Page 79 of Full Tilt
“Now what?” I said to Jonah, taking his hand. “Where to? I swear I’ve never had so much fun sober in my life.” I stopped at the long lines of slot machines, buzzing and clunking and glowing. “Slots. Oh my God, do you want to? Just a few, then we’ll leave, I swear.”
Jonah laughed. “How could I say no?”
I went to the change window and came back with four rolls of nickels.
“You want to playnickelslots?” Jonah asked.
“I want to playsomekind of slots, but plunking quarter after quarter into a machine feels wasteful. This way, I get the experience without feeling like I’m throwing a ton of moneyaway.”
Jonah narrowed his eyes and stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Very wise.”
“Smartass.” I took his hand again. “Let’s go play with the high rollers.”
We found the casino’s sole bank of nickel slots and set up shop. Jonah took off his suit jacket and tie and slung them over a vacant machine. Then he handed me a plastic bucket from a stack between the slots.
“For your winnings,” he said.
“Better get me two,” I said, tearing into my rolls of nickels. “I’m feeling lucky…punk.”
The slot machines had buttons to push in addition to the levers to send the pictures of cherries, diamonds and bars spinning. Jonah hit the button, but I insisted on pulling the lever.
“To get the full effect,” I said.
“You’ve really never gambled before? Not even at Caesars?”
“I’m too busy hustling free drinks, and when my shift is over, I just want to get the heck out of there and change my clothes. Holy shit, you should see the get-up they have us wearing. Togas, gold sandals, and leafy headbands.”
The metallic plunk of a small handful of nickels hit Jonah’s tray. A small win. I had the same; just enough to keep us playing.
“It’s funny we have the same work schedule,” he said. “Wednesday through Saturday nights, six to two a.m.? Exactly the same schedule.”
“I requested those days.” I turned my face to the machine, pulled the lever. “Because they’re the best shifts.”
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Jonah smile. “They are the best.”
I slipped my last nickel into the machine and came up with nothing.
“I’m out,” I said with a sigh. “I think the system is rigged.”
Jonah laughed. “I guarantee it is. I’m almost out too…”
He dropped a nickel, hit the button and the pics on the machinewent round and round. One cartoon diamond solitaire withjackpotwritten across the middle jerked to a stop. Then two. Then three, all lined up in a perfect row. The entire machine lit up with flashing lights and music, and a torrent of nickels cascaded into the tray below.
I jumped out of my seat, my hands flying to my mouth. “Oh my God, you won. Youwon!”
Jonah stared, a half-smile of shock around his open mouth. “Holyshit,look at that.”
The nickels kept pouring out, overflowing the tray and falling onto the carpet in a jingling avalanche.
I clutched his shoulder. “Oh my God, how much did you win?” I scanned the top of the machine for the payouts. “It says three diamonds is…five thousand nickels. Wait… That’s…”
“Two hundred and fifty bucks,” Jonah said, standing up, his hands on his head.
“You hit the jackpot,” I said, throwing my arms around his neck.
He looked down at me, his hands slowly coming down. The slot machine lights reflected red, blue and green in his eyes. The chime of falling coins dwindled away in my ears. The entire casino faded to the background.
“I did,” he whispered. His hands took my face and he kissed me.
