Playing the slot machine - Everyone has a techniqur

May 1st, 2010 - The best part of being in Vegas, is the casino, and the best part of the casino is the slot machines. So many differnet kinds, each has it's own special thrill or quirk that makes it a favorite pick. And you can play a lot as in dollars, or not so much as in, quarters, nickels, dimes and pennies. Ofcourse, don't be confused even when you play pennies there are maximum and minimum amounts which then makes the penny machines play at $2.00. Anyway, each person playng a machine has their own very special technique. From the trinkets that they place around the machine, to kissing the money before it goes it, to rubbing circles across the screen for luck, and of course, you can pick out the catholics because they make the sign of the cross. No matter what, as my husband used to tell me, "you can't win if you don't play". so I play.

I like to start at the pennies and nickles and work myself up. I always play the max, and I like games where I recognize the symbols or numbers that you need to get to win. Some of the games look like you are stuck in Candy Land, with Seseme Street and a fruit stand thrown in for confusion. And there are so many possible win lines that I get confused just looking at them. So, me I look for the Blazing Sevens, with maybe a Wheel of Fortune thrown in for variety. My friend with me was a 'Sex in the City' Girl all the way. And she was pretty darn lucky with that game.
I have names for the folks I watch playing, like the Hoarder. You know this one, he sits in the middle of three machines and plays all three, with the minimum amount possible. Either he has body oder and doesn't want anyone near him, or he is a Gemini and can't make a decision to pick one machine. What I like to do is wait for him to give up one of the machines, then I quickly sit down and hope it hits. Even if it is a small amount the person who gave it up goes nuts. Then there is the stalker. This one has a particular machine in mind and he/she will stand near you or around you until you give up and walk away from the machine. They will stand over your shoulder, take the seat next to you, try talking to you, which is ever so annoying, and even ask you several times, "are you going to be playing that machine long". I smile and say, "you never know". They I play the machine as if in slow motion. Looking around betweeen each and every pull, getting a drink from the waitress, reading the help, anything that will make the person stalking my machine give up and go some place else. Another favorite person is what I call the 'don't know when to quit'. They keep pumping money into the same machine even though the machine is clearing a dud. I once watched someone put $700 into one machine, before he finally gave up and quit. Well, call me an idiot but I just had to play the machine after he left, there had to be a win in there somewhere....But it wasn't with my $20.00. Oh yeah, then there is one last kind of person, the person who makes money the hard way. Hard way or not it is still winning. So here is how this works. Put a $100.00 in the machine. The first time it goes over $100, say $107, cash it out, place winnings in one pocket an go to another machine with the original $100. Continue to work the machines, cashing out when you are at least $2 or $3 dollars over the original $100. It may take an hour or so but with perseverence you can win a chunk of money. Like the night I was waiting for my friend, used the above strategy, and by the time she met me I was up $66. That my friend was used to pay part of our dinner.

So what can I say, I thought over time I would get tired of Vegas, it would lose its' appeal and grow boring. But that is so not the case. I love Las Vegas, and have been there every year at least once for the last 15 or 16 years. It is my favorite place to go to people watch, relax at the pool, catch some great shows, relax at the pool, shop, , relax at the pool and develop new strategies for beating the odds. I have won the Kentucky Derby, won and lost at roulette, won and lost at the slots, and dispite my record, I will continue to go in hopes of that one big win. Until then I remember my husbands words, "if you don't play, you can't win"....