I’m freaked out by the lights and perfume at the Mirage so I move up the Strip to the natty glow of the Sahara, where I sit at the $5 table between a gigantic girl wearing a tiny black t-shirt that says Lick My Taco and three old Chinese ladies who moan and slap the green felt no matter what cards they’re dealt.

An hour later, the scenery changes and a young couple from Portland is bravely fighting back tears after losing $35. A trucker from Memphis loses $4000 in one hand and doesn’t blink. I double-down with most of my chips on the table, secure in my 20 against the dealer’s 4. The dealer takes five cards and hits 21.

Flipping another chip onto the felt, I talk to a physical therapist who is moving to Monterey and then I listen to a caterer from Virginia describe her new sandwich menu. I try not to count my chips while I quiz the dealer about the best place to live in Vegas. “Ha, downtown? Nobody lives downtown,” says Chin. “I’m from back east, you know, and I’d rather live there. But this is the only place where you can save up some decent money.”

It clearly depends what side of the table you’re on.

* * *

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Burger/Ink – Bring Trance Back (to Las Vegas)
from Las Vegas. Matador, 1998 | buy it
This 11-year old full-length collaboration between Jörg Burger and Wolfgang Voigt ages surprisingly well. If you don’t already have the towering ’12 Miles High’, track it down immediately.