The Casino, Episode 12: Gambling Problems

Welcome, friends, to another episode of The Casino. I hope you’ve already read my last recap so you’re all caught up on the drama of the Mills wedding and Tommy’s incredibly unprofessional behavior in front of a VIP. And you should also be familiar with my new policy of providing a little ding! every time we spot a plot contrivance. With that, away we go.

VIP gambler and brother of the groom Bryan tells super host Richard that moron Tommy missed the meeting they had scheduled to plan the bachelor party. Richard smoothes things over – the guy really is great at his job – and vows to deal with Tommy later. Tommy notices the two men talking ding! and suspects it’s about him. Well, duh. He thinks he’s busted. Honestly, if I got really drunk at work, vomited in front of a client, and then passed out and missed a meeting with an important client, I think I’d be feeling a little more concern than, “Oops, I’m busted.” But that’s just me.

Kristin thinks her wedding is out of control. It’s only two days away now, and she is really stressed. Why on earth did she and Geoff need to get married in just a week, anyway? Oh, right - ding!. She wonders about the budget, since she and Geoff have planned on the Golden Nugget paying for their wedding with the comps Geoff has built up over time. Their wedding is costing over $100,000 – exactly how much do Kristin and Geoff think they’re getting? Kristin says Geoff is in the casino now, and she’s pretty sure he’s doing well at the tables.

Cut to the tables where, of course, Geoff is losing. He has now lost over $35,000. I’d just like to say again that if you can afford to lose that much money, more than the average American makes in a year, in just a few days, you are getting no sympathy from me. Dee joins him at the table to talk about the bill for the wedding. Because, of course, you’d interrupt a high roller on a cold streak to talk about something unpleasant instead of getting him to keep gambling. Ding! Geoff tells Dee to come back and talk about it later. In an interview, Geoff says that he’s at the top of the “gambling food chain,” so he expects nice comps.

At the other end of the gambling food chain is Jason, a former police officer, who is on his way to a pawn shop. He says that over the years, he’s pawned things such as the gun he had on the police force and jewelry he’s gotten for graduations to finance his gambling habit. As he gets a stack of cash from the pawn broker, he tells us that he loves the rush of gambling. This guy is depressing me already. Jason arrives at the Golden Nugget and starts feeding his addiction. He says that his wife thinks he’s at work, so he needs to make as much money at the tables as he would have on the job. She hates his gambling. Well, I don’t even have to live with the guy, and when he puts the picture of his baby daughter on the table for luck, I’m starting to hate his gambling, too. He says that the more he wins, the more he wants to gamble, and the more he loses, the more he wants to gamble. And hiding things from his wife is equally thrilling.

Tom reminds us that when he and Tim bought the Nugget, they changed the odds at the craps tables and raised the maximum bets. The good news is that it brought in a lot of players, and the bad news is that they’re all winning. Can they afford to keep this up? Tim says that the point is, the players are coming. He doesn’t think Tom should worry his pretty head over it, because Tim knows more about gambling than Tom does. Tom is “truly concerned” about this turn of events.

In the casino, Tommy is languidly leaning on a table. Richard comes up from behind him and yanks him upright so that his customers can use the table. Go, Richard, and congratulations on being on the second character on this show that has any redeeming qualities. I now love you almost as much as I love my boyfriend Matt Dusk, who tragically does not appear in this episode. Tommy, ever the professional, notices that Richard’s VIP has a really hot daughter. He openly drools over her, even though Nugget policy is that employees should not flirt with guests. “But,” Tommy justifies, “This girl was fine.” Richard tells Tommy to stop making goo-goo eyes with the woman, and Tommy laughs it off. Richard does not find it so funny, and tells Tommy that this behavior is totally unacceptable with his players. He tells Tommy to watch himself, and Tommy says, “I will from now on.” Richard has heard that a million times from Tommy and mocks him. I love you, Richard!

Tara, Kristin’s wedding planner, says that her vendors need their deposit money. What happened to the $25,000 check Geoff gave her in the last episode? Ding! Geoff tells her that he’s been talking to the Nugget staff, and that he just hasn’t gotten any answers yet. Geoff gives vague answers to all of Tara’s direct questions, which makes it pretty clear that he’s been avoiding this whole issue.

In the next scene, the cameras just happened to be in the home of Jason and his wife Christine. Ding! Jason can’t pay their bills, and says that the minimum payments are “outrageous.” I guess that’s what happens when you charge outrageous amounts on your credit cards. The mean people at Visa demand to be paid. Bastards! Christine doesn’t want to declare bankruptcy, and says that maybe they need to have a trial separation. Jason says he’d go crazy without her and their little girl.