Drive, gamble, and die

Jason wanted to go to a casino so we found one online: Lucky Chances. Its in Colma, just outside South San Francisco. I have to say I was impressed by the nonchalance of the urban planning of this city: entire blocks of car dealerships lined one after the other, then an enormous cemetery called Cypress Gardens, and then across the street, Lucky Chances casino. "Drive, gamble, or die," suggested Colma.

Inside a hundred card tables are assymetrically dispersed around a huge warehouse the size of Costco. Twelve people to a table with their money stacked into colored chips. A dry-erase board shows the long list of names waiting to join a table. We were there 20 minutes before being seated. Mind you, this was a Tuesday night around 7:30.

Most were still in their work uniforms: a nurse, a plumber, a maintenance man, an auto-mechanic. They held their cards like a grudge against the world. Kings and queens facing knaves and dreams. In Colma things are unabashedly clear. By 8:30, Jason lost $50 to the Texas hold'em table; we walked out just in time to catch the pink sunset on Cypress Gardens.