VEGAS Slots - Have you won big?
 

I'm curious as to how many people who play slots in Vegas "win big". Anyone?

As a tax accountant, I rarely see winnings in excess of losses (except for this one doctor who's wife always seems to win $5,000 each year and he always says she just stuck a quarter in the machine)...

Yes, and on my birthday!! $1200..my husband won big one year on that huge slot machine with a handle that is the size of a broom..he put in a 5 dollar bill and pulled it once and won $5000...5 was our lucky number from then on LOL
We were leaving the hotel for home when that happened :D

Well, not that big, but I do know that the first time we went to Vegas, we paid cash for everything we did, even our hotel and I came back with about $300 more than I went with.

One time I was playing quarter slots and hit a $250. Within seconds, Lee on a similar machine next to me hit the same $250.

And we once stopped at the Hilton in Reno driving through to California. We arrived at our hotel at about 6 or so in the evening and I played a while before and after dinner. The next morning I played some more. We left with an extra $600 in our pockets, thinking that was the best overnight stay we ever made.

I'm still waiting to hit one of the million dollar or so ones.

My dad was a big gambler (mostly craps) and when he landed in Vegas, he said that he felt like "it smelled like home." He's been gone for about 10 years now. Well, 2 years ago, I landed in Vegas on his birthday. I played the slots while waiting for my room, won $100. Later before dinner, I went back to the same machine, and won $1400. The rest of the nights I won, but just a few hundred here and there. Coincidence??

Yes! I trippled my investment in less than 20 minutes.

I was lucky to find a nickle machine tucked away in a corner at the Aladdin. In no time, my $1 in nickles had grown to $3. I was thrilled when I walked out of the place with three crisp $1 bills.

Winnng big, was one of the happiest days of my life. I'm still smiling.

Life can be beautiful, L.M. Sunshine

Why do you still play nickels when you can take a penny machine and play 5 lines for the price of one? $-)

LOL LMSunshine! you are a risk taker, I can tell! :D

((D))

WOW......LMS! I want to party with you in Vegas.
((D))8-)

Sounds like fun. We can meet at Maggiano's happy hour in the Fashion Show Mall--other way to have a good time for not much money.

Remember - most people only talk about their winnings, never what they lost(anytime/anyplace) :-) Those hotels were NOT built on winners, as long as you remember that you are ok !! Sure people win now and then, I've won a few bucks too, but overall most people will lose, they just don't talk about that. My thoughts are based on going to Vegas several times a year over a long long time. Most everyone will say "I won $200 (or whatever) last night" but they never say "I lost $500 the day before" :-)

Boy, isn't that the truth Lori! I knew a gal who won ten grand once, but they spent quite a bit more than that over the years and had very little to show for their years of hard work.
In fact, last I knew, they were 60 grand in debt from all the credit cards.
I wonder if that was a factor is their recent divorce:-?

On my first trip to Vegas (business conference) as a naive young thing, I walked away from a major win--every other time the money had poured into the bin, how was I to know it was a hand-pay?! I was probably a few months too young to play legally, looking back...

I once was invited by a friend and his mom, a slot's machine addict, and she won 4 times during that weekend with an average of $2000 each winning.

I'm not sure if this counts but I once found $62.00 by the slot area in the Dunes.

All the bums in downtown Reno cruise the slots for "left" money. However, all is pretty much "ticket in-ticket out" now, so no actual money anymore. There are even self pay machines...put your ticket it and it pays you. Cuts down on the employees. Frankly, I don't like it at all...NOTHING personal at ALL anymore. And of COURSE everyone always wins..well, except me. LOL

creflors, I agree. Not like the old days of feeding individual coins in and scooping them out -- so much more fun. And don't get me started on pushing a button that says spin instead of pulling a handle!

I'm also reminded of the day a woman near me sat down, put her first money in and hit a jackpot of something like $18,000. In all the hub-bub of the attendants filling out the forms, etc., she kept saying, "this is so terrible. I'm stuck here for three days while my husband is in a conference. What am I supposed to do for all the rest of the time now?" You know, try as hard as I did, I just couldn't muster up much sympathy for her.

My husband once put $20 in a slot machine, won approx. $2400, walked away, collected his winnings, and we went to Jamaica with it!! Best way to take a vacation! :) Neither one of us are gamblers...so that was a very fun win!

I was surprised to find recently that in several casinos, the arms on the one-armed bandits are still present and functional! ONe girl next to me actually asked me what I was pulling, and why...

I wonder if anyone else feels that the machines (I play video poker, not slots) pay out less often then they used to? The first time we went to Las Vegas 10 or 15 years ago we both won a fair amount of money, but with each consecutive trip we've won less and less. We're within close driving distance of Tunica and the same is true there. I used to win fairly regularly, but now I lose my shirt almost every time we go. The video poker areas of the casinos there are nearly empty and they used to be bustling :(

Well Susan you are probably right. Costs have gone up for Casinos too and since they are all corporate now..I remember the good old Mafia days in Las Vegas..every aspect of the hotel casino has to show a profit. AND, how do you think they pay for all the "comps" people get? The Atlantis here in Reno, has increased their profits every quarter for years now. There stock it live somewhere between 12 and 14.00 per share now I think...about 8 years ago it was under 5.00. When you see a sign that says 98% pay back...well, in the first place that STILL means they are sucking off 2%, but in reality the only have to have ONE machine in the entire place that has that payout. I haven't gambled in..gosh I can't even remember when...my ex-husband works at the Silver Legacy and he just shakes his head. I actually DID gamble about two months ago down in Sacramento and one of the Indian Casinos. One of my companies suppliers had a sales presentation down there so I went actually for the afternoon. We were supposed to stay the night and some did, but frankly, with daylight savings time, we were done dinner about 7:00, so my SO and I just headed back to Reno. When people ask about casinos in Reno, its wierd, I've lived here for 30 years and I can't tell you much. Those places hold no charm for me. I used to go now and then but with the new policies, the new machines..even if it's nickles you have to put in from 5 to lord knows how many, to be able to hit anything. You can't play just one anymore like the "olden times" LOL. And yes, someone DOES hit Megabucks, just like someone DOES hit the lottery. It DOES happen and boy oh boy do they promote it. It is wonderful for the casinos.