Thunder Valley Late Night

It's quite impressive, really, how nice people are in casinos. Playing cards or slots, long losing streaks are common, but people suffer through these horrible tragedies with grace, tolerance, and understanding.

Sometimes there are exceptions, though. Once in a while, you see a broken slot machine - obviously shattered by someone who went medieval on the thieving machine. In general, casino management deals with these cases through inconspicuous ergonomic engineering. Enraged people find that not only is the slot machine encased in armor, but all the chairs are bolted to the floor and all the trash cans affixed to pillars. You are left without weapons, only able to pound your fists into a pulp without leaving anything more than blood on the machine.

I have a friend who can no longer visit Thunder Valley casino with the rest of her family. Several months ago, her brother-in-law became enraged at his long losing streak. He removed all his clothes and proclaimed:

You want my clothes too? Well here they are! You want my body too? Well, HERE IT IS!

This kind of conduct is highly-admirable - exemplary even! But the spectacle of a naked, drunken (not to mention obese) man shouting venemous insults at the casino staff in front of hundreds of patrons was not consistent with casino management goals. He was escorted from the premises and banned from returning. And so my friend has to go elsewhere if she wants to entertain her family in public.

About 3 a.m. Sunday morning, playing blackjack, I began getting enraged. I encountered a massive losing streak that clipped $600 from my bankroll in just twenty minutes. But I had less reason to complain than my friend's brother-in-law: I was still ahead. So I kept my cool - for now.....

Winnings: $1,800, minus $383 original stake, minus $60 E. stake = $1,357.