Playing Casino Slot Machines - Lucky Day for Ruby

Playing casino slot machines turned out to be a lucky day for Ruby. She discovered the secret to winning a monstrous progressive jackpot. But when I first saw her, that steamy hot August afternoon in Las Vegas, she was worn to a frazzle. I had ventured in through an open door on Fremont street, where arctic air conditioned blasts were competing with Mother Nature's definition of a heat wave. It remained an eternal mystery why anyone would leave a street door wide open on such a sweltering day, with cold air rushing out onto the street, blasting its way against the suns heat and battling the tourists for bragging rights. It had to be a Management decision, but if it were my Utility bill to pay, I would have kept the doors closed.

I had ducked in from the late August heat for the sole purpose of taking them up on their 99 Cents Buffet. Imagine that. All you can eat, beverage included, for less than a buck. My stomach was grumbling, as I had skipped breakfast, and now was the time to get my dollars worth at a ninety nine cents buffet table. Making a quick dash inside, near a row of casino slot machines, it was too late to see a pair of outstretched female legs. I was tripped up, falling to the floor giving a lame Jack Tripper impression as I heard guffaws, snickers and laughs all around. All I saw was a closeup of a red colored carpet, embedded with small green colored shamrocks. "Oh I am so sorry." I heard her say, as she reached over to me with an outstretched hand. "Let me help you up. I'm so sorry."

Suddenly aware of my surroundings, yet not quite sure what I was doing there, in that place. My eyes were glued to a flashing neon sign on the first row of slot machines announcing the Progressive Jackpot was now at a remarkable sum of $124,900. Those numbers kept flickering, the sounds of coins falling into the hoppers, being fed into the machines, falling again into the hoppers... eerily symphonic and sounding better than anything Beethoven ever composed. In fact, Pink Floyds Money is what I was hearing. I knew I must have been hallucinating. Dr. Timothy Leary once said there would later be flashes of days like this.

"Are you all right? Should I get you medical attention? Say something! Please say you forgive me." Her concern had grabbed my attention. I saw a big-boned woman, corn-fed plump, in her early to mid-sixties, grey hair and small eyeglasses standing before me and I responded without malice, "I'm fine. Shouldn't have been too rushed to begin with. Thank you for helping me up."

"My name is Ruby.... from Council Bluffs, Iowa. I am part of a tour group on a chartered bus, and it feels as if we have been riding for what seens like days."

"Nice to meet you Ruby. I live here in Vegas now, moved from Florida four years ago and it has been an adventure from day one." I answered.

Just then the bright red neon numbers, for the casino slot machines jackpot, rolled to $125,000 and I realized it would soon be hit. In fact, it was already long overdue. Progressive jackpots at this Fremont Street casino rarely made it to the $90,000 range.

"I bet you know a lot about gambling. Four years is a long time. I have never left my home town, except to drive across the river into Omaha from time to time. I am a Librarian and the most excitement I have ever had was vicarious, reading about other exciting people in books."

Suddenly, I felt a kinship with this Lady. I had an extra dollar. Long past lunchtime, my stomach reminded me by grumbling again. I took her by the hand and said, "Let me treat you to a good meal."

"But I am waiting for my room to be made ready, so I can check in and take a long refreshing bath."

"Your room will still be here when we come back from lunch. Let me tell you all I know about gambling." And with that, I escorted her to the stairs, up to the second floor mezzanine, and into the Buffet.

Over salad, my words to Ruby: "You will have good days, and bad days. Some days you will not do anything right. You will come close, but you're not pitching horseshoes. Start slow, with small bets, minimums if you can exercise restraint. Do not try to break the bank. It will break you."

During the main course, Ruby was hanging onto my every word: "Play random games where you can bet your hunches. Everyone gets a hunch. Only the smart players gamble on them. Roulette, Keno, Craps, Slot Machines, Video Poker. If you bet at all, bet to win. Go for long odds. They do come in. Someone has to win on a lucky day."

While savoring dessert, Ruby was taking it all in, like a sponge: "Do not bet people games" I advised, "like sports, poker, blackjack, or baccarat. When people make bad decisions, like fumbling the ball on the playing field, or doubling down on tens at a blackjack table, their bad play effects nearly everyone else in the game."

By now, we were descending the stairs, back to the main floor where the Slot Machine progressives were flashing $125,313. That was a lot of quarters. "Can I play slot machines?" I heard Ruby say, as she digged deep into her purse, scooped up some coins and exchanged a $10 bill for a roll of Quarters from a nearby Change Hostess.

"Sure." I answered, amused at an Iowa tourist gambling on her first day in Las Vegas. "It is not a People Game, so all you will need here is a little luck." I was so tempted, but this was her bright idea and I wanted to give her some encouragement, not competition.

"Let me see... eeny, meeny, miney, moe." She was choosing which machine to play and, at the same time, a Casino Hostess came to her side with a room key, money saving coupons and advertising flyers. "Clink, Clink, Clink..." Three quarters dropped. "Is this enough?"

"Go all the way. You must play the maximum five quarters if you want to win the jackpot." She looked hard at her hand, unwrapped the roll of quarters in her purse, found two more and, "Clink, Clink". She pulled the handle, watched the reels spin, transfixed on the lights, the symbols, the sounds, the slowing motion as everything came to a stop.

Seven... seven.. another seven, then another SEVEN, and finally stopping on the final Golden SEVEN. Incredibly, there were five golden sevens in a ROW! Immediately, there were bells, sirens, and whistles blaring from that one lucky slot machine. It roared like a fire was in progress and begging for extinguishment. I haveve heard fire sirens before, but not quite as loud, nor as near.

"We have a JACKPOT WINNER!" The Hostess screamed out for everone to hear.

"Oh Lordy me! Have I won?" She could not believe it. Immediately surrounded by well wishers, and flashing bulbs courtesy of casino publicity photographer, I kept hearing her Praises to the Lord as I inched backward to the door.

"Thank you Lord! Thank you so much! I won! I can not believe that I have actually won!"

My presence was no longer needed. Had I stuck around, it would have put pressure on her to share her new good fortune. It was her good luck to win this small fortune which would afford her a new car, paying off all her bills, helping a needy loved one. I deserved not one nickel for being kind to a stranger, who had first been kind to me. That was the last time I saw Ruby.

The Years Have Passed

Ladies are quickly becoming a dominating presence at nearly every casino, and not just as some lucky charm. Back in 2002, a study revealed that women made up about 60% of all onlinecasino players. Only the Cashier really knows what the numbers should be today, however, one study puts it at 53%. However, you can bet on one thing for sure: long gone are the days of gambling, whether online or off, when a gaming environment was strictly a mans world.

The anonymous nature of Internet play makes it easier for women to be taken seriously as they sit down at the casino game table. Many times has a lady taken full advantage of not being taken seriously, and ended up rolling all over the table. Many male gamblers present themselves as women, with feminine screen names, in order to profit from the deception. Likewise many female gamblers disguise themselves at the onlinecasino as men, in order to reap the rewards of such deception. A newly coined popular name for these gender benders, incidentally, is Betrosexual.

Take the game of multiplayer poker -- one of many games in casinos where women can be found everywhere. A full 62% of all women surveyed in the U.S. play poker games as often as 4 times each month, with 5 out of 6 preferring to play at the onlinecasino on line. Statistics suggest that at least 1 in 6 online poker players is a woman, with that number surely expected to grow. Table and multi-player games notwithstanding, the Gals still enjoy a good adrenaline rush as much as any Guy, and it is nowhere more apparent than at an onlinecasino.

Whether it is the comfort and safety of playing slot machines from her own computer, or sitting in at a Blackjack table with a bunch of faceless men, who otherwise may not treat them as equals, the emergence of women in business and leadership roles has taken them straight to casinos, and they are not going away.

Do not be surpised if we start seeing beefcake male models, like the Chippendales, displayed on landing pages of every onlinecasino in the near future. They will be front and center right alongside the buxom females who have successfully enticed new players through their virtual gaming doorways for years.

If it does not change your luck, make your mouth water, or cause your palms to itch, at least it will still serve a purpose. It is eye candy, pure and sweet. Beautiful people, risk takers, and adventurous fortune hunters of all ages and sizes are drawn to casinos. And all one really needs to win at any game is... LUCK. Remember that show-stopping tune that made Guys and Dolls the great screen musical that keeps entertaining? "Luck Be A Lady Tonight!" ? Is now the right time to play real money slots online.

Who knows? As the classic song goes, from GUYS & DOLLS, "AND, if you have ever been a lady to begin with... LUCK be a Lady tonight!" Maybe this will be your own lucky day.