Forget Seven Come Eleven, Double Down Instead

As we had arranged, Debbie and I found each other in the bustling baggage claim at McCarron Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada. We easily found the taxi line, and took our cab to the Trop.

The Tropicana Las Vegas is not the prime piece of real estate it used to be. However, it is actually better than it was a scant few years ago, having done a bit of remodeling and replacement of their slot machines. Our room was nice enough, always decorated with the pinks and blues of the '50's, and rather large as hotel rooms go, but in truth we didn't spend much time there.

We had already done a few of the things we had planned, things we always did when we arrived in Sin City: We had lunch at Mon Ami Gabi at the Paris Hotel/Casino. We paid homage to Star Trek: The Experience at the LV Hilton. We had breakfast at the Luxor. And we walked up and down the Strip, ducking into casinos from time to time.

But on our last day there, we decided to do something different. Debbie wanted to play craps, and she just didn't understand my drawings on napkins at our meals when I tried to explain it. Actually, I only tried to explain three games: the pass line, the come line, and placing bets, as the rest is crap. So we agreed to attend a morning lecture on how to play craps.

We wanted to go downtown to do this, but we didn't get out of the room fast enough. But every casino, more or less, has these lessons. I figured the Trop probably did, too. Sure enough, once we got downstairs at a quarter to 10, we found an empty craps table with a little sign on it, advertising the lessons at 10.

About 10 people showed up, crowding around the half-table to listen to Lou explain how to play. The lesson was supposed to last half an hour, but when left, at a good hour and 10 minutes after he started, he was still going on. What impressed me about him is that he actually plays. Not at the Trop, I'm sure, but he plays. And he only plays one game: Place.

He had some great advice, and I came out of the session with probably more than Debbie, as she still found it confusing. Perhaps one reason for the confusion was that he spent a great deal of time explaining why he doesn't play other games, like the Come line, or Field. And that may be confusing for some. And then, after he got through talking about all that, and why he only places bets, he talked about money management. It was all so fascinating.

So, armed with our new knowledge, her $20 and my $100, we went to the Four Queens downtown and, chasing the two men away who were already there (I had no idea why they left, but I can guess...), began to play, all by ourselves at the big, green $5-minimum craps table.

And five minutes later, we walked away. Completely broke. Er, not broke, but having lost the money we had planned to play.

So then we went to the blackjack tables to sit down, get a drink on the house (soft drinks in our case), and lick our gambling wounds.

We played for a few minutes at the single-deck blackjack table, but I was miffed at the 6-5 payoff for blackjack. I remember the Las Vegas Advisor reporting that this was the new rage in Las Vegas. We left, and walked around, looking for a shoe and another $5-minimum table. We sat down and didn't leave for another hour.

I won $300 there. There were times we'd lose, certainly, but I was looking for streaks where I could use the house's money to double up on my bet, and keep it going. I had two such streaks in that hour. So I got the money back that the craps demons had taken so quickly. In fact, I got back all the money the slot demons had taken over the last three days. Gosh, there are a lot of demons in Vegas.

I gave up on craps quite a few years ago because of the quickness of the losses. Because of the wallowing depression that inevitably accompanies such losses, at least for me. And I gave up on blackjack because it's a slow game, and if you're by yourself, not a very exciting one. I took up video slots (like my favorite Reel 'Em In) because it was a slow outgo with an exciting bonus round.

I still like the video slots. But I now have two other games I'll pursue. Again. As long as I set a limit for what I can lose I'll be fine.

So, Debbie and I had a good time, we ate some really nice meals (although no buffets this time), and had a great time gambling together. I hope we get back on the annual habit of meeting here. And, who knows? Maybe we'll try the 'ol craps game again.