Tall Stack of Chips (click to reply)

One Saturday night, I was seated at a blackjack table with two college guys and their dates. The two jocks were acting like big shots and the girls were giggling at everything the guys had done. Typical casino date behavior. One of the guys had an impressive run of luck and was winning over $500. However, he did not have any greens chips. His entire bankroll was comprised of red, $5 chips. I know this for a fact, because the guy was piling the red chips in a single, huge stack that resembled a tower. Most players stack red piles $25, $50 or $100 at a time. This guy was showing off for his buddy and the two girls by building an obelisk all the way to the heavens with his $500+ red winnings. When he added another handful of reds to the stack, it started teetering slightly.

“You know,” I remarked, “it will be really embarrassing when that stack tips over. Chips will fly off the table, some will go in the dealer’s tray, others may land in ashtrays, and the game will get interrupted for several minutes.”

The guy ignored my advice. Three hands later, while he had attempted to add a few more chips to the tower, the stack tipped over, chips flew off the table, some went into the dealer’s tray, others landed in ashtrays, and the game was interrupted for several minutes. I laughed my ass off, and unsuccessfully pleaded with the pit boss to get a copy of the eye-in-the-sky surveillance tape so I could put the video on YouTube.