game face

Turns out, I'm not really a casino person. It's not that I dislike gambling, as evidenced by my throwing around of cash at the horsey track each summer. It's just that I am not entirely clear on what I'm supposed to do with myself at a casino, and I have this thing about liking daylight and clocks and, you know, air.

All this aside, I had a really fun time at a casino recently! We spent a couple of nights at a wacky place just outside of Palm Springs in celebration of a great friend's great big birthday. I think part of the reason it was such fun was that I'd had a little training on gambling behavior the previous week at that very same friend's most righteous house party.

Believe it or not, their house doesn't usually look quite like this. They moved all of the furniture out and brought in some peeps to set up a working casino! It was very cool, and completely risk-free since the chips we were gambling with would eventually be traded in for raffle tickets that we used for chances at fabulous prizes.

This didn't devalue the chips, though. It was serious gaming with serious rules and serious expectations for serious behavior.

Seriously.

I wasn't just being silly, though. I was teaching people serious, valuable life skills.

See how the student surpasses the master!

Walk the lily, grasshopper.

So, I'd had some refreshing about how to handle myself at blackjack, although I came away without a clue as to what goes on at the craps table. No matter, though! Soon enough, we found ourselves out in the desert at a strange sort of oasis where a cloud of smoke hung overhead and daylight seemed a distant memory.

The first night, we whooped it up like high low rollers and came out ahead. But we really weren't there for the gambling, it was a big fancy hotel and we had many small people to entertain! Thankfully, we were lacking nothing in the fun-to-be-had department. 

That is not a bong in Desi's hand. You know how when you go to a resort, you buy one house drink in a souvenir cup so you can  refill it for the duration of your stay from your own stash while maintaining your stealthy decorum? Those green numbers were our decoys. Because they were so stealthy. And nothing says decorum like an arm's length of mai tai at dinner.   

There was also a lazy river to keep the small peeps  happy and entertained.

It was enjoyed by the big peeps as well.

At the end of the day, there were big beds full of beautiful girls.

And nearby, there was Palm Springs, with its pretty sidewalk eateries and brunchie spots for our pleasure.

And shops in which to find ourselves sufficiently entertained.

So I'm not a casino girl, no. But the peripherals one can find in casino land? I'll gamble on that kind of fun any day.