Casino Crumbs

Tonight, I decided it was finally time to be social. I like being my hermit-like self, but I think it's important to go out with everyone now and again. And most people in the house wanted to go to the casino tonight. So we all got dolled up (I wore my favorite strapless black dress with red heels for those who care) and took the vaporetto over to the casino.
On the vaporetto, one of the guys who runs the boat (as in goes over and ties it to the dock while people get on and then unties it when we're ready to go) starts making eyes at McKinley. This got good. He started saying nice things to her about how pretty she was. And then he asked her to come over to his seat and talk to him a little. And, of course, McKinley went over because she's so friendly and knows she can get out of the situation if necessary. And they flirted and talked. He spoke some English and speaks a tiny bit of Italian. Between the two of them they were able to talk pretty well. When we were almost to our stop, he asked for her number, so she gave it to him! Apparently he is going to call her next week so they can go out for coffee or something. How cute! We're totally going to go sit at the cafe next door and make sure she's safe, but still. At least she gets to go.
Anyway, so we got to the casino and paid the ten euro to get in and receive a ten euro chip to play with. We went a crap ton of stairs and then there were tables of roulette in front of us. The place was gorgeous. Well, not really gorgeous since it was a little tacky with the color choices and such. But it was done to appear stunningly expensive. haha. We walked around for a little bit, looking to see if the rest of our friends were there yet. They only had a few games available. Roulette (with a ton of tables available), Poker, Black Jack, and the slot machines. I don't know how to play poker, black jack makes you think too much and I don't really know strategies, and the chip they gave us was for the tables and not the slot machines. So I decided to play roulette. I waited as I learned to play from watching others and asking my friends. A few people from the group played a round of black jack. Everyone lost. haha. Then some people played roulette. I played and lost. Everyone lost. haha. Only two people put down any more money though. And they lost it all. So we waited a while for the rest of the group to come, having been at dinner before. When they didn't come after a long while, we got bored and left. A long walk home, and we were able to stop for gelato. (Yes, more gelato!)
Funny thing I hadn't mentioned: casino means two things in Venice. Casino the way we say it means a strip club or brothel, pretty much. I'm not entirely sure exactly which. But it's not good. haha. So you can't tell a Venetian you're going to the casino. You have to say you're going to the Casin-O, emphasis on the "o". The casino' is an actual casino where you bet and gamble. In fact, McKinley told her "new friend" (whose name may or may not be Johnathan) that she was going to the casino and he freaked out a little. She had to correct herself. So now, I've officially played my first game of roulette and been to a casino for the first time (well the first time I got to actually go inside the casino). Crazy.