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Casinos are a melting pot of people, wealth and attitudes.
I guess that’s why they are fun to visit every so often. A little bit of a gamble, a few beers, and catch a glimpse of lady luck if you are, what’s the word, lucky.
I’ve been to five casinos. Most in the UK. I’ve seen one or two on cruise liners heading towards the Bahamas, and back. Although I’ve never played because there were better things to do.
I do enjoy a night at the casino.
To all you non gamblers out there, you need to start experiencing the attraction because you don’t even need to bet much money if any at all.
You do meet a kind of sub culture of human being at the casino. Perhaps it’s the bright lights, sound of the slots, the buzz of the crowd and the ‘ding ding’ of a happy punter giving a croupier a tip which just adds to the hustle and bustle.
I must admit you do see a few strange sights at the casinos.
Have a read about these 5 and see if they sound familiar to you.
1) We’re Talking Big Money
In your average casino dotted around the UK there is mostly small bets placed. I say that, thinking most people bet from £100 – £2000. There are people who bet more and those who bet less. To be fair, I am someone who bets less than £100. It doesn’t interest me betting more as I follow the maxim: ‘Bet what you can afford to lose!’ I’ve seen a couple of big spenders who stood out from the crowd. The first was at Great Yarmouth, Grosvenor Casino. The bloke is a regular and as far as I know bets solely on the roulette. I’ve seen him betting several thousand pounds on many occasions. One particular evening he was betting at one of the live roulette tables. Interesting, he had some £1000 chips which I have never seen before. He kept breaking them in £100s, £25s and £5 chips. Betting several hundred a spin. He seemed to hit a winning spell with a few single numbers coming in. It all looked good as he must have won £6,000 in a matter of 30 minutes. Whether a friend or an acquaintance comments on this winning spree. He said: ‘That’s good news as I was down £9000 a bit earlier.’ So he was still losing money. It just shows the swings that happen at casinos. Bet big money you can win big (and lose) and the house edge will, without doubt, grab your cash in the long term.
2) Betting Even Bigger Money, While My Wife Drinks Tea
That wasn’t my wife drinking tea or me betting big money. However, I witnessed this event at Grosvenor Casino, Luton. It was a good few years back. They had some kind of meal deal and entertainment. It was a decent setting and the punters seemed chatty and it was a nice atmosphere. I sat at the roulette table betting my 50p chips. Yes, last of the big spenders. As it happened, I was on a winning streak and was happy with proceedings. An Indian gentleman sat at the table. He was probably in his forty or fifties. I didn’t take much notice until he pulled out a wad of fifty pound notes from his jacket pocket. He was betting across the table and having about the worst luck you could imagine. He just couldn’t get a winner whatever he did and he must have been betting £500+ a spin. I was cranking up my winnings and I thought if only he had followed me he’d been even richer than he already was. He carried on losing at a pace. Then his wife arrived and sat next to him at the table drinking a cup of tea. She looked relaxed. I don’t think either had a care in the world. One of our group said: ‘We’ve been watching for the last hour and he’s lost £15,000.’ Not what anyone needs, even a rich bloke. Anyway, I went to cash in my chips and won £75. I was happy with my win as everyone else seemed to have a disaster and one of my cousins literally didn’t get a winner all night playing 3-card poker (and that takes some doing). I went to the cashing out office and who was next to me at the other counter. The Indian man. He had run out of cash and using his bank cards to get more chips to play. No kidding, he had the whole desk area in front of him covered with chips mostly £500 and another colour which may have been a grand a time. He must have had £30,000 in front of him. I have no idea if he went away winning or losing but it was time for us to go back home.
3) Taxi
Who doesn’t need a taxi at the casino? At Great Yarmouth’s Grosvenor Casino there is a little bloke. I’m not sure if he is Argentinian or from somewhere else (he’s obviously from somewhere) but for whatever reason I imagine Yarmouth is called home. He likes a gamble and perhaps he is addicted to gambling. He’s a cheery soul and I hope for his sake he isn’t a problem gambler. He might be looking at me and thinking the same. But what I found disturbing is that he’s betting at the casino and when he gets a fare for his taxi he goes and then comes back to play a little more. I couldn’t help wonder what his life was all about.
4) I’m A Chinese Man Playing Roulette
I guess this isn’t just about race because I can imagine many people have had the same problem. I have never been a problem to anyone at the casino and try to be appreciating of people because you can get a bit of a crazy crowd or people who treat the croupiers like a piece of shite. Playing roulette, sitting on the seats, you’ve got the table there before you and it’s not a bad place to be. However, as the table gets busier you have a few people standing behind you and they are eager to place their bets too. With the croupier just about to say: ‘No more bets.’ Some Chinese bloke literally lays across my back to place his bets. Some sweaty beast with no manners just presses down on you as they place there bet without a please or thank you or sorry for being a pain in the arse. You need to think about where you are sitting at the roulette table as you will be part of the soft furnishings.
5) Easy Pickings At The Table
I haven’t seen much skulduggery at the casinos. Perhaps that happens slightly down the road when some poor soul gets mugged. They have security so it’s unlikely anyone will get to handy at the scene of the crime. I guess it all happens if you wait long enough. No one likes a cheat. And I noticed a touch of cheating at the Nottingham Grosvenor Casino. We went out that night, my brother and I, and a few friends to watch Mrs Brown’s Boys. What a load of sh*t that was. They couldn’t be bothered to write a new script, the seats were so far away you needed to watch the show on the large screens and it was a truly crap experience. It’s a strange one but neither of us ever watched Mrs Brown’s Boys on TV. Anyway, we went to the casino thereafter where I won a few quid. At the table there was a bloke who was placing £25 chips but chatting far too much and not really paying attention to what was happening. He won. The croupier pushed the chips towards him. Some other bloke picked up his chips (probably a couple of hundred) and walked off. Finally, the bloke looked up at the last few wins, at least realising he had a winner, and asked where his chips had gone. Five minutes of playing back the footage revealed the mysterious man who had pocketed the chips, probably waiting and hoping it would go unnoticed. Someone from the casino walked over and asked him about it and he tried to give the excuse of saying he thought the winnings were his. Clearly he knew they weren’t. They asked him to give the chips back and he did. I’m not sure if he was barred from the casino or they let it go. It pays to keep an eye on the table at all times.
