Jeff's Life In Retrospect

If you are looking for the true ‘dream makers’, that award goes to the ever-increasing progressive jackpots.

I have compiled some of these Winning Stories to brighten your dreams tonight.

It’s Magic

Celeste has worked for years in the family’s equipment rental business and recently sold the company.

Six months ago, her mother gave her a lucky pendant and she is certain she is responsible for the win.

In addition, her father gave her a $100 bill for the trip and told her to use that money to buy chips for herself.

Therefore, he’s now positive that his $100 gift is responsible for her new fortune. Celeste was so touched by what her father said after hearing of her win. He said, “Celeste, you’ve always done for others, now you can do for yourself.”

Let’s back up a bit while Celeste McCormick of Albany, GA tells her story:

“It was one of those magical nights when we couldn’t lose. We were having such fun and winning on almost every machine we chose to play. We’re not big gamblers, but maybe now we will be!”

“My mother and father love to gamble, and my mother had been comped a room at the Imperial Palace in Biloxi, MI. She graciously invited my brother and me to join in the celebration.

Earlier in the evening, my friend and I had been playing the Wheel of Fortune machines and won $500. Just before going up to the room, we decided to go back to the Wheel of Fortune to see if we would have any luck again. When the three Wheel of Fortune symbols appeared, nothing happened; there were no bells or flashing lights.” My friend said, “I think you won $10,000.” Then I said, “No, I think I won the progressive jackpot.”

While I sat at the machine waiting for someone to arrive, I began to get nervous and said to my companion, “You better go find someone in case we have a power failure and I lose the entire jackpot.”

He left to find an attendant and when they returned they confirmed that I did win the progressive jackpot of $1,195,974.

It was now 2:52 a.m. and we were far from being tired after all the excitement. Celeste added, “It was hilarious–the hotel personnel immediately moved us to the penthouse suite. We waited around until later, and then called my mother and brother to tell them our room had been changed and to come up to our suite to visit us.

My brother immediately said, “How much did you win, $10,000?” I said “No a lot more than that. Just put your robes on and come up to the suite.

When they arrived, we held up the check and I took a picture of my mother’s face when she saw the amount!”

How does she feel about the win? “I felt very humbled and thankful for my blessings. It’s been a wonderful experience.” Her future plans are simple for now, “we’ve put it in CDs until we can decide.”

Happy Returns

Michael Figueroa of Citrus Heights, CA, said they were celebrating his friend’s 30th birthday at Horizon Casino, Lake Tahoe when they decided to play some slot machines. Michael got the best gift with a heavy hit of $615,176 at a Wheel of Fortune quarter progressive. He had only invested $20 and stated, “I always play the Wheel of Fortune machines because I love to get to spin the wheel”. “I kept thinking that I really wanted to hit the jackpot and had just repeated that to my wife when it hit. I was in shock, stunned.”

Michael, who is self-employed, said he would spend his winnings wisely, live a little more comfortably and extend his trip to Lake Tahoe.

Pop that Champagne Cork

Anthony Vighione, owner of several video rental stores in Milford, CT, plays the new Popeye video slots often and says they’re his favorite. While playing at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, CT, Anthony hit an eye-popping payday of $508, 594. on a quarter Popeye progressive machine.

And She Said…

Blue Water Resort and Casino in Parker, AZ was the place for Larry Jackson who won $750,455 on a one-dollar Wheel of Fortune. Jackson, a retiree from Lake Havasu City, Arizona, had taken a day trip to the casino to play his favorite machines. When asked about his plans, Jackson stated, “that will be up to the wife.”

Las Vegas, it is a city built in the midst of a dessert. Geographically, this city would not have been suitable for habitation because of its harsh climate. But despite of all these, the place has been a paradise to some people, the gamblers. What should have been a dry and barren land became a haven of wealth, and abode of the world’s greatest structures. All that is good in Las Vegas owed itself to one vice, gambling. Gamblers from all the corners of the world come here to place their bets in every casino, bluff every poker game, pull lucky levers of slot machines, and enjoy the thrill roulette.  This thriving industry has set this city as one of the most exciting city of the world.

However, Las Vegas has found itself a competition.  But not from another gambling cities like Monte Carlo and Macao. It is in the Internet. Online gambling has also fints its way in the dotcom business. The main reason of this business success is a thriving millions of potential bettors around the world connected by World Wide Web. Unlike going to Las Vegas or any other gambling city, gambles would not pay for airplane ticket and high room accommodation rates in a five star hotel found in the city. All they need to do is to sit down in front of their PC Screen and enjoy the clicking of the mouse while being thrilled of the coming results in the online gambling.  In online gambling, gamblers need not to worry to store their cash in the vault.  Every monetary transaction is done through bank transactions.  The industry extends its benefits to the financial sector from the bank fees in every transaction.

Online gambling has also finds its own adherents in the Internet.  These enthusiasts gather in an online forum discussing about gambling and the odds of the house.  There are also gambling sites, which the gamblers called the rogue sites. These are sites that would not allow the credit won to be withdrawn immediately.  Some sites would only allow a certain quota of the credit earned or a certain time so that bettors will have no other choice but to place the bet until they can meet the requirements of withdrawal. This would eventually make the house always in favor of the odds. Online gambling forum warns online gamblers to these rouge sites.

While the gambling industry is promising, it has also their nemeses which lead its way into its downfall. One of this is the gambling site operators themselves. Obtaining a random number is still an arbitrary. Many skeptics believe that online gambling programs can be manipulated. Other gambling sites counter this skepticism by publishing their audit of odds and even announcing the higher probability of winning of the bettor.  Not to mention also the rouge sites who are sharking on the bettors’ money leaving them always empty handed. These are few issues that greatly affects the business.

But there is no greater adversary of the business than the US government itself. Everything has been changed after 9/11 bombings.  The Wire Act has been promulgated to combat money-laundering cases. Money laundering has already been outlawed in the US and some parts of the world. It is believed and an accepted fact that laundered money is the source of funds for terrorist and other criminal syndicates. The anonymous nature of the bettors can be potential way of harboring fraudulent money transactions. With this reason, has reached its darkest period when it was outlawed in the US. Major Internet site follow suits by removing any advertisement promoting online gambling.  However, online gambling has also won some allies in the US Congress because of its potential cash cow for tax. Rep. Barney Franks, Robert Flex, and Jim McDermott passed different congressional bills that would legalize and regulate operations of online casinos. It is yet to be known if these bills can pass the US Congress.  But online casinos have already lost millions in terms of a potential market in the US.

While the US is hostile to online casinos, the European Union and some Caribbean Countries welcome it as one of its thriving and growing industry. The outlawing of the online casinos in the US prompted Antigua and Barbados to present its case to the World Trade Organization. Thanks to the laws in trade liberalization, WTO favored them and rejected any claims by the US that is only protecting public safety in outlawing it.  The case is currently in a debate in WTO court.  If the US Will loss the case, they will be forced to legalize and pay indemnities to the affected countries as will be ruled by the WTO Court.

Online casinos may be the greatest rival to the traditional brick and mortar, but it is yet to be seen if the worldwide public will accept it without any skepticism. Not only that, online casino has still to win its case to some countries, especially in the US, which outlawed them. It is yet to prove that this industry is not a vessel of fraudulent transaction. Online casinos may not yet equal its success to the real casinos; however, it will eventually replace little by little the traditional ones.  New technological innovation has also paved way to the new era of gambling industry.

Gambling is a form of entertainment that involves the extensive use of money as betting instruments. While it can be entertaining as well as enjoyable, indulging excessively in the game can be dangerous, especially when the money involved is already one’s lifetime savings after years of hard work. This is especially true when the form of gambling that one indulges in is that of casino gambling. Needless to say, casino gambling has some good and bad effects on a person.

In some countries, especially in those areas where Islam is the prevailing religion, casino gambling is strictly prohibited. Religious authorities in these countries generally frown upon this game of chance basically because of the perceived social costs that it inevitably brings.

However, in a number of countries, especially those which are highly-industrialized, casino gambling is a legal business venture, although certain regulations or limits are often set. This is because the game is a double-edged sword. It gives you the opportunity to double or even triple your money. At the same time, however, when you grab that opportunity, you unwittingly also give the game the chance to take away some,if not all, of your money.

The stakes easily become higher in the case of casino gambling. In this form of expensive entertainment, there are usually only two ways to go – either you get to double your money or you lose all of it. This is not just small money, the amount involved usually run in the thousands. Casinos operate on the basic premise that it allows you to have a crack at their money, but at the same time they get to have a shot at yours as well. Who gets to go home as the winner at the end of the game depends on how you will play the game which will have to include the amount of money that you will be willing to place on the betting floor.

This is not to say that casino gambling should be banned altogether. The game as well as its concept has been with us for decades. Perhaps the game has gone on even for centuries. Another thing, as a form of entertainment, it still has its own share of beneficial effects; relaxation being the prime consideration. The key to successfully playing the game is simply to handle it with the proper attitude.

Gambling to be an effective means of entertainment should be approached as simply a game and nothing more. Of course, the aim is to win if possible. But at the same time, a player should not totally discount the possibility that one could also lose. And losing means giving away only the amount of money that you can afford to lose. This is essentially a good strategy, especially when it comes to the issue of casino gambling, where the betting stakes are higher, in which case a planned betting method is recommended. This will include discipline, which basically means having the ability to control yourself, especially when losses start piling up and the winnings that were accumulated in the early games start dwindling because of your casino gambling.