Local Casino

Once a month, the small casino down the street from the rental town house we lived in for 7 months allows players to swap comps for free play.  The amount you can exchange is determined by your player card level - for me, it's using $200 in comps for $100 in free play.  (FYI - double the comps for half that amount in free play is very common - Atlantis uses the same formula only Atlantis doesn't restrict the swap to once a month AND you can do it yourself via the player kiosk).  Some might think a 100% 'loss' is not worth it?  But this small, local casino doesn't offer events.  They don't do crab feeds, winery dinners, monthly drawings for $70,000 in prizes - and we don't dine there much (at all) really.  They have one restaurant (of 2) open since the pandemic and we aren't likely to ever use 100's of dollars in comps there.  Ever. 

Gold Dust West requires you to go to the window and request the swap - which is fine.  I love the convenience of using comps on your own that Atlantis provides but I'll go to the window if I have to.  Thankfully, the entire bank of Dragonlinks (six machines) was empty so I hurried to the the swap and headed back to pick a machine. 

I'd been looking forward to today as the monthly 'swap' date - and I've been swapping now for three months in a row and this is the last swap I'll be able to do for a while.  Need to build up some more comps.

It's super rainy here today (as expected) and I was really looking forward to a bit of fun time at a casino.  J. agreed to drop me off there so I could have a beer or two and enjoy the play.  Guess the mindless-ness of playing slots is more appealing to me than curling up with hot tea and a good book on a very rainy day. 

I was up $400 in the first 20 minutes of being there - hadn't even had a beer yet - and many would say 'so why didn't you leave'?  I would answer 'because what's the fun in that?  I want to play!'.  So I stayed.  The slot was pretty hot for a bit and then cooled significantly - and I knew I should stop.  Or move to a different slot.  But two wonderful ladies had sat down near me and we were having fun rooting for each other - cheering the bonus rounds and booing the missed bonus rounds.  I really just felt like I wasn't ready to stop playing yet.  So I put another sum of money I do not wish to disclose (LOL) and kept playing.  I decided to 'finish big' so I upped my bet.  I got a bonus round of free games on a $5 bet (2 cent denomination) and got a bonus round of six free games.  And on the 6th (last) free game, this happened:  

Last spin of six and it dropped the $893.04 MAJOR!  Woot woot.  I had $291.50 on the 'win' meter from the previous five games.  

The final round ended as this:

$1309.54 - my first hand pay at this local casino.  [Hand pays are any pay out > $1200.00.  As defined by the IRS.  The term 'hand pay' comes from the slot attendants having to hand you the winnings vs. just adding the winnings to your 'credit' meter which you then cash out via a 'ticket' whenever you're ready to stop playing].  FYI - doesn't mean you will owe taxes on that win - gambling wins are offset by gambling losses and while the ladies I was having fun with were bemoaning the hand pay, I was OK with it.  I have WAY more losses than wins to offset any gain so...it's all good.  This is my 5th hand pay of 2021 which will most definitely go down as an epic year in terms of hand pays.

It was a wonderful morning. (I won a Major on this same machine on August 31st - which also was game six of six).  I'm really starting to love this machine!

As soon as I saw the Major drop and knew it was 'mine', I texted J. 'please come get me'.  Not realizing at that point it was a handpay (which adds at least 20-30 minutes to the process) - so he came and ended up coming in 'cuz I wasn't coming out.  

If he hadn't picked me up and been my 'ride', I would have very likely played another machine with a Major jackpot in the same range (mid $800 - prime hitting range) and likely put a lot of my winnings back.  But I didn't do that - did (quite a) few backup spins, won another $200 and called it a morning.  

EPIC morning. 

If beers for brunch is wrong, I don't want to be right.  LOL.

And...I had some heart epiphanies, too.  I feel bad (really bad) at times sitting at a slot machine playing with wild abandon thinking (at times - not always but sometimes) 'I could use this money to help H. .  We could get him an apartment and help him get (back) on his feet'.  But today, I realized 'wait a minute, Majah.  Yes, you could do that.  But you HAVE financially helped him to a degree that many parents wouldn't.  You have been generous and patient and spent considerable funds trying to 'help him' with a fresh start.  It didn't work....which is gut-wrenching and makes you feel sad a lot - you aren't responsible for him anymore.  You legally stopped being responsible for him ten years ago and you've done a lot in the past ten years trying to 'help him'.  But you don't 'have to' do that.  You earned this life.  You and J. worked fricking HARD for this life - for the financial comfort you have in retirement.  There is zero (ZERO!!!!) obligation for you to continue to financially support someone who is repeatedly making bad choice after bad choice.  LET IT GO!'.  And that revelation is why I just felt like "I'm not ready to stop playing yet".  And putting that new amount (it was $200.  Just $200.  Lest you think it was more) was sort of my emancipation from feeling sad about the money I use to fund my 'hobby' vs. using it to help someone I love who clearly is past helping.  

H., help yourself.  That is my new prayer nightly - God, please help him to help himself.  Make a change.  Emancipate YOURSELF from the addiction that has controlled your life for years.  

I type this thinking 'I should have tried that other machine' but I'm letting that go, too.  Walking out of a casino (ANY casino) 'up' is a blessing not to be ignored.  It was a winning day and I'm grateful and happy for it - 

And ready for a nap.  LOL.