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Cigars and Poker
At one time those who sat at a poker table considered poker and cigars as part of the same deal. Those players freely puffed their favorite cigars as they rolled their hands over their piles of poker chips. Men skilled at the game of Texas Hold’em were usually equally skilled at the art of lighting, cutting and maintaining their own cigar. At the end of the last century, and for a period that lasted until well into that century, the cigar smokers populated all manner of gambling establishments. Blackjack and casino roulette tables, as well as poker tables had rings of cigar smoke floating above them (which looks like a cloud).
The host at a blackjack game or at a poker game might be called on to provide an implement for the cutting of one or more cigars. Such hosts needed to furnish guests with more than is needed for the game (poker chips and cards). They also had to provide their guests with many cigar ashtrays (differ from cigarette ashtray). Preparations for a long poker or blackjack game demanded more than just the accumulation of whiskey and snack foods. He might also need to buy extra lighters. Some host will even consider buying a small humidor, which will be able to contain cigars.
Now at the start of the 21st century things have changed rapidly. Now the new city and state rules and regulations have called for a ban on the use of cigars at poker games. In fact, if one now walks into a casino one cannot find a single soul puffing on a cigar. There may be cigar smokers at such establishments, but they no longer feel free to smoke their favorite cigar while playing poker. A visit to Hollywood Park in Inglewood, CA uncovers the confined area into which all the smokers have been moved. It is a “tiny” room (if I can call it a room) in a corner of a very big room. It usually contains several small chairs and another one, which is much larger. That large chair has the ability to provide someone with a private message.
The players just slip a quarter into the chair and then sit back for couple of minutes. Then the frustrations that those same customers might have felt at not being able to puff their cigars while playing poker are apt to disappear. And of course one is free to smoke a cigar, a cigarette or even a pipe is this same room. Because the smokers are unable to busy themselves with the playing of poker or blackjack, these rooms frequently have on the walls some unique vintage posters. Since Inglewood is not far away from the Filmmaking capital of the America, most of these interesting posters focus on early Hollywood and the early entertainers (some are black and white).
Even if one has no interest in smoking a cigar, and even if one has no desire to get a body message, still it is fun to examine those interesting old posters. A close examination might allow one to find a photo of Kirk Douglas when he was a young man in Hollywood. One could look at that picture and appreciate why he became such a big star in America. One might also wonder what he would say now regarding the new ban rules, rules that prohibit the once accepted combination of cigar and poker. |
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