your
initial roll, you can keep on rolling until you hit your original roll, which
is your “point”…or a 7, in which you crap out…literally. There are many ways to win, but I am
just covering making your “point”.
While you try and make your “point” there are other ways to make money
on each roll as long as you don’t “crap” out. My rolling lasted for over an hour. Whoever was left in the casino gathered
around our table…like moths to a flame.
As my rolling continued I got cocky…that comes easy when you have been
drinking for several hours. I took
center stage and enjoyed the spotlight.
I proclaimed I could roll all night without crapping out. It was then a gentlemanly Texan said,
“Son, I know you are on a roll, but can you please just hit the point.” In my continued cockiness I faked
pretending it had been so long that I did not even remember the “point”
number. He informed me sarcastically
it was a six. I responded to him
if he would like me to roll a “hard” six (which is two threes and can pay out even
more). He lifted his 10-gallon hat
back on his head and said, “Shoot Son, I’d LOVE a hard six”. I announced to the gathered crowd, “A
hard six for the gentleman from Texas”.
I rolled away never looking at the dice, my eyes affixed upon the Texan. The crowd roared and I knew the
outcome. Two threes. The Texan smiled and just shook his
head in disbelief. I eventually
crapped out and my shooting time passed.
The Texan waited until it was my turn again, to see if I could catch
lightning in a bottle twice. But before
I knew it I crapped out on my second chance. I apologized to the Texan that I could not repeat my
previous performance. He responded
as he gathered his gains to go, “Son, your last roll made me a whole ton of
money.” With that, he tossed me a
few hundred dollar chips and was off.
The crowd dissipated since the excitement now
dwindled. Soon I noticed I was the
only one at the table. But that
would not deter me. The waitress
continued to bring me my beer which now sat alone upon her tray. I
apologized to the workers for keeping them up. They reminded me they had to be there anyway. I figured I would gamble until close
and then head back up to the room.
I threw chips down for the dealers so they could gamble along with me
since I was the only shooter. After
some time had passed the table began to fill back up. A buzz began to gain momentum in the casino. I noticed my beer was now kept company
on the tray with a group of coffees.
All I could think was what lightweights! However, I was glad to finally have some company and new
rollers. It was at this point the
gang from the first group finally found me. They inquired, “Have you been here all night?” I nodded yes and said I can’t wait
until they close at 5am so I can catch a nap. A puzzled look and one of them responded, “Dude…its 10am!”
Monday morning I was still wondering why the
casino never closed. It was not until
later that day when I was reading the NY Post that I would find out. It seems Trump Castle instituted a
pilot program to keep casinos open all night long. They would be the first to try it and chose that previous
Saturday night to start. There
were many opponents.
The argument was that the addicted gambler needed a cutoff time. With no windows or clocks in the
casino, there is no way to know what time it is without a watch (no cell phones
back then!). The addicted gambler
would never know when it was time to go home and would continue gambling. You could see why casinos would like
this.
In the article the reporter went on to write about his
observations from that Saturday night.
He told a story of a lone gambler, one who solitary stood at the craps table
long after all had left. He went
on to describe that individual and his evening in detail. I didn't need to continue.
I had already lived the whole story.
I had already lived the whole story.
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