LJIdol Topic 03: Coprolite
It's called clearing your hands.
It's something you may notice people doing if they work (or have worked) in a casino.
The habit is simple: every time you put something down or touch your pocket, you flip your hands so that the palms face upward for a moment and then resume whatever it was you were doing. The purpose of this is to show the many, many cameras that you do not have cards, chips or money in your hand that you are sneaking off with.
I worked in the cash cage. Every transaction went like this:
Stack the chips, spread the fourth stack, clear your hands. Demonstrate that the stacks in the tray are even by running your finger down one side, clear your hands. Lay out money in an orderly fashion for the camera, clear your hands. Open chip-vault, clear your hands. Put chips in vault, clear your hands. Close vault, clear your hands. Sit in chair and wait for the next customer, clear your hands.
Eight to ten hours a day, four days a week for a couple years.
Eventually, as you might expect, it stopped being something I thought about, having Pavlov-ed myself into a new habit.
Touch X, clear hands.
As far as habits go, it's no a bad one, of course. Nothing worse to it than the occasional odd look from random people or your friends, all wondering why you just made momentary jazz hands about buying some milk.
Pick up the item, put in the basket, clear your hands. Remove from basket, put on belt to the register, clear your hands. Take out wallet, take out money, give money, clear the hand that gave the money, put away wallet, clear your hands.
It's been three years now since I worked at that casino.
Three years without the klak-klak-klak of chips on faux marble. Three years without the low buzz of dealer patter at the blackjack tables. Three years without comps or transfers or any of the other processes that make a casino go. Three years where no one was going to get angry or scold me for forgetting to clear my hands.
But for whatever reason, that momentary twist of the wrists is some old bullshit that just keeps sticking around.
It's something you may notice people doing if they work (or have worked) in a casino.
The habit is simple: every time you put something down or touch your pocket, you flip your hands so that the palms face upward for a moment and then resume whatever it was you were doing. The purpose of this is to show the many, many cameras that you do not have cards, chips or money in your hand that you are sneaking off with.
I worked in the cash cage. Every transaction went like this:
Stack the chips, spread the fourth stack, clear your hands. Demonstrate that the stacks in the tray are even by running your finger down one side, clear your hands. Lay out money in an orderly fashion for the camera, clear your hands. Open chip-vault, clear your hands. Put chips in vault, clear your hands. Close vault, clear your hands. Sit in chair and wait for the next customer, clear your hands.
Eight to ten hours a day, four days a week for a couple years.
Eventually, as you might expect, it stopped being something I thought about, having Pavlov-ed myself into a new habit.
Touch X, clear hands.
As far as habits go, it's no a bad one, of course. Nothing worse to it than the occasional odd look from random people or your friends, all wondering why you just made momentary jazz hands about buying some milk.
Pick up the item, put in the basket, clear your hands. Remove from basket, put on belt to the register, clear your hands. Take out wallet, take out money, give money, clear the hand that gave the money, put away wallet, clear your hands.
It's been three years now since I worked at that casino.
Three years without the klak-klak-klak of chips on faux marble. Three years without the low buzz of dealer patter at the blackjack tables. Three years without comps or transfers or any of the other processes that make a casino go. Three years where no one was going to get angry or scold me for forgetting to clear my hands.
But for whatever reason, that momentary twist of the wrists is some old bullshit that just keeps sticking around.