I had promised myself I wouldn't play any more slots my last night in Vegas, but when gambling's concerned, promises are worth as much as crumpled ATM withdrawal receipts.
I wound up at Harrah's to check out some of the new penny slots that were being installed.
The new games weren't anything special, and I was compelled to mosey over to Monopoly Big Event, which has overtaken Mr. Cashman as my favorite game (its sequel -- Cashman Tonight -- isn't any good).
My trip began with three free nights at Harrah's and ended with three free nights at Rio (owned by Harrah's). At Harrah's, I played heavily one of the three days with my card. At Rio, I didn't play at all with my card. I'm anticipating a little flaw in Harrah's player's club logic where the Average Daily Theoretical (used to determine your expected daily loss) is seemingly not affected if you don't play at all during your free room stay. In other words, better to not play at all than to play smaller than your usual, because the average is used to determine your future offers. The perception is that you're playing at another non-Harrah's property and they'll continue to send free room offers to lure you back for awhile longer. Until, of course, you keep stiffing them and you're dropped.
So while I did play some at Rio (video poker and Double Diamond Deluxe with Cheese), none was on my card because I didn't expect to play very long.
That was the case with Monopoly Big Event at Harrah's, and after an hour of playing I was starting to regret not inserting my card.
An older woman sat next to me, maneuvering from her wheelchair/stroller, and began playing without the extra bet. In Monopoly Big Event, you need to make the extra bet in order to be eligible for the community bonus that's triggered randomly. Just like Mr. Cashman, except that the bonus is shared by everyone at the bank of slots, along with a multiplier depending how much and how fast they've been wagering. Provided they're making that extra bet.
Up to this point, the game had been hell for me, seeing my first Big Event after 25 minutes and a few after that, all with small awards.
Playing slots is a solitary act for me, and I had my earbuds on to tune everyone out. Behind the woman stood a young guy who I thought was her son because it was the second time he'd been by. He was pretty animated.
I lowered the volume on my iPod to eavesdrop.
"Come on," he said, "I really want to impress this girl."
"No," the woman said as she focused on the game, still not making the extra bet. No matter, though, Big Event still hadn't gone off.
"Just let me borrow it," he said, referring to the woman's scooter. "I'll do one lap, and give it back to you good as new."
"No."
"I'll give you..." He flipped through his wallet. "...five dollars."
"Thirty thousand dollars."
"Five."
The woman looked at me helplessly. At this point, I'm down a bunch and pissed at Big Event, and I found myself saying something out of a cliched film noir albeit regarding a much younger dame, "You heard the woman, she said no."
I almost said "beat it."
The kid left and the woman looked thankful. "Should I call security?"
Better advice would be for her to make that extra bet, but I just said, "Nah, he won't be back."
The woman busted out of her game and got back into her scooter. "Don't forget your card," I said, as I pulled it out and handed it to her. She said thanks and motored off.
And then, out of some kind of slot karma, Big Event hit. And it triggered the best of the six bonuses: Once Around (which incorporates a chance at hitting all of the other bonuses).
I had a 9x multiplier and settled into my chair and put my feet up, expecting a big win.
Around the board we went as dice rolled, nabbing small credits, Railroad Riches, Free Parking (damn thimble), Community Chest, even hitting Boardwalk for 400 credits, ending with a huge 1142 credit win. With my multiplier, that meant 10278 credits, and with each credit being a nickel, that meant a win of $513.90.
Enough to get me back to even for the session.
I waited out my remaining 45 seconds of eligibility, hit no second Big Event within that time, then cashed out, drove back to Rio, and went to bed to dream about riding a scooter through a casino.
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