New Blackjack Players

Archive for July, 2009

I was visiting in Palm Springs back in May of this year and my friend suggested we go to the Morongo Casino Resort & Spa, in Cabazon. Going into Palm Springs from Los Angeles, the (fairly new) casino and hotel tower are about 30 miles west of Palm Springs. I hadn’t been there to play since it was less than a year old, so I said sure.

This was a Wednesday night, so the casino floor was busy, but not crowded. The last time I had played there, it was crowded. We wanted to find a $5 table, so we wandered through the pits for several minutes, looking for one that was open. The casino floor was busy enough that all the easily accessible $5 tables that were close to the restaurant and the doors were full. Even the $10 tables were pretty busy. As is usually the case at these casinos during the week, the $25 tables were dead. We finally found quite a few $5 tables further into the casino (by the bathrooms!) – the problem was, these looked really sad. I was shocked at the shape the table felt was in – it was stained and looked like it hadn’t been changed since they opened the new casino.

To make things look even sadder, the entire group of tables in this section by the bathrooms weren’t very busy. While the tables closer to the front were popping, there was very little action at these tables. I think it’s because they had a side bet feature, with a light inset in the table (which I’d never seen before). I was pretty sure the side bet wasn’t required, but I asked, just to be sure. Maybe other people didn’t feel like asking. Or maybe they sensed something strange about these tables and just moved on.

I don’t think my friend and I played for more than 15 minutes before we got up and left the casino. Aside from the strange vibe and the stained table felt, the dealer was one of the rudest dealers I’ve ever played against. I understand it’s a job and you get tired and want to go home, but it’s like any other job where you’re dealing with customers looking to socialize and have fun – suck it up and put on a smile. How would you like it if you went to Disneyland and Goofy moped around, telling everyone he wanted to go home? This dealer was the equivalent of a limp handshake. It wasn’t just that she didn’t want to talk – my friend and I are perfectly capable of carrying a conversation between us – but the attitude was confirmed came when a co-worker passed and she told him how much she wanted her shift to be over.

The last straw, however, was when I asked her if we could get drink service over to take orders. In a barely audible monotone, she responded: “They come by here every hour or so.”

That was it. We cashed in our chips and left the casino.

Let me tell you how I tip dealers: I tip them if they’re making it fun. It’s not on them whether I win or lose money. All they do is deal the cards. Therefore, my tip is completely unrelated to my winnings. A lively, fun, engaging dealer has a good chance of getting some generous tips from me.

I won’t be going back to Morongo unless someone writes and tells me how management has really made some changes and it’s a great place to go.

I was playing blackjack at the Chumash Casino, in the beautiful Central Coast region of California (near Solvang) last Friday night. I had a deadline for leaving and a goal for how much I wanted to win before I left.

Yes, newbies – you CAN win at blackjack. Some of us are actually there to win – if we weren’t at a casino, it would be called earning money, but for some reason when you have to work for winnings in a casino, it’s called winning, not earning. I haven’t figured out why because – thanks to people like the ones I’ll feature at this blog – it sure FEELS like earning.

My husband comes home and complains to me about the stupid people he has to work with. Well, honey – I can’t call them co-workers, but when I sit at the blackjack table with some of these people, I feel like I have stupid co-workers.

I especially want to thank the older gentleman who thought it was amusing to play around when placing his bet, rather just plunk his chips down in the betting circle. Fella, you’re screwing up the average hands per hour. And when I have to leave in 15 minutes and I am a mere $20 from my goal for the night, the extra time you spend doing what you (apparently) think is cute and funny isn’t so much funny as it is just downright annoying.

I could’ve lived with that, but your lack of attention was another issue that just added to the annoyance of your coy betting habits. You’re sitting at the blackjack table, honey. What the hell is so interesting at the other tables, the slot machines behind you – and apparently everything else in the casino except the table where you’re sitting? I mean, really – do we have to poke you every damn time it’s your turn to signal your hand? And God forbid the dealer should hand you the cut card because it will take the rest of the table 5 minutes to bring your attention back around to the table so we can get the deck cut and continue playing.

And apparently, you learned to signal your play at the same place you learned to place your bets. The dealer is unable to interpret facial expressions and grunts. It’s necessary for you to give a hand signal that the cameras can see and interpret. Screwing up your face and looking like you’ve got really, really bad gas is not cute – it’s a waste of time. Look at the cards, geezer. The dealer has a 10. You have a 6 and a 2. Do you really have to spend a minute trying to decide what to do with that??

In spite of the antics of this player, I managed to make my goal and I was only 5 minutes over my designated departure time.

So what’s the lesson, New Blackjack Player (hereinafter referred to as NBJP)?

1. Yes, we’re having fun. That doesn’t mean we aren’t also serious about our fun.
2. Play the game and pay attention. It’s okay to chit-chat with others – heck, one reason I love blackjack is because I’m a social animal – but don’t let it interfere with the play at the table.

Thanks and I hope you come back to NBJP soon!