Farewell Las Vegas

2006-01-11T07:42:00.000-08:00

Table of Contents

Chapter IV

2006-01-11T07:40:00.000-08:00

Blackjack also known as 21 is a card game. It is also the term for a leather-covered bludgeon with a short, flexible shaft or strap, used as a hand weapon. Trying to win consistently at 21 is akin to hitting yourself repeatedly with a blackjack. The interesting thing about the game though is that in a perfect world where mathematics reigns supreme you can gain an edge on the house playing blackjack. This is because a genius by the name of Edward Thorpe developed a system of assigning numerical values to cards whereby with some practice, and good memory those cards could be counted. That ever changing card count during a game of blackjack is related to the number of face cards and aces left in the deck. The player can then bet, and make drawing decisions based on the card count at any given time. Although Thorpe, and others were able to win respectable sums from the casinos back in the sixties before the technique was widely known it didn't take long for the casinos to realize that they were losing to a new mathematical card strategy. At that point the party was essentially over for card counters in major gambling centers with the exception of a dedicated few who were willing to go up against all of the various counter measures directed against them by casinos. These casinos were sometimes backed by organized crime, and aside from changing blackjack rules, or shuffling frequently they could resort to more serious measures such as barring the offending player, or having "security" threaten them, or beating them senseless on occasion. That's a tough way to make a living. The irony of this is that the card counters were simply using information supplied to them by the dealt cards to gain an advantage, but the casinos called it a form of cheating. The fact is casinos reserve the right to bar anyone they choose, and that right could sometimes apply to a winning player who simply gets lucky without using any strategy. Casinos are not the players friend. They are in the business of making money, and that is the bottom line. Now I have met friendly dealers, pit bosses, casino hosts, and cashiers, but in their minds behind that friendliness there is often a hidden veil that labels the player as an adversary. If you're going to gamble in a casino don't kid yourself as to what kind of a situation you're dealing with. They do not want you to win.

I was a legal teenager eighteen years of age in Alberta when I played my first blackjack game back in the seventies, and unfortunately I didn't have a clue how to play the game. It was sponsored by the newly minted government gaming commission, and took place in a field house during Klondike days which is an annual festival celebrating the gold rush. No one running this casino knew what the hell they were doing, and the organizers were obviously in over their heads. Even doing something seemingly simply like dealing cards, and collecting bets actually requires a lot of protocol, experience, and methods to do properly. It was completely disorganized. The dealers were naive, sloppy, and made all sorts of errors including improper bet pay outs often in the players favor. The boys in Vegas would have cringed. A cheater or card counting pro could have taken them for a bundle, but I knew nothing about the game then. It didn't take long though for a few permanent casinos to set up shop, and clean up the operations. The players didn't know what hit them...

Chapter III

2006-01-11T07:37:00.000-08:00

"Gambling makes the mind burn. Can this be turned into the fire of purification and understanding?"
- Miron Stabinsky with Jeremy Silman
Zen and the Art of Casino Gambling (1995)

What circumstances create a dedicated gambler, and why do some gamblers fall off the precipice into the abyss of degenerate, addicted gambling? I don't pretend to have all the answers to those questions. I was an avid gambler myself, and did suffer significant losses (not in casinos though). However, I never crossed over that magical line into the realm of severely, addicted gambling where one is financially, and spiritually bankrupt. Such individuals can resort to immoral, and even illegal acts in order to obtain cash for gambling.

I've had at least a passing acquaintance with such people, and you can't help but feel that in addition to their own shortcomings society has let them down as well. Science is beginning to shed some light on factors that contribute to gambling problems. Studies would indicate that there is a relationship to the serotonin deficiency disorders such as depression, and obsessive compulsive disorder (repetitive betting could certainly be seen as a compulsion). Co-morbid addiction problems are more frequent in hard core gamblers as well. Of course, there are many who would argue, and with some rationale that it is a problem of the spirit, that the addicted gambler becomes bereft of spiritual influence, or discipline. I would subscribe to all of these theories to some degree. If you know someone who may be in the throes of gambling addiction, or if you are heading down that lonely road yourself please know that there are many community resources in most North American municipalities that can provide help. On the internet there are standardized tests or questionnaires available to answer, that can indicate if someone has a significant gambling problem. There are numerous chapters of Gamblers Anonymous in almost every major city, and newer Gambling Decisions programs are in some jurisdictions as well. It is important to intervene for many reasons, but attempted suicide is a significant risk in advanced gambling addiction.

With that in mind, I return to the story. It was one of those fateful, life events that my coming of age (Eighteen) coincided with the legalization of Casino gaming in Alberta. I don't think that one can under estimate the influence of legalized gaming when it comes to influencing youthful minds, and society at large to participate in gambling. This in turn has tremendously widened the net of potential problem gamblers. What game became my recreational passion? Blackjack...

The Story continues here...

Chapter II

2006-01-11T07:35:00.001-08:00

"Winning isn't going to change your life. So don't bet so much that you can get hurt. If that's what betting is all about for you, wear dog tags so they know where to ship the body"
- Larry Merchant
The National Football Lottery (1973)

It doesn't always serve a purpose to air our private lives in public. Sometimes though, as a writer or journalist, there may be some value to others in sharing past experiences. For better or worse, the events I am going to relate did happen.

Despite these events, I have been fortunate enough to reach middle age healthy of mind, body, spirit, and "finances", with a wife I adore. I've reached this point despite the precarious path I once traveled, and some of the characters I rubbed elbows with. It is only now after abandoning that negative path, and with sober reflection on those events, that I can offer up a cautionary tale. I hope the reader finds it provocative, informative, and entertaining. Who knows? This story might act as a small beacon of light, and warning flag to someone presently caught in a web of financial, and gambling intrigue...

The Story continues here...

Chapter I

2006-01-11T07:35:00.000-08:00

"Beating them three weeks in a row in Las Vegas is like going into the lion's den and coming out with meat under both arms"
- Larry Merchant
The National Football Lottery (1973)

The following story is not fiction. It is the real life account of a one time Vegas high roller, and financial risk taker who came face to face with the dark side of chance, and his own personal demons. Ultimately it is a story of redemption, and a journey of the spirit, with a little humor thrown in.

Let's get this straight. Occasional "gaming" can be fun, and harmless, but gambling is a passion that can create a lot of strife in your life. Gambling can destroy relationships, and chip away at your soul. Gambling can lay you low even if you somehow learn to win consistently. There are millions out there who don't want to hear this. Right now they're just too busy having a great time gambling, or thinking about future gambling. Why am I telling you this? I am no evangelist, and I don't enjoy preaching to people. I am telling you this because in a "former life" I enjoyed all of the perks and privileges of a Vegas high roller. I was comped for luxury suites, meals, beverages, deluxe shows, and limousine trips to and from the airport. I was invited to a private party where Stevie Wonder was the musical host (couldn't make it), to a heavy weight boxing match with Evander Holyfield (missed that), and went to see Celine Dion with my wife courtesy of Paris, Las Vegas (fantastic show). I am telling you this because despite the lavish treatment, and exciting times it was ultimately a dead end. I know what you are thinking. Another big time loser who finally packed it in after losing a small fortune. The truth is somewhat stranger. I was actually a net winner in Vegas. It must have been part of some great cosmic joke in my life, that I was destined to win in Vegas, only to discover another more sinister form of financial risk taking...

The Story continues here...