Luck be a....very attractive gay man

I have recently discovered a new vice. Correction: I have discovered a new vice and rediscovered an old one.

Last month, a coworker and I were talking about a new casino that has opened up east of Seattle near Snoqualmie Falls. Appropriately titled Snoqualmie Casino, it's a twenty minute drive from work (about 30 from Seattle). The coworker offered to drive me out to this new casino so I could check it out and she promised to give me a free buffet through the points she has accumulated on her membership card.

When I got there, the first thing I did was sign up for a membership. Finally, card in hand, I was let loose among the beeping and flashing slot machines. I am a fan of slot machines. Cheerfully they entice you into their rolling-wheeled world with bonus games and wild symbols. One game I was particularly fond of had a picture of Sally the Shrimp Catcher in the corner and if you touched her she would giggle and say "That tickles!" Quite erotic, to be sure, but it just made me giggle...and press her more.

That first trip to the casino saw me losing $20, but I discovered the wonderful buffet that they have to offer. Not only do they have a Mongolian BBQ set up (the food was a fair bit blander than my favorite restaurant, Changs) but their salad bar has everything to offer that I like putting on my salad - including the honey mustard dressing. Oh! And don't get me started on the cascading chocolate fountain that, when poured over ice cream, hardens. Heavenly!

A couple weeks ago, I received a flyer from the casino in the mail with a couple coupons. The first was for $30 from the casino. I kid you not! You simply take the coupon to the cashier and walk away with $30! The second coupon was for a free buffet. So, I enticed my coworker to take another trip to the casino by reminding her that tonight was "triple points night".

After getting my $30, I started looking around for my favorite slot machines from my last visit. Party Bonus started eating my money right away. After I'd lost a couple dollars, I cashed out and went to Sally the Shrimper. I had a little more luck there. Right off the bat, I got a bonus game and won $10. I was starting to enjoy myself when a woman sat down next to me and lit a cigarette. Time to move.

I made my way to the non-smoking section where I found a new slot called Richville USA. Before I knew it, I was up to $30! Keep in mind that I was still playing with the first $10 I had put in the first machine. When you cash out, you get a ticket that can be played on any other slots. It was time to meet up with my coworker so we could attack the buffet. YUMMY!

I told Sherrie (my coworker) about the Richville USA slot and we both went to play after filling our tummies. She put in $20 and within 15 minutes was up to $60. My $30 went up and down but I was discovering that this game, though lacking cute little bonus games, was still a really good payer.

My method for playing is setting a limit for loss. Say I have $30 in the machine. When it gets down to $25, I cash out and move on. There were several times that I'd get close to $25 and then I'd get 10 free spins and win $10. It was SO much fun!

I moved around to other games. Kiss the Frog was a lot of fun and I got both the bonus games on that one. I went back to Sally the Shrimper and at one point was up to around $50. I still was playing on the $10 I put in when I first arrived. Sally started being mean to me (despite how many times I tickled her) so I moved on. I went back to Richville USA and was soon up to $60. I started losing, though, and after about 45 minutes I was down to $48. Still, I thought I was doing pretty good.

I searched the slots until I found Sherrie to see how she was doing. She was down to her last $17 but seemed to still want to play. I found a new machine, something with an America theme and added a little to my score. A couple other slots eventually got me down to $40. I was about to go back to Sherrie, sure that my winning streak was over when I heard maniacal giggling from a slot machine called Wild Coyote. It just looked like too much fun. I figured even if I blew the $40 I had, I still had the $20 from the casino that I hadn't even touched all night. I'd still call that a win.

I played Wild Coyote a little and was doing okay. At least I wasn't losing. Suddenly, I hit 5 sombreros in a wow and one $16! Then I hit something else and won $5, then another $5 on a bonus game! Suddenly I was sitting on $66! I started losing and set my downhill cap at $60 which is when I pulled out. I still can't believe it! I made $60! Well, $80 if you count the $20 in my pocket, which I do! After cashing out, I handed Sherrie $20 to thank her for driving me out to the casino.

On top of that, I also noticed that over the course of the night, I had earned 680 points. 200 points will get me a free buffet. Now, the buffet costs $22, so if I have earned 3 buffets, I'm going to go ahead and call that $146! I was there four hours so lets just say I made $36.5 an hour tonight!

Okay, okay, don't worry. I'm not addicted to gambling. Actually if I really want to be accurate, I should factor in the $20 I lost the first time I went. Still.... $126? That's pretty nice. Now I realize that I won't always have nights like that, but even the first time when I was losing, I was having a blast! And as long as I have enough points for a free buffet, I'll always consider myself a winner.

Besides, I always go to the casino with a set $ amount in mind and when the money is gone, then I'm done. If Sherrie is still playing I watch her have fun.

And I can always walk by Sally the Shrimper and tickle her.