My First time gambling...

Hi Gang:
    I was sitting here last night remembering my very first encounter with a slot machine.
      There had been alot of talk about casinos going up and this one was just a hole in the wall in Upper Michigan.  The town of St. Ignace. Sad to say I don't actually remember the name of the casino itself. It was nothing on a scale of what I go to now, or what you would find in Vegas, but a casino, none the less.  I was around 25 years of age, and how that little side trip I took out of boredom changed my life. I walked in, and stood before this flashy, noisy machine. I had exchanged my $10 bill for quarters, as I watched everyone else do in order to play these things. I put in one quarter, and pulled the handle. Round and round the reels went. I didn't know what I was playing. Didn't know what I was hoping to get, didn't know what symbols I needed to match.  All I know is the thing spit out $10 in quarters back to me.

  I counted them as soon as they came out.  Oh, the noise of the quarters hitting that hopper.  The bells that went off, if only for a moment.  I was absolutley spell bound. My brain is reeling...I put in one quarter and got out 40. This was incredible to me.
Remembering this all still makes me smile. I played that machine for a long time. I did very well. One time the hopper had to be refilled.( I was suspicious of the attendant when they opened my machine, it was the first time I had seen that done.)
     I am 41 now, and I have played many many slot machines since. Been to many many casinos, and even Vegas once.  Yet, that first time I ever gambled, was for sure, one of the best times I ever had.
             Please share your very first time gaming with us. You know, the time that it HOOKED you. Your first BET, your first time at a Blackjack table, your first time at a slot machine, your first poker game  in a real casino etc etc   I bet there are some awesome stories out there. I so look forward to reading them.

                        Thanks for reading...PMM2008

Hi PMM,

Ahhhh yes the first time at a casino.The first casino i ever went to was a Riverboat casino. I was 21 and didnt have a clue as to what i needed on those reels to catch a jackpot. Needless to say i brought with me $80 and by the end of the day i was broke.

I went with my mother...she was on a roll. After trying to track her down for an hour i finally find her. She had just won over $800. She flipped me a few bucks and told me to go play. Roaming the casino i find a slot machine. Double Diamonds...these reels had diamond symbols through the bars....and they would flip when the reel stopped. I was mesmerized by the flippin diamonds!!

All of a sudden my machine LOCKED! As i look at the machine i'm wondering why it is frozen. There is 2 symbols and a triple bar. All the while i am thinkin..well this isnt a winner. I need to have 3 of the same on a line.

Aggravated that it locked...i start to hit the buttons...nothing. I pull the handle still nothing...with just a few credits in the machine, i decide to just walk away. The darn machine is broken and its just not my luck day.

As i walk away a women standing next to me says....why are you leaving? I tell her that my machine is broke. She replies.......your machine she is not broke..you just hit a big one on the machine and it locked because its a hand pay!! Omgggg .........i ask her how much i won...$1600.

From that day forward i became a casino girl! Just to think back how innocent i was cracks me up!!! I don't think i ever had a more excited win............i guess there is some truth to "once u win ...ur hooked"!!!

Lips

Hmmm, My first time gambling also started out with a win. It was at the Dogtrack and I was probably about 16. I had been doing a summer job for a guy and he took me to the track one afternoon. It was his passion and he eagerly was explaining handicapping, trifectas, quintellas etc. It all went in one ear and out the other.

I had $20 (a days wage) in my pocket and we got there before the first race. He had me pick a dog and bet 2 dollars for me. I won... a big 12 dollars for choosing the lead dog. Next race I looked over the forums and went with the favorite and won again, this time 6 bucks...

He had not explained the Daily Double... ut did as he handed Me my 18 dollars for the two wins... then 168 more for the Double.

We stayed the rest of the day betting the dogs and I walked out up 200 bucks.

Years later Video Poker became legal in the state I lived in (Louisiana) and I began playing in the local bars. Max payout for a single hand was $500 and for months I was finding myself with an extra 3-600 a week just from playing Poker while drinking my afterwork beer.

Ahhh, then Lake Charles got a pair of riverboat casinos... Pure addiction.