Have you ever wished that gambling were completely legal for underage teenagers? No? Me neither. I would be flat broke by the time I turned 13 and 1 day. But at ACC, we got to try it out for one class period.
The DE Probability and Stats class, taught by Ms. Maskelony, put on this activity called Game Day, the culminating event for a PBL that calculates which took place this year in the TV production studio. It was a fun activity that I wish had gone on for longer. But for those who weren’t there might ask the question, what exactly happened?
From the moment I stepped in line, there was this feeling of anticipation. As the line moved closer, Ms.Maskelony passed out slips of paper with numbers, assigning students numbers to keep things more organized. Everybody started with “100 Dollars,” which were just numbers in a computer to keep track of how many games you won or lost. And then, once you entered the room with your number, the magic began.
As soon as you stepped foot past the entrance table, it looked like a gambler’s dreamland. There was a plethora of game tables. Card games, a coded slot machine, and dice games. And the best part of all was the prize table. They had phone cases, a mini air hockey table, books, toys, and more. And it could all be bought with the money won in the “casino.” And to say it was a hit would be an understatement. The room was absolutely packed with many satisfied players. And I was most definitely one of them.
The first game I played was a dice game.
You had to roll the two dice, and if it added up to above a certain number, I won. And I remember it cost 10 dollars (of the previously given 100 dollars) to play. My first roll felt good, and so did the second one. And just my luck, I
won! But that rush of dopamine did not last long. I played again and lost. I played again and lost. And then I lost again, and again, and again. I decided to test my luck with the slot machine.
I should’ve known: the words Luck and Slot Machine don’t deserve to be in the same sentence. I lost so many times and had to cut myself off, even though Conrad Skelly was very persuasive. And then I got to the game that made me lose the most money. At this point, I was down to $5. And then I tried to play one more game. It was this game where you rolled two dice, and you called out whether the sum of whatever the two dice landed on was going to be over 7, under 7, or exactly 7. Then, due to a misunderstanding, they didn’t stop me when I was in debt. 
I won just enough to keep me playing, but the losses kept coming. It was so bad, I did double or nothing 3 times. And triple or nothing twice. I played that game for 30 minutes. I eventually left Game Day with $815 IN DEBT.
If you went, I hoped you had more self-control than I. Rest assured that I will never step foot into a real casino again, but if they set up another Game Day, I will be one of the first ones to sign up. This was a fun experience for all, and thanks to the Prob and Stats students, we learned a valuable lesson: the house always wins.
