In a nearby town was a small casino with a seldom played $5 progressive video poker machine. The machine had a .5% meter and the best paying games were 98.9% deuces and 98% bonus poker. In the past two years the jackpot had hit only twice, both times for less than $28,000.
It was a bright and sunny day this spring when the jackpot again reached $25,000 and the machine became a good play for me combining the progressive jackpot with earned cashback, weekly freeplay and multiplier days. I began playing a limited amount once a week.
By July the jackpot was up to $30,000. It was time to take my machine more seriously including adjusting my play into royal mode. My losses, while manageable, began reaching into the many thousands.
By mid September, when the jackpot reached $35,000, it was the time to strike. Playing $40,000 to $60,000 several times a week I knew the jackpot would soon be mine. Losses were often $2000 to $3000 and more a day. Then a respite, six trips with a total loss of 0.
In October, for the first time this year, there were 3 days when someone else was playing my machine when I arrived. To combat this I started playing bonus poker half of each day to increase my chance of getting a royal from once every 38,000 plays for deuces to once every 33,000 plays. It wasn't lost on me that the variances of both games had moved from the 20's to over 60.
Having played well over $1,000,000 and with losses in excess of $40,000, I wasn't about to give up. In late October the jackpot had reached $39,500. On Tuesday I played just $60,000 and was hit hard with a loss for the day of $7000. After a two day recovery I was back Friday morning. The jackpot was now $20,004.
It was a dark and stormy night.
