My name is Davis Way, and I work undercover at the Bellissimo Resort and Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. The Bellissimo is a big place—3.2 million square feet of property, 80,000 square feet of casino, 1700 guest rooms, 3,800 slot machines, and 4,000 employees. I’ve learned a thing or two about gambling in my time at the Bellissimo, and sharing is good. Take notes as I debunk a few myths.
Myth #1 – Winners know when to quit. Really? They do not. You should see these crazy gamblers. They do NOT know when to quit. They don’t even know when to give it a rest and get some sleep. I can’t tell you how many gamblers pass out on blackjack tables or fall asleep on slot machines from sheer sleep deprivation. Not long ago, I was breezing through the casino and saw a lady faint dead away at a craps table. That woman was in the floor. As it turned out, she hadn’t stopped gambling long enough to eat one bite of food in two days. She said, “But I know I had a maraschino cherry Tuesday.” Clearly, gamblers don’t know when to quit.
Myth #2 – Casinos pump oxygen into the air to keep your energy level up. No, they don’t. What do you do when you’re behind a truck loaded with those six-foot tall green oxygen tanks? That’s right. You get away from it. Why? Because you don’t want to blow up! (Same thing with those logger trucks. You don’t want to be decapitated.) If we pumped oxygen in the air, number one, it would be a felony, violating all state and federal air quality laws, and number two, the place would BLOW UP.
Myth #3 – You can win on a slot machine by strategizing, playing skillfully, and by walking around your chair backwards three times. None of these are true. There’s no skill involved in playing a slot machine. A monkey could do it all day long. Slot machine results are based on math and probability, and the outcomes are completely arbitrary. A computer chip tells the machine it’s time to give a little back, and it doesn’t matter if you’re wearing a red bra (casinos keep the red bra industry afloat) or if you sprinkle holy water on the slot machine (a lady shut down a bank of seven machines doing just that a few weeks ago). If the computer says it’s time to win—you’ll win. If it doesn’t—you won’t. Regardless of what color bra you’re wearing.
Myth #4 – Casinos drop the thermostat to Frigid to keep you awake. No, that’s not why casinos are cold. The casino feels cold because the casino is a big, bright, noisy computer. The mainframe it takes to keep everything up and running is most likely underneath you, and is most likely the size of Rhode Island. Between you and the mainframe are cooling units. That’s a good thing. It keeps you from frying. An added bonus is that the cool temps cut down on employee illnesses. Gamblers are the unhealthiest group of people on Earth. There’s more sneezing and coughing in the casino than in the ER waiting room at Seattle Grace, and we work in it every day. If the casino weren’t kept at a cool temperature, it would be a germ jungle with pop-up brush fires everywhere.
Myth #5 – If you lose and lose and lose on a slot machine, the minute you throw in the towel, someone will sit down right behind you and win all your money. That one’s not a myth. It’s true.
You can read more about Davis in Double Dip, the second book in the “Davis Way” crime caper series, published by Henery Press. The first book in the series is Double Whammy. Books are available at retail and online booksellers.
GIVEAWAY: Comment on this post by noon EST on January 28, and you will be entered to win a signed copy of Double Dip. One winner will be chosen at random. Unless specified, U.S. entries only.
Meet the author
Gretchen Archer is a Tennessee housewife who began writing when her daughters, seeking higher educations, left her. She lives on Lookout Mountain with her husband, son, and a Yorkie named Bently. DOUBLE DIP is the second in the Davis Way Crime Caper series. You can visit her at www.gretchenarcher.com, on Facebook or Twitter.
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It’s fun to discover a new author. This sounds like a fun read.
This sounds so funny! I can’t wait to read it!
A new to me author.
this is a new-to-me author, so I’m excited to throw in my entry for this giveaway!!!
thank you!!!
Hilarious as usual for Gretchen Archer/Davis Way. Don’t enter me in the drawing because I preordered Double Dip. Read it over a weekend and loved it!
Thanx for the opportunity … book looks great
This sounds like something I’d read–if only for the education. LOL!
I love your wit!
Sounds like a lot of fun!
Sounds like a fun read 🙂
The first in the series was a riot, so good! I know #5 is true because I played a slot machine once and when I half-rose out of my seat to adjust something, a woman slid herself underneath me to take my seat. I didn’t win a penny, but I bet she hit it big with all my money. All $20.
I haven’t been to a casino in years but reading this makes me want to go again—just for the people watching. Sounds like a fun book that I’d love to read.
suefarrell.farrell@gmail.com
I love to play the slot machines, however have not done so in many years. Not that I was a big winner….far from it, it was just fun hoping I would! This is a very interesting book and would like the opportunity to read it….enjoy reading books from new authors, and its amazing how much talent we have in this country. Thank you
Thanks for the funny and informative post. I hadn’t thought about the oxygen like that before. This looks like a fun series, please enter my name for the chance to win a copy of Double Dip.
This sounds so fun! Thanks for the chance to win.
This book sounds like a riot! Plus I love casinos and gambling so it should be right up my alley. Thanks for the opportunity!
Loved her first book and would love to win a copy of this one.
Ok, if this had me laughing, I can’t wait to see what the book will do. I have got to go find the first one. Thanks for the chance to win.
I’m ready for a casino mystery. Sign me up, please.
This is where writing fails me– I don’t have the words to tell you all how much your kind words mean to me. Thank you, Dru, for having me, I’m thrilled you enjoyed Double Whammy, those of you’ve who’ve read it, I really hope everyone enjoys Double Dip, and, of course– GOOD LUCK!
Thank you Gretchen for giving us Davis’s lessons in gambling.
I live near Biloxi and would be interested in reading this.
lag110 at mchsi dot com
This looks very entertaining. Please put my name in the hat. Thanks Dru!
Looks like a fun read!!!
On an AAU basketball trip to Memphis, another dad and I drove down to Mississippi to visit one of these giant casinos. What a place and what a bunch of characters — totally different than my memory of Vegas. I want to win this book!
Love the myths about casinos. Would love to win this book.
Gretchen is one fantastic author who does a LOT of research before she writes her books, and then weaves the information to you throughout the entire book. These stories come to life, and you can actually picture these scenes in your mind’s eye. For anyone who has not read either of these books, run, don’t walk to the bookstore or order online asap. They should not be missed. For gamblers these books are fun to read, and for non gamblers they will mesmerize you and get your blood flowing and make you wish you were a gambler so you could catch all the casino action like others do.
I would love to have a copy of this book to give to my daughter for her March birthday but I guess I could let her use my copy if I wasn’t so overprotective of it!!! 🙂
Good luck to Gretchen with her OFFICIAL book release at midnight tonight.
Love
Cynthia
This looks like a fun read.
kaye.killgore@comcast.net
Sounds like a perfect read for me.
I KNEW #5 was true!
I think Henery Press has found some great authors.
My sister lives in TN — I know where Lookout Mountain is!
contest is closed.
“Myth #5 – and if you happen to be the person who won at the slot machine, upload your winner’s photo to Jackpotamus.com! It is a fun website to those of us who do slots just for fun! You may win a Jackpotamus t-shirt like my girlfriend did!