Freestyle About Gambling in Fargo

Here it is, a freestyle blog post. I've got no agenda, nothing in particular to write about in mind, and self-imposed 500 word space to fill so I'm letting it fly and seeing if I can bang this out in one sitting.

Did y'all know there is mad gambling out here in the Fargo-Moorhead area? Aside from the usual lotto nonsense, in Minnesota and North Dakota they sell these things call "pull tabs" in many of the bars. Not being much of gambler myself, I find these pull tab things to be unspeakably dopey and total waste of gambling dollars. Seriously, WTF? Just sit there and rip these things open and hope you win a prize? At least with a slot machine you can choose when the reels stop or pull the lever or have some kind of "control" over the game.

In North Dakota, under the guise of charitable gaming, you will also find blackjack tables in bars. I'm talking a real live table with chips, the eye in the sky, and the whole deal. It's kind of phat. The first time I saw a blackjack table in a bar the only thing I could think of was what kind of outrageous scams would be going down if they had that shit in New Jersey.

As a general rule I have pretty atrocious gambling luck, anytime I've walked out of a casino a winner I usually gave the money back in the next few days and then some. Back in the day I used to do a bit of sports gambling, but after a fine run during basketball season I managed to give back a season's worth of winnings in less than three weeks of betting on baseball. So as much as I like to gamble, I had to realize pretty much suck at it and allow it to remain one of the few vices I don't indulge in with any regularity. Aside from the occasional parlay card, and I do mean occasional I don't think I've played one in at least two years, I don't really gamble. Which is what makes it so weird that while I was out chilling and watching the game last night and spotted a blackjack table at Dempsey's I decided to try my luck.

I have more than a few friends who are pretty hardcore gamblers and one of the few tips I've gleaned from them over the years is that if you're going to play blackjack you have to vary your bets if you want to win money. With that in mind I got $40 worth of chips, a bottle of PBR, and went to work at this blackjack table.

When you learn how to gamble in the casinos in Atlantic City, there are certain rules that you follow 'cause you don't want some jamoke following you out to your car because you pulled the dealers bust card. Those rules are not followed in Fargo. The first time I was ever in a casino I got cussed the fuck out by a table full of people for taking a hit when the dealer had a six showing. The two dudes sitting at the table with me however, were splitting hands and doubling down against 5s & 6s like there was no tomorrow.

I ended up having a pretty decent night on the table. After buying a beer and making numerous tip bets on behalf of both dealers I managed to leave the bar with $20 more dollars than I came in with, you have to love that shit.