My first hand-pay in video poker -- July 29, 2003
My recent gambling results
This was a tough week on the gambling front. You may remember from last week that the Suncoast casino is having weekly drawing worth $100,000. This week I had the idea to lay off baseball bets I take in from others. Unfortunately the days I did this I had the winning sides of almost every game and gave away $3500 in what I would have otherwise won. However as I always say, it isn't whether you win or lose but whether it was a good bet. In this situation I was both lowering my risk to almost zero and with the 10 cent baseball lines at the Suncoast I had the opportunity to earn tickets at an average of $2 each, and each ticket I estimate to be worth $3 to $4. Although there were about 20% fewer tickets in the drum that last week I still lost.
My first hand-pay in video poker
To take away some of the sting I had my first hand pay in video poker on Monday. I had a 7:00 dinner appointment at the Las Vegas Club and arrived half an hour early so decided to hit the $1 10/7 double bonus machines at the Four Queens, which include 0.5% cash back. After 10 minutes I was dealt three aces for the third time. The third time was the charm and I hit the fourth ace, paying $800. The Four Queens is still a coin based casino and a win that big has to be hand paid. So I turned on my change light and waited and waited for someone to pay me. After about 10 minutes a change woman noticed my four aces and in broken English said "congratulations." She then tried to butter me up with questions. I had heard of this kind of thing happening before so I did my best to ignore her. However she was obstinate and just stood behind me for 10 more minutes, selling a coin roll occasionally, and still peppering me with questions.
Finally after 20 minutes somebody came around and give me seven $100 bills, eight $20 bills, and two $10 bills. I am a believer in proper tipping and gave the lady who paid me $10. However the change lady still kept saying "congratulations" in her broken English. I had always heard that when someone hits a big jackpot employees come out of the woodwork at hand pay time, hovering around like vultures looking for a tip. Although this seemed to be a nice older lady trying to hit me up I was taking a stand and would not encourage her behavior. So after being paid I turned away from her and pretended to look for something in my wallet, for at least a true minute. Finally she and her change cart slowly left and I made a quick escape in the other direction. I felt like a weasel but am glad I didn't cave in.
This week's special offer
This week I am happy to offer another special offer just for my newsletter readers. Get a 100% bonus on deposits up to $150 at Swiss Casino for new players. The first $100 will be automatic, e-mail the casino for the other $50. The play requirement is 20 times deposit and bonus. Although blackjack is not allowed for some Swiss Casino promotions it is allowed for this one. You must click through this newsletter to be eligible. If you have trouble with the banner you can download the software here.
Thanks for reading. Until next time, set your expectations high.