Add FOURTEENTHAMPION To Val's Titles

Val Thevictorian, Future Pennyillionaire, AND NOW FOURTEENTHAMPION!

My titles are accumulating like Pop Tart wrappers in The Pony's wastebasket.

Thursday, we took a little road trip down south, because Hick wanted to do some running and gunning, wheeling and dealing, tale-telling and re-selling. It was a happy coincidence that our new favorite casino is in that town. And a happier coincidence that they were having a slot tournament, and the three of us had a free entry!

I've never played in a slot tournament, but I've seen them on YouTube. As with regular slot play, it's a crapshoot. You might win. You might lose. The outcome is totally random, based on the nanosecond you hit the button, and which digit it triggers in the random number generator that determines payout.

Anyhoo... Hick dropped off The Pony and me at the door, then made his rounds of the town (probably after heaving a sigh of relief). The Pony and I went to the player's card desk at 1:00, to get a voucher for our FREE MONEY comp ($10 for The Pony, $30 for me), and turned in our coupon for the entry into the slot tournament. That also netted us a voucher, which we gave to the Guy and Gal running the slot tournament. They programmed us into the rotation, and told us to come back at 2:00.

It was so cool! There were eight slots dedicated to the tournament, all playing the same game. There were two rows of four, back to back. At 2:00, we found the slot with our name showing, and waited for the festivities to begin. The Pony was on the other row, so I couldn't see him. On my right was a little old lady with a player's card signifying the TOP LEVEL of gambling. She was a stratospheric roller, not just a high roller! She had never played a slot tournament either, because she kept trying to put her player's card in, even after the Guy told her not to do that.

We had to wait for the countdown to start. At that time, we had TWO MINUTES to accrue as many points as possible. That means pounding that PLAY button as fast as we could, while watching the screen for any digital balloons that appeared, to tap them with a finger and burst them for extra points. It was kind of like patting your head and rubbing your stomach at the same time. For TWO MINUTES.

I must say, I did really well. In fact, for most of the TWO MINUTES, my machine showed #1. With about 20 seconds left, it turned to #2. Then the rankings went away, replaced by the final countdown to the finish. When it was over, I saw my name at #2, and The Pony at #3! That was just for our session, though. The very first session of the day. They ran other sessions as needed, every 10 minutes at first, and then a few per hour. The slot tournament ran from 2:00 to 7:00.

I knew my score would likely not hold up. I had 166,000-something points. The Pony had 160,000-somthing. The prize was a "share" of $1500. I don't remember the top prize. But places went from 1-16. I DID look at the 16th place prize and it was $30. We did not want to stay that late to see the outcome. The Guy said you didn't have to be present to win. Just make sure the player's card desk had your email and phone number. They had mine.

We left around 4:45, to make it home by 7:00 for the live Celebrity Big Brother eviction. At 7:20, The Pony and I were in the basement, during a commercial, and heard the phone in my office. The Pony trotted in to get it for me. It was the Guy, calling to inform me that I won 14th place, which paid $40! He said that to claim it, I should take my player's card and ID to the player's card desk. That they would HOLD MY PRIZE FOR 10 DAYS!

You know what that means! We'll have to make another trip to the casino! I hope we go when there's another slot tournament!

I may not be a CHAMPION, but at least I'm a FOURTEENTHAMPION! That's better than The Pony and Hick fared. Not that it took any skill, of course...