Saturday, March 6, 2010

Can't Read My Poker Face


Recently I had the pleasure of my first adult trip to Atlantic City. I was there one other time when I was too young (by too young, I mean that I was 18) to actually touch anything. We walked through the casino and I was forbidden from leaving the carpeted path, keeping me far, far away from the shiny slots.

This time I was allowed to not only walk up to a machine, but touch it, sit down in front of it, put money into it, and even have a beverage while watching "I Dream of Jeanie" suck away my entire paycheck.

Allow me to rewind for a moment...

I'm not really a gambler and I never would have gone to Atlantic City had I not run into a few old high school friends the night before. We found ourselves talking about the job market and how we all have Bachelor degrees and no real job to speak of (at least I'm not the only one). My friend Randy told me that he makes most of his money in AC playing poker. You see, Randy has been playing poker since middle school and I guess he's gotten quite good at it. I mentioned that I've never been to AC and Randy insisted that I join them the next morning. It felt like a challenge and I decided that I couldn't refuse.

Back to AC...

The Borgata was big, beautiful, and shiny...but it didn't like me as much as I liked it. That's right...the Borgata took almost all of my money. What does one do at the Borgata when she has no money left to gamble? At first I found myself thinking, "That's okay. I'll just go outside for a walk and make some new friends. The boardwalk is a fun place." Not so much...mostly because the Borgata is one of the few casinos in AC that are nowhere near the boardwalk. So there I was alone in the middle of the slot machines while Randy & Company were off playing poker. So I did laps around the Borgata and called some friends on the phone to tell them about my foolish gambling decisions.

As I was left to contemplate what happened and where the day went wrong I got a text from Randy. He told me to come join him in the poker room (I think he felt bad for leading me to my financial demise). I find the poker room and (having no money) just sat behind Randy. As we're chatting he whispers into my ear....

Randy: Dude...that guy across the table looks like Nugget.
Ice Queen: Who the hell is Nugget?
Randy: We went to high school with him. Look at the guy...doesn't he look familiar?

He didn't look familiar...but he did look angry. Apparently he was down about $800.

Ice Queen: I guess...
Randy: Take a picture of him.
Ice Queen: What? You want me to ask him for a picture?
Randy: No! You'll have to sneak one with your phone. He's a miserable bastard so he can't know you're doing it.

I know what you're thinking..."Ice Queen, this sounds like a terrible idea and there's no way this could end well for you." I would agree with you. Is it even legal to take a picture during a poker game? I feel like people would think you're cheating somehow and I would be hauled out of the Borgata in cuffs if I got caught.

On the other hand, it felt like a challenge...

Wait, isn't that how I got myself into this mess to begin with? Yes...that's right. Perhaps I should just quit while I'm behind and take it easy with these challenges I felt I was being faced with.
But then again I find it hard to resist a challenge.

PS...I looked up Nugget from high school on Facebook. He totally looked like him.

16 comments:

Cathy said...

I'm headed to a casino tonight to celebrate a friends b-day. I'm totally going to be taking secret pictures of angry gamblers! You've somehow just challenged me to do it. Sorry you lost money, that'll probably happen to me too:(

Jaime said...

such a happy looking guy...

i'm not a big fan of gambling. i have lousy luck and i work too damn hard for my money to piss it away.

Megan said...

if i were in your shoes, i would have done the exact same thing, from agreeing to going to AC to taking a picture of some guy who looked like someone i knew.

gotta give you props on the photo - it really is great and i am thoroughly impressed.

Cafe Fashionista said...

I'm kind of in love with that picture - it's too funny. Though, oddly enough, that guy looks extremely familiar. :/

I haven't been to Atlantic City since I was four. Back then there was a guy who would walk around in a silver suit with a big diamond for a head (like at Disneyland) called Diamond Jim. I adored him. I want to go back!! :)

Anonymous said...

I LOVE taking sneaky pictures of weird looking people! When I see someone I find really funny for some odd reason, I try to snap a pic and send it to my friend or brother. They do it, too. It's almost like a contest.

Slots are a ripoff.... I won $5 from one once.... and lost $50.

Poindexter said...

he does look angry! but the exhiliaration of the challenge must have been worth it.

Anonymous said...

Sneaky pictures are THE BEST!

KaLynn ("MiMi") said...

sounds like so much fun. well except for losin your money! that would be me too.

sneaky pics are fun!

Jennifer Lynn said...

He didn't know you were taking it??? Looks like he is looking right at you:)....You Are Good!

Katherine said...

Atlantic City sounds oh so fun!

You won Pay It Forward. I'll need you to send me your address, so I can send you your gift!

http://ckeoctober.blogspot.com/2010/03/pay-it-forward-winners-and-gifts.html

Sarah With Scissors said...

Hahaha... the random sneaky pictures are the best...

I'm heading to vegas in a month and I'm looking forward to snapping a few of these.

Kate said...

Oh I am impressed with the stealth photo skills. I tried gambling once and decided I would rather buy clothes than lose money - I have the worst luck.

Kate xx

Pesto Sauce said...

Seems ATlantic City is exciting...should plan to look up if I visit US

Theresa said...

Loved the picture. In the dictionary "feeling crappy" has that picture next to it.

Have a Happy Easter.

The Queen said...

hide.. he's looking right at you..

Anonymous said...

He looks EXACTLY what I would expect a hardened-by-casino-life-in-Atlantic-City guy named Nugget to look like!