The Other Side of Gambling
Her name for this blog will be Bridgette. Her name is not real but she is. I didn't take her for a compulsive gambler when I sat down next to her at the Ultimate Texas Holdem Table at Harrahs. She bets the minimum $10 bet like I do and she's attractive, mid 30's--blond hair, pleasant personality.
I order a cocktail but she doesn't because she said she's driving home soon. We talk while we play cards and she tells me her husband is in the service and away in Iraq. We both have daughters and we talk about that for a while. We talk to the dealers, we play, we hope we hit a Trips Bonus hand, we talk to the other players, we bet, we play. Her cell phone rings. It's her daughter, 12, wondering when she's coming home. Her daughter is at home alone with her younger child. Bridgette tells her daughter she'll be home in about an hour.
The table gets "hot" in that lots of Trips Bonus hands are paid off and everyone's having a blast and you can't get a seat if you're not already playing. Hours go by and it's not that we're winning alot--we're just not losing and a bit ahead. Bridgette's cell phone rings again and she talks to her daughter, hangs up and says she has to leave soon---her daughter wants her to come home.
We play some more. It's around 2 a.m. and I'm getting tired. I decide to cash out, leave the table and go up to my room. Bridgette says she's leaving in just a minute too.
The next morning, I relax, take a dip in the pool, have breakfast and pack up to leave. I walk through the casino on my way out and I see Bridgette at the Ultimate Texas Holdem table, in the same seat, in the same clothes. Her face looks tired and tense. This was months ago but I still think about Bridgette and the other side of gambling.