Every year, the owner of the company I work for takes the entire company to Tahoe for an evening of fun and games.  We get on a boat, we drink a lot, and we have a really good time.  This is the second year I’ve been able to go, and it’s something that Melissa and I have been looking forward to.

Melissa and I got to Tahoe several hours early.  We found an arcade and played air hockey for a little bit, then we wandered to the casino.  We had plenty of time to kill, so we figured we’d gamble a little bit, and see what happens.

Side-note… I used to go to Reno with my parents and my Dad would play Keno and drink in the bar while my Mom played blackjack.  If it was Circus Circus, I’d be up playing games or watching shows, and I would occasionally go down, find my parents, and extract from them some more money.  We didn’t have a ton of money, but my Mom usually found enough success playing blackjack that she’d basically pay for our trip through her winnings, and maybe have a little extra.

Blackjack was my Mom’s game, and I’ve tried playing in various casinos, only to find frustration.  The first time I drove through Las Vegas, I had a little bit of extra time and wanted to take a break from my driving, so I went into a casino with twenty bucks and dreams of having some fun.  Five minutes later, I was back out in my car, the twenty gone, and I was back on the road.

Every experience at blackjack has been like that for me.  I’ll limit myself to twenty bucks, get to play the game for no more than five or ten minutes, and then I’m done.  That pattern repeated itself today.

I’m fine with losing a little bit of money, as long as I’m entertained during that time.  A little bummed at not feeling like I got my money’s worth, Melissa and I wandered over and watched an active craps table.  It looked like those people were having fun.

Another side-note… I have terrible luck with dice.  No, seriously.  Lots of people say that, but I’ve had multiple gaming groups see the truth of it with me.  When I throw the dice, things go weird.  Michael and I had joked about he and I going gambling and getting me to be the shooter at a craps table, and I always said that it wouldn’t work; my luck plays out that the dice will land however you don’t want them to land.

I was prepared for craps to be a lot like blackjack.  One of the people working the table explained some of the betting to me, to clear up some of the things I was ignorant of.  I put a five down on the pass, and shortly thereafter, had ten dollars.  Then fifteen.  Then ten again, and it was my turn to throw the dice.

I threw the dice, and things went kind of weird.  It wasn’t exactly good or bad, but it was strange.

Before crapping out, I threw the dice for fifteen or twenty minutes.  A guy standing next to me, Eddie, made hundreds of dollars while I was the shooter, and kept thanking me.  He was a nice guy.  Other people on the other side of the table were also smiling and winning money.  A few people cheered.  One of the guys working the table commented that I was a “good shooter” or maybe just “a shooter.” I didn’t quite hear him right.

Melissa and I were able to hang out at the table for quite a while, never really getting a lot of money, but never running out, either.  We wound up walking away with twenty-five bucks.  We’d basically made back what we’d spent on the blackjack.

I think it was quite a bit of beginner’s luck, but it was a lot of fun.  I didn’t get into the more advanced betting, but that looks interesting, too.  Maybe Melissa and I will play some craps later tonight.  It was definitely fun!