Here's a casino, Peg: Picture a gigantic, garishly lit and decorated room, filled with a horde of people consumed by a single emotion: greed for cash. Thousands and thousands of little bells, gongs, bongs, and tweets are sounding frenetically from the one-armed bandits (slot machines), filling the air with an endless babble of noise. The people's eyes are fixed hypnotically on the machines. Some of those people have been there for hours...some all night...but you can't tell what time it is, because there are (deliberately) no windows in the place at all. The outside world does not exist when you're in a casino. You will notice that a great many of those people are old, worn, retired people, probably not people with very much money in the first place. The same people you will see in a bingo hall. A lot of old women. You will also probably see a lot of Orientals, young and old, because they seem to like gambling a lot in those cultures. You will see the "high rollers"...guys in gold chains and flamboyant clothing...guys who imagine themselves in a James Bond novel and laugh loudly with bravado as they lose their money. The house almost always wins.   One time when I was driving taxi I picked up one such fellow. He boasted to me that he had won $20,000 that day and later lost $55,000. He was $35,000 in the hole and seemingly proud of it. He intended to go back and play again "tomorrow". They have kindly people there on staff who will "finance" your house or car if you run out of money while playing. They have people who are so unwilling to leave the machine they are playing on even to go to the washroom that they wear something under their clothes so they can pee in their pants and not leave the slot machine (rare, but it does happen). On the sides you will see the other games...poker, blackjack, roulette, and so on. You will find plenty of good entertainment in the theater, cos those places make enough money to hire the best. You will find lots of alcohol...it encourages bad judgement.

And, saddest thing of all in my opinion, you may find that the place is run by the descendants of such fine people as Crazy Horse or Tecumseh or Chief Joseph. It's the triumph of banality and nihilism. I went to see it because I wanted to see the face of my enemy in order to know him better. That's why I went to WalMart too.

I also went to the casino once to see Buffy Sainte-Marie do a show in the theatre. Great show. Their little stratagem didn't work too well, though, cos the only money I spent that night was my concert ticket, and I haven't been back since.

- LH