What I learned in International Waters

A couple weeks ago Andy and I decided to cross off Number 26 on the list: take to the sea on the Victory Casino Cruise. That’s right folks, we went gamblin’! We brought along our friend Chris, who has a lot more gambling experience than us, to show us the ropes.

I was pretty nervous before we left, since I can get pretty seasick and this was the first time I have ever gambled. After taking a not so small amount of Dramamine, we hit the road for Cape Canaveral. As we were parking, Andy had the genius idea to bring the jar of change I keep in my car. We planned on just using it for slots but it ended up being all I gambled with the whole night. Boarding the ship was surprisingly easy, and it only cost $10 to get on, which I think is a pretty great deal for a four hour cruise!

Right when we got on the boys went straight to the counter to bet on sports. Chris put a pretty hefty bet on the Miami Heat game and Andy put his money on a hockey game and of course the Rockies. Betting on sports is apparently pretty complicated. There were all these numbers and charts; basically, I was very confused by the whole interaction. After the ship crossed whatever imaginary line in the ocean allows you to gamble legally, they placed their bets, and the real fun began.

Here’s what I learned from my first gambling experience:

1. Smoking is still allowed inside on gambling cruises. I used to think I was born in the wrong decade, but now I am very grateful to live in an era where indoor smoking is banned...well...apparently with the exception of international waters.

2. “Don’t split the winning hand.” I didn’t actually learn this one on the boat...or actually learn it at all since I’m still not sure what it means. Chris’s father kept repeating this in the driveway before we left. I am certain that it is very solid Blackjack advice, and would be very useful if I knew the first thing about Blackjack.

3. You can still win at Blackjack without knowing anything about Blackjack if you have either your boyfriend or his best friend telling you what to do every second. The downside to this method is that if they are doing a good job focusing on your hands, they will inevitably begin losing more of theirs. (Sorry Chris)

4. Gambling is a lot more fun when you don’t care if you lose. I accomplished this by only betting with the change from the jar I keep in my car. Sure, carrying $11 in change onto the boat was a little embarrassing, but it was worth it when I turned it into $80 before I got off! And even if I had lost it all, so what?

5. Slots are way more complicated than they look in the movies. Andy claims he and Chris figured them out. But all the same I thought I just got to pull a shiny lever and wait for three cherries to line up. Not the case.

6. Friday night gambling cruises in Cape Canaveral are filled with exactly the type of people you would expect to take Friday night gambling cruises in Cape Canaveral. Most of them were very old and many of them served as a cautionary tale against the dangers of gambling addiction.

7. If you are not very tall , not very coordinated, and very prone to motion sickness a maxi dress may not be a wise wardrobe choice for this activity.

8. Gambling cruises are 4 hours long. There is nothing to do but gamble. Come with a full phone battery. Seriously.

Thank God we had our favorite third wheel!

I probably won’t be strapping on my sea legs again anytime soon, but I had a good time. At the end of the night I was up $80 and Andy made $130, plus we crossed something off The List!