Down and out in Tunica, MS on an early Thanksgiving morn...

As I walked out of the Resorts Hotel and Casino around 3:00 AM last night, I was tired, my head was stopped up and I was $60 in the hole. Two of the guys I went with left for the night with over $200 in profit. And the third lost $60 in a slot machine in less than ten minutes.

All in all, it was a good night for some and a mediocre night for others amongst my friends who had a hankering to get some free money early this morning.

Sure I woke up this morning ticked off that I had pissed away sixty of my hard earned dollars, but it's not the end of the world. I'll bounce back after my very American, Thanksgiving Day steak dinner later today. While my compadres left substantially better off than they came, I will by no means be taking out a loan to cover my losses or putting a second mortgage on my mother's house just to stay afloat. Because gambling is entertainment for me. I can go to the "boats" and play fifty or sixty bucks and win a little or lose a little and have just as much fun as if I went to a bar or a movie or a concert and spent the same amount of money.

However, when you're in a casino in the middle of the night as I was last night, you see the people that don't think of blackjack and the slots and poker as entertainment, but more as a means to an end, a chance to get (back) ahead, an opportunity to better themselves. And it's pretty sad. Elderly women carrying oxygen tanks to their favorite machine while still smoking a cigarette do not give you that tingly, joyful feeling all over. The middle aged gentleman cashing his paycheck and then losing it all on the craps table makes you ache for the wife that might be counting on that check to pay the bills or the kids hoping for Christmas gifts this year.

I'm thankful that I know that casino games are like carnival games. They can be fun if you have the cash to spare and you can get a rush when you win, but unfortunately casinos and carnivals are not in the business of making winners. They're in the business of being a business. Making a profit no matter what the cost is to the customer.

Am I saying that casinos are evil? Not really. Can they be a lot of fun? Sure, I had a pretty good time last night. But can they gave you a sick feeling in the pit of your stomach because they give people a false sense of hope that they have a chance to walk away a millionaire? Absolutely. I left with that feeling last night. It could've been the $60 I lost, but I think it was more the sadness I felt for the few dozen people still there trying to change their lives.

As my buds and I prepared to head back to Memphis, I stood in the men's room to relieve myself and Paula Cole's, "I Don't Wanna Wait" came on the radio. You know, the Dawson's theme song?

Well I wasn't really going anywhere with that, I just thought it was kind of funny. I mean if that song is playing while you're at the urinal and you don't giggle a little bit, you might not be human.

Happy Thanksgiving...