Late night poker games. I mean, really really late night poker games.

Paying off the orca mafia so your station doesn't have an unfortunate "accident"?

I believe the food is free (at least it is for military) but the bar costs money.

McMurdo, remember, is not South Pole Station. It actually gets a fair number of visitors including tourists. Anyway, the military only provide operational support (e.g. transport) for the Antarctic bases -- the majority of staff are civilian logistics or scientists. The contractor right now is Antarctic Research Support.

It's got 1250 people, pretty much year-round.

I guess I just never imagined there actually being commerce in Antarctica, at least not the kind that requires cash only.

I would LOVE to go to Antarctica. I am one of those people who, if they had the money, would pay $$$ just to take a cruise down there, get off the ship for 20 minutes, then turn around and go home. I don't have the physical fortitude for much more than that, but I would LOVE to see it before I die.