Cha Ching!

Big money! Big money! Big money! Bring me that jackpot baby! Can you smell it? It's Vegas. The lights, the strip, tall drinks, high heels, the three-piece suits, and the actual smell of perfume, alcohol, and smoke all rolled up in one. I get a nice breeze every time someone walks by. Tonight is the night though. I can feel it in my toes! I am going to win. There is a random raffle name drawing for the Grandfather Grand Prize of $2 million dollars plus an orange Infiniti FX45 and a surprise, mysterious package in the glovebox. I began humming to myself the Happy Birthday tune.

A waiter stopped by to check on me and asked if I was having any luck. I'd already won $2k on the $5 slot machine and I was still holding out for the 10,000x multiplier. I had felt the magic happening all night. My head was in the game. Elvis was walking around the floor. His shininess caught my eye at first then he accidentally bumped into me. I politely declined his marriage proposal and got a selfie with him. I even put on his glasses. So cool. Thinking back on it, I still laugh a little.

In my mind, I'd already won. I was mentally already swimming off some island with my family. The casino would pick the granddaddy winner at midnight. Looking at my watch, I had 13 big minutes before go time. My heart raced with anticipation. I was up to $2500 on the slots by now and had been randomly winning baby multipliers. I was sitting on high hopes and mountain dew. Thank God that the drinks were free!

The announcer begins pumping everyone up about the contest winner! I have no idea how many automated entries I've entered. It felt like I'd been hustling for entries for days! It was finally time. The gates of heaven must have decided to open because once I heard my name over the silence of the huge casino I freaked out and ended up following out of my chair. I heard my husband calling my name from the poker table side of life. We both raced to the cashier's cage, and somewhere between tears and euphoria, we received a huge congratulatory smile.

Next, involved paperwork, car keys, and it seemed like the planets were aligning. I looked over at my husband he kissed me and said, "I'm driving it first! Called it!" Everything was wrapped up by 2 am and we had cashed out retirement. The balloons fell and the big check is still in the back seat of the SUV. The pictures are awesome.

I had all too well forgotten about the bonus gift in the glovebox, but as I opened the beautiful cover of this black Moleskine notebook, I found just a phone number. The notebook was customized with the Casino's logo and Moleskine branding. The pages were creamy with unbleedable opportunities. Lineless, not spineless, but perfect in all its glory. I bet you it retails for over $300. Impressive!

I called the number to find that it was one of Moleskine's corporate advisors congratulating me on the winnings and that I had won more! Yes, an all-inclusive trip for 2 to some fancy beach resort in the Bahamas. I gave them all my information and the packet was mailed to me within 3 days. I was preparing for a trip to No Pants Island pretty much! Passports ordered and the best is still yet to come!