Kristina and I met in November 2001 on a dance floor at Masquerade, an Atlanta nightclub. It was love at first sight. We knew quickly we were destined to be together. I was a bachelor living on my own for about 10 years when we met. Those days were numbered.
I enjoy driving to clear my head. I discovered Harrah’s Cherokee was about 2.5 hours from my house. I invited a friend for the late-night road trip. We talked about how I wanted to propose to Kristina. I had all the nervous thoughts a man has in that situation, and I didn’t have the money I needed for a ring and wedding. By the time we got to Cherokee, it was decided if I won, it was a sign.
I sat down at a Pot of Gold. These were popular in the South at the time. Georgia and South Carolina recently banned the games. Cherokee still has them. I have one in my office.
I chose Shamrock 7s. It is a Joker Poker game with a bonus round for three or more 7s. The jackpot is five of a kind. In minutes, I hit a $1400 jackpot on a $2 bet. The entire bank of machines shares the progressive, which resets at $1000. Before Harrah’s Cherokee could pay me the first jackpot, I hit it again for a little over $1000. I was up over $2000 in 15 minutes.
We didn’t drive 2.5 hours to leave that quickly. It was time to play blackjack. Harrah’s Cherokee didn’t have live tables then. There were three video versions. One was a BJ Blitz. Another was Black Gold. There was a semi-live game with chips and a dealer but video screens. I demolished all these games. I was invincible. Any time I felt I was pushing my luck, I’d hit a blackjack or the dealer unexpectedly busted. Everything I touched turned to gold.
It was the middle of the night by then. It was time to be responsible after a night where any sense of responsibility was lost since we left Atlanta.
I won about $6000 that night. Even though I played poker for most of my money at the time, I’d never won that much in a session. If this wasn’t a sign that it was time to propose to Kristina, nothing was.
I bought Kristina’s ring and proposed soon after that. We married on October 5, 2002. On this October 5, our marriage will be old enough to play at a casino. We decided to take it to 93 of them.
