The calm before the storm...

Well, I took my car in to the service shop this morning - and the news wasn't too bad. My alternator belt snapped, which damaged a tension pulley. They also suggested that I have another belt replaced, as it looked like it was also going to snap at anytime. The total estimate is under $200, which has me ecstatic. I didn't have any expectations as to how much it was going to cost, so a couple hundred dollars is a lot better than what it could have been. It helps too that I won $140 on the boat Saturday night (well really it was Sunday morning), so that almost covered all of my repairs. I get to pick it up this evening, so I don't even have to be without a vehicle for an extended period of time. All in all, I'm a happy camper today!

As for the $140 I won on the boat, here's that story. I lost about $90 in 2 hours playing penny slots. Then I went upstairs and played some dollar slots and I lost another $50 in an hour. So I took my remaining $200 and went to the blackjack table. I started at $25/hand and I lost 4 in a row right away. I was down $240, and only had $100 left! Then, this guy came to our table and sat down at 3rd base (the end spot at the table). This spot is the most important spot at the table, because what this player does affects what cards the dealer gets, and thus affects whether the rest of the table wins or not. Well this guy sat down and right away, I could tell that he had never even seen a blackjack table before. He didn't know what he was doing. He didn't even know where to place his bet on the table. Well anyway, he started playing and making totally wrong decisions, but the table started winning because of him. He kept playing poorly and the table kept winning, until I left with $500 in my pocket. Thank God for that guy and his lack of blackjack skills!!