Mind your own business

18 March 2014

By Frank Scoblete

Today is the day after St. Patrick’s Day. Some folks are happy and content with their celebration yesterday of the Patron Saint of Ireland who drove out the rats. Others are (shall we say) paying the price for partying too much. That used to be me.

Now casinos have “rats” in them too; “rats” that I wish a modern St. Patrick would drive away. You know the people I mean. Here’s a list:

• The blackjack players who are always telling everyone at the table what to do even if they have no concept of the correct basic strategy. “Don’t hit your 12 against the dealer’s two. That is a dumb move.”


• The blackjack player who believes that there is a set order to the cards and that new players can disrupt that order. “You see, you see, you changed the order of the cards and now we are all losing.”


• The craps players who moan and complain when random rollers seven out -- even though random rollers have no control over what numbers come up. “What the matter with you people? There isn’t a good shooter in the whole bunch!”


• That same craps player who will then pass up his opportunities to shoot but will still moan and groan when the others take their shot.


• The roulette player who constantly makes late bets after the dealer calls out, “No more bets!”


• The roulette player who lacks manners and is constantly shoving other players aside to get his bets down.


• The superstitious baccarat player who becomes incensed when you are winning and he is losing and gloats should you lose a hand. He is convinced you have some supernatural power over what cards are coming out of the decks.


• The slot player who keeps asking you if you are leaving a machine that has hit several times for you. “When do you think you’ll be leaving the machine? I like to think of this machine as my machine.”


• The slot player who moans that the games are fixed and that the casino will ultimately win. Duh!


• The video poker player who creeps up behind you and then starts to give you incorrect advice on how to play your hands.

Casino gambling should be a fun endeavor but some players seem to get it into their heads that you must have fun their way. My Irish grandmother always said, “Mind your own business,” and as always, my Irish grandmother was right!