Portions of last night’s Season 1, episode 14 of “The Mick” were filmed in an actual working casino, and executive producer Scott Marder, who also serves as a writer on the series, couldn’t be more pleased with it.

“It was really fun getting to shoot in an actual working casino … because that place was packed to the gills as if the World Series of Poker was taking place there (it wasn’t) and this was just a random Tuesday,” Marder wrote in a guest blog post for Entertainment Weekly. “I mean, when we got there at 7 a.m., a woman was up thousands while casually nibbling at an entire cheesecake for breakfast. It added character, I’ll say that.”

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In the episode, Mickey (Kaitlin Olson) went to the casino to give herself a much-needed break from looking after her niece Sabrina (Sofia Black-D’Elia) and nephews Chip (Thomas Barbusca) and Ben (Jack Stanton). But because Mickey has a gambling issue, visiting the nearest casino turned out to be a bad idea for her.

“She’s been flying solo her whole life but suddenly has this insta-family smothering her 24/7,” Marder wrote. “Parenting can be, well… a lot, and we felt like nobody would feel that stronger than Mickey.”

“Throw in a severe gambling addiction and we suddenly felt like we were swimming in a really cool conflict for Mickey,” Marder said of the episode’s theme. “Does she want time away from the kids because she gets no time to herself? Or because she’s moments away from a heater that will turn all her bad luck around? Or is it both?”

After finally having some me time in last night’s episode, Mickey’s parenting skills is tested once again in next week’s episode. According to the synopsis for Season 1, episode 15, her poor parenting skills are only made worse when a popular kid in Chip’s class comes to the house for a sleepover. Meanwhile, Mickey and Alba (Carla Jimenez) try to tame Ben’s fear of monsters.

“The Mick” Season 1, episode 15, titled “The Sleepover,” airs on Tuesday, April 11 at 8:30 p.m. EST on FOX.

Kaitlin Olson as Mickey
“The Mick” executive producer Scott Marder explained why “it was really fun” to shoot some portions of Season 1, episode 14 in an actual working casino. Patrick McElhenney/FOX
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