Late Summer in Town Decay, Part 3

Early Morning

The good news?  The addition of another pillow + general exhaustion meant that I actually slept reasonably well last night.  The getting up at 6am part isn't all that unusual for me, as all it takes is the slightest mental spark in my head and immediately my thoughts turn into blazing fires of ideas.  That's more of a curse than a blessing, but it is who I am.

In the "something I forgot to mention yesterday" department:  The Weed Fan.  We discovered that the smell of weed coming from other places in the hotel is made worse when the bathroom fan is off.  This was a discovery backed by an actual experiment, mind you, which is a lot more than most anti-vaxers can say.  Apparently, the smoking floor of this hotel (yes, such a thing still exists, at least here) is right above us, and I suspect that the bathroom exhaust fans of said rooms carry the stench into the ventilation system.  With the fan off in our room, the smell enters.  With the fan on, the negative air pressure in our bathroom helps prevents the smell from entering.  To quote Thomas Dolby, "Science!".

For the record, our observations about Atlantic City were predicted earlier in the year:

https://www.shorenewsnetwork.com/2021/02/28/in-2021-the-jersey-shore-can-become-the-largest-beachfront-pot-party-in-america-and-theres-nothing-anyone-can-do-about-it/

The punchline, of sorts?  New Jersey apparently has the worst marijuana legalization law in the country.

On a more serious note, as if the above isn't serious enough, I think that this is my/our last trip to Atlantic City.  While both Ms. Rivers and I have enjoyed the nostalgia of coming back to a place that represented a few happy moments in my childhood (the Atlantic City of pre-gambling days) and in hers (coming back from the Dominican Republic and staying in Ventnor as a child), the reality is no amount of memories can mask the general despair we have seen in just a short period of time.  This is not a good place.  To be brutally honest, this was never a good place, but it was an interesting place.  However, there comes a time when "interesting" is easily overwhelmed by despair and that threshold has been crossed in AC circa 2021.

There is a much, much larger tragedy in this place over and above the rambling of some 57-year-old man hungry for the nostalgia of his childhood.  The bigger story here is of a place where, in 1977, hope was dangled in front of a community in the form of State-sanctioned gambling.  The money would be flowing in and would trickle down into every corner of society.  That failed.  Miserably, I will add.  While failing to tacitly admit that mistake, the government continues to poke at the concept like some kid prodding a dead raccoon with a stick, waiting for some magical life to return.  Those pokes have recently included sports betting and legalized marijuana use.  The former doesn't seem like it has helped, and the latter has just made it worse.  It makes one think that this was never actually about creating a better community for an old Jersey Shore town.

The above reminds me of one very basic fact when it comes to legalized gambling:  The only winner is the house.  Not the gambler.  And certainly not the residents of Atlantic City, New Jersey.

On a less contemplative note, today's activities include some time on a boat, some photography, and perhaps dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe.  I'm planning on avoiding 7-11's this time around.

********

Evening

It's all fun and games until the dolphins show up.

The highlight of this afternoon was some dolphin-watching.  For the record, taking photographs of fast-moving dolphins from a moving boat isn't the easiest thing in the world.  Nevertheless, it was fun.

(heading out to troll for quahogs)

It was also relaxing to tool about the back-bay of Atlantic City.

The other highlight was dinner at the Hard Rock Casino, which strikes one as being this kind of self-contained city, not all that dissimilar from a really big cruise ship.  We also spent some time after dinner with our typical "let's waste $20 each on the slot machines".

We suck at gambling...especially me.  It literally took about 5 minutes to blow through $40.  Wonder how a company can basically afford to build a self-contained city?  That would be from folks like us.  All well and good, as gambling in a casino is as much a study in sociology as it is anything else.

With dinner, 5 minutes of slot play, and a stroll completed, it's time for the AC2021 trek to come to an end.  I can say, looking back on just our little bit of time here, that it has been interesting.  As I noted this morning, I doubt we will come back.  AC doesn't need us, by the way, and at some point, the novelty of re-treading childhood steps grows old, especially among the clouds of ever-present second-hand marijuana smoke.  

One of the things we were wondering about was how COVID impacted the situation in Atlantic City, especially given it struggling pre-pandemic.  My best analogy?  "Atlantic City now is a bit like a Diabetic AIDS patient who then catches COVID".  

Tomorrow we head back to the real world.  

Late Summer in Town Decay, Part 1

So long ago, wasn't it a dream?  Was it just a dream?

As I have noted here on a few separate occasions in the past, I have a special connection to Atlantic City (New Jersey), as does Ms. Rivers.  See HERE.  We've come here a few times over the years, and this year just happened to be the right time to make the trek back.  In fact, so far this year, this is as close as I have gotten to a vacation.  See switching jobs (but so I digress).  Anyway, we are spending a long weekend here in this place that has seen probably one too many deaths, resurrections, and deaths over the years.

Some might call that last sentence offensive to Atlantic City (AC), a point which I understand.  There is, however, a certain charm to this place, no doubt imbued by memories of a childhood past, at least for me.  I view it now as a kind of anti-matter Disney, but for the gambling sect.  That last analogy might be another reason why I just find AC so fascinating.

Anyway, a few observations over the next few days of the sight, sounds, and smells of AC are in order.

I'll tackle that last point first.  Smell.  Specifically, the smell of marijuana, which seems to attack the nostrils here on frequent occasions...a point made all the more relevant by the fact that, as I write this, I've also actually been here for a bit over 3 hours.   Now personally I don't really care for or about marijuana, which is something I have noted a few times over the years.  While the argument can be (successfully) made that it (weed) isn't worse than booze, a simple fact remains:  I don't have to smell someone's booze as I walk by them.  By way of back-story, see THIS article.  As other States march towards inevitable decriminalization, I think this is something of a forgotten issue.  Granted that my sense of smell is probably my best functioning of the normal 5 (it sure as heck isn't sight...), but someone with half a functioning nose could detect the not-so-fragrant order of burning weed.  

Am I over-reacting?  Maybe.  But just as it's someone's choice to indulge in this particular drug, it should be my choice not to be exposed to it in public.  Old man rant concluded.

As for the rest of the long weekend, we have no fixed plans, other than walking, eating, and, in my case, photography.  AC is a fascinating place to take pictures.  Its old beach town bones are still showing in places, complimented and often replaced by the gaudy nature of the modern-day casino business.  Oh, and it has an ocean.  As I said, fascinating.

On that note, more to come.

How Do You Spell Despair? C-A-S-I-N-O

Once a year for the past several years in and around November 20th(1) my wife and I venture forth from our home to that shiny beacon between Scranton and Wilkes-Barre knows as the Mohegan Sun Pocono Casino.  This year was no different, and jaunt is mainly to get a good meal and walk around.  That's the plan.  Oh, and we waste about $20 in the slot machines, which for me consists of the following:

Insert money

Randomly push buttons

Lose money

Repeat

I genuinely do not know how to play a slot machine.  I really, truly don't.  You could sit me down side-by-side at a slot machine with a chimpanzee and we would pretty much be doing the exact same thing.  Now, this isn't a lacking on my part of the mental fire-power required to understand how to play these devices; spend any time in a casino and observe who actually does play slot machines and my point will be made.  No, this is what a complete lack of interest in gambling looks like.  I feel the same way about lottery tickets too, for the record.

So why do it?

It's kind of like that once or twice a year drink of alcohol I have...maybe it just serves to remind me that I don't like gambling, or drinking (alcohol) for that matter.

Anyway, for me, the thought of the casino is always much better than the actuality of the casino.  I mean no disrespect, by the way, to the operators of the Mohegan Sun Pocono Casino.  By all accounts and my personal observations, it's a clean(2), secure, friendly, and well-run operation.  It's just that I don't understand the underlying attraction, especially when you consider that this is a 24/7 operation.  What's more, there's just sometimes this sense of despair when you are at the casino.  I see these folks sitting alone at a slot machine, with a vacant expression of their face as they purposefully work the slot machine buttons(3).  I want to find a middle-aged lady who is sitting there alone and ask her "is that fun?".  Maybe it is fun.  Then again, people who play games of chance at any casino lose far more money than they ever win, which to me seems like the anthesis of fun.  

Wratcheting this up a bit, remember that this is a 24/7 operation.  Yes, there are people gambling there at 3am in the morning.  I want to go, just one time, to the casino at 3am in the morning just to see this for myself, to prove that such a thing isn't just an academic construct or urban myth.

One thing the casino is?  It's alive.  It's bright.  It's blinking.  It's a kind of modern glitzy.  Maybe for some folks, well, that's what the casino does for them: It's a place that's alive, and maybe that's something they really need.  Just writing that thought makes me think of despair though.  

A final thought:  Casinos in Pennsylvania have a privilege that they...and only they...enjoy, namely that indoor smoking is allowed.  Within 10 seconds of entering the building...more than a hundred feet from the gambling floor...I can smell the tobacco smoke.  After about an hour and a half, I feel myself starting to get a horrible headache from it.  I wonder just how the workers there tolerate that sort of thing, well at least the workers that don't smoke.  That previous statement is a bit of a contradiction by the way, because if you work at the casino, even if you don't smoke, you are actually smoking.  The air is that bad.  That must be one heck of a waiver they must sign upon the start of employment.  

(1) Why November 20th?  Well, it's something of a second anniversary, of sorts.
(2) "Clean", as long as you don't consider the air.
(3) Purposefully, unlike me.

(sniff) (sniff) What's that smell? Oh, it's just despair.

Since the end of last week was filled with snow storms and such, Ms Rivers and I decided to go out for a Valentine's Day dinner a bit late this year.  The location was the Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs casino, located roughly between Scranton and Wilkes-Boro.  You can link to the casino's website HERE.

Now I don't really gamble, so going to a casino isn't something I've done very often.  In fact, I can probably use up one hand and an extra finger to count up the number of times I've been to this type of establishment.  I do find them interesting though.  Here are a few general and random thoughts on this latest experience specifically, and casinos in general.

• Smoking & Gambling - I can see why the casino operators insisted that they be given an exemption to indoor air quality rules.  Why?  Because smoking and gambling go together like, well, smoking and gambling.  Think about it (as Ms Rivers noted), the casino is probably one of the last places someone can sit indoors and smoke their lungs out.  Nothing like seeing someone blowing money twice as effectively as they could anywhere else.
• The Smell - Despite what seems like a monster HVAC system that could probably cool Uganda, the smell of hundreds of people smoking in the casino hits you like a ton of bricks when you enter the place.  Now the casino operator does do a decent job of abating the smell in the non-smoking section, but it's still pretty much everywhere.  I feel bad for the people that work there.
• 24/7/365 - According to our waitress, the casino at Pocono Downs never closes.  It's kind of remarkable when you think about it:  there are people there gambling at 3:30 in the morning.  I almost want to go there at 3:30am just so I can ask someone "Why the Hell are you here?".  Additionally, it makes me also wonder just what someone who is disposed to going to a casino at 3:30am did before they had a casino to go to.  
• Money, Money, Money - And not the ABBA song* either. This place must make money hand over fist.  With the odds severely stilted against each average gambler and so many playing, I can see why casino gambling truly is the revenge of Native Americans against the White Man.  
• "If You Have a Gambling Problem" - I love the "If you have a gambling problem..." signs that you see in a casino.  That makes about as much sense has having a "If you have an over-eating problem..." sign at an all-you-can-eat buffet.  Or a "If you have a steroid problem..." sign in a major league baseball locker room.  Or a "If you have a problem with science and rational thought..." sign at the Creation Museum.  Or a "If you have a problem wearing clothing that is grossly inappropriate while shopping..." sign at your average Walmart.  Or a "If you have bribery problem..." sign at either the Luzerne or Lackawanna County courthouse.
• Cash Advance - You can get a cash advance at the casino.  I'm not sure how that would work, but I'm intrigued at the thought of someone actually gambling money that they didn't even have in the first place.  It's simply remarkable. There were ATMs all over the place at the casino as well, and I really wanted to see what kind of fee they would add on for the privilege of giving someone their own money.
• The Advertisements - In the casino, you see these advertisements showing some senior citizen or poorly dressed guy holding up cash, with the tag line "Cappy from Shanty Town just won $2,000!".  Personally I'd like to see, in smaller print below that line, the following:  "Cappy lives off of his social security and a meager pension.  Cappy has gambled away over $5,000 at the casino since it opened.".  Truth in advertising.
• The Food - One thing you can't really criticize the casino about is the food.  The dinner was had, at the Rustic Kitchen, was simply excellent.  Even their food court looked neat.  The logic is pretty smart as well:  after a hard fought few hours of playing the one-armed bandits, what better place to blow some cash than at a nice restaurant?  As Mr Spock would say, "Logical, flawlessly logical".

For the record, I'll note that I have nothing against anyone who actually wants to gamble, be that at 3:30am or any other time.  For me, it just doesn't make sense, as I simply don't find it fun or exciting to lose money hand over fist.  For others?  Well on some basic level I can understand the appeal...it's must be this combination of danger, excitement at the prospect of winning and all the flashiness that abounds in the place.  Self-deception?  Well maybe, but a little bit of that isn't all that bad every once in a while.  Gambling, like most things in life, is probably okay in moderation.




(*) Since I brought it up...

I'm Not Impressed (Gambling)

So, our politicians want us to be all proud that Pennsylvania is #1 in gambling revenue. Well excuse me if I'm NOT impressed.

Story link HERE.

Look, I think gambling is a basically a way to tax stupid people. I've said that before, as have others, do I don't claim it as an original thought. If you want to gamble, then please be my guest. Mind you the odds are better you will find more money laying on the street than you will ever winning in a casino, but so be it. I do know some folks who seem to enjoy the activity, so basically I don't care...from that perspective. I've played slot machines four times in my life. That's pretty much enough, as I know the house ALWAYS wins in the end. You see, in Pennsylvania, the state basically acts like a mafia protection racket for the gambling industry. Think about it: the state protects territories and gets a big share of the profits. I seem to recall seeing stuff like that on The Sopranos.

What I do care about though that our political leaders want us to think that this whole business is somehow great, good, noble, etc. Yes, I'm sure that the subliminal message here is "just think how much we would be in the hole if we didn't have gambling revenue", but I prefer to think that this is just another, more subtle, form of taxation to fund a bloated state budget. Put another way, gambling revenue has yet again forestalled the inevitable day of reckoning when politicians actually have to find ways to fund their promises in real time. See the pension disaster for a good example.

Wait, I have a thought. Here's an analogy for you: Gambling revenue is to Pennsylvania's budget as Methadone is to Heroin. Yes, it can help solve the addiction, but alone (without counseling and other forms of intervention) all it does is substitute one vice for another.

Our political leaders...in both ridiculous caucuses...have no interest in actually dealing with the root cause of Pennsylvania's budget problem, namely that the state simply spends too much money on the wrong things. Gambling revenue simply helps hide the mistake. A little bit.

A final thought. For all you moral up tights out there, if gambling revenue is okay, then how about we go for the big one and legalize prostitution too? That way we can beat Nevada all the way around. Hey, a vice is vice is vice. Do we really think gambling is that much more moral of an activity than prostitution? Hell, I'll take it one step further: legalized prostitution...with proper controls in place...is probably less harmful to society than the sale and use of tobacco products.