Winning Big…Blessing or Curse?
I distinctly remember the first time I ever won in a casino
I was only 18 years old and an older friend of mine took me along to a seedy casino, downstairs from a posh hotel in the centre of London.
The air was filled with smoke and the clientele were dressed in jackets, shirts and slacks with dress shoes.
Croupiers were elegant uniforms comprised of waistcoats and bow ties.
This was back in 1988, and casinos were frowned upon as dens of iniquity filled with unsavoury characters or football players with more money than they knew what to do with.
A bit of gambling history
There were no slot machines or electronic roulette wheels, just lots of tables of roulette, blackjack, craps and baccarat. Definitely no poker rooms, just bridge for the older generation to while away their evenings.
As I exchanged my 10-pound note for chips at the roulette table I looked around to see if anyone looked particularly experienced in gambling and to maybe follow their lead. Their blank faces made me quickly realise this game was all about luck and there was nothing and no one that could help in my quest to defeat the roulette wheel. The whole concept of gambling was simply to enjoy the excitement and only many years later when I had more money to gamble did I realise that it was just an exhilarating pastime and not to be taken as a profession. Admittedly, there are many players out there that do claim to be professional gamblers and have an edge over the casino using their mental prowess or other nefarious means. That was not for me. I prefer to be able to sleep at night and not worry that I could possibly gamble away the very roof I was sleeping under in a night of poor runs.
At that time though I was desperate for cash, I wanted a new car and to go out and enjoy myself so winning was a priority and casino seemed a fun and easy way to try and win that cash.
And so, my first foray at the roulette wheel began and I loved every moment of it.
The rush to put down the chips before the croupier shouted no more bets was in itself exciting. Then the murderous wait as the ball slowed to an almost standstill before hitting the metal on the side of the wheel until it finally dropped into a hole.
The neck straining to see the number as the wheel continued to rotate.
My reaction vs other gamblers
The reactions of the people at the table made it very easy to identify the winners and losers.
I was a quiet gambler. I don’t push, I don’t smile, I don’t get too overwhelmed by a win, however big it might be.
But on the very first occasion I won big I jumped for joy.
It just so happened to be the last spin of the evening. 4 am and I had been playing cautiously. My stack had been going up and down and now I had to really go for it. I placed all my chips on red 16 and waited patiently. I knew it, I felt it, it was my night and my number will come in. Lo and behold it did.
I jumped in disbelief, I had a secret power and I was blessed.
As an author of many articles on gambling and gamblers I see this trend a lot.
Peoples own belief that they have been blessed with luck and overall can win against all odds. I like that attitude, it’s a gamblers attitude and as long as gambling doesn’t consume the person believing one is lucky is a blessing in life in many ways.
The curse is always believing you can’t do anything and everything you touch goes sour.
Nowadays I play online and read many stories of huge jackpots being hit on slots and on table games and people winning massive tournament prizes.
From landbase to BtcVegas casino
Access to online casinos has opened up a new world of social interaction with people of the same interests and gambling has become much more acceptable socially.
I have recently heard about anonymous gambling and how that is going to really change the way people play. There are sites out there already offering Bitcoin gaming with a minimal amount of information required to open an account.
The idea of not having to reveal any personal data or have any financial data recorded is very appealing to me. Not because I am some crypto kingpin trying to hide my laundered money, it is because I want to gamble without anyone else knowing about it and what I do with my winnings is my business.
I live in the US now and I definitely want to keep my activities to myself.
Revealing any data online can be traced and it does worry me, especially when it comes to credit card and identification fraud.
I very much prefer to stick with BtcVegas that uses RTG software and offers truly anonymous gaming.
