The first time I entered a casino I fell in love. I fell in love with the glamour, the noise and the lights. But mostly I fell in love with the action. There is nothing like a busy casino at 2 o'clock in the morning. You've got your high rollers, your hustlers and your little old ladies playing the slots.

I can look back on my gambling career through the men I married. The first man I married, I'll call him Big Daddy, was 55 years old. I was 19. I was just a kid but I had all the attributes gamblers loved. I had big boobs, a big personality and a killer smile. Wrap that up in a tight skirt and spiked heels and I could have ruled the world.

Big Daddy loved Black Jack. He loved Black Jack more than he loved me. That was his game. And he could sit for hours playing hand after hand. He once sat for eight hours straight without leaving the table. Not even to go to the bathroom. Now that is dedication. He was like most amateur gamblers. He lost consistently. Every once in a while he would have a good night and we would celebrate big time. But those were rare. Like I said he was an amateur and not a professional.

The second man I married, I'll call him Johnny, loved the crap tables. Dice was his game and he lived and breathed it. He even slept with a pair of lucky dice under his pillow. Johnny would have tremendous lucky streaks where he couldn't lose. It was incredible. At times it was like he could will a 2 or a 3 or a 12 be rolled. But he could never walk away. No matter how big his bank roll was he had to play until he lost it all. But that was Johnny.

The third man I married was a professional gambler. He made his living by it. And he had rules and systems he always followed. And he always won. Poker was his game and the one rule he always lived by was to walk away from the table before your luck did. It didn't matter how hot he was or how much money he was up, he knew when it was time to walk away. And he always did. And like I said, he always won.

The first time I ever walked into a casino I fell in love. And even today, when I walk into a casino, I fall in love all over again.

Copyright 2005 Pamela Pompeii. All rights reserved.

About the author:

Pamela Pompeii is the resident article writer at http://www.gambleonthis.com.