Our Very First "Guest Imbiber" Winner

13/12/06 22:40
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"Credit Card Roulette"
by David D. Mockus
 
Three summers ago more than forty friends, past and present, flew into Chicago from all over the country to root for our beloved Philadelphia Phillies against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Me and five of my buddies from college arrived a day before the series and began to reminisce and laugh like old times over a nice dinner at the famous Gibson's Steak House. After putting our names in at the host stand we proceeded to the bar where we each ordered dirty vodka martinis. Moments after toasting what would turn out to be one of the most amazing weekends any of us have ever had, we were called to our table.

Greg Lewis, part owner of the New York meatpacking district's latest hot spot, Honey (www.honeyny.com), started us off by ordering a colossal seafood sampler for the table along with three mid priced bottles of wine. We each ordered another drink on top of the wine and if memory serves, after those bottles were opened and tested, each of us had three drinks a piece in front of our plates: the martinis we were finishing from the bar, an Anchor Steam draft we ordered to wash down the seafood appetizer and the freshly poured glasses of wine breathing and awaiting our approval.

The stories and the laughter were plentiful that night. In fact, that same group of fellas remembered piling into a Suburban at the University of Delaware and making a run to the Golden Corral for the $12.99 all-you-can-eat buffet. Now, here we were, almost eight years later and finally making some coin out in the real world and able to afford a nice Porterhouse Steak priced at a 'reasonable' $37.95, or so we thought. When the bill arrived, a measly $784.42, I'll never forget how fast my heart started beating when somebody called out those three words you love to hear after peeking at a bill that high, "Credit Card Roulette." I was extremely nervous, particularly because I’m widely known to have the worst luck in the Western Hemisphere.

roda I - bottlel
For those who don't know, credit card roulette has become Generation X's way of spending their parents’ inheritance a bit prematurely. The waiter collects each member of the table's credit cards and proceeds – slowly as to build the anticipation – to pick out, one by one from his apron, the next credit card. Once your card has been drawn you are no longer in the game and saved from any responsibility for payment of that check. This continues until there is but one card left in the apron and that card is solely responsible for a delectable meal, tip included.

All six of us agreed to participate that evening and the unlucky last card drawn belonged to none other than Dave Paul, his second credit card roulette loss in a two week period. Dave was the only one of us who was married at the time and I can remember him repeatedly groaning, "My wife is going to kill me." If it had been me I think my weekend would have been ruined, but Dave was a trooper and not only brushed it off like it never happened but proceeded to party harder than any of us that weekend. Kudos to you, Dave, and salute!

(This month’s “Guest Imbiber” will receive a bottle of 2001 Roda I Reserva -- SRP $65 -- from The Imbiber’s personal collection. We are now accepting entries for next month’s contest. It’s easy – in 400 words or less, tell us about a personal experience in the world of adult beverages. E-mail entries to imbiber@theimbiber.net. If your entry is chosen, your story will be published on this site and you will take home an expensive bottle of hootch for your efforts.)