Little Bit of Trouble Going to Chicago

My buddy Lorne and I took a trip from our hometown in Jonesboro to the Joliet last weekend, and we got ourselves in some trouble. We drove through Peoria and Champaign on our way there, and we stopped to see some friends in both places. We invited them to come with us and do some gambling at the Casino, but they declined.

Our friends had the right idea for sure, but we love gambling (well we did then - read on), and we just had to play some craps, roulette and blackjack. After we left our buddies, we had some car trouble near Pontiac when my radiator decided to retire. Of course we were very disappointed to have our trip go off the rails like that, but regardless, we were really excited to be out on the road and away from work. I should point out, that this short story is a cautionary one, and hopefully others can learn from our mistakes - not that most people ever really change their behaviour because of someone else's mistakes.

So there we were - stuck in Pontiac and forced to spend half of our play money on repairs. It was a bad start to a trip we had been talking about taking for over six months. Between Lorne and I, we had a total of three thousand dollars when we cashed our paychecks in Zeigler, and by the time we finished paying for the radiator, labor, our bar tab, food, and hotel, we were down to just over two thousand dollars.

When we finally arrived at the Casino we weren't exactly as excited as we had anticipated we would be when we were dreaming up the trip in the first place.

Both of us needed to freshen up before we went to the Casino, so we just grabbed our keys for the room and went upstairs to crash.

It seemed that whenever I got lucky and got dealt two face cards, the dealer would get blackjack. Whenever I split two hands, sometimes 3 or 4 hands, the dealer would get blackjack, 21, or 20. I thought the dealer's good luck had no boundaries! To make things even more frustrating, the other players at the table were doing pretty good.!



By the end of the day Lorne and I had lost ALL of our money gambling, and Lorne had even gone to the ATM and withdrew another five hundred dollars, leaving us feeling like real losers. Talk about your instant deflation of self-esteem.

We went back to our hotel room, silently watched television, and rarely spoke - except to remind ourselves that we had no gas in the tank of the car.

We finally fell asleep at around four in the morning and when we woke up we were hung over, and broke. We checked out of our hotel room at the latest possible check out time, and slowly walked out to the parking lot, queasy and uneasy. We were not alone of course - there were other losers walking around with the same look on their faces.

All I could think about was how we were going to get some gas in the tank for the drive back down south.

It was obviously the only recourse we had left at this point, so we looked in a nearby phone booth directory to find out where all the payday loan shops were in Peoria. We found one that was on our way back south, and looked it up on the map. One that was more well known. Preferably we needed a lender that advertised five hundred dollar loans in just minutes.

So we headed down the highway running on fumes stopping to share a Mcdonalds Egg McMuffin with our last two dollars.

We both watched the gas gauge closely as we drove, praying we would have enough fuel to get us to the loan shop and praying we would have enough fuel to get us to a gas station after we picked up the cash. We were in pretty pathetic shape at the time - you know - young and stupid. We ended up getting completely lost for awhile, but eventually found a town, and the street that the payday loan shops were on. When we went to work the next Monday all of our buddies asked us how we did up North in the Casino. We told the truth, which made us the butt of the jokes for the entire week. The whole experience was humiliating and left me feeling like a total fool. Furthermore, we were really broke.

I still think about all of the things we could have used that three thousand dollars for.

If you have never had the chance to drive up to Northern Illinois for a trip, I have a funny story to tell you.

Soon after we left there my vehicle started making some wierd noises near Pontiac when my radiator grinded to a halt. This was a major bummer for sure and put a small damper on our mood, but regardless, it was a beautiful day and we were just glad to be out of the daily grind.

I should point out, that this ridiculous yarn is not an exaggeration, and wouldn't it be great if other kids who think gambling is fun will reconsider - not that anyone most young people will every take our advice not that readers will take anything away from this story. It was not exactly what we had planned for when we were cooking up our trip plans. Between Lorne and I, we thought we had much more than enough money for gambling, hotel, food, and drinks in Zeigler, and when the smoke finally cleared we paid off the mechanics for the radiator, labor, our bar tab, food, and hotel, we were down to just over $2000 dollars.

When we did get to the Casino we weren't exactly as excited as we had envisioned we would be when we were dreaming up the trip back two months prior.

Both of us needed to freshen up before we bothered to go down to the Casino, so we just grabbed our keys for the room and went upstairs to crash. We were dire need of some personal hygiene before we began gambling. I couldn't help but notice then when I struck it lucky and was dealt a ten and a ten, the dealer pulled a 21. If was ever dared to split my deal, the dealer managed to pull off a total fluke, 21, or 20 - I was disgusted at how bad my cards were. I couldn't believe how lucky the dealer was getting! It was clear that the house had a plan to empty my wallet!

By dinner time Lorne and I had somehow been stupid enough to waste all of our money, leaving us stupified and fried. When we were driving away from the Casino you should have seen us play like we were immune to the defeat, deep inside we were both feeling sick about it.Talk about a bruised ego.

We went back to our hotel room, pounded back a bottle of gin, avoided talking to each other - save for the weak attempt at taking our minds of what just happened. We finally fell asleep at around four in the morning and when we woke up we were hung over, and broke. We couldn't help but notice we weren't alone - there were some sad cases nearby that looked grey and graveled with the same demeanor.

Pretty funny - as we sat their looking into space from inside the rust-bucket while Mark hunted in the center console hunting for a cigerette.

Just as I was ready to make my idea(s) know to him, Mark found his last paycheck slip under the seat. His big idea involved using his pay stub to get a quick loan from short-term loan offices so we could pump some gas into the fuel tank and hit the road

It was obviously the only recourse we had left at this point, so we looked in a nearby phone booth directory to find out where all the personal loan shops were in Chicago. We had to find a lender that was quite nearby. One that was more well known. We needed a company that claimed to provide 500 dollar loans in just minutes.

We decided to get going on our way stopping to share a breakfast with our last two bucks.

We must have looked like a couple of dumb asses - you know - young and stupid. We were confused with our directions a little bit, but we finally found ourselves in a downtown corridor where the small loan branches were on. I was very surprised at the amount. When we are back down South, and in the work place again enquiring minds wanted a full account of our adventure in Chicago in the Casino. We faced the full on laughter of everyone on our shift. Furthermore, we were really broke. We usually chose to never talk about that trip - unless we're drunk.