Val Is Public Enemy #3

Val's history as an (alleged) credit card fraudster, and also (alleged) counterfeit-check depositer must now be on her permanent record! Her every move is tracked. Apparently, the eye-in-the-sky surveillance of Downstream Casino found Val to be very photogenic.

Any time I'm in a casino, I'm aware that I'm on camera. Not that I do anything that needs watching. I'm not fast enough to be a purse-snatcher. I don't like to be around people, so I'm not sitting next to someone, waiting to snatch their cash-out ticket as it prints. I go my own way, laying low, seeking out the pennies/quarters where the losing people go. Playing slots that only they would know.

Anyhoo... Hick was the first to give up playing on Monday night. He goes back to the room without telling anybody, but he can't stay up much past 11:00. I ran into Sis and Ex-Mayor shortly after 1:00 a.m. Of course Ex-Mayor persuaded us to try a bank of Quick Hits that he said were paying. Of course they paid no one. Took a twenty from me. Took a twenty from Sis. And, sweet, sweet justice, took a twenty from Ex-Mayor.

I had wandered off to a new machine behind them while they were still Quick (not)Hitting. It's that Jin Huangdi Long slot that I discovered during BirthdayPalooza. When Sis was knocked out by Quick Hits, she came over to look at it. I was showing her how it paid. She doesn't play games like this. It's very similar to Buffalo Gold. When Ex-Mayor lost, they decided to call it a night. Sis asked if I'd be okay by myself. That was thoughtful of her, but this isn't my first casinopalooza! I assured her I would be fine. We agreed on a time to meet for breakfast.

It wasn't five minutes after Sis left that I hit a bonus on that slot. Of course I was excited. I'd had a couple of good line hits, and instead of my regular 60 cent bet, I was hitting the $1.20 every now and then, or the $1.80. As my money dwindled down from that original twenty I'd fed it, I was ready to move on. I was on my next-to-last spin when I hit that bonus.

It was a good bonus, too! Not so great if you consider the pay-off compared to the bet, but good because it re-triggered a lot, and I had 30-something free games. As you can see by the photo, I was down to 66 cents remaining when I hit the bonus. Also, if you're a gambler, you may notice that my player's card stopped working. That meant I wasn't getting credit for all that play. One thing (okay, one of many) Val is superstitious about is messing with her player's card during a bonus. I won't remove it or insert it. Also, I won't hit a button to speed up play. I let a bonus run on its own.

Well! I was pretty excited about my bonus, since none of us had been winning. I really wished Sis had stuck around a few more minutes to see it. I wasn't sure if she would believe me without a picture. Pics or it didn't happen, you know. I got my phone out of the pocket of my gambling purse. You have to be ready. These slots finish up the bonus abruptly, and you'll miss it if you're not careful. I had my phone in my hand, set on CAMERA, ready to hold it up at the crucial time. Just as I'd get it ready on the last spin, that slot would pop up two black-and-white yin/yang symbols, which retriggers the bonus for five more free games.

Darn it! I must have had my phone ready three times by then! I leaned back in my chair, my left arm dangling down, holding that phone, ready to get a picture on what I thought was the last spin. At last! My bonus came to an end! I actually got two pics, this one being on spin #33 of 34 bonus spins, with the music playing and video coins spraying and video fireworks exploding, while the current screen win counted up.

That was a really good screen, what with all those dragon heads, the top symbol. Even if I WAS tricked into taking the picture a little too soon. I've missed my chance before. Wasn't gonna happen this time. Silent CLICK, silent CLICK. Got my two pics.

"You're going to have to delete those pictures."

WHAT IN THE NOT HEAVEN???

That calm voice in my ear almost toppled me out of my chair! It was a female security guard for the casino.

"Oh. I'm just taking a picture of my bonus to show my sister. She just left."

"Well, I saw you, so they'll have to be deleted."

"Okay. Sorry."

I backed my phone out of the camera app, turned off the screen, and put it back in my purse. The security guard moved on.

You might notice that the pictures are here...

See... it's like when a teacher catches some kid violating a rule, and has to follow through and let that student that you KNOW he's violating a rule, that he's not getting away with it, and as long as he seems apologetic and doesn't draw any attention to the situation, that teacher can give him a break and not push the issue. Like checking his phone in class. Put it away, be quiet, and I won't take the phone and turn it in to the office. THIS time. But make a big crybaby scene about how everyone else does it, and I'm out to get him... well, you can kiss that phone goodbye until a parent comes to school to retrieve it from the office.

The watcher-people in the surveillance room saw me with my phone out. They either tipped off the security guard, or more likely she just happened to be in the area and heard the bonus and saw me with my phone out. Knowing that her superiors were watching HER on the surveillance cameras as well, she was obligated to look like she was doing something. She wasn't a power-happy rent-a-cop. She went through the motions. No harm, no foul.

It's not like I was filming live action for a YouTube gambling channel. Just one picture. Okay. Two. Does that make me a criminal? Val, a lifelong goody-goody, learned her lesson, and kept her phone camera off.

Or did she?