Last week we made a short trip to Reno, taking advantage of a mailing from the Atlantis Casino. (People we met, when hearing we were from Vegas, would joke with us, asking if we couldn’t find any casinos in our hometown! 🙂 )
Because this was only the second time we had visited this casino, we weren’t very familiar with one of their ongoing promotions. I had read a sign advertising a casino-wide jackpot called the Money Maker but hadn’t given it much thought. We are “grinders” and don’t ever “expect” to hit these low-odds jackpots that are not directly connected to our video poker paytable, like for example, a royal flush would be. However, I did notice that when it hit, everyone who was playing with their slot card would get $25.
Well, the second evening of our visit, Brad and I were each playing a video poker machine, but on different banks, and I noticed that I got a message on the card reader screen that I had just received a $25 bonus. So I knew the jackpot had been hit somewhere in the casino. I turned around to talk to Brad on a bank behind me and ask if he got an extra $25. Actually, he was pounding on his machine, complaining that it had frozen up. Sometimes this happens when the glass door comes slightly ajar and he often has been able to “fix” it with a good beating. He was pounding it so hard that I told him he better quit – he was going to break the glass and who knows how much we would be charged for that!
So he put on his Service light and we waited for a floor person. When one came, he fiddled with the machine, asking Brad to put in his code number. I did notice that the card reader screen said something about a lucky coin bonus – we figured that was the $25 – so we asked the floor person if maybe that machine wasn’t going to give Brad his $25 because we were both playing with his card and I had already received the bonus on my machine. The guy said that probably was the problem but he couldn’t figure out how to get the machine “unfrozen.” So he called for help – but the second floor person couldn’t find the problem either.
However, soon several “suits” started straggling over and looking at Brad’s machine. One asked who had been playing that machine – because Brad was standing at my machine while we were talking about the “problem.”
Well, you know the end of the story. Brad had hit the Money Maker jackpot. There were no bells or whistles and no indication of the amount. Just a machine freeze!
The Money Maker jackpot starts at 25k and is guaranteed to hit by 50k. Brad’s amount was$27,749.33. Not the biggest amount we’ve ever hit, but probably the biggest totally unexpected surprise.
It turned a losing trip into a winning one. But the best part was how much fun we had during the hour or so verification process before Brad was finally paid. He posed for official pictures with the oversized cardboard “fake” check. And people from all over the casino came to congratulate him. Usually when you hit a big jackpot, everyone is a big jealous. But most of the players were very low rollers and that extra $25 that everyone got made Brad a very popular person!
What a great unexpected win. Congrats to Brad. Tell him next time no banging on the screen, it pays to be patient.
Lucky Guy.
WTG Brad. I love hearing from you, about all the trips you go on and winnings you win. Keep it up. I hope to run into the two of you when I am in Vegas someday.
I’m not sure what would have happened if I had hit the jackpot. Sometimes it makes a difference if your cards are “linked,” as is the case for us at this casino. But one can never be sure what a casino will do. It is usually best to play on your own card!!!!
I’m curious. I have heard that a casino can deny a person a jackpot if they are playing on someone else’s card. Would you have gotten paid had you been the one who hit the jackpot since you were playing with your husband’s card?
Good for Brad. You might have to change the website from Jean Scott’s Frugas Vegas to Jean Scott’s Frugal Casinos.
Alas, I was at the Atlantis last week too playing a variety of machines but wasn’t there when Brad his his jackpot. Interesting, didn’t know that it was based on total coin-in – I just thought it was completely random selection of a played machine.
That’s the second time I’ve missed meeting you Jean – we’ve been in the same casino at similar times! I’ll keep playing and looking for you!
Congrats on the win! I’ve played a lot at Atlantis and have noticed that the Money Maker jackpot almost always goes to someone playing higher denominations–which means that you earn electronic “entries” based on total coin-in, NOT total plays. So the high-rollers get the goodies–which is better than giving them to someone playing the fullpay ten-nickel machines in the back.
I was at the Atlantis the same time you were, but I was up in the Skywalk area most of the time. The sunlight is very nice–you don’t usually get that in a casino–and the smell of garlic from the Oyster Bar was something very nice as well! They had 4X comp and I played multi-line NSUD, for a modest loss of $60 but $95 in earned comps, which I used at Bistro Napa, a terrific restaurant. The Atlantis is the best place to play AND stay in Reno IMHO, and I’m sure that you and Brad will zoom straight to the top of their VIP list, since they’ll want their money back 🙂
Congratulations! I lived in Reno for 1 year and came back to SoCal. I never had any luck at Atlantis.
Actually one of the benefits of you guys playing so much is that you end up in these situations and you can share them with us. It’s great to hear these stories.
I can’t help but laugh thinking about if Brad had broken the machine because he won. The employees later would say, “Yeah, this guy won the big jackpot but then started smashing up the machine. Must have been drugs.”
Congrats Brad on the good fortune. Just goes to show that you can’t win if you don’t play!