The Friendly Casino

17 February 2022

By Royal Flushes

CINDY: Do you have any scenes from movies that accurately capture the casino experience, even a little bit?

ABBY: It is not a casino movie but I think some scenes from “Lost in America” fit the bill. In some way, shape or form, I think these scenes could fit every casino player at one time or another.

CINDY: I know exactly what you’re talking about.

ABBY: Albert Brooks’ character David Howard and his wife, Linda, played by Julie Hagerty, quit their yuppie jobs to go on a road trip to discover America. They liquidate everything and take their cash with them on the road. But it isn’t “Easy Rider” that’s for sure.

During their night in Las Vegas, Linda loses all their money while Howard sleeps, which means their life-savings are gone. That’s her price for playing roulette. They are now busted.

For sure, many of us have had nights where we have gone a little too far in our play and we would wish we could take it all back. Sadly, we can’t.

CINDY: The critical scene after David discovers their situation is when he goes to the casino boss, brilliantly played by Garry Marshall, to ask for their money back. He tries to convince the boss that the casino would be known as a casino with a “heart” if it gave the couple their money back. America would applaud this casino for doing so. The boss simply says in different ways over and over. “We don’t give money back.”

They are busted. They are broke. They must now work in the real America at jobs they hate with people that are not so lovely.

They are “lost in America.”

ABBY: Now, you went through something similar to that, yes?

CINDY: In my second year of teaching, I was so drained I found it hard to go in every day. I was ready to leave it all and, I don’t know, just take off for somewhere “out there.” I was completely drained.

ABBY: But you didn’t, did you?

CINDY: No. But believe it. We went to the casino during that time and I found I could relax in all that action. My being drained was drained from me and I got my energy back.

ABBY: But did you ever have the Linda Howard devastating loss?

CINDY: Nothing like that but I did have nights where I should have stopped how much I was betting. That I learned to do rather quickly since I wanted to continue to play without going broke as Linda did.

ABBY: So, rather than the casino sending you off broke, it actually helped you get your head on straight?

CINDY: Correct. I guess you could say that in some way, I found the "friendly casino" but that place was right inside myself.

ABBY: And you had an entire teaching career and you never became “lost in America.”

CINDY: Correct.

ABBY: Good.

CINDY: “Lost in America” is a good movie.

ABBY: Yes!