The House Always Wins

By Ryan Perry

I love gambling. The promise of your next bet. The thrill of a seeing that illegal, online account increase in value or dare I say, flip from red to green. If you have a (slight) problem like me, or date someone who does because let’s be honest, women know better, then you’re with me here.

Then it happened. No, not that 68-part cancellation. Everyone bets on that one. Not even a postponed “Tradition Unlike Any Other” got my full attention as I’m convinced we’ll see Augusta National on TV this year.

I’m talking ponies. Stallions. THOROUGHBREDS!!! 

Those of us from Louisville, Kentucky get the profound honor of hosting the most popular event in the world once a year. You might tell me to hold my horses on such a declaration, and while I’m willing to forgive the awful pun, the facts check out. First Saturday in May, every year. We got some athletes, some celebs, some local gossip about this dress or that hat, we even got the Queen!! But more valuable than all of that pomp and circumstance is the one thing my marketing friends bleed for: eyeballs. 

When Churchill Downs announced the delay of our beloved two-minute spectacle, I took a minute to process the news. No hosting friends, no sharing a local holiday with family, no bloodthirsty stalking of someone from high school who has the inside track on a good “wheel” bet. I finally ceded that Mother Nature kicked our tails. Our new reality hit me.

I called my mom to ask about ramifications and potential alternative dates (9/5 if you need to book a flight). The conversation turned, as it so often does, to one about making a plan for the impending changes. I finally asked the question that so many of us would love to know. “How long will it last?”

Crickets.

Now, I believe anything my mother says, partly because I am a god-fearing individual and she’s the closest thing I’ve seen to an angel. The other part being she still pays my cell phone bill and I can only use the family plan argument so many times.

Even she didn’t have an educated guess. “A while” came through the phone but there’s that thing about discerning what is said vs. what is meant. It dawned on me that for the first time since 9/11, the country has the same elephant in the room over dinner. Yet nobody has an answer.

A reality check had to happen if we’re honest with ourselves. Limited overseas conflict, a bull market since Mrs. Newhall was teaching the Foxtrot in Cotillion, and so much promise for our generation that 2020 was the start of a defining decade. So here we are.

I’m choosing to believe we’ll look back on this period and say thank you. Before I continue, let me say that I know a substantial loss of life awaits us between here and a time we can postulate about existential takeaways. Bear with me.

We needed such a stern kick in the behind. If you look closely then you’ll see something beautiful trying to take form. In keeping with the show du jour, The Last Dance, allow me to channel some Phil Jackson lingo to give this pandemic a positive twist.

“Me” is ever so slowly turning into “we.” We’re talking about solutions for the common good, we’re considering others above our own selfish desires, and we’re valuing those among us who do the most good while receiving the least credit.

I’ll admit that I’m a hopeless romantic. I had COVID-19 about six weeks ago and I saw a little peak into humanity. Friends made the extra effort to ensure I had anything I needed. Now I see fellow Louisvillians raising money for healthcare workers. I’m choosing to believe that we will emerge stronger than we were before 2020 became TWENTY-TWENTY. I could go on about the irony of the vision matching the year and how we all need some perspective, but I won’t.

Instead, I’ll tell you that while my betting slips are empty and casinos sit vacant, the house is winning. We are the house. We’ll conquer this invisible enemy one way and one way only, together. Trusting each other, holding others to a high standard, and appreciating the heroes in our community, all in hopes of staving off a threat to modern humanity that we can’t even see. Sounds like a bet worth making.