Short Story [The Casino]

Take with a grain of salt, please.

I went to a casino for the first time in my life.

And they gave me a bunch of coins to play one-arm bandits.

So, I put all the coins in one of them.

And, because it was the first time, there was a small pay-out.

(The casino guy had rigged the machines for first-timers. But I remember my father screaming 'You were supposed to save some of the coins for other people!').

Then I had an idea.

I took the 7 coins and put them in ach of the next 7 machines (I was trying to make a profit rather desperately), and pulled each lever in succession.

One of them paid out a bunch of coins.

Another gambler immediately stepped forwards to take the coins.

"Hey! You can't do that! those are his coins" my dad said.

Then the casino guy stepped in and said "You can't take those coins!"

Then he said to me: "What you did is against the rules. You're not allowed to go from one machine to another like that."

"Hey, we'll pay you all the coins, and just let my friend go." my dad said.

"That's what I like. House rules. House always wins." the casino guy said.

"That's right!" my dad said.

Casino guy: "He's too smart to be in here, it's almost illegal."

My dad (to no one in particular): "Hey, I expect casino guys to be mean. But he was kind of nice!"

Except for gambling all the coins and winning, all of this was typical of my experiences with gambling.


OTHER STORIES:

How I Was Offered a Time-Cube

Real Life Encounter With the Philosopher Colin McGinn

My 5 Seconds with Warren G. Buffett

My Willful Abduction by Seth Rogen

Abducted by John M and His Father