Newly 18 Year Olds Are Obsessed With Mystic Lake Casino
Brad Little '23
Students from BSM have a new found obsession with Mystic Lake after turning 18.
Senior Red Knights are beginning to turn 18 and have a new sense of freedom. Turning 18 means more severe punishments with the law or being able to hit the casino, specifically Mystic Lake Casino in Shakopee. Red Knights go to the casino to either win big or waste all the money they came with, usually the latter. Either way, the addiction to Mystic Lake keeps them all coming back.
Students tend to either hit up the casino when they first turn 18 and then never again or they become attached and go multiple times a month. “I usually go a couple times a month with a group of friends later at night on weekends or nights that we have school off,” senior Easton Breyfogle said.
Every time players go to Mystic Lake they risk the outcome of losing all the money they came with. However, on a rare occurrence players end up winning double. Each visit to Mystic Lake is strictly a game of luck. “My biggest win is $295 and my biggest loss is $120,” senior Carsen Brandt said.
The numerous amounts of money students win or lose may cause a slight heart break among parents. The trend seems to be if students use their own money to gamble then the parents don’t seem to mind as much. “My parents don’t care about my obsession as long as I’m using my own money. They don’t want me to use their money to gamble, which I think is fair,” Breyfogle said.
Although Mystic Lake is a place to escape reality, the downside is the students believe they’re pumping oxygen to keep the gamblers there spending money for longer. “I don’t think they should be pumping oxygen into the air because I feel like they are taking advantage of the people there and trying to keep them awake so they keep gambling,” Breyfogle said.
My parents don’t care about my obsession as long as I’m using my own money. They don’t want me to use their money to gamble, which I think is fair,
— Easton Breyfogle
Regardless of potentially losing hundreds of dollars or winning double than what they came with, some new adults seem to always come crawling back to Mystic. “I keep going back to Mystic because the hope of winning big is always on my mind. If I had lost a previous time that means I am due to win and make my money back this time, and if I won last time it means I am hot and will keep on winning,” senior Peter Giertsen said.
