My
Name Is Bramblett...Reid Bramblett (cont'd)
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All
the buttons stopped blinking. It
told me to insert a coin to play.
Hey,
what about my Full House?! Where's my money? Twelve francs would have
allowed me to leave having spent a net of only four francs not
bad for a research expense. Frustrated and angry at the machine, I did
what every sane person does when in the same situation in Atlantic City
or Las Vegas: I gave it another franc, and set to pressing the big, blinking
button again.
This
time, in just three francs I got a winning hand two pair; not great
(I'd only won 4 francs), but I was happy. This time, I let the machine
blink away merrily and didn't touch a damn thing. I looked around until
I got the attention of an employee. He came over and I said (after establishing
that Italian would be our language of choice) "I won; how do I get my
money?"
This
seemed to take him aback. He pointed to the buttons that would allow me
to reinvest my winnings to that tiny "coins/credits" number in the upper
right hand corner of the screen, and explained that choosing that option
was what most people did. However, if by "most people" he intended the
glazy-eyed folks perched with hunched backs and slack lips at stools all
around me whose only discernable skill was pressing a single button repeatedly,
I figured that was not the option for me.
I shook
my head vigorously. "No," I said "I am done; I want the cash." He said
I had several choices, and again tried to convince me the best one by
far was to reinvest it, but I finally got out of him the method to get
my big payoff.
Turns
out that part of all the flashing the machine's screen had been doing
when I got my Full House (and was doing again with my measly two pair)
was a set of lights in the upper left corner that kind of looked like
a staircase with the word "BONUS!" at the top. A light would strobe up
this staircase one level of a time to finally light up the word "BONUS!"
briefly, then start again from the bottom. My job now was to hit, yes,
the same big, blinking button I had been using all along at the precise
moment the word "BONUS!" lit up.
I did
so; it was fairly easy.
Still,
no cash. "Now you can reinvest double your winnings to your credits,"
the employee helpfully explained. I gave him a look. "Cash," I insisted.
He made a face and pointed to the "CASH" button. I pressed it, and the
triumphant ring of four francs hitting the aluminum pan rang across the
room. "Thank you" I said to the employee who had clearly failed
to do his job of keeping me in my seat and would probably get fired for
letting me leave with a jingle in my pocket. "Now where were you when
I got the Full House?" I grumbled.
In all,
I spent 15 francs, a little over $10, which I feel is reasonable enough
especially since my self-imposed limit was 20. I had spent the
same amount for admission to get into a dance club the night before
though to tell the truth, I would prefer to spend the evening dancing
rather than pushing big, blinking buttons (not that I did dance, what
with my overcoat and shoulder bag still on my person, but that's beside
the point).
Still,
now I have gambled, and feel none the richer for it. However, I did find
out where SPECTRE is hiding the nuclear weapons. All I can reveal is:
"Chateau de Neuf, Chardonnay, 1952."
Copyright
© 1999 by Reid Bramblett. All rights reserved. |