I'd almost completely forgotten about this, until I ran into one of my former coharts in crime tonite. Hope somebody finds it interesting.
It was Fall of 1977. The Summer of Sam in NYC. Gas was about 70 cents a gallon,a six pack of Miller was $2.50 and you could split a nickle bag three ways and everybody get high for a couple of days.Atlantic City was still a burned out ghetto and the only gambling was in Nevada,a world away.
Suddenly,somebody figured out some loop-hole in the law and Las Vegas Nites were popping up everywhere. Volunteer Firehouse,Jewish Temples,Catholic Schools,VFWs. They were everywhere.Five, sometimes six nites a week. They all had roulettee,BJ, Wheel of Fortune and Poker. Some of them even gave away free drinks. Several of my friends were degenerate gamblers and went everynite. I went once and dropped $15 playing $2 BJ. But I had about six free beers so it wasn't all that bad. The next week, I returned and found the BJ able full. But they gave me free beer while I was waiting for a spot so that worked great. Soon, I was getting there at peak time,with the table full. I'd down a few free beers, get tired of waiting and leave. Paradise Found.
As these LV Nights grew in popularity,the competion got tougher and tougher. Where at first you'd get a postcard reminding you of when it was at a certain spot, soon they started sending out promo chips to get you in.
I was a freshman in college,and worked PT-about 15 hours a week for $2.50 an hour.Suddenly I'm getting multiple $5 chips in the mail everyday.
An idea is born. Soon, we are hitting the spots. I play red,my buddy plays black. Its usually no more than two or three spins and we've converted the non-cashible chips into real ones,drunk our free beer and split. Three, sometimes four spots a night,five nights a week. My buddy and I are splitting $150 a week and drinking for free.
Soon, I'm getting mail to strangers living in apartment one or two of my parents private house,and instead of just two of us doing it,we've expanded the crew to four,sometimes five of us.
Before too long,I start to notice the workers whispering and pointing at us.
Then, the letters that had previously only been addressed on the envelope start having the names on letter you need for the promo chip and they start checking IDs. Half of our income is flushed away.
Right after that, we show up one night,get our 4 beers and 4 red chips and cash out. As we are walking up the stairs,two rather large gentleman are standing there.
In words I don't even use amongst my friends,they let us know quite clearly that they were on to our game and it was strongly suggested we never show up at a LVN this side of the Mississippi.
About a year later,almost all the LVNs in NY were shut down as fronts for The Mob.The next summer, I took a weekend trip to Paradise Island,sat at a BJ table and martingaled away most of my money in 6 straight losses at a $5 table.It took a chance encounter with Jerry Patterson to rekindle my BJ play,but thats a story for another time.
A pleasant little chapter in my life I hadn't thought about in way too long.
It was Fall of 1977. The Summer of Sam in NYC. Gas was about 70 cents a gallon,a six pack of Miller was $2.50 and you could split a nickle bag three ways and everybody get high for a couple of days.Atlantic City was still a burned out ghetto and the only gambling was in Nevada,a world away.
Suddenly,somebody figured out some loop-hole in the law and Las Vegas Nites were popping up everywhere. Volunteer Firehouse,Jewish Temples,Catholic Schools,VFWs. They were everywhere.Five, sometimes six nites a week. They all had roulettee,BJ, Wheel of Fortune and Poker. Some of them even gave away free drinks. Several of my friends were degenerate gamblers and went everynite. I went once and dropped $15 playing $2 BJ. But I had about six free beers so it wasn't all that bad. The next week, I returned and found the BJ able full. But they gave me free beer while I was waiting for a spot so that worked great. Soon, I was getting there at peak time,with the table full. I'd down a few free beers, get tired of waiting and leave. Paradise Found.
As these LV Nights grew in popularity,the competion got tougher and tougher. Where at first you'd get a postcard reminding you of when it was at a certain spot, soon they started sending out promo chips to get you in.
I was a freshman in college,and worked PT-about 15 hours a week for $2.50 an hour.Suddenly I'm getting multiple $5 chips in the mail everyday.
An idea is born. Soon, we are hitting the spots. I play red,my buddy plays black. Its usually no more than two or three spins and we've converted the non-cashible chips into real ones,drunk our free beer and split. Three, sometimes four spots a night,five nights a week. My buddy and I are splitting $150 a week and drinking for free.
Soon, I'm getting mail to strangers living in apartment one or two of my parents private house,and instead of just two of us doing it,we've expanded the crew to four,sometimes five of us.
Before too long,I start to notice the workers whispering and pointing at us.
Then, the letters that had previously only been addressed on the envelope start having the names on letter you need for the promo chip and they start checking IDs. Half of our income is flushed away.
Right after that, we show up one night,get our 4 beers and 4 red chips and cash out. As we are walking up the stairs,two rather large gentleman are standing there.
In words I don't even use amongst my friends,they let us know quite clearly that they were on to our game and it was strongly suggested we never show up at a LVN this side of the Mississippi.
About a year later,almost all the LVNs in NY were shut down as fronts for The Mob.The next summer, I took a weekend trip to Paradise Island,sat at a BJ table and martingaled away most of my money in 6 straight losses at a $5 table.It took a chance encounter with Jerry Patterson to rekindle my BJ play,but thats a story for another time.
A pleasant little chapter in my life I hadn't thought about in way too long.
