“Tous pour un, un pour tous (All for one, one for all).” –motto of The Three Musketeers
Today is my Mom’s birthday. Other than taking her to dinner at her favorite restaurant or getting her birthday cake from her favorite bakery, I know exactly what will light-up her beautiful green eyes: a trip to the casino. Yep, we’re a gambling trio. My mom likes the action at the slots. She goes from one one-armed-bandit to the next looking for that one big JACKPOT. I remember when she won several hundred dollars at the Sands in AC once. She came over to my brother and I, gleefully telling us she’d won. My brother and I hardly believed her.
“Yeah, right,” we both said.
“Look!”, she said. Sure enough, she did win and had the ticket to show. She was very excited and we were both excited for her.
While my mom roams the casino floor looking for her big payday, my brother and I park ourselves to play cards (Blackjack used to be our choice but Poker is now where the action is at). We’d sit in the Poker room with the (mostly) suckers and later reminisce over our winning hands.
The last time we played cards he was in a hand with some chump who folded on the end, and my brother showed only one of his cards but not the other. The other guy became irate, demanding to the dealer that he see the mucked card. The dealer explained, then the pit boss explained, and everyone-and-his-father explained that he had no right to see the mucked card. The guy was so rude he almost got kicked out. It was one big production, all caused by a Pagán. My brother continued to own him on subsequent hands. I loved it; it was great.
I enjoy the trip itself just as much (if not more) as playing in the casino. It’s nice to just spend time in each’s company. My mom loves going and my brother enjoyed it too. It certainly gave him pause for thought, to say the least:
“(Our Mom) stood at the foot of two rows of slot machines. Everything seemed to move. Lights flashed, bells buzzed, exhaled tobacco smoke rose and dissipated… ” –Louis
Happy Birthday, Mom… And good luck!