Guy Weeping In Corner Edited Out Of Casino Commercial

MASHANTUCKET, CT--A recently completed commercial for Foxwoods Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut was edited to remove the image of a man weeping in the corner of the frame.

The ad was shot live on location at the casino during a crowded Saturday night. It focused on a group of actors looking jubilant as they won thousands of dollars at a craps table. Unfortunately, nobody noticed the non-actor in the corner of the shot sobbing uncontrollably after losing his car and house in a blackjack game.

“I specifically told the cameraman to focus solely on the actors,” said Leon Cloupier, who directed the spot. “The last thing you want to see in a casino commercial is actual people gambling. I don’t know how that guy got in the shot, but it’s really pissing me off. He should go and cry somewhere else, not in our goddamn commercial, which is supposed to show how frigging happy everyone is.”

The cameraman who shot the ad, Ron Bianco, said that the weeping man appeared unexpectedly during the filming.

“He was nowhere in sight when we started rolling. At first, we just had this great shot of the actors laughing it up, cheering, and hugging each other. But then I saw this guy approaching, and I knew he’d be trouble,” said Bianco. “He came from around the corner and he was practically pulling his hair out, screaming ‘No! No! How could this happen? I’ve lost everything!’ He was crying like a baby. I was hoping he would just keep walking, but all of a sudden he stopped and fell to his knees. Then he just sat down, leaned up against the wall and started crying into his hands. I didn’t want to interrupt the shot because it was so perfect. It was really conveying the joy and jubilation of gambling at Foxwoods.”

According to Foxwoods officials, the crying man had been playing blackjack all night until he finally ran out of chips. Convinced that a big winning streak was “just around the corner”, the man exchanged everything he had left—his car keys, house mortgage and wedding ring—for more chips. Those chips were depleted in just under three hours, leaving the man penniless and inconsolable.

“He was very emotional. This is perfectly normal, though,” said Larry Lipowski, one of the pit bosses who witnessed the man’s losing streak. “A few times a night we have guys on the verge of suicide that end up making big scenes. Sometimes, we just politely ask them to leave, sometimes we have them arrested, and sometimes we just take them downstairs and rough them up a little. That’s what we did with this guy, since he refused to leave when we asked him. So after losing everything, he was beaten senseless and arrested for trespassing.”

The ad, which also features a Vegas-style crooner singing the Foxwoods theme song “Wonder of it All”, was supposed to air during Sunday’s Red Sox- Royals game, but has been temporarily delayed for additional editing. Once the weeping man is edited out of the shot, the commercial will be ready to go.

“It’s a fairly simple process, but it can be time consuming,” said Cloupier. “First, we’re going to have to get in there and just splice the suicidal guy right out of the shot. But it’s not that easy. Afterwards, we have to superimpose something else in the empty space. We’re thinking maybe a plant, some kind of statue, or even a garbage can.”

Despite the weeping man, Foxwoods employees insisted that most patrons leave the casino happy and rich.

“That crying, penniless suicidal man is the exception, not the norm,” said Terry McNee, 45, a blackjack dealer at the casino for fifteen years. “For the most part, the Foxwoods experience is a lot like the commercials. You know, everyone is dressed to the nines, every guy has a beautiful girl on his arm, and everyone wins. Obviously, you’re going to have a few people who wear sweatpants and smell funny, and gamble away their life savings while swilling complimentary vodka, but every casino has that. If it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t be able to afford to make these commercials.”

Once the editing is finished, the theme song will be added to the spot and the finished product will finally air. The song, sung by Jazz artist John Pazzarelli, has become such a hit that the musician even includes it in his stage shows.

“That song is just great,” said Cloupier. “It really captures everything that Foxwoods casino is all about. ‘Life is good, life is sweet, grab yourself a front row seat..Let’s live for the wonder of it all!’ Woohoo! I get excited just hearing it. Perhaps if somebody played that song for the guy sobbing in the corner, he would’ve perked up a little and resumed gambling. Either that or he would’ve committed suicide. Either way, he’s not leaving here with any money in his pockets.”

Though Pazzarelli does include the number in his shows, he has admitted to being “a little sick of it.”

“I have to admit I’m a little tired of that song,” said Pazzarelli. “I do it for the fans, because they do seem to love it, but it’s starting to make me a little sick. Have you been to Foxwoods? It’s a bunch of poor people throwing their money away and looking dejected. It’s almost perverse to be singing that song in a place like that. They should pick something more appropriate, like ‘Dust in the Wind’ by Kansas. That song certainly captures the empty feeling of desperation and loss that permeates the Foxwoods experience. But they have me under contract, which means I’ll be running around this damn casino snapping my fingers like an idiot and singing that stupid song for two more years. I kind of envy that weeping man. At least he gets to sob uncontrollably, instead of bottling it all up inside and pasting a fake smile on his face like me.”