By Mark La Monica
Even at a blackjack table in Connecticut, life comes to down to Yankees vs. Red Sox.
Heading up to Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods this past Saturday because, as it turned out, i owed the blackjack tables a few hundred bucks, I read the baseball standings in the newspaper.
The Yankees trailed the Red Sox by 7.5 games, but Friday night's Boston-Seattle game ended too late to appear in the edition. And since I basically rolled out of bed, maxed out my daily ATM limit and hopped in the car, I had no time to check the Internet or SportsCenter for a Red Sox score.
Did they win? I didn't know. Did they lose? I didn't know.
I gave up the quest for knowledge and focused on the task at hand: how to lose money at a blackjack table and not get mad about it. No easy feat.
I sat down at a $15 table at Mohegan Sun, next to a guy in Red Sox hat. Next to him was some dude in a Patriots jersey. The perfect combo for a New York sports guy. I should have walked away right there, but I won $67.50 in about 45 seconds, so I figured I'd press my luck. No whammies, please.
The guy in the Red Sox hat can best be summed up as follows: If Aguado the police detective from "Ace Ventura" had a twin brother, this was him.
He'd play one hand, then three hands, then two hands, then three hands, then one hand, then two hands. That's a strict no-no for true blackjackers. Consistent play is as important as intelligent play.
He varied his monetary levels each time, too, $20 here, $40 there. That's fine. It's his money. Let him do as he wishes in that regard.
After 30 minutes and $25 in profit, I colored in. Had to get moving before my ride left for Foxwoods and left me with the New England super fans. The guy in the Red Sox hat had just decided to play three $30 hands at once, after randomly putting a random number of chips in a random number of betting circles on the blackjack table.
And since he didn't see me stop playing, he got mad at me.
"You're gonna sit this one out?" he said.
"I'm done, guy," I said.
"Oh, you gotta tell us when you're gonna do something like that?" he boasts with a hint or four of anger.
Who is this guy to tell me how to play blackjack when he's playing with the strategy of former umpire union chief Richie "Let's all Resign" Phillips? I mean, really.
"I told the dealer," I responded.
"Well, I didn't hear you. I just upped my bet."
"Well, what do you want me to do? You've been betting crazy since I got here."
"You gotta tell us when you do something like that."
He's growing agitated. I still don't know if the Red Sox lost on Friday.
"Hey, did the Red Sox win last night?" I asked him.
"No."
"Good, now the Yanks are only seven games back. Have a nice day."