I didn’t grow up around any sort of gambling. In fact, to this day, I’ve never played a game of poker or blackjack. Nor have I ever even pulled up a chair at a casino table. Now don’t get me wrong, I can play a mean hand of Spades or Uno. You don’t even want to try to defeat me at Slapjack or Old Maid! There, I’m a fierce competitor. 😉
But the smoky casinos of Vegas never called my name.
In my years as a flight attendant, Vegas was one of my least favorite cities. We’d work all day, then catch our ride to the hotel. In our uniforms, we’d have to roll our bags through the crowded smoky casino in the middle of the night, with slot machines clanking at every turn. Even worse, on the morning shift, we’d roll through at 5:00am, and the room was still foggy with smoke. I was always so saddened to see all the people still sitting at the slots, drinking and smoking, hoping to finally win enough to quit. And don’t even get me started on the old ladies on the casino bus.
That’s a story for another day. (but it’s a good one!)
The point is, when the ladies were begging for a casino night GNO, I didn’t have a single clue about where to start. I’m probably the least likely candidate to bring you a Casino Night GNO. So much so, that it’s almost laughable. But that’s precisely the point. There are things in life that we judge until we know better. There are people who are easy to judge, based only on the limited information and experience we have . . . until we get closer.
It’s what I love most about the “You’re in Luck GNO” we’re hosting one week from tonight.
While Rebekah Garza, the owner of Aces Wild Casino, and our Featured Guest for the night, might not have grown up exactly like me, she’s likely not the profile of the person one would expect to own a casino company. She’s no “Terry Benedict”, the greedy, villainous casino owner played by Andy Garcia in Oceans 11.
In fact, she’s quite the opposite.
She’s a warm, kind-hearted suburban wife, mother, and teacher-turned-casino-owner, who spends a substantial amount of her time during the year doing mission work, providing clothing and bedding for over 750 children at an orphanage in Zambia,Africa called Tree of Life. (Run by Family Legacy) When we first talked Rebekah shared a bit of her story with me:
“I didn’t grow up knowing anything about gambling or anything. When I was in college, I was dating a guy whose dad owned a small casino company. We were looking to make money so he helped us build a couple of tables and it all started from there. They taught me everything. We’d set it all up ourselves and break it all down ourselves. We ran the business all through college. Then while I was teaching full time and getting my masters degree full time, I worked casino parties every weekend. It’s been a lot of hard work, but it has provided me the opportunity to do what I love. If I was still teaching, I couldn’t also do mission work at the level I do.”
Instantly, I knew that Rebekah was THE perfect woman to teach us how to play blackjack at our GNO.
Luck isn’t about chance, or happenstance. It’s about showing up. It’s about doing the hard things. It’s about looking at the hand life deals you and deciding what you’re going to do next. That’s when opportunity finds you.
That’s when others might say you’re just “lucky”.
But you know better.
You simply know how to make your own luck.
It’s all in how you play your hand.
to more love, and luck,
Crystal
p.s. We made extra space at this GNO just for you, so tickets are still available. Get yours today!
