So Close

I am in Harrod’s Casino, Reno, Nevada on January 28, 1951. My wife Jane and I have traveled there from our home in Tracy, California, some four hours away. We are dirt poor, combined income of some $2,000 a year. But we’d spent some Christmas gift money for gasoline and planned to drive to Reno and back on the same day because we don’t have the $6.00 required for an overnight stay in a motel. We do have, however, one dollar each for the slots. We feed the nickel machines.

The slots smile on us. By the time we feel we need to head home we have parlayed our $2.00 into $5.00. We take a breather, have a discussion, and make a decision.

We’ll take two dollars of our gain (2 neat rolls of nickels) and secure them in the glove compartment of our car. Then we’ll take our $3.00 worth of winnings and hit the slots again. If we can just win $2.00 more we’ll have enough for a motel room. We’ll spend the night in Reno and head home the next day -just like the high rollers.

Twenty minutes later Jane and I are pulling out of our parking slot, heading back over Donner Pass on the way home for a very late dinner.

Fifty-nine years later I still feel the rush. So close! I’m not alone. From Las Vegas to Atlantic City to Mississippi River boats to Indian reservation casinos to state run lotteries, every day there are millions who feel the rush. “Just maybe...”