Snoqualmie Casino Observations in the Key of C - YahooVoices

You know that old saw about you are what you eat? Well, here's a new version that has to do withslot machines.

You are what you play.

As a social gambler, I've observed many things at my favorite gambling hole----Snoqualmie Casino.

When I run out of money (or just get tired of playing the machines) I sit back and watch otherplayers. It's very interesting how some players take on the personality of the machine they'replaying.

I observed a man on the King Cheetah machine who, when the machine made the sound of theAfrican safari, he'd mimic the cheetah's purr. At least I think that's what he was going for. I couldn'tbe sure because his second (who's counting?) scotch and soda might have influenced the accuracy ofthe sound he was trying to reproduce. At any rate, it was a little unnerving, and I moved away beforehe lost all his money. (I didn't want to hear the sound of an angry cheetah when a Lion steals hisfood.)

Then there was the woman who looked like Aunt Bea on the Andy Griffith show.

'Aunt Bea' was playing the Kitty Glitter machine. She was playing 40 cents and I knew there wouldbe no way she could get the $1000 jackpot unless she was playing the maximum coins.

No matter: Aunt Bea was enjoying herself. Aunt Bea was a petter. Before each spin she would 'pet'the kitties (for good luck), her favorite kitty seemed to be the white Persian but she was democraticand made sure that all the kittens got their pets and strokes before hitting the play button.

When she won something--and on forty cents--it wasn't much, she would make a sound not unlike ameow.

The three Pot of Diamonds came up and gave her 15 spins. She was jubilant! I snuck a peak to seewhat her bonus count was---$20.00, not bad for forty cents, but she was as excited as if she'd won$200.00

When she got down to $5.00, (she started with $40.00) I was hoping that she would cash out, butalas, she didn't. She kept hitting that spin button until she was down to her last dollar.

Aunt Bea was no longer 'meowing' at the machine, but she wasn't purring either.

Two more plays and she was down to twenty cents. She petted the white cat before playing her last

twenty cents. When no cats lined up, she looked at the machine as if she'd just lost her best friend.When she saw me watching her she smiled and said that the machine was misnamed----it should becalled kitty litter!

I was glad that she still had her sense ofhumor. Social gamblers need their sense ofhumor.

I understand slot player's little idiosyncrasies,we all have them.

For example, I drive my sister nuts when I'speed up' the win count. She's convinced thatI win less when I speed up the count because Isomehow change 'the sequence.'

The "ding dings drive me crazy! I say, but shesays 'get over it'--- I'm gypping myself out ofextra points when I speed up the count.

I try another explanation. "I read somewhere that all the sounds that a slot machine makes are in thekey of C. Do you know that, huh? The sounds of all the1700 state-of-the-art slot machines in thiscasino are in the key of C!"

"Who in the hell cares what key your jackpot is in! ," she says with an expression of completedisgust. (The last time I saw that look was when I told her my choice for president.)

Slot players have their little quirks, but there is one quirk thathas the same effect on me as a personrunning his finger down a blackboard.

And it is this: Players who stop their machines in the middle of the spin, and should they happen towin they yell, "I stopped it!"

Why should I care if someone feels that they can change the outcome of a machine by stopping it?

I care because the player is deluded into thinking he can change the outcome of a spin once the'play' button is hit. And these Stoppers not only hit the stop button hard (ever wonder why the capcomes off the play button so often?) but will often pound the display glass for good measure if their'stop' doesn't give them a good hit or a jackpot. (Ever wonder why there are so many cracked displayscreens?)

The whole truth is once you push the play button, you cannot change the outcome.

The random number generator spews out whole numbers hundreds of times a second. The instantyou press the button,...or to quote Tom Harris on How Slot Machine Work, (..."The computer recordsthe next few numbers from the random number generator. Then it feeds these numbers through asimple program to determine where the reels should stop"

Read my lips: the stops are already determined once you hit the play button.

I used to tell the player this but I don't do that anymore. I was being a party pooper and challengingthe way they chose to play the machine. And besides, who asked me?

Moreover, I was just reminding the player that he's solely at the mercy of virtual stops, step motorsand how the computer divides numbers to determine reel positions. Besides, who is really interestedin the many ways that the slot machine can take your money?

The only reason I mention it now is- the 'stopping' action is usually followed by slapping the displayscreen, and that is my business.

No, I'm not the slot police, but I do know that every time a machine is trashed it has to be replaced,and computerized slot machines don't come cheap. if you are involved in SITE TOPIC GOES HERE;check into and / or maybe .The money for replacement has to be made up some way, and it's apretty good bet the casino guests will absorb (in one way or another) some of the cost.

I hate seeing a slot machine abused. It's just a computer doin' its job for goodness sakes!