One Million Pennies

I was at the Excalibur in Las Vegas, in the lower level where the arcade is. There was a set of slot machines there and a bar, which I'd never seen before. I decided to play the slot machines, and put in some money.  I pressed the button, and the computer tumblers spun. The theme on the slot machine was sort of medieval - pots of gold, rainbows, unicorns, and wild dragons that took up three spaces on a single reel. One of the icons that landed said "one million" and I thought I lost because none of the other images matched. But then the lights went on, and coins spilled across the screen, and I realized that I won one million pennies. I sat there, stunned, staring at the screen. I took a picture with my camera phone of the little pot of gold icon and sent it to my Dad.  A little screen popped up telling me not to go anywhere, since I had won so much.

Moments later, a cocktail waitress appeared and congratulated me, writing out a receipt for my winnings. I went and sat at the bar. For some reason, I computed one million pennies down to fifteen thousand dollars and some extra dollars. Then I was giddy. I thought of all the bills I could pay off, and what loans I could get rid of. I was trying to hide how happy I was as I sat at the bar. I wanted to go back to the slot machines, but when I walked back a young married couple had taken my seat. They were drinking cocktails and did not notice me. I was not very upset, because I knew I had just won, so they were not going to steal my luck.


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I don't remember ever winning something so vividly in a dream. That sense of euphoria was intoxicating - the idea of debt being cleared.  Wishful thinking....