Shenanigans in the City

This weekend I saw something on the train that I have never seen on public transportation in my almost 10 years as a Chicago Transit Authority rider. Actually, I don't think I had ever seen this is real life before.

Fredo and I were on the way home from the Chicago Architectural Society's boat tour (which is fantastic, by the way. It was one of his birthday presents but I really enjoyed it as well) and there was a shell game going on on our train. This is the game where you have a little ball or something and three cups overturned and you have to guess which cup the ball is under. There was a man sitting behind me and next to where Fredo was standing running the game. He tried to get Fredo to play, but my hubby is too smart for that. Honestly, how dumb do you have to be to think that participating in this would be a good idea and would net you some quick cash?

Now I'm not a big gambler. The only time I ever gamble is in Las Vegas and then all I ever do is play slots (and that is usually just to get a free beer from the cocktail waitress). The last time I was in Las Vegas, I probably only gambled $20. I don't like to lose money. I feel like I don't have that much of it to begin with so why not just hold on to what I've got. Unless there are shoes involved but I digress...

Anyway, the guy running the game was loudly trying to get people to play saying things like, "$100 will win you a $100". Seriously? $100? Like someone thinks they are going to win a scam like this and come out $100 ahead on the train? Who evens walks around with that much money on them anymore? I put just about everything on credit and debit cards and it's a rare day when I have more than $20 on me.

So sure enough, this guy is yelling about "$100 will win you $100" and a lady sitting down a few rows down pipes up that she has $50. I guess she played and "won" and there were a few other guys who were getting into it as well. They totally did not look like they were in cahoots or anything (note the sarcasm?). They even had a kid involved. The girl was probably like 14 or 15 but definitely under 18. She kept saying that it was so easy and I guess she was so convincing that one guy sitting near her fell for it. The guy running it again said "$100 will get you $100" and some guy was caught up in the moment, I guess, and said he didn't have $100 but he did have $60.

Wha? Seriously? This guy was a total idiot to play and to admit he had any money on him at all. Anyone else the shell game runner tried to get to play either told him they knew his scam, or asked if it ever worked. It obviously did, because in a matter of minutes this kid was out his $60.

Not surprisingly, when the train got to the Fullerton stop the guy running the game, the kid who said it was "easy", the 2 guys who were into it, and the woman who had $50 all got off the train together. It was a colorful experience to say the least. No harm was done to us, since we weren't stupid enough

That was our big excitement for the weekend. A shell game on the train. Pretty pathetic, no?