The weekend I turned 21, my dad, Todd S. Healy, MSW®, CLU®, ChFC®, AEP®, CAP® ,
By Rogershealy · October 11, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
The weekend I turned 21, my dad, Todd S. Healy, MSW®, CLU®, ChFC®, AEP®, CAP®, took me to Vegas, so we could see The Temptations play at the Golden Nugget, so we could (finally ) drink a beer together…and so I could (kinda) learn how to gamble.
I was impatient, I was excited, and I quickly found out that I was not born to be a legend at the craps table. I was down $50, in a sheer panic, so I did what every great gambler did—-I went to the craps table to win my money back. I had no clue what I was doing, but man, I felt cool. The air reeked of cigar smoke, and even though it was 2pm, Caesars Palace was bumping.
After about 12 losses in a row, an angry sounding older fella screamed, “Kid, you’re not good. Switch to blackjack.” I turned around, and realized the voice of reason/the voice of my bully was none other than Mike Ditka. I remembered he was a fellow Sigma Chi Fraternity guy , so I went up and asked for a pic, and then asked him to spot me $50. He laughed and said hell no, but at least I got the pic.
I LOVED Mike Ditka…even if he trolled me. #mikeDitka