BY DC CUEVA
As someone who doesn't gamble as much as his parents do on a weekend, it's a rarity for me to go inside a casino and play whatever game is out there for me to play on the floor. In fact, I am stringent and conservative when it comes to gambling: my strategy has been to play just the coin games and to not place maximum bets on any game out of risk of losing so much so fast like most everyone else who go to Nevada, Atlantic City or the casinos near whey they live. And whenever I'm in Vegas, gambling plays an equal or lesser role as I also juggle doing sightseeing along the Strip, doing any shopping and everything else in those three miles.
On Father's Day weekend back in June, I've got to experience something that had never happened to me in the eight times I've gotten to gamble there since the modern era of #DCVegas began twelve years ago. That would be of winning an amount so big it spurs an incredible reaction from those who play these games of chance that would change their life and become superstars in their inner circle. And it would take a moment like this to have something take place that would never happen in regular circumstances: hearing the voice of yours truly as one who doesn't like hearing himself in playback and would never speak whenever I'm recording video on my phone or a regular camera.
Here's the story: I had been playing just light on the slots after we had lunch on the Saturday afternoon of my Reno weekend, going about my business on the casino floor at the city's largest hotel, the Atlantis. We came to Reno for the reason that my cousin and her fiance were getting married, and I had only a few hours to gamble and just hang out before I went upstairs to our hotel room there and dress up - one of the handful of times where I get to do so. Just before 3:00, I placed a voucher worth $11 into a game called "Crazy Money Deluxe" with the intent of only playing a couple rolls before heading over to the gift shop and buy a snack. What happened next is embedded below, as it unfolded live on my social media channels.
In the weeks leading up to my trip to Reno, I had watched slot videos on YouTube from those who play on the floor and can legally document their experiences on camera, just to get a sense of what I can expect in doing this activity that I only would get to do for one or a few weekends out of the year… but I never expected something like winning $2,000 or anything on that level would be in the cards going into this. Obviously, this was one of the greatest moments of my life, joining the other Vegas trips I've had, meeting Linkin Park, graduating high school, my sister getting married and other days that I have in my memory bank that rank at the top.
When the dust started to settle on what has to be the biggest thrill I've had in a long time, there was a few moments where I just had to compose myself and think of what's next. Originally, I was gonna keep this the best kept secret in my family until we gathered for the wedding a few hours later. But it was when one of my aunts came to the spot where I won that she was the first person to get the news, which then relayed the info to my parents and in turn, I did not want to wait until wedding time for the news to come to them, and I texted my parents. You can imagine the joy my mom had for me when she got this news, as well as my dad - even though this was a bittersweet one as it was during this day that an aunt of ours had just passed away.
Along with winning a jackpot, there is also some fine print that goes along with such incredible moments like these. The regulations are that if you win anything from a penny to $1,199 in any casino game or matching a few lotto numbers, there's no worries: just head to the nearest redemption center to cash that money and you're good to go. But win anything $1,200 or more in the casinos, and that's where things get a little bit more prolonged than usual. It's most especially true when you win $5,000+ or even a slot or lotto jackpot when the Feds become a bigger deal than you think.
When my mom arrived, it was at the same time that an attendant from the Atlantis had come by to temporarily take both my Social Security and players club cards, and returned with paperwork in his hand. There, a W-2G form was given to me to sign to report my $2,000 winnings to Uncle Sam so that I can then be able to pay the taxes later on that go along with winning a decent jackpot at the slots. In this instance of winning an amount within the $1,200-4,999 range, I still can keep all of the money, but imagine if I had won the full $10,000+ jackpot? We'll save that lengthy explanation for another day.
Of course, the attendant then hand-paid me my $2,000 and I felt like it was a million dollars… and in my head I felt like a million bucks. For the irony of this very story: in the lead-up to my Reno trip, I got to watch countless YouTube videos of slot players getting to do their slot playing while also recording the action too… something that might've been frowned upon but now with YouTube being available it's now commonplace for those who want to get the feel of playing the slots. There, I got to see players win all sorts of jackpots, and it made me feel that if I can go to Reno, Vegas or anywhere else to play in the casinos, I could be THAT person. And here I am.
This exhilarating experience can only amp up the anticipation for whenever the next trip I take to Las Vegas will be... one that, outside of where I live here, is unquestionably my favorite city on earth. The first time I trekked to Southern Nevada was a quarter century ago when it was then a city on the verge of big things as the mega-resorts began to change everything. Could number #10 be happening this year? Find out next week as we say farewell to Summer 2019...
- I AM DC
#DCBLOG
No comments:
Post a Comment
Got something on your mind? Let us know! But please be mindful and do not post spam or negative comments (due to that, all comments are subject to blogger approval... and we reserve the right to disable these sections if things get way out of hand).