Emmily M.
Yelp
Today, I had one of the most disappointing and disheartening experiences at The Gambling Cowboy. I had made a reservation months in advance to take my dad out for Father's Day, excited to try the restaurant for the first time after hearing great things. Unfortunately, what was supposed to be a special celebration turned into an upsetting and racially charged experience for my family.
From the moment we arrived, we were not greeted. The two young women at the host stand looked at us strangely and said nothing which felt extremely rude.I had to speak up and let them know we had a reservation. One of them glanced at us me, my mom, and my dad looked us up and down, silently tapped on her iPad, and adjusted a table. After a long pause, the second hostess came over and said she would seat us.
As we followed her, it became clear what was happening. The restaurant was filled with indoor diners almost entirely Caucasian and we were escorted past plenty of empty indoor tables all the way outside to the patio. It was extremely hot today, and no one else was seated outside. We were the only guests out there, accompanied only by one employee who appeared to be folding towels.
We immediately felt uncomfortable and singled out. My family and I asked the server if there were any tables available inside. She paused, gave us another odd look, and said she would check. It took her a while to come back, and when she did, she said flatly, "No, there's no space for you inside."
At that point, my father said, "I don't feel comfortable here." My mother agreed. We were being treated differently, and it felt like blatant discrimination based on our ethnicity. We got up and left. No apology. No concern. The server just stood there smirking.
We have never experienced something like this before. It felt like segregation in 2025, simply because we are Mexican. This was meant to be a joyful, celebratory day for our father, and it was ruined by a restaurant that chooses to ignore or even uphold racist behavior.
The Gambling Cowboy should be ashamed. This type of exclusion and discrimination hurts families and communities who support local businesses like yours. It's unacceptable, it's harmful, and it puts you on the wrong side of history.