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I didn't know exactly what year they opened a casino
in Thakek.  It was said that the Thai had lobbied the
government people to allow them to open a casino
there.  In fact, aside from Thakekian, not a few
gamblers came from Nakhon Panom.  This casino was
close to the ferry station, which was by the market. 
After the Thai gamblers had finished playing, they
just took the ferry back to Nakhon Panom.  At times, I
saw many Thai patronizing the place.  Their dark skin
and arrogant manner just couldn't hide their presence.
 You might wonder why I was there.  Most of the time,
I went there with my mom.  A little note here: my mom
was a wonderful mom.  She was smart despite the fact
that she finished only 3rd grade.  She knew when to go
for it and when to go home when luck was not on her
side.  Unfortunately, this trait was not with my
brother who was addicted to gambling.  Maybe, with
time, he would learn to use my mom's strategy in
regards to gambling.  

In fact, my mom didn't want me to go there but, as I
was a very curious boy, I insisted on going with her. 
She knew that I was old enough and wise enough to know
what was right and what was wrong.  She even said that
I was the only kid in the family who knew how hard it
was to bring food to the table every day.  When she
couldn't make herself depart the casino for dinner, I
was the one who brought dinner to her from home.  When
she won even a little bit of money, she would tend to
go home.  At times, she would stay until she won big
because her gut told her that it was her day.  By the
way, there was one game I remembered from those days
with the casino, it was Mak TaSiout (literally, it
means missing).  My mom had one superstition about
gambling.  She never brought Mak Kiang (oranges) with
her.  In Lao, "Kiang" means "lost all".  Maybe,
because of a special ritual she had in anything she
did, she carried herself well in life.  Imagine a
not-so-educated woman could raise 11 kids with just my
dad's income (he was too honest to engage in any kind
of corruption).  I guess that was the wisdom inherited
from her (our) ancestors, which rendered an otherwise
hard life into a bearable one.  

(to be continued)

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