Luck be a Lady:

(or a Dorothy, or a Glinda, or an Allison)

Before heading down to Tunica on Saturday I *tweeted* that mantra and or phrase (no lie) and just a few hours later...

ching ching ching!

We walked the entire floor of the Horseshoe (I asked for directions) looking for my favorite slot machine. "Check the front of the house, honey."

Just because I have a "favorite" doesn't mean I frequent casinos or have a problem, by the way.

My favorite is a video PENNY machine based on The Wizard of Oz.

Typically I can play and play and play (and lose and lose and lose) for a couple hours and not feel cheated (punny), this means I break even.

Found Online: The bonus is initiated when an Emerald City Bonus Symbol appears on reels 1,3, and 5. From there, you choose one of the three symbols in order to receive one of the following: the Emerald City Bonus, the Flying Monkey Wild Bonus or just an instant credit reward.

That makes the game sound a wee bit complicated and or doesn't really let the excitement of the "BOINK BOINK BOINK" shine through...(sound of Bonus Symbols).

Then there is the "My magic is very powerful" phrase spoken by Glinda as she appears in her bubblegum pink floating orb--just in time to render some of the reels as WILD!

But let me just cut to last night. We find the desired machines, we wait and wait (only about twenty minutes) for one to open up and I slide in for the kill!

I lose the first two bills I fed into it quickly (nevermind...) I boldly feed in two more...(boldy could be substituted for stupidly any other night)...OKAY! Fine, they were $20s!

I'm down to my last $9.30 and I think my pulse has hit a new "high score" record of it's own when FINALLY it starts happening. I don't remember the order of events:

It was a big blur of flying monkeys and dancing emeralds. Dorothy and the Scarecrow made an appearance and even Glinda swooped in a few times. A crowd was behind me, Allison was helping me make choices...

I remember screaming. I remember making bets and talking through how "far down" I would go before stopping. At one point there was ----->

(notice the poor representation of my smiling face...I look like an idiot in the original)

When it was all said and done, I cashed out a voucher for $37.90 less than this picture...wha wha what?

Oh yeah! The Cashier asked me how I wanted my "winnings" and all I could do was stand there and ask, "What do other people do?"

Like I said, not an expert gambler...Kenny Rogers won't be singing my praises anytime soon!

So we raced to the car....I think I said, "We gotta Cash it and Dash it--that's my version of Take the Money and Run!"...because we had a CONCERT to get to....

The night was so awesome, it's going to get two entries...
~~J

p.s. My new found wealth has turned into a much desired and needed netbook!