21 in Reno

My 21st birthday was spent driving across Nevada with Andy, a pot-smoking pianist, and Carole, a blonde co-ed heading to the West Coast. We had made good time in the rent-away station wagon up to this point and I decided to celebrate my coming of age by gambling at every desert town along I-80. Elko, Winnemucca, Lovelock, and Sparks were generous to my cause. I was up about $1000 from playing blackjack or 21. It was a simple game and I had a good head for numbers as would anyone who had been a math major in college.

Sunset fell over Reno, the Biggest Little City in the World. The first bright lights since Denver. I picked out Harrah's as my next victim. Before entering the casino I handed Andy my traveling money and $500.

"Don't give me this no matter what." I had seen gambling movies. No one came out on top. Carole shook her head. "What's wrong?"

"If you're going to play, then play. Never fix a limit." Carole was a junior at a girl's college outside Boston. She was studying business. Her advice sounded dangerous.

"I'll leave the money with Andy."

I sat at a blackjack table. The dealer was kind. I was up another $500 and felt like I could kill the bank for another $1000. Andy asked me to call it a night.

"We can crash in the Sierras."

"Another ten minutes and I'll buy us hotel rooms." I couldn't lose and tapped a passing cocktail waitress. She was tall and wearing a very short dress. I ordered a Jack and Coke. My favorite drink. I had several more. I recall something about threatening Andy for money and then nothing until I woke up along the Truckee River. The ground was no soft hotel bed and my hang-over not a crown of victory. Carole and Andy were standing over my resting place.

"Did I lose everything?"

"Everything but the car." Carole wore an expression of pity. It wasn't until we reached Sacramento that Andy returned my traveling stake. All my birthday winnings had reverted to the casino. There are no winners and I've avoided casinos ever since that day.

This week President Barack Obama got in trouble with the Nevada powers by suggesting to the citizens of America that now might not be the time to hit the gambling tables of Sin City.

"When times are tough, you tighten your belts," Obama told a New Hampshire school gathering. "You don't go buying a boat when you can barely pay your mortgage. You don't blow a bunch of cash on Vegas when you're trying to save for college. You prioritize. You make tough choices."

Nevada politicians responded with vigor, calling on the president to apologize to Vegas. It's Super Bowl week. The masses are voting on this issue with bets on the point spread, over-under and who wins the coin toss. I have a c-note on the Saints to score first. Winning this parlay depends on the coin toss. I have five dollars on New Orleans. You don't have to leave home to gamble and Obama's right about gambling. I learned that the hard way in Reno.

And also that blackjack doesn't mix with Jack and Coke.

It's a lesson that stays with me. I might not have scored good grades, but I was a good student and Reno was an even better teacher. It was a lesson I only needed to learn once.