Stephen Beal, a middle-aged part-time landscaper with a shaved head, scruffy beard, and neck tattoo, is playing one of the machines that says, “NCG Deluxe.” He says he has won as much as $225 from the machines in one sitting, but has lost far more than he has won over the years. Some days, they are waiting outside for him to unlock the doors at 6 a.m. The bearded young man working the register, who declines to share his name, says customers play the machines throughout the day. Three machines that look an awful lot like slot machines sit in the far corner of the liquor store. A 70-something man in sunglasses and a navy cap purchases a bottle of Remy Martin and two 40-ounce cans of malt liquor. One young man with sagging jeans buys a couple of mini-bar size José Cuervo bottles. Louis city limits and a little south of St. The store sits next to a doughnut shop with a broken front window, just a little west of St. A steady trickle of customers enters the shop along a busy stretch of Page Avenue in a working-class town in St. It’s a little after 1:30 on a bright, sunny midweek afternoon at Overland Food Mart & Liquor.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |