As some of you may know, I recently went away for a night with my girlfriends, all of us in dire need of a little rest and relaxation. So, naturally, after settling in to our hotel room,we headed out to the nearest casino!
I’m really not much of a gambler, in all honesty, but the thought of possibly hitting “the big one” I must admit was intriguing to me. Therefore, I approached the casino doors fueled by excitement and a little hope. (Plus, they were giving awaya super-hot yellow Camaro.)
Arm in arm, we entered the casino, our senses immediately assaulted by clanging machines, dispensing money machines and….secondhand smoke. Yep, we were definitely home.
First step was to facilitate a ‘complimentary fountain drink drive-by’. All the elbow jabbing and high-fiving we did at our score, I’m fairly certain, put giant marks on our foreheads reading “Warning: these girls obviouslydo not frequent gambling establishments.”
Second step was to scope out the surrounding area, to see where the winning machines were located. We turned around, backs to the fountain drinks dispenser, and perused our options. As we sucked down our Cokes (after all, these were free drinks people) we spotted out our destination…the penny machines. Strangely, there were very few people setting up camp at these machines which immediatley got me thinking, “Oh, yeah…there’s our money-makers. This is going to be easy.” Collectively, we nodded (after filling up our free drinks, again) and headed over to the slots.
Only a couple of us had planned to gamble (the real adventure-seekers in the group) so we sat down at two machines and plotted our course. Likereal pros, we pulled out our wallets and started counting out cash. Now, I’ve heard a couple of theories around this whole gambling situation. 1) Never gamble with less than a $100…your odds are much better, 2) It’s not smart gambling to switch machines after only a few rounds, commit to your slots and 3) In case youdon’t have a $100, settle on the $5-spot burnin’ in your wallet.
Obviously, I went with theory number three.
I fed my money into the machine and hunkered down to make a little magic. And I was on a real bender there for awhile. I grew my measly 500 credits to an astonishing 1500! You’ve got it. I was up $10.00! Thoughts of my winnings were flashing through my mind. What could I do with my profits? I could buy lunch, put 4 gallons of gas in my tank, go crazy at a the Dollar Tree. It would be very practical to cash out my winnings and just walk away.
And the following proveshow strong myresolve (and practicality) is.
I kept gambling. Like a fiend in a frenzy I kept pressing that “Spin” button, watching my winnings melt away with each misaligned ‘7’,in hopes that the ever-elusive jackpot would hit.
And, it didn’t. There would be no lunch, no 4 gallons of gas and definitely no shopping spree at the local Dollar Tree. And I most definitely would not be racing home in a bright yellow Camaro.
Fortunately, I did have a single moment of clarity when I decided it would make sense to cash out when I was back down to my original $5.00. Better to walk away dead-even than dead-broke. Or so I’m told.
We ladies reconvened at the complimentary fountain drink bar and filled up our mini-cups one last time, surveying the casino. Sure there were plenty of winning machines sounding off their joyous alarms but there were as many ormore machines as dead as the ones we had been playing. And sitting in front of those machines were people chasing the same dream as me. I wondered if they took advice from theory number one and invested an entire Ben Franklin or were merely testing the waters as I had done.
We decided to quit the casino and move on to a more free, albeit less exhilarating, location…the beach. I’m sure I will be back to that casino someday to try my hand at that jackpot again.
Only next time, I think I’ll increase my gamble a bit. I might have a bit more luck with a ten-spot. I’m not sure I’m quite ready to commit to more (unless there’s another Camaro-at-stake or lifetime passes to the Thunder from Down Under.) Hey…everyone has their price.
Mindy
Sounds like you had a great time. My favorite “gambling” story is when I took my mom with me to a meeting in Lake Tahoe. The hotel had a casino in it and it was so pretty I decided to take a picture. The workers in the casino started waving their hands and I thought, Look how nice these people are…until they confiscated my camera. I guess they were waving for me to stop. It’s against the rules to take pics of casinos (there could be important people there who don’t want to be photographed). I felt like such a hick from the midwest…woops, I guess I am a hick from the midwest! Thanks for another hilarious post, Mindy!
Hi big spender! When I was in college the casinos on the MS Gulf Coast (about an hour from my college) were all opening for the first time (yes, I am getting old). So, we all went a few times. I am by far, the unluckiest person…EVER.
The Park Wife
I have never gambled…but I’m cheap. My hubby has gone to on several Vegas trips for work and they actually give them free tokens, and he still didn’t gamble!
hahaha! that sounds like me! I’ll gamble but usually with no more than $20 at the slots but the BIG money is at the quarter machines!!! or so I’m told. I’m still waiting to hit my jackpot! 🙂
glad you had a good time on your get away!
No casinos for me. The closest I get to gambling is a late night poker game with the guys in the neighborhood. It’s a $20 buy in, and I’ve only won once.
Great weekend!
When hubby and I was on the road, I would save all the nickels and when we went through Sparks, NV I would use them up in the slot machines. I probably only spent about $5, but it sure was fun!
I have never been to Vegas. I am such a tight wad, that I would have only been using $5 too. I think the anxiety over spending money would outweigh any fun or thrill for me. But, $5? I could part with that and have fun too. Glad you had a good weekend away!
My dad took me (and subsequently my brothers) to the casinos at Lake Tahoe for my 21st birthday. I gorged myself on complimentary Pink Squirrels. No Coke for me.
I actually have not had a pink squirrel since. So maybe it’s a good thing I went that way. I’d hate to have developed an aversion to Coke.
Glad you had a good time!
There is a gambling boat about an hour away from us. We have been twice. We each take $20. And then, when I’ve wasted mine in the slots, I ask hubby for part of his and he always says no. He plays Roulette and sometimes breaks even. No big wins for us.
♥Spot
Oh, gambling is way too stressful for me! Ha! Glad you had fun!
I’ve always wanted to go to a real casino, and I live close enough to Atlantic City to actually do that. But I lack the funds. The closest I’ve ever gotten was the Delaware Park Racetrack, which has slot machines. Bill and I got a wild hair up our butts one day, and decided to go. We each took $20, and nothing else (not even our debit cards!). I had a plan. I would get my money in nickels, and put them all in my right pocket. Any time I won, I’d put the winnings in my left pocket. When I ran out of the original $20 in my right pocket, I was done, no more gambling. Before leaving, I went to the teller window to change my winnings into paper money. And guess how much I won? Twenty dollars. At least we had fun, and it didn’t cost us anything! 😉
I like the beach waaay better than the casinos!
But listen, no lie, I hit the jackpot on a slot in Vegas. I didn’t have max play but I won $675.00 off playing $5.00 bucks. NO KIDDING! I thought I broke the machine. It went all still then the sirens went off! Winner! Winner!
Yep, that’s me – part of the adventurous group. What Mindy didn’t tell you was I left after donating $10 to that local indian tribe. And, I didn’t drink $10 worth of beverage. Glad you came out even, but I got $10 worth of memories. Good times, good times!
Adorable post! Enjoyed my visit to your blog!
Julie
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