One Mans Courage

June 4, 2006 - Sunday morning Zoraida and I stood on Washington Street,
at the bus stop for our trip to Atlantic City, New Jersey, which I am told
takes about 2 hours. This was my very first time to a 'real' casino and I
could hardly wait to see what all the hype was about. Once there, everyone
went their separate ways, and Zoraida and I went into the Sands.

I could not believe the amount of "fun" noise that filled the room. There
were bells, buzzers, whistles, sirens, shouts of victory, cries of defeat, the
tap tap of each spin AND the intercom, which paged people and security,
and was louder than all the bells and buzzers put together.

Zoraida sat at one of the quarter machines and I was content watching her
for a short time before telling her I was going to find an empty chair one or
two rows over from her and that I would not move. I stayed within the
boundaries set (I think) and about 45 minutes into playing quarters, I could
have sworn I heard my name BROADCASTED over the loud speaker. You
know, the one I described as "louder than all the bells and buzzers put
together"...I thought for a second..."naw... can't be".

I continued playing my quarters and once again, I thought I heard my name
over the loud speaker...ATTENTION PATRONS...WILL KATHY SCHUMAN
PLEASE PICK UP THE NEAREST CUSTOMER COURTESY PHONE...KATHY
SCHUMAN, PLEASE PICK UP THE NEAREST CUSTOMER CURTESY PHONE.
Ok, I WAS for sure being paged.

I politely asked the person sitting next to me...Sca-uzzzz me. How I get my
money? I took my ticket and then looked for a courtesy phone. I spotted a
uniformed person, and again, "Sca-uzzzz me. I believe I was paged to pick
up a phone somewhere". They were quite helpful and got me through to the
security gal that was paging me. The gal told me she had Zoraida with her
and that she thought I was lost. OY!

Zoraida and I walked the boardwalk and had a nice lunch at Trumps Casino
and played the slots there also. We then headed back to the Sands, which is
where everyone meets up for the bus trip back to Hoboken. I now
understand why people like the casinos because I loved it, even though I
lost.

June 15 - My Brother in Law Bobby took me back to Atlantic City and I am
ready to WIN!! Bobby went for the card tables, and I headed for the
quarter machines. AGAIN with the BELLS, BUZZERS, WHISTLES, SIRENS,
SHOUTS OF VICTORY, CRIES OF DEFEAT, and let us not forget the loud
speaker.

I noticed a lot more bells, whistles and sirens today. I heard one on the
next row over and decided to take a walk. There sat a woman in her 60's
at a slot machine that was all lit up with its bells, buzzers and sirens going
off. I walked up to her, congratulated her and we made small talk. She
was playing poker slots (that's what I called it) and I decided to rub
shoulders with her (literally) for luck. I then put in a $20 bill, lost the first
hand and knew this game was not for me. I thanked her for allowing me to
rub shoulders and she wished me good luck.

I hit my ticket button and much to my surprise, I received $19.00 in
quarters. That is when I learned that was not a 'ticket' slot. I gathered up
my quarters and strolled a few isle's looking for an empty seat. I found a
row of slots that was not overly crowded. The first three machines were
empty, but they were for those who wished to stand. I wished to sit. The
fourth slot machine had a seat, and that is where I decided to play. The
bells, buzzers, sirens and whistles were going off all around me. I began
putting in my quarters. I look to my left and smile at my neighbors. They
nod, and smile back. Then one of the elderly woman walked up to me,
leaned over and congratulated me...I said, 'Excuse me'? She repeated,
"Congratulations". I smile, and ask, "For what"? She then pointed up to
the light on top of my machine.

I was shocked. I got all excited. "I WON? REALLY? OH MY GOD!! HOW
MUCH? OH MY GOD!! REALLY? I WON?? OOOOOOOO, I HAVE TO CALL MY
HUSBAND"..... (This sweet woman then whispered in my ear, telling me
not to leave my chair...<gee, ya think she could tell I was a novice?>

<dialing Florida on my cell> HEY.......BABE....I WON....I WON......Ed asks,
"HOW MUCH"...."UM.....I DON'T KNOW....I DON'T KNOW. I JUST KNOW I
WON. OH, LET ME CALL YOU BACK. SECURITY IS HERE.

I hung up with my husband and security took some information from me
and returned shortly after that with $562.00. WOO HOO....