What we (the wife and I) love about gaming

Here's the setup. We play mostly at Mohegan Pocono Downs, which is a slot parlor; but it is also only a few minutes from home. Last month, I called for a moratorium for a while, simply because we were going too often and losing too much. It is one thing to lose a couple hundred every now and then, but it is completely another to go to the casino once a week and lose a couple hundred, each, for 4-5 weeks in a row; I looked up at the end of March, and we've lost $1500 on slots, and that's real money!

OK, no big deal. We stop playing, ignore the mailings and e-offers. But she makes me promise that we go on her birthday, which was also Mother's Day. OK, cool. We get there around 8:30, play some quarter games, and we both hit decent wins for about $125 (I hit a 500 credit In The Money, she hit a 500 credit Fireball 7s), so we have some room to play. We wander around the penny machines, win/lose/play about even, for an hour.

She is up a couple hundred now, and I'm up about fifty. So she wants to try what she calls "the Big Boys Room", the $5 and up machines. What the heck, it's the casino's money right now, and I love to hear the blood pumping in my ears. So I play my favorite Wheel Of Fortune machine; I feed about $200 into it, and after some up and downs, some cherries and mixed bars, I finally get a spin... cool. $1000. I cash out my ticket, $1105. I'm set. Mrs M, OTOH, isn't doing as well. She likes those In The Money machines, and I like them too but for me the three ITMs don't come up often enough to justify the small number of plays we're making in the $5 room. She quickly loses $100 in the $5 ITM. I show her my ticket, and she decides to put her second $100 that she is up into a $5 WOF. Which works out pretty good for her. She gets 2 spins, back to back, one for $250 and one for $375! And this is now pretty cool.

So, we agree, I cash my ticket and pocket a grand. She cashes her ticket and pockets $500, and we both go out into the main room to blow another hour at the quarter machines. And about 10:15, I have $1000 in my pocket, and I'm holding a ticket for $205. She has $600 in her pocket, and she's holding a ticket for $101.25. And I say, "Tell you what. Let's take these back into the Big Boys Room. We'll spin them off together in a $5 Wheel. If we lose, we have $1600. If we get a spin, whatever it is, we cash out and go home." And she looks at me and says, "Let's do it in the $100 machine."

Uh... "That's only 3 spins," I say. "I don't know about that one." So I suggest a compromise: "How about in the $25 machine? 2 plays per spin, we get 6 spins, whatever happens, happens." She node her agreement.

We put the tickets in and get the mini-change back, the $5 and the $1.25. And so we start... button.... blank. Button... blank. Button... blank. Button.... WHEEL. OF. FORTUNE! A spin! We look up at the wheel. You can't help but notice the big white space with the big red $10000 right in the middle; but all around are different colored spaces, $4000, $5000, $3500, $750, $5000, $600, $1500, $1000, $4500! This, this is deep breath time.

We look at each other. She says to me our mantra: "What's the smallest number?" It doesn't matter, we always say that. It's our "knock on wood". I look at her and say, "I don't know. I don't care. We have a spin on a twenty five dollar Wheel Of Fortune machine. Put your hand on mine." We both put our hands on the SPIN button. "OK. One. Two. Three. PUSH, and don't look." And we turn away. And the wheel spins. And it stops. And there's that little recorded crowd noise, and the clapping, and the theme music from the game show is playing. And maybe we won $10000. And maybe we won something else. But that moment. When we were standing there, not looking, knowing only that we won, that we won SOMETHING, and it might be $10000. There's no other feeling in the world like that.

Okay, that is just mean! Give us all the details, right up to the almost end?
I can't stand not knowing......... Where's Paul Harvey when you need him?

Oh, and congratulations!

Yeah, congrats on a great birthday for your wife and a great experience for both of you!

...NOW COUGH UP THE RESULTS!

FOUL!

You tell a great story like that, then leave out the last sentence?






OK. I wasn't gonna do this, but if you're gonna do that, I get to yell at you for one of the points you made:

Quote: Mosca

What the heck, it's the casino's money right now.

No it's not! Once you win it, it's YOUR MONEY!


But I'm still happy for ya...

And the final result is...????

I disagree, it is the casino's money. Not technically, but you're playing off winnings why not go for that extra gambling high? (Sorry to get into that old argument, but you started it >.>)

$10 says his wife and him won the 10 grand and are on a flight to Vegas right now.

BTW: Happy Birthday to the wife.

5/9 is my birthday too!

when does it become your money and not their money? if you leave the casino and go home, is it then your money? what if you come back the next day is it still your money or back to being their money? what if you leave the casino to get something to eat, is it your money then? what if you come back to the casino afterwards, is it their money now? what if you just step outside the casino for a breath of fresh air, is it your money now? if you step back in, is it their money now?

Quote: rudeboyoi

when does it become your money and not their money? if you leave the casino and go home, is it then your money? what if you come back the next day is it still your money or back to being their money? what if you leave the casino to get something to eat, is it your money then? what if you come back to the casino afterwards, is it their money now? what if you just step outside the casino for a breath of fresh air, is it your money now? if you step back in, is it their money now?

While technically its your money as soon as you win, I think its a pretty common feeling that you are playing on the "house money" until you actually end your gambling expedition. The 'expedition could be just one trip to the local casino, or a week long trip to Vegas.

Very entertaining story, Mosca. I can't wait for the rest of it!

Quote: DJTeddyBear

OK. I wasn't gonna do this, but if you're gonna do that, I get to yell at you for one of the points you made:

No it's not! Once you win it, it's YOUR MONEY!


But I'm still happy for ya...

LOL, heh, I wrote that because I know it ticks some folks off! Tell you what, how about I call it "playing above the line" from now on. I know it's already our money; that's why we took some of it home with us!

The hit was for $750, the 3rd lowest number on the wheel ($600 and $675 were lower). It is a slot machine, after all, not an ATM. But man, that was one heck of a feeling. Neither one of us wanted to turn around, we just stood there giggling a little bit, like two old kids. We left after that. I started with $300 and cashed out $1500, she started with $200 and cashed out $1100. So we won $2100 between us. Not bad for a night at the slots.

I wish there was more about the $10000, of course!

great story Mosca! this 'rush' is why many of us 'play'. this is one of the reasons why i don't say i gamble, i call it 'play'. it's more than to win, it's also for the 'rush'.

i wish more of us would write trip reports so we can all share the experience.

congratulations to the both of you, and a great birthday present for your wife!

.

Quote: inap

I wish more of us would write trip reports so we can all share the experience.

I agree with Inap on this one. Perhaps the Wizard can have a Forum subtopic called Trip Reports. If I can't make it to Las Vegas, at least I can live vicariously through others!

I like the stories too. I guess the big wins forum would be the most likely place, but then we probably would only get half the stories. ;) I'm going to Ameristar Kansas City next weekend, then Ft. Lauderdale the first week in June. I hope to visit Seminole Hard Rock when I'm in FL. Hope I have good news to report from both trips!

Quote: gambler

I agree with Inap on this one. Perhaps the Wizard can have a Forum subtopic called Trip Reports. If I can't make it to Las Vegas, at least I can live vicariously through others!

+1

Quote: rudeboyoi

when does it become your money and not their money? if you leave the casino and go home, is it then your money? what if you come back the next day is it still your money or back to being their money? what if you leave the casino to get something to eat, is it your money then? what if you come back to the casino afterwards, is it their money now? what if you just step outside the casino for a breath of fresh air, is it your money now? if you step back in, is it their money now?

For me, it becomes my money when the chips become cash. While everything is in chip form, or slot tickets, it is still casino money. When it has been converted to cash, it is now my money.

Quote: RaleighCraps

For me, it becomes my money when the chips become cash. While everything is in chip form, or slot tickets, it is still casino money. When it has been converted to cash, it is now my money.

if you buyin at a table and get chips for cash. are those chips now their money or is it still yours? what if you bet with a $20 bill on a square, is that your money you are wagering or is it their money?

Quote: inap

great story Mosca! this 'rush' is why many of us 'play'. this is one of the reasons why i don't say i gamble, i call it 'play'. it's more than to win, it's also for the 'rush'.

i wish more of us would write trip reports so we can all share the experience.

congratulations to the both of you, and a great birthday present for your wife!

.

I would love to write a trip report, but the last 2 trips to Beau Rivage it was best forgotten about as soon as the plane left the tarmac. I did start out plus 1260 after day 1, but alas, that was the end of the winnings.
I have been invited to play in a Harrah's golf tournament at Rio Secco on May 25, so I will be staying at RIO from May 23 to May 27. My youngest daughter, 25, will be coming to Vegas with me for her first time. She has a college classmate who works at City Center now, so this should be a fun trip. I suspect a ride on the Sky Jump is in our near future ;-)
I will try and take some notes a do a trip report.

Quote: Mosca

Quote: DJTeddyBear

OK. I wasn't gonna do this, but if you're gonna do that, I get to yell at you for one of the points you made:

No it's not! Once you win it, it's YOUR MONEY!


But I'm still happy for ya...

LOL, heh, I wrote that because I know it ticks some folks off! Tell you what, how about I call it "playing above the line" from now on. I know it's already our money; that's why we took some of it home with us!

OK. You got me - and a bunch of other people too!

I prefer to call it 'playing with the winnings', although that usually degrades to 'recycling the winnings'. Sigh....

Quote: Mosca

The hit was for $750, the 3rd lowest number on the wheel ($600 and $675 were lower).

That's still nothing to sneeze at. Nice work!

I liked your story so much, I thought I would add my wifes and mine best gambling trip and why we like to gamble.
We went to Vegas for four days and did alot of the typical tourist sight seeing, shows, and eating and drinking too much. Our bankroll for the two of us was $2000. Our primary game is Pai Gow Poker, but we both also enjoy slots. We were up and down, but mostly down the first three days. The last night we got back to Ceasars after a show and decided to try our luck. I sat down to play Pai Gow Poker for $25 a hand with a $300 bankroll. My wife decided to play slots. I had barely got settled in when my wife came back with a big smile. She had hit for $2500! She sat down with me, but after about 15 minutes left to play slots again. I was doing OK and slowly increasing my $300. She came back in less than 45 minutes and whispered in my ear that she just hit the same 10X PAY $1 slot machine for another $3000 jackpot. It was, by far, the most she ever won in a single trip. Being the sensible one, she went up to the room and put the money in the safe and went to bed. I continued playing and steadily winning. Not fast, but steady. I gradually increased my bet until I was playin $200 a hand. By this time, I had been playing for at least 5 hours and had about $4500!!! I decided I would cash out if I could get above $5000 or if I fell below $4000. I really wanted that $5000 chip but I never could get it. I finally cashed out with $4800 at 7AM [we started about 11PM] This was, and still is my best session at Pai Gow. I went upstairs and woke up my wife to brag to her. We went to breakfast and then packed since we were leaving after lunch. I went downstairs with $500 to blow on slots. I immediately started winning. No hand payouts, but good hits. My wife came down and she started winning also. We finally pulled ourselves away and went to the room to count before we left for the airport. We had $12000 of Harrahs money!!! The topper to this lucky streak was at the airport where my wife went to play a .25 machine and after just a few pulls hit it for $125!!! What a trip!!

Quote: timberjim

The topper to this lucky streak was at the airport where my wife went to play a .25 machine and after just a few pulls hit it for $125!!! What a trip!!

I think winning on an airport slot machine is the most amazing part of that story!

I also like the idea of a trip report section. I'm leaving for Vegas on Friday. I'm sure I will have at least one interesting story to tell by next Tuesday. It may be non gambling related as I am going for a bachelor party!

Current short form slightly interesting gambling stories
1.) 18 years old and hit a royal flush on a Cruise ship poker machine, only had the minimum in the machine.
2.) Was playing blackjack using a negative progression betting system and had maxed out my bankroll. The dealer treated my bet as a push even though I lost. Left it up and won the next hand to get back to even. I will never know if it was intentional or just luck. I have since scrapped all betting systems.
3.) Playing Blackjack at the O'shea's. The dealer was real new. I was betting just $5 a hand and teaching a friend how to play. The dealer made at least 3 mistakes in my favor within an hour.
4.) Playing blackjack at the MGM, the dealer kept loading cards in the auto shuffler upside down. The first time it happened they let the card stand. The second time they burnt the card. The second and would have been a winner for me. The houses inconsistency was annoying. In both cases they were player cards, so they would have been turned over immediately either way, so I don’t know why it even mattered.

To add a coda,

We came back this evening, for dinner at the Rustic Kitchen (very nice place). Mrs brought along some of her winnings, I brought some of mine. She hit a PENNY machine, on a $2.50 bet, for $143.00. I ditzed around, lost $40 at the pennies, and she insisted we try the $5 slots. I was down to me very last credit and spun this:



Which is a cool $1600.

Quote: Mosca

To add a coda,

We came back this evening, for dinner at the Rustic Kitchen (very nice place). Mrs brought along some of her winnings, I brought some of mine. She hit a PENNY machine, on a $2.50 bet, for $143.00. I ditzed around, lost $40 at the pennies, and she insisted we try the $5 slots. I was down to me very last credit and spun this:



Which is a cool $1600.

Wow! that is cool Mosca! congratulations! i'll be there tomorrow so leave some for me ;). btw which casino did you hit this in?

.

This is local for us, inap; Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. All slots, table games should be here July 1st.

Congratz Mosca! That's fantastic!

Quote: Mosca

This is local for us, inap; Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. All slots, table games should be here July 1st.

oh, ok. in that case take all you can ;)

.

Quote: gambler

Congratz Mosca! That's fantastic!

Strange as it may seem, after that I would venture that over the last three years I'm ahead at Mohegan. Lots of little losses, but several big wins. It's damn close to even if it's not ahead. Last year my statement had me up $1700. Not too damn bad for a slot parlor.

Nice! It's hard to read, but I guess the Wheel of Fortune symbol acts as another Double Diamond symbol?

Quote: teddys

Nice! It's hard to read, but I guess the Wheel of Fortune symbol acts as another Double Diamond symbol?

Yep. As you can well imagine, I was pulling for that last WOF/DD, but I am absolutely pleased with the red 7!