up out of another hole and you would miss him there too. Needless to say, this was not a
game I played a lot.If you have ever played Whack-A-Mole, you will have an insight into what this story is
about. Here in Dallas, we have establishments that go by the name of Dave and Busters.
After starting out on Restaurant Row in Dallas, TX they have now spread to half the US and
parts of Canada. It is a restaurant, bar and game/video arcade all rolled up into one.
They used to have a game (may still) called Whack-A-Mole. This game featured about a dozen
holes from which a plastic "mole" would appear in random order. The objective of the game
was to whack as many moles as you could with a mallet with a large rubber head. More often
than not (certainly aided by a few beers) you would miss the little bugger and he would come
up out of another hole and you would miss him there too. Needless to say, this was not a
game I played a lot.
A few years back, we took a trip to Lake Tahoe in the winter and stayed at Harrah's. We made the mistake of going during the Chinese New Year. Man, was that town packed! First of all, I had no idea the Chinese liked to gamble that much. The dealers and pit bosses said that this was normal for them. As Lake Tahoe is only a few hours from San Francisco, they get slammed every year for the Chinese New Year.
There was not a seat to be had at any of the lower limit blackjack tables. I had already taken a bit of a beating playing slots so I decided to check out the action on the craps tables. Harrah's had four craps tables at that time. On most of my trips only one or two tables would be open. Rarely was even the third table brought into play. However, this weekend, all four tables were open and packed! You could barely squeeze yourself in on the rail.
After scouting the tables for about half an hour in order to determine which table was hot and where I could fit myself in, I pushed myself into a small opening and got in on the action. This craps table, where only moments ago had players celebrating and high-fiving went ice cold. Then from behind me I hear a roar and shouts of Yeah! High fives all around. I picked up my chips, left my table behind and made a beeline for the other table.
I suppose I don't really need to tell you what happened. Surely you have already guessed. Just as in the Whack-a-Mole game where I could never hit the mole, that night I could not find a hot craps table. It was as if I had the reverse Midas touch. Everything I touched that was gold turned to shit. Of course, the table went cold as soon as I got there and the next table over was celebrating every roll.
So, again, I picked up my remaining chips and headed over to the next "hot" table. True to form, that table died. Now the table I had started at was producing a triumphant roar with every throw of the dice. So, I went straight over and you know what happened. I switched tables one more time after that and quit, totally frustrated. It was time to call it quits for the night. So, I took my $500 loss as a lesson in patience when playing craps and went to the bar to have a nightcap before heading to bed.