Luck Be a Lady

Mitzi, Jason and I met up at Mohegan Sun yesterday. I had never been, and have to say, it's much nicer than Foxwoods — and much easier to get to (down the Mass Pike to exit 10, then route 395 all the way there. The whole trip took me under an hour and a half door-to-door). But I have to say, the best part of Mohegan Sun (other than the hot Krispy Kreme donuts right near the Summer garage where I parked) was that I left there a winner. And how.

After two sessions at the blackjack table, I walked away with more than three times what I had bet. And sure, I had only changed $40 to chips, but winning an additional $130 ain't bad for an afternoon. (For the record, Jason won closer to $600 and Mitzi was a winner too.)

To what do I attribute my good luck? Was it my sister's handy "cheat sheet"? No. Was it smarter playing by me? Not at all. (In fact, not even close.) It was Tara Reid. Yes, Tara Reid.

About 30 minutes after sitting down to play, soon after dealer Jack changed to dealer Marcus, an attractive blonde (and some guy with her) sat right down next to me. I did a double take, and without being too obvious about it, I tried to figure out if she was who I thought she was. A couple of hands later, as her luck ran opposite to mine and she got up from the table, I was able to get a better look. Sure enough, that was Tara Reid.

We think. My sister and I were only about 90% sure, despite repeated glances in her direction. I mean, what would Tara Reid be doing at a $10 blackjack table in the non-smoking section of a casino in Uncasville, Connecticut on a beautiful Sunday afternoon when she's more prone to drunken exploits and other wild partying, as seen on her E! Entertainment television show Taradise? And what was with that ring on her finger? She's not engaged, is she? And is she really that tall? (She appeared to be maybe 5'7 or 5'8, but I was sitting down.) And isn't her voice a little bit huskier?

Then again, the more and more we looked at Tara over at another blackjack table — without staring for too long — we were sure that that was who it was. And we gave her a lot of looks. (No, of course I didn't talk to her.) How were we able to look at her so many times? Well, because she sat with her fiancée/boyfriend for, like, two hours! The Tara Reid I know (you know what I mean) wouldn't be that patient. And another thing: Tara Reid doesn't dress that nicely. But she is that good looking. And this woman was hot. She really did look a lot like Tara Reid.

Fine, it may not have really been her. But whoever she was, she sure did bring me good luck. So you'll forgive me if I keep telling this story for the next few days and weeks as if it was actually her, right?