Cured

One of the math courses I taught at my former school was a course in probability and statistics. Any course in probability eventually leads to a study of the probability of drawing the various poker hands. A study of those probabilities leaves one with the conclusion that poker is a mug’s game. That is one of the reasons why I don’t play poker. (Another reason is that I don’t really know the rules. Yet another reason is that I am not good at bluffing.)

But a study of the other games of chance left me with the conclusion that the very best game to play in a casino is roulette, where one gambles on whether the ball will fall on a red or black slot in the wheel. This game gives you the highest chance of winning, a healthy 47.37% chance. (The reason the chance of winning is not 50% is because of the two green slots on the wheel. There are 18 red, 18 black, and 2 green, so the probability of the ball falling on a red or black slot is 18/38.) If the casino offered any game where your chance of winning is 50%, the casino would eventually go out of business, so 47.37 % is really good for the gambler.

Most of my visits to casinos were pleasant experiences, as I walked away from the tables with winnings in my pocket. That was true again last summer when we visited Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort in Cherokee, NC. Don’t get me wrong: I am not Bret Maverick. I gamble with small stakes, and I set a loss limit. But for the most part, these occasional outings have been fun. It is always fun when you leave a casino with more money than when you entered. And winning always plants a seed in your mind: I could come back here and make more money. That is a dangerous seed.

Last weekend was Kathy’s birthday weekend. We celebrated with her family here in town on Friday, the actual date of her birthday. Saturday we traveled to Bryson City to stay in an AirBnB cleverly named The Digital Disconnect. It is so named because there is no internet service there, no cable or satellite for television, and no cell phone reception. It was a very relaxing stay: we opened the windows, bathed in the fresh mountain air, and listened to the sounds of nature.

But before we made it to Bryson City, we made a stop in Cherokee, to have lunch at the casino. And, of course, to try our hand at making a little money. Things did not go well.

The minimum bet for each roulette table was too rich for me, so we drifted over to what I thought was a rack of one-armed bandits. In my excitement at the prospect of winning a little money, I failed to note that the machine was not a one-armed bandit, but a poker machine. I discovered that after shoving a $5 bill into its maw. Did I mention that I don’t know the rules of poker? That was $5 just thrown away.

We did eventually find the one-armed bandits. We had some wins, but we had more losses. After a while, we called it quits, had our lunch at the casino, then headed to The Digital Disconnect.

Dinner was nice, and expensive, but we were lucky to get reservations. The stay at the bungalow was refreshing, and we returned home Sunday.

I am now cured of the desire to visit a casino ever again. I love the town of Cherokee, and I will visit there again to see its attractions. Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort will not be one of them.