Gambling

      Addictions run rampant in my bloodstream.  I have accepted that I must always be careful with personal choices.  Some of my addictions may sound silly but others are more dangerous.  Alcohol was one of the tougher ones I have battled but Kit Kat bites may rank a close second.  Other addictions have included books, smarties and several unhealthy physical addictions.  Friday night I discovered that gambling is not ever going to be a problem for me.  I suspected that would be the case but never actually put it to the test.  Test time took place at Foxwoods Casino this past Friday night.  My baby brother is turning 40 this month.  To celebrate the event his wife rented a limo and invited some family members to take a trip to Foxwoods.  I was excited to go.  Foxwoods is only an 80 minute drive from my city.  Aside from some underage people I know I think I was one of the few people who never bothered to take a trip there.  For years I have heard about the fun time to be had at the casino.  I have a difficult time parting with a few bucks for a scratch ticket.  I couldn’t imagine it would be tons of fun to lose money to the one armed bandit.  The limo ride was fun.  We played trivia games with the prize’s being scratch tickers.  I was clueless on how to tell if you won on the ticket or not and had to rely on the gamblers in the car to guide me.  My ticket was a loser.  We had dinner at the Hard Rock Café where we made my brother wear a flashing “40” pin.  During the dinner other members of our party were chomping at the bit to get to the gambling.  I was in no hurry but could understand how the urge could overtake someone.  We limited ourselves to two hours of gambling time.  It was rather amusing to watch everyone racing away as we exited the restaurant.  My husband had never been to Foxwoods either and our first thought was to walk around and check out the place.  We walked through several of the different gaming rooms then decided to walk down and check out the new addition to the complex the MGM Grand Casino.  We thought it would be more glamorous then what it was.  We spotted a gelato shop and decided to buy ourselves desert.  I love gelato even more than I love ice cream.  We realized that we were nearing the two hour mark and still had not attempted to gamble.  We headed back to the smoke free casino to try our hand at the slots.  My husband jokingly took out some money and suggested that he should just hand it to someone since he would be losing it anyway.  He hit $40 on his second play.  I kept hitting for tiny amounts then losing again.  We tried a few different machines with no luck at any of them.  Our combined loses equaled $30.  I could handle that loss without to much difficulty as it was an interesting experience.  My parents and brother came away with some winnings but a few others lost.  I am glad I discovered I do not have a gambler’s heart but suspect that was the case all along.  It was interesting but I won’t be rushing to go back anytime soon.