Another lesson in gambling

While I was writing my That's entertainment post last week, I was reminded of another time I went "gambling". This time it was at a dog racing track. Coincidentally, I was with one of the guys I had been with in the casino in Atlantic City. Well, it wasn't really a coincidence because he liked to gamble and he had asked me to go with him. This was a few years after the Atlantic City trip and we were in Florida where dog racing is big business. At that time it was also legal in Massachusetts (it has since been banned) and that's where my friend did most of his betting. He knew I didn't gamble but he said we'd have a really good meal there and he would be doing all the gambling. I could just chip in with some money if I wanted to. There I was again - trying to justify what I did.

We got there and it looked pretty seedy to me. I've never gone to a horse racing track but from what I've seen on TV and the movies, they look pretty well maintained. The casinos we visited in Atlantic City were modern, clean and bustling with energy. This dog track was old and not well maintained. The people at the dog track looked to be either bored or desperate. We sat in the dining room overlooking the track and my friend explained how he was going to pick the dogs he would bet on. He went through an elaborate explanation of the program that detailed each dog's recent racing history and he told me how he watches the dogs as they walk around before the race. "See, that one has his tail up. He's ready to go!" And he seemed to place a lot of importance on how the dogs reacted to each other, too. He liked aggressive dogs. He seemed to be all set to make a lot of money that night.

I don't remember how many bets we made that night but, once again, I put a strict limit on what I was going to spend that evening. If I lost it all, I figured it was like going to a baseball game and not expecting to get money back as I left the stadium. All I remember is that we lost all of our bets but one - and that one was a big one. It was a trifecta (where you have to pick the top three finishers in one race in the exact order of finish) and, since it is very hard to do and pays very well, it paid for our evening (entrance fee, lost bets and meal). But the funny part is that it was a mistake. My friend bet on the wrong dogs. He got his numbers mixed up and we only won because he didn't make the bet he had wanted to make. I've decided that gambling is not for me. The only kind of "dog racing" I want to see is the kind pictured on the book cover here. Now, that would be something to see!