My buddy Mike and I took a trip from our hometown in Karnak to the Windy City last weekend, and we got ourselves in some trouble.
I should point out, that this short story is a cautionary one, and hopefully others can learn from our mistakes - it's so much easier to learn from someone who has learned the hard way not that most people ever really change their behaviour because of someone else's mistakes.
When we finally arrived at the Casino we weren't exactly as excited as we had anticipated we would be when we were dreaming up the trip in the first place. Furthermore, we were very tired from driving, and we knew we had already spent close to one thousand dollars. Almost a third of our seed money.
It seemed that whenever I got lucky and got dealt two face cards, the dealer would get blackjack. Whenever I split two hands, the dealer would get blackjack, 21, or 20. I thought the dealer's good luck had no boundaries!!
By the end of the day Mike and I had lost ALL of our money gambling, and Mike had even gone to the ATM and withdrew another five hundred dollars, leaving us feeling like real losers. Even though we both talked about how it was only money, deep inside we were both feeling sick about it.Talk about your instant deflation of self-esteem.
We went back to our hotel room, silently watched television, and rarely spoke - except to remind ourselves that we had no gas in the tank of the car.
We finally fell asleep at around four in the morning and when we woke up we were hung over. We checked out of our hotel room at the latest possible check out time, and slowly walked out to the parking lot, queasy and uneasy. We were not alone of course - there were other losers walking around with the same look on their faces.
All I could think about was how we were going to get some gas in the tank for the drive back down south.
Just when I was about to say something, Mark came across his pay stub in the glove box. He suggested we should go one of those payday loans so we can get some money for food, and gas for the car (I shuddered at the thought of getting money that way, but we were out of options).
It was obviously the only recourse we had left at this point, so we looked in a nearby phone booth directory to find out where all the payday loan shops were in Springfield. We found one that was on our way back south, and looked it up on the map. One that was more well known. Preferably we needed a lender that advertised five hundred dollar loans in just minutes.
So we headed down the highway running on fumes. We were in pretty pathetic shape at the time - you know - young and stupid.
We ended up getting completely lost for awhile, but eventually found a town, and the street that the payday loan shops were on. It was crazy how many there were.
When we went to work the next Monday all of our buddies asked us how we did up North in the Casino. We told the truth, which made us the butt of the jokes for the entire week. Furthermore, we were really broke. Well there you go - two young punks losing all their money in a hurry.
If you ever wondered what a complete "train wreck" looks like, I can assure you, you might want to read this whole post. I took My neighborhood friend with me and hit the highway through Peoria and Champaign on our way, as well, we dropped by to see some friends in both locals. Spent some time talking them out of going rock climbing, and coming with us to the Casino, but it just wasn't meant to be.
As the two of us were driving into the parking lot of the Casino we weren't exactly as excited as we had envisioned we would be when we were dreaming up the trip in the first place. Furthermore, we were exhausted from the journey, and we were aware that we had gone through up to 1000 dollars. A disturbing amount of our "playing money".
We both wanted a shower and a time out before we went to the Casino, so we boogied on up to the suite and mellowed out. When we pushed the button to bring up the elevator we were more than a little bit tickled to be hitting the blackjack tables. Mike went flying off to the VLTs, and I watched all of the different dealers to see who was killing the players.
I couldn't help but notice then when I struck it lucky and got two face cards, the dealer got lucky. If was ever dared to split my deal, the house took me out, 21, or 20 - I couldn't quite believe how unlucky I was getting. I thought the dealer's good luck had no boundaries! To make things even more frustrating, the players with me seemed to be winning.!
By the time we were to hungry to play anymore Mike and I had totally blown ever last cent we had come with, and Mike suddenly vapourized from sight because he was withdrawing another five hundred dollars, leaving us with a real sinking sensation. This is a sinking feeling of total stupidity.
We went back to our hotel room, and didn't say a single word to each other - save for the weak attempt at taking our minds of what just happened. We closed our eyes in the wee hours and when we woke up we were hung over.
As he sat there having his puff, I was brain-storming a way to get some 87 octane into the gas tank for the drive back down south.
I thought about it for a few minutes, and realized he was right, so we looked in a nearby phone booth directory to find out where all the mini loan organizations were in Peoria. We found one that was on our way back south, and looked it up on the map. We wanted a lender that provided $500 dollar loans in just minutes.
We finally got moving stopping to share a Mcdonalds Egg McMuffin with our last two dollars.
We were both more than a little bit concerned with our lack of petrol, praying we would have enough fuel to get us to the loan shop and praying we would have enough fuel to get us to a gas station after we got our three hundred dollars. We really appeared to be exactly what we were - you know - young and stupid. We started to laugh at one point when we got mixed up on our directions, but we still had the engine running, and we found where the paycheck loan establishments were on.
When we are back down South, and in the work place again our friends were all over us with questions about our trip in the Casino. The word got out eventually that we were big-time losers. Furthermore, not to mention we didn't have an extra dime to our names. End of story - silly boys.
