Momma loved to play the slots,
and darn it, she was pretty lucky.
It got to the point where no one wanted to play
with her because inevitably she would hit a jackpot.
Maybe not a big one every time, but usually enough
to cover her initial investment.
Momma could pull out a $20 and by the end of the weekend
she'd earned back her original $20 and then some.
As she got older in life, we'd sit her down at a machine -
mind you not any machine, it had to be to her specifications -
anything with 7's were her favorites, couldn't have any letters
or symbols, maybe had to have diamonds involved.
She'd put in her money, I'd put in her player's card,
and then I would walk away.
Sooner or later I would hear a lot of clanging
and there she was, winning some jackpot,
telling me she didn't understand which buttons she had pushed.
Doesn't matter, Momma, you won... again...
She taught me to only take as much money with me as I was willing to lose.
And, she told me to consider it as entertainment...
something to enjoy for a while and not take too seriously...
have fun with it...
And, we had a lot of fun -
In Vegas, Laughlin, Carson City, Reno,
Atlantic City, and various Indian casinos...
on multiple cruise ships...
She walked into the casino in Nassau, Bahamas
and jokingly put some money into a machine...
$75 later she was walking out a winner...
again...
Only once or twice did I see her play roulette,
and we did occasionally play bingo,
but she was never as lucky at those as she was on the slots.
This weekend, we went to a casino for the first time since her death.
It was weird not wondering where she was, how long did I have
to play poker before I had to go back and check on her,
make sure she didn't need some water or to go to the bathroom.
As I wandered around in a bit of a fog
I found a machine with sevens and played a $100 for her.
I could almost imagine I felt her touch just as I was about to get up
from the machine without really hitting anything major,
telling me to play just one more time...
I bet the max and watched the reels spin...
and hit the bonus round...
and hit the repeat bonus round...
and get a nice $120 jackpot...
That one was for you, Momma,
because even in Heaven, you're still lucky...
1 comment:
She did have the luck! Congrats on your winnings! Maybe you will inherit a bit more of them over time.
My mom and your mom would have gotten along great together with gambling. My mom loved to go to Las Vegas or Laughlin. Don't know if they still do it now, but back then (over 30 years ago now) casinos would sponsor free buses from the San Diego area to Las Vegas for a turnaround as my mom called them. 24 hours including travel time. She and my aunt would go, try to sleep on the bus, gamble for the hours they were there (and they always got some type of promotion for going) and then sleep on the way home. My mom's philosophy was like your mom's. Only take what you want to lose. Most days she didn't win big but she won enough that she could keep playing during that time and come home with a few extra dollars.
We did like playing bingo together, mostly at Catholic churches that got into putting on games as fundraisers.
Next time it might be easier to go into a casino, but it will never feel the same as before.
betty
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