Summer Casino Vacation

After 2 long hours of driving, I pull into the parking lot and shut off the engine of the truck. It has been an exhausting, sweaty trip without air conditioning, but also very calming. It felt good to cruise down the open road with a full tank of gas and, briefly, not a care in the world. My husband rode in the seat next to mine, shuffling through his playlist, providing an almost constant stream of entertainment only interrupted by the intermittent loss of signal throughout the Delta.

We hadn’t stopped since we left home, so we slowly unfold ourselves out of the truck, stretching our stiff muscles in the beating sunlight. We walk around the truck meeting at the back and join hands as we turn to enter our destination. I notice there aren’t as many people here as I expected. That’s good, neither of us does very well in large crowds. We arrived earlier than expected, too early to check in to our hotel room so we leave our bags in the truck for now. We walk towards the main entrance, taking in the bright lights that beam even through the sunlight.

We enter through the expansive double doors only to be greeted by a security guard who checks our IDs to make sure we’re over the age of 21. Of course, we are, and he lets us pass. Behind him is a large man made waterfall that cascades into a rocky pool with a bursting fountain on the opposite end. There is a small edge of sand around the pools border that makes me want to take off my sandals and stroll through it barefoot. But I don’t. Instead we walk up to the side of the pool by the fountain, turn our backs to it, and each toss a penny over our shoulders as we make a wish. The simple acts makes me giggle as it almost makes me feel young and carefree again. Who knows if it can actually grant a wish or provide luck, but what’s the harm in trying?

After snapping a few photos with the waterfall, we make our way down the hallway passing the hotel reception desk only to be greeted by yet another security guard. Sometimes it can be such a hassle to appear so young. Once again we are let pass when our age has been checked. Past the guards, the hallway widens into a large room filled with bright, flashing lights, loud music, and the electronic sound of clinking change. We have finally arrived.

I feel a rush of excitement. My hands begin to twitch and tingle as someone nearby presses a button on their machine. The reels spin round and round. Ding. Ding. Ding. “Winner!” The screen lights up, plays loud music, and throws coin images all over the screen. Even when I’m not the one playing, it releases a euphoric feeling inside of me. We quickly make our way to the player’s club to have our member cards made. The lady behind the desk is very friendly and helpful. She informs us that since we are new members we will each have $15 of free play on our cards and provides us with a sheet of directions for how to access it in a machine.

My husband has already wandered off and found a machine to feed money into. I meander through the tight walkways, searching for a game that catches my eye. And there it is, one of my favorites: Buffalo Chief. I take my seat at the machine, insert my money, select the lowest bet on the most lines, and press spin. The reels turn and slowly click into place. Nothing. Spin again. Again, nothing. I spin the game a few more times, winning only a little change here and there. After a few minutes I cash out, collect my ticket, and go looking for another machine to try out my luck.

An hour passes. I have lost some and I have won some. I now sit at Mr. Cashman Bingo with an almost full board on the screen. My husband comes to check on me, as he has a few times already. He’s been doing well, he’s ahead by a few dollars. I tell him I’m fine and shew him away. Spin. Spin. Spin. Another line on the Bingo table is only one coin away from being full. Spin again. A waitress comes by and offers me a drink. I happily accept a beer and tip her a couple of $1’s. Spin. Spin. Ding! It hits! One of the Bingo lines has finally filled up. It’s diagonal across the board, including the free wheel space. The wheel begins to spin. “Come on…big money…come on.” I urge the wheel to stop at something good. It slows and passes a Major. Darn. It slows even more, before coming to stop at $4.25. Ok, it could always be worse. The game dings five times as it adds the winnings from each of the winning boxes, until finally: “Big Win!” $60.25 appears on the screen. It’s not the best, but I’ve won some of my money back. A large grin spreads across my face as I quietly cheer. I sit back and listen to the winning music as it counts the bonus into my credits, sipping my White Russian as it does. The music and the sounds have a very stress relieving effect on my mind. My whole body relaxes with ease from the winning high.

Time passes and I have a few more drinks. White Russians are my absolute favorite. The rich creaminess mixed with the bitter coffee aroma from the Kaluha makes the perfect milkshake flavored beverage. I also lose more money. I eventually meet up with my husband and we start to head out of the game room, but as we make our way down the escalator a leprechaun game catches my eye. I make a split decision to try my last $20 in the machine. I’m already broke anyways so what could it hurt? I sit down to play, choosing not to use my player’s card to start with. I spin a few rounds to no avail. I debate inserting my card, but decide to give it one last round. Ding. Ding. “Oh please let it hit” I think to myself. Ding. “Yes! 7 free games!” My husband comes to stand behind me and watch. I bounce in my seat as the game continues to chime. It’s spin #2 and the special golden leprechaun feature activates. Coins fill the board and game goes wild with winnings. $291.90 Incredible! The free spins finish with a grand total of $299.50. What a win! I collect my ticket and head towards the cashing machine where I happily take my rewards.

I decide that’s enough of testing my luck for one day so we head towards hotel check in. After a quick check in, we make our way through the summer heat to the truck to gather our bags, before heading to our room. We enter our room and put our bags down. I head over to the window to close the curtain and notice that we have a poolside view. Immediately I want to go for a swim. After just a few minutes of coaxing my husband into his new swim trunks we head outside.

The sun is beaming down, scorching everything in sight. The calm water appears cool and inviting. I set my belongings down by a chair in the shade and generously apply sunscreen to us both before I make my way across the sizzling concrete to the side of the pool. As I dip my foot into the water I feel a small shock of cold travel up my leg that is quickly replaced by a comforting sensation that leaves me wanting more. I swiftly submerge my entire body in the pool and am immediately cooled off. For a while my husband just sits in the shade, watching from a distance. You see, he’s not a huge fan of water.

Eventually he gets tired of being hot and comes to sit on the steps of the pool. I try not to push him to do anything that makes him uncomfortable, so I keep my distance floating and relaxing in a pool of my own comfort. I haven’t been swimming since almost 2 years ago when we went to the beach. The water has always had such a peaceful affect on my mind, body, and soul. Sometimes I wish I were a fish so I would never have to leave the wet depths. Slowly and without me realizing it, my husband has made his way off the steps and along the edge of the pool, hovering around the shallow end. I paddle over to him and for a while we just relax and talk, letting the cool water protect us from the heat and wash our worries away.

When our fingers and toes have wrinkled and become pruned from the water, we reluctantly make our way back onto the fiery patio. My husband makes his way back to a chair in the shade, but I choose a lounger in the sun to lie back on. I close my eyes toward the sun and soak in the light. The best part of getting out of the water has always been sunbathing for me. Once I have air dried, we make our way back inside to our room to wash the chlorine from our skin and hair. The shower is almost as relaxing as the pool had been.

After our shower, we decide to head to the other side of the building to the only open restaurant for dinner. We each order a burger and fries, and have to wait what seems like forever on our food. It is definitely worth it. Our burgers come out fresh and perfect with so much flavor and the right amount of juice. The fries are golden and crisp on the outside while fluffy on the inside. It’s the best simple meal to end our day.

Back at the room my husband turns on the tv at a low volume. We find it helps to drown out the hotel noises while we sleep. We shimmy out of our clothes into our nightwear (which is basically just underwear) and crawl into the massive king size bed. The bed is the perfect combination of soft and firm, with so many extra pillows that are plump and fluffy. We cuddle up together and surround ourselves in pillows and blankets with the room’s air conditioner on full blast. Soon, we drift off into a relaxed and worry-free sleep, the quiet sound of Family Guy playing on the tv. It has been a great first day of vacation; the rest of the trip won’t even matter.