As we discussed earlier this week, there’s a disturbing tendency for people in casinos to believe that they are completely safe, even when the building’s on fire. Submitted for your approval is this exhibit, from Minnesota’s Mystic Lake casino, courtesy of the Star Tribune:
The casino roof was on fire, but several floors below the smoke and flames, the gamers played on Thursday morning at Mystic Lake Casino in Prior Lake.
A hint of smoke was in the air and a few dozen gamblers closest to the fire were being urged to evacuate. But Irene Weingartz, 77, of Mankato wasn’t ready to budge.
“I had a $110 bonus on my machine,” she boasted. “I said, “I’m not moving until I cash out.”
So apparently Irene isn’t a big DieIsCast reader.
I’d be interested in learning if this is a gambling-only thing, i.e., people are so riveted by the slot machines that they are simply powerless to leave despite the smell of smoke and people telling you that the building’s on fire, or if it’s just a people being stubborn thing. What happens to people who’ve just got into the buffet after being in line for an hour? Do they insist that they eat their fill before they leave?
I will relate one story of slot players’ stubbornness. I’ve seen the CCTV footage of a casino robbery that happened at Resorts Atlantic City several years ago. A security guard escorting the cash wagon was shot in the face right behind a bank of slot machines and the money was taken. As the guard lays on the floor, still conscious, her co-workers are trying to clear the area. There’s a woman who simply won’t leave her machine, and you can see her angrily gesturing about it, completely ignoring the fact that she’s just witnessed a shooting (albeit with her back to the action).