Luck is his companion, Gambling is his game!

    Those lines, from the old television show
"Maverick", went running through my head
last night as my wife and I attended the
annual WBRE/WYOU Christmas party.
    We look forward to the event, in part,
because it gives us a chance to get together
with an old photographer friend and his wife.
     He and I are both retired and the party is
one of the few times each year we see each
other. We also have many friends among
the the crowd that's still working at the
stations!
     So there's great company, good food and,
for some, prizes.
     The highlight of each party is a drawing
for a bag full of prizes gathered, usually
through the Sales Department, from area
merchants.
      As retirees, however, our names don't
go into the hat!
      That's OK! We're just happy to have
been invited and, truth be told, I won a
couple of certificates over the years when
I was still an active newsman.
      Still, the yen to win was there.
      And, luckily, the party was at the
Mohegan Sun Casino!
     So, after we finished desert and said
thank you and good bye, we headed
out onto the casino floor to win our
fortune!
     Picking the right machine is very
important. My wife circled the floor
for a quarter hour searching for one
that would call out "play me!"
     I didn't actually hear the call. But
I left her to play the one she picked
while I looked around some more to
find one that lured me!
     The one I found had some of the
traditional 7's on the dial as well as
some diamonds and other neat stuff.
     Laugh if you will. But, in the end
I walked away with 8 Big ones!
    No.....not eight hundred....eight big
ones. You know, one dollar bills!
    My original five dollars had
dwindled down to $2.25 when I spun
the wheels and some lights started
flashing! The little dial that displayed
my $2.25 suddenly started going
higher till it finally stopped at
$13.25!
   I decided to take the money and
run!
   I had played and/or walked around
for about 60 minutes. So the way I
figure it that comes out to eight bucks
an hour.
   I should go every day!
   Of course my wife wasn't as lucky.
   She lost a quarter.
   I intend to give her mine so she'll be
even and I'm still eight "Big Ones"
ahead!
   Between that and the cans I took to
the Recycling Center two weeks ago
I've got at extra $16!
   There will be Christmas this year!
   Hope you're lucky too and that all
your NEWS is good!