Casino

I'm up $120.
 I was going to give you the benefit of my experience of traveling through the east coast of the United States, but right now I'm up $120, and that's all that seems to matter.

We sit at a roulette table at the Taj Mahal Casino. I only started with $20, convinced it was already lost before I'd started. But now I'm sitting with $140 worth of chips.

 And I promised myself I'd give up at $100.

 I keep betting on 17, and it keeps coming good, and suddenly I find myself up $180.

I'm doing well, I think to myself. Given that I came into this casino expecting to lose all my money, and I know I'm not stupid enough to bet all my money, so I'm definitely going to come out with a profit. A profit for having fun. It seems weird. I can see how it gets addictive.

But as I place down my largest ever bet ($25 between 17 and 20) a new guy pulls up a stool at the table. And casually as anything, drops down two $1000 chips. He promptly loses his money, and leaves the table immediately.

It's a reminder that in the grand scheme my $160 extra dollars means nothing to this casino.

I eventually get up to $220 dollars just as Dave runs out of money. I call it a day.

The name on the casino is Trump. It's ridiculously rich. That $200 I won, means something to me. That's enough to pay for three nights in a hotel for me and Dave. But for Trump's Taj Mahal Casino, and the high-roller men who can afford to toss away 2 grand at the spin of a wheel, it doesn't deserve a second thought.

It's another example of the incongruity of rich and poor in America, and you see it everywhere.

We celebrated my winnings by heading to a $2 a pint bar and meeting a friendly/hyperactive American girl named Kristen (from Connecticut).

I like Atlantic City.