Well, it is not really a complaint, but I hear it a lot. When a player loses, they will exclaim, "unbelievable"! For some reason, this exclamation really bothers me. Unbelievable, really? I think of politicians as unbelievable, but cards can't lie. I want to say, "I didn't think it was unbelievable when you got twenty, so what is all this shock about anyway." What saying "unbelievable" implies is that I'm somehow dealing to them crookedly. Of course, if this was the case it would only be to the players advantage to tip. That way the dealer gets a cut and would deal in your favor. People who say "unbelievable" usually are the same people who do not tip or after winning $1000 throws in two dollars as a tip. Now that's unbelievable.
Another dealer was telling me about a woman that she was dealing to that won a lot of money. Then she started losing and became very irate. She would throw her cards at the dealer, bitch and of course, say "unbelievable". While this was happening, a very by-the-book female floor supervisor put a note in front of the dealer. The note read, "What is this bitch moaning about? She's up $4,000." Sure enough, when the woman left she took the chips that she had in her purse out. She colored up $4,800.
It makes me think of that passage in "The Princess Bride," where the guy keeps saying "Inconceivable!" and the Spaniard turns to him and says, "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."
ReplyDeleteAt least that's what it reminded me of. But then I'm a dweeb.
And really, dear boy, when will you come to understand that gamblers are not logical, rational, or even human? They're flatworms. They cringe at negative stimuli and expand at positive stimuli. How can you expect any kind of evolved behavior from them at all??
M
Your example from "The Princess Bride" is perfect. Perhaps, I will say "inconceivable!" back to the "unbelievable" sayers for fun.
ReplyDeleteI think that gamblers are just expecting things should go their way at all times. When that doesn't happen, it freaks them out. The majority of the "unbelievable" sayers are rich men. I figure they probably are used to snapping their fingers and having things go their way. When things don't go their way, they yell and scream until someone fixes it for them. I think they figure that if they complain enough, that I will somehow fix this situation for them. Believe me, as much as I hate giving money to rich complainers, I hate listening to a baby cry more. I would do it just to shut them up, but thank god, I can't. If I gave them money, they would never leave.
So actually, you could take kind of a mean satisfaction in the "unbelievable" sayers ... these rich bastards are getting unaccustomed-ly thwarted, and you (as the agent of randomness) are among the handful of people that can say "oh well, sorry" and GET AWAY WITH IT!! I mean, any other service employee, if they didn't give the rich bastards exactly what they wanted, they'd get fired. But you ... you get to tell them "NO" and there's not a damn thing they can do about it except cry and whine!!
ReplyDeleteThat actually sounds kind of fun!!
(Again, did you ever see "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas"? There's a scene in a hotel where a hotel clerk is telling some fucking cop that he can't have the room he wants, and the cop is sputtering in impotent rage ... it's like that.)
I actually had a guy chastise me yesterday for giving him a "14". He just kept giving me a lecture about how wrong it was. He didn't put down another bet until he had properly scolded me. I know I get away with it, but I tire of the complaints. Also, when he sat down, he lost a hand and said that he tipped the dealers $6,000 yesterday and he decided it was a mistake because I wasn't giving him winners.
ReplyDeleteI have seen "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas", I have to see it again. I couldn't understand a word of what was being said in the theater that I went too.
I hated "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" when I first saw it. I find that with some directors (Terry Gilliam and the Coen Brothers come to mind) I have to see the movies 2 or 3 times before I appreciate them.
ReplyDeleteFor example, I hated The Big Lebowski when I first saw it. Now I like it. Same with Fargo, only less so.
M
So actually, you could take kind of a mean satisfaction in the "unbelievable" sayers ... these rich bastards are getting unaccustomed-ly thwarted, and you (as the agent of randomness) are among the handful of people that can say "oh well, sorry" and GET AWAY WITH IT!! I mean, any other service employee, if they didn't give the rich bastards exactly what they wanted, they'd get fired. But you ... you get to tell them "NO" and there's not a damn thing they can do about it except cry and whine!!
ReplyDeleteThat actually sounds kind of fun!!
(Again, did you ever see "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas"? There's a scene in a hotel where a hotel clerk is telling some fucking cop that he can't have the room he wants, and the cop is sputtering in impotent rage ... it's like that.)