Do you know of any casino hotels that have a 13th floor? Sure, the casino might have 13 floors or more but is there a floor that is actually numbered 13?
How about room numbers? Are there casino hotels with room numbers that include 13?
A lot of people are superstitious about 13 and they don't want to see it. There are probably more people superstitious about the number 13 than there are craps players who are fearful of uttering the word "seven."
"8" on the other hand is a lucky number because it represents wealth in Asian cultures. 13 is also considered lucky among Jewish people because 13 is the age that a boy becomes a man, and a girl becomes a woman.
When I valet my car at Caesars Palace, the valets have plastic cards with a handwritten or printed two digit or three digit number and I will not accept a ticket that includes the number 7. But I prefer valet cards that show a "21" or even numbers such as 6, 8, 10. Some gamblers shy from the number "4" because a "4" can be the symbol of death in some Asian cultures.
But let's get back to the number 13. Besides roulette wheels do you see the number "13" anywhere in a casino or a casino hotel?
I've even heard of buildings that were constructed with a "mini floor" between the actual 12th and 14th floors so that the 13th floor is not falsely numbered 14.
Do you gamble on the 13th of each month? Is 2013 an unlucky year for Vegas and for gamblers?
What got me thinking about the number 13 is that a few hours ago someone close to me was in a hospital emergency room because of a heart condition. When I called his friend to tell him which room in the emergency department we were in, I looked at the sign outside the door, and was shocked to see we were in emergency room #13. There were about two dozen emergency rooms in the hospital's emergency department. Wouldn't you think that when people are in an emergency room -- perhaps facing a life or death crisis -- they wouldn't want to be room number thirteen?
Below is a photo of the sign outside the door. Oh, he's okay. But he's a craps player and probably would have been more worried by room number seven.
Click on the thumbnail to expand the photo.