I really like this zine so was thrilled to see that he had collected the first eight issues into one volume, along with some new material. I collect zines and especially love perzines and zines dealing with aspects of life I don’t have as much knowledge about, which casinos definitely fall under. Last Night at the Casino details Billy McCall’s experiences working as a casino dealer at a smaller casino in New Mexico, mainly working at the craps table. When the book begins, he’s just started the job and is learning how to do it, which makes it especially fun to read as you feel like you’re learning along with him as he gets more experienced. I’ve never even been to a casino so I learned a lot here about the different games and what the casino dealer goes through. I hadn’t realized it’s a tipped position, so if I ever do go to a casino and gamble (highly unlikely), I’ll be sure to tip well!
Even if you do know a lot about casinos, McCall is a great writer with a wry sense of humor and a strong eye for a story, so this book is very readable. He has the ability to really capture the core of what makes a situation meaningful in a brief manner, which keeps the book moving along and allows him to cover a lot of ground. And he captures it in a realistic and transparent way, which I found to be a bit of a breath of fresh air in terms of how honest he is about the day to day drudgery, punctuated with moments of bizarre behavior or wild events. For $12, you get 368 pages of very readable and unique material, a true bargain. I’m really looking forward to Vol. 2! I’ve read some of the single issues, but it will be great to have everything collected in one place.
Warnings for: drugs/alcohol, gambling addiction, sexism/misogyny (I do not always like Billy’s attitude towards women)