Luck makes it worth the trip

Last weekend, my husband Brian and I traveled to Memphis for his 20th high school reunion. To be honest, I wasn't looking forward to it. I was nearly 33 weeks pregnant, and Memphis is four hours from here. Sometimes, the things you dread the most turn out to be the most fun.

Brian graduated from Millington Central High School, and the first night's activity was the homecoming football game and a tailgate party. It was pouring down rain for the whole four hours we traveled on the interstate, and it was raining when we arrived.

Millington is a suburb of Memphis and is about 45 minutes away from Tunica, which is the home of several casinos. Back when I met Brian, he was working at Bally's Casino at the craps' tables. He also dealt black jack and a few other card games. After we met and started dating, he decided to leave the casino lifestyle and move here.

We've been a few times in the 13 years since he left, but not very many. Neither of us is into gambling, especially him. He says he gave them enough money when he was working there. So, when we saw it was raining, I suggested going to the casinos instead of the football game. We knew we wouldn't have a night out for just the two of us for a while, so we skipped the game and went ahead.

The few times we've been, we've always set a limit on how much we would spend. We gave each other $60 and said when that was gone, we were leaving. I settled in at the slot machines, and Brian took off to the table games to see if he could find anyone he used to work with. The machine I sat down at allowed the player to decide on how much each bet was worth, a penny, nickel or a quarter. I put $20 in the machine, started out with a nickel and kept winning.

I was in complete shock. Brian wandered back over to me and was shocked. My $20 had turned into more than $400. I had decided to stop after a few more games, and the next thing I knew, I won a bonus, which gave me 50 free games that doubled anything I won. By the time I had finished, I had won over $1,500. I nearly fell off my stool.

I played for a little while longer, lost back down to $1,200 and decided to quit. I couldn't risk losing that much money, not when I'm going to school full-time and have a baby on the way. It's going in our savings account for Christmas and for the time Brian is taking off when Ella is born.

Brian was very proud of me for quitting while I was ahead. He said he had seen people gamble away their paychecks, life savings, kid's college funds and more. He had even seen someone win over a million dollars, only to lose it back to the casino before the night was over. Gambling can be just as much of an addiction as alcohol, drugs or sex, and I am so glad I don't have that addiction and don't have any risk factors for it.

We spent the rest of the weekend at his reunion, which was a lot of fun, if a bit uncomfortable for me at this point in my pregnancy. The main event was held just off Beale Street at a place called the Center for Southern Folklore, and I truly enjoyed meeting the people Brian went to high school with. I also enjoyed seeing the Southern décor and folk art at the center. I also liked watching all the people, because a few of them had a little too much to drink. I'm not a drinker either, even when I'm not pregnant, so I often wind up watching others as they imbibe.

I got to see line dancing and break dancing and some cha-chas. I got to see Brian catch up with old friends and even some enemies, and it made me look forward to my next reunion. I skipped the 10-year, but I won't do that again.

This trip made me see that even if you don't want to do something, sometimes you should, because it could all turn out very differently. I'm glad we went.

-- Tamara Belinc is a freelance writer for the Times-Gazette.