Sunday evening Susan and I went to Riverwind Casino with Andy and Lea (or as I like to say now, Mr. and Mrs. Willrath — how cool is that?) Susan and I each took $100 to spend. I lost forty bucks right off the bat on slot machines, and then lost another forty on Jacks or Better poker machines (which I normally do really well at). With my last twenty I ended up winning $40.50 on one machine and $47 on another — that put me just slightly ahead.

Lea and Susan migrated to the $2 blackjack table. Keep in mind that in Oklahoma Indian Casinos, you have to pay a fifty-cent “tribal tax” PER HAND. That makes it hard to come out ahead when betting $2/hand. After watching the girls play for a while, Andy and I sat down at a $5/minimum table and played a few hands.

Before long I was back down $60. In a desperation comeback move I bet $40 on one hand … and busted. That left me flat broke. After that I walked over to see how Susan was doing. She still had $40 in chips left, so I made her give me $20. I went back over to the table I had been at and bet all $20 on one hand. I won, and doubled my money. I let the $40 ride … and lost. Back to zero.

Ten minutes later when I checked in with Susan, she was down to $11.50. “Let’s take our money and leave,” she said. I said okay. When she handed me her chips, I ran back over to the $5 table and threw them all done. $11, one hand, let’s go baby!!

The dealer dealt me a 3, followed by an 8 — a perfect “double down” hand (where you can double your bet and only hit one card). The only problem was, I was broke! The dealer asked if I wanted to double down. I reached in my pocket, pulled out my car keys, and tossed them on the poker table. Everyone (including the dealer) laughed. The dealer then informed me that my car was not legal tender in the casino.

“I’ll spot you,” said the stranger sitting next to me as he slid $11 in chips over to my stack. The dealer dealt me one card … a KING! 21!

I ended up with $44, and everyone applauded. I split the pile with the friendly stranger next to me and simply said, “pleasure doin’ business with you.”

When I went to cash out I found a $40 payout voucher I’d received from a machine and forgotten about. Combined with the poker chips I’d just received, that means I left the casino with $64, meaning I only lost $36 (which, while not good, was far less than I thought I had lost.)