Win Once, Good for You; Win Twice--Bite Me

Last weekend Clint and I went to Vegas for my mom's birthday. On Saturday night, all of us girls found a somewhat hidden section of the bar with four video poker machines in a row, where we could play a ridiculously silly and slow game of Double Bonus Poker (we added our own element to the game to make it funner and last longer, but it would take too long to explain). Given the fact that it was a crowded Saturday night at the Rio, finding four video poker machines in a row was practically a miracle in itself. But right when I sat down, I noticed my machine had just paid out on four aces. I thought, Dang it, this machine is never going to pay out again tonight. But everyone had already chosen their machines, and I really had no lofty notions of winning anyway. I just wanted to nurse my $20 bucks while enjoying some good drinks and fun conversation.

I played my first hand on maximum bet and lost. I was now down to $18.75. The game I was playing with the girls now required me to wait about ten minutes before I could play my next hand. So I waited, and drank, and waited some more. Finally it was my turn to play. I was dealt a king of spades, a bunch of crap in the middle, and an ace of spades. I held onto the suited royal cards and discarded the rest of the hand. That's when THIS happened:

A Royal Flush--on a maximum bet! I was so shocked, at first I couldn't digest what was happening. I just watched, frozen, as my "credits" race from $18.75 to $1,018.75. I finally broke through my trance and started shaking my mom's arm. I said (or squeaked), "Mom, something just happened." She glanced over at my machine and went ballistic. Shannon and my mom were hugging me all over the place, squealing, and within seconds the whole bar was cheering.

It was a fun, FUN experience. I'm not all into gambling, but wow is it exciting to win. I tipped the bartender a $20 bill for getting my friend Sarah a bottle of water. FUN.

About ten minutes later, the same machine gave me this:

It was only 60-some bucks, but oddly, when I showed this hand to my mom and sister, my mom said "Damn it Jodi" and Shannon strangled me and punched me (she's very violent for a psychologist). I asked "What happened to all the hugging?" and Shan said, "Yeah, f* you."

So just so you know, there's a saturation point to the amount of luck you're allowed to have when you're around people.You win once and everyone is happy for you. You win twice and everyone hates you. But it's all good because you still have a ridiculously obnoxious smile on your face. You know, like this.