Archives
Fellow Contemporaries Erumana Pendirum Kallum Kavarum
Thirunirka pattar thodarbu
15 Years Back... It was the Game Ace that I first learned. Combinations of Spades,Clubs, Hearts and Diamonds fascinated me as a Child. The fascination still holds good far more than what I had when I was a child. Lots changed from 15 Years back to till date. But the inquisitiveness still remains the same, the thrill to gamble more, the rush to take risks, I believe hasn't changed a bit. Long time back I went to a planetarium to see the stars and the constellation. It was dark inside - the stars were glittering and I looked at them in great wonder.It was an unforgettable experience. Now I was reminded of the same night inside the planetarium here in this place and I was extremely happy to spent the time with my friends coz this has been in my radar for a long long time.
Beguiled by Larger than Life movies, I had always wanted to glimpse the Casinos with real eyes and hence the Vegas. I don't know when I came to know that there was a place - Las Vegas, but it doesn't matter any more. 4 hours of travel via a deserted place where it is plain sand during the day and sand + wind during the night.. Vegas comes after this, awe-inspiring view after a drive through a deserted place, sure they have planned Vegas to give its tourists a blow out of the watering experience.
Even Black Holes in Vegas are emblazoned. It was like a Laser Show among the stars. Long time back Scholars asked Men to be away from - "Madhu, Maadhu and Soodhu ". Well Vegas is all about Girls, Drinks and Gambling, the very combination that Scholars asked Men to be away from. One will find plenty of all the three in huge measures in Vegas.
In Ocean's Thirteen, Daniel Ocean ( George Clooney) while he is standing in front of the Fountains of Bellagio together with Rusty Ryan ( Brad Pitt) reminiscing about classic casinos past — the Dunes, the Flamingo, the Sands. That's how Ocean's 13 Begins. That's how even our night at the Vegas started after steadying ourselves with coats/suits [ we tried to emulate with the Ocean's Movie ;) ].I saw it on a Saturday Night, rest are details. But the irony is I didn't go inside the Bellagio Casino, I realized this only after I left the place. 1 night wasn't enough of Vegas, 2 should be good.
I was like a child lost in a Thiruvizha, no clue where to hit next, the place was crowded with people from all corners of the world. The Place was crowded next to the May Month Thiruvizha in Kapaleeshwar Temple but the God/Goddess in this stage are completely different.
Before entering into Vegas, we stopped by a board which Read Nevada Landing for a gas stop and there it displayed a board "Signs of Compulsive Gambling", Thank God, I am not close to Vegas nor I have any casinos besides my place. It took me some time to come out of Compulsive Trading, I don't want to get into another one of those Compulsive things.Caessars Palace / MGM / Bellagio / Tropicana / Mill Millers etc etc well these are just a few of the casinos that I caught our eyes instantly. The street is named as Strip ( For more info, read this ). This is how strip looks at night.Click on the image for a full view
Okay, After awe stricken we decided to gamble at last, First Question none of us had cash, Casinos doesn't accept cards, Thank God they don't accept cards. ATM Search, in the process, there was a roller coaster ride -/\--__->/\&-- ( LOL..that's hows the roller coaster route was like too ) back from the ride. Cash Withdrawn. MGM Casino - that's where we went...
- All Casinos have a similar lighting effect inside the Casinos be it either day or night and thus making it quite elusive to differentiate whats the climate and weather outside of it
- there will be no clocks
- drinks are served free to all those who are playing,they make you drink more and also lose more
- Casinos are never closed,they are open 24 hours
- in every table dealers shift for every 20-30 minutes
- if a new player gets into a table and buys chips the dealer immediately reports to his/her supervisor, and also any high bets are also reported to the supervisor
- for every 5-10 tables there are 2-3 supervisor besides which some 2-3 Managers too who take note of chips count and other readings at all tables every now and then
- Casinos are loaded with cameras, God knows where.
- one needs to wave via signs or clear voice movement as to what move they are doing while playing so that the camera can record it.Every table action in the casinos are recorded
- the dealer does whine quietly if a person leaves the table with a winning hand and doesn't leave the dealer of the table with no tip,
- these are the card games that every casinos had - Poker ( 4 Card, 3 Card, Texas Holdem, Paigan ), Black Jack and Poker Tournaments ( I don't think tourists where allowed to play them ) ( unfortunately the style of Poker which was played in the tournaments is what I know, not the one that is open to the public) So that was a huge disappointment for me, I had to play black jack
- you cannot take videos/snaps inside ( though we managed to take a few before getting caught )
- Besides these 2 card games and another 2 whose name I don't remember and they were in min numbers too, there is this wheel of fortune, craps, roulette. I think that's it, the rest of them are all computer based.
- Apart from these there will be a large television sets ( Like the ones shown in Mudhalvan Movie ) where all sports games goes on and people bet on the outcome of the game.
- The waitress there, damn it take long time to serve drinks :P
- Well this is what is open to the public, the very high bets games which millionaires play happens somewhere inside.
- The games present in all the casinos are the same, its the way they are arranged, the lighting effect, dress codes of the employees differentiate Casinos from each other.
- All Casinos do have limousines not sure who they drive that for.
- All the dealers are given a badge with their name and the place where they come from, not sure what significance it has.
- Whenever a dealer moves of the table, he/she waves his hand to everybody around to intend that he/she has no cards in possession.
- Last but not the least, there will be umpteen beautiful girls making you drool.
So what happened to every one of us at the casino. I bet that incident deserves a separate post, cant exemplify each moment in this post. But in a nut shell what happened with the money we had, was like a roller coaster ride. we took a seat and started playing Black Jack. profit/loss if plotted in a graph for every game does have the capability for a case study. End of the Night, I have no idea whether I took home some money or not. The Adrenaline Rush to see the money come and go is worth playing. Now I got to know where the Compulsive Gambling Instinct springs up. Never get into casinos with a thought to take home profit. See it as a ticket for a movie or a ride. Its worth it for the very first time. Its fun to lose money I repeat, only for the very first time. Forget it later on.
It must be early morning when we would have hit the bed, Day 2 - Stratosphere, how Could I leave this. Stratosphere is just another Casino in Vegas, but what makes it special is the fact that - I better not write it down. Please see the following links and see for yourself
http://www.stratospherehotel.com/thrills/insanity_the_ride.cfm
http://www.stratospherehotel.com/thrills/x_scream.cfm
http://www.stratospherehotel.com/thrills/big_shot.cfm
there are several videos in you tube when searched as Stratosphere rides. this is one of them
Three Rides for Life - One hell of a experience. After the rides,we decided to test our Black Jack skills and at around evening 6 PM,we said Adios to Vegas and headed back to Los Angeles. ( I am tired writing such a long post ) . Well thats for vegas, Lots happened in Los Angeles..Later on
As for the Thirukural at the start of the post it means - People addicted to call girls, alcohol or gambling will not prosper.
