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| "I said hop in." |
Plot Summary
Springfield is in dismal shape, which is nothing new. What is new is that the town is holding a meeting to do something about it. Principal Skinner suggests the town bring in legalized gambling, an idea that gain traction (not so much the part about profits going to public schools). Mr. Burns agrees to build a casino, and even Marge thinks a casino would be good for the economy. Soon, Burns builds his casino (and becomes a delusional shut-in afterwards) while Homer is relocated from the nuclear plant to the casino to work as a blackjack dealer.
As the town enjoys the casino, Bart gets kicked out for being underage, and gets back at, well, one of the workers who taunts him, by creating a casino of his own in his treehouse, inviting all of his friends and at one point stealing Robert Goulet away from the real casino. Marge visits Homer at his new job and afterwards she finds a quarter on the ground. She plops it into a slot machine, and wins four more quarters! Marge is content with this result at first, but soon finds herself unable to stop.
With Lisa needing a costume of Florida for a play about the 50 states, Marge is nowhere to be found, leaving Homer in charge. Initial protests about Marge spending time at the casino is forgone when Marge hands Homer $60 worth of quarters she won the night before. However, after an unfortunate bogeyman-related scare, Marge realizes she's been spending too much time at the casino and promises to get started on Lisa's costume. Yet, she's back at the casino and Lisa is forced to ask for Homer's help in making it. When it predictably turns out poorly, Lisa's sadness proves a final straw for Homer, who deems Marge to be under the clutches of "Gamblor", and goes to fetch her from its neon claws.
Hastily, Homer causes havoc in the casino while looking for Marge, and upon finding her eventually lets her know that she let Lisa down. Realizing what has occurred, Marge admits she has a gambling problem, though Homer is not willing to pay any money to get professional help while at the same time is willing to rub her new imperfection in her face on their way out.
Quick Review
There were a few things about this episode I didn't like, particularly the Rain Man reference, but there were quite a few excellent bits this episode had for it, like the Gamblor line or Burns' descent into some kind of madness, or Ralph's "I'm Idaho" line at the play. It averages out to what still is a great episode but a bit lackluster compared to other episodes this season.
Final Score: 8.3
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