Do You Live at the Casino?

As readers may know, I'm an infrequent visitor at the casino. 

I guess that could be a good or bad thing depending on if lady luck is hiding under the roulette table. I've often wondered why that old bloke who sits at the far end of the table has a smile on his face, if not a delirious look in his eyes, even when losing.

The Grosvenor Casino Great Yarmouth is my favourite haunt.  

In some respects, this coastal town is a little bit tacky as a tourist trap with its candyfloss, toffee apples, and staple merchandising that's sold with a mark up of times ten. 

I love the place and it is special to me because of the connection with my dad and childhood holidays. 

We probably go to the casino located at Marine Parade three or four times a year, mostly on our week's holiday staying at the Seashore Haven Holiday Camp. As a group, it is incredibly cheap and close to the racecourse which we go a couple of times.

Anyway, I've drifted off into marketing mode for the Bold And Beautiful of Nelson Country. Instead of tanned skin and oysters, you will see a pale bloke with a polystyrene cup of whelks. I must admit all seafood looks ugly as sin and wouldn't even win second prize in a beauty contest (Monopoly). 

But back to the casino. 

I guess if you work in a casino you see things very much from the other side of the table. 

Because it is a business. 

The goal, even though unspoken, is to get as much money from the punters as possible. If not, the casino will close and the staff will no longer have a job. 

So everything has to tick over nicely. 

I don't know the numbers, but I imagine the majority of customers, clients, losers (and winners) are regulars. They are known faces and a good number on first name terms. I know a few of the punter's names just by hearing the croupier say: 

''Hello Graham, do you want those in £100 chips.''

So, I guess, the regulars are very regular. 

In fact, I guess there are a good few who see it as their second home. Perhaps a few of their wives would suggest it is their first. I'm sure they have heard: ''Your dinner's in the dog,'' enough times to appreciate that point.

All the punters are there to enjoy the casino. This can be motivated by many and varied things. From pleasure, fun, greed, to addiction. 

It would be fascinating to have an honest conversation with one of the punters who literally live at the casino. 

Like the taxi driver who seems to be there more than not, coming back and forth between fares. Surely, his story must be quite harrowing. 

Or Graham who bets several thousand pounds a night. 

I wonder where he got all his money from and how much he has got left or likely to have in the not so distant future. 

If someone ever asks me: ''Do you live at the casino,'' I would like to think I know it's time to go home. 

And probably stay there for a month or two and reflect on this gambling situation. 

Read our last amazing post: The Croupier Gambling Outlook