I hit this on Friday night.
Followed by this on Saturday night.
Lots of other smaller wins throughout the two days - too many pics to post.
On Saturday, J. went with me - we've recently discovered that he also gets the weekly Saturday free play offer and we're not leaving free play un-played! I went in mid afternoon and he came later - took both cars to the car wash in Reno (monthly free car wash courtesy of Atlantis) then we went to dinner. I almost ALWAYS have issues leaving a machine - and that day was no exception - chasing a $5500 Major (unbelievably high) and a $20.5K Grand (also incredibly high) - but I was able to hold the machine for a two hour meal break so figured what the heck. Coincidentally, I was playing with an acquaintance and he was locking his machine (same bank of machines with same jackpots) so as the slot attendant finished his, she also locked mine. A lady came up to play the machine in between our (now) locked machines. We joked 'you will probably hit it - 'cuz we're going to take a break'.
J. and I enjoyed a nice dinner at the sushi/Japanese restaurant - always fun to spend time together - and the food was (as usual) delicious. We love sitting at the bar where the steam pots are - watching the chefs create a myriad of dishes using pots that use hot steam to warm food. Watching them put in ingredients, adding seasonings, etc. - it's fascinating and makes it so fun to enjoy not only the meal but the crafting of meals for people.
I headed back to the machine and my friend was already back - and he said 'hey, look' - and sure enough, someone had hit the Major while I was at dinner. I asked if it was the lady who played the middle machine and he said 'it was on the middle machine but it wasn't her - and she won it on a $1 bet'. Damn! I said 'I'm out, then' - he said 'but you could still win the Grand' and I said 'the odds on that or so slim, I'd rather go try something else'.
Time with hubby is way more important - truly - but damn! I hate it when that happens. (This isn't the first time a dinner with family has resulted in me missing out on a big pay off but oh well).
So....I played my fave Dragonlinks and hit a Major - surprised me very much because I had switched down from dime denomination to penny denomination and I won the jackpot on a $1.50 bet!!
J. headed home around 7:30 and I stayed - both Friday and Saturday nights were drawings for prizes starting at 6PM and ending at 9:30PM - every half hour. Three names win $250 in freeplay, 4th name wins $500 cash and 5th name wins $2,000 cash. In June, I spent the night both nights - free room offer is part of the event. But this month, I just wanted to be home. The amount of play time involved in a two night stay is not worth the 'expense' of fun money - so I drove to/from both nights.
At the 9:30PM drawing, my name was the first to be called - I won $250 in freeplay! I had just played a machine on the same bank I won the hand pay on in 2017 (my largest win ever) and turned $100 into $600 - I was super excited to have won and promptly turned the $250 in free play into an additional $500 cash! Woot woot.
I was WAY up for the weekend. Headed home super happy!
This morning, I returned - the machine I played on last was at $9,667 and has to hit by $10K. I'd hoped to try it again - but....I should have known - the machine had someone on it. A man with a 'man purse' - he was betting $25 a pull (way more than I would ever bet) and it was pretty clear he was going to stay there until it hit. It was at $9,880 and climbing.
(I honestly often think there are 'syndicates' who watch for machines like that one and send people there to just play until it hits. I've seen this happen many times before - sometimes for a jackpot with a 'must hit by' jackpot or often just hitting banks of machines betting huge high limit amounts, winning and leaving as quickly as they arrive. In Vegas, I saw a lady using a tote bag to put the funds she was cashing out and as soon as she'd hit a win on every machine in the bank (betting $1 or $2 denomination, $10 - $50 a pull), she bolted for the door).
I was stupid to go back this morning for that machine. First rule of gambling: don't chase after a specific jackpot. A machine with a 'must hit by' formula will cycle through that again - over and over and over. The play I had last night was lucrative - and the $250 free play that led to another win was the icing on the cake for a stellar weekend - I should have just moved on. I actually did hit the Minor progressive - a dollar sign 'spins' on the screen and you wait to see which you've won - the Major (which would have been $9,667) or the Minor (which was $397). I won the Minor - and was ecstatic to win that - on free play!
(I was 'glad' that I hadn't kept playing last night - thinking it would hit the Major any time - because when I went back this morning, it sure hadn't hit and I could have plowed a ton of play ($$) into the machine for 'nothing').
I tried my usual Dragonlinks - betting pretty darn aggresively since I was so far up - but no joy. It dropped the $850 Major three times but sadly, didn't have enough orbs to win it - takes 6 and would drop 4-5. Grrr.
Came home down for the day (way down)....and had to just remind myself 'you lost money you had to lose because you won HUGELY this weekend - so don't beat yourself up. It is what it is.'
Gambling is a 'hobby' that creates a lot of self-loathing. No matter how far up you are, the losses feel crushing at times.
On Saturday morning, I 'shared the wealth' giving each of the boys a little cash as a 'gift'....both were incredibly appreciative. When I win, I like to share the wealth - if they were here, I'd hand them the amount in cash and maybe we'd play slots together - but with the distance, I am happy to make a surprise transfer into their checking accounts so they have unexpected money to use for whatever.
H. will use it as a cushion since he's been off work for a few weeks and B. will likely invest it - he is on a path to be a stock mogul.
It's a quiet Sunday afternoon - I used my daily (Friday - Sunday) food credit to get us lunch at the Manhattan Deli and brought it home. J. went to hit a bucket of balls and make a quick stop at the grocery store for a few things we need - he'll be home soon.
We get a $15 food credit (each) Tuesday through Thursday - and Friday, Saturday AND Sunday, we EACH get a $15 food credit each day - if we earn 1 tier point - about $5 in play. I joke with J. 'we could basically eat courtesy of Atlantis 4 days a week - only 3 days left we'd have to feed ourselves. Hello Fresh is 3 days a week and we take a periodic break every 3-4 weeks to use what we have on hand before adding more meals to our stock.
I joke 'we can live like Kings here' and it's pretty darn true.
No comments:
Post a Comment