Player to Player Reactions

29 October 2023

By John Grochowski

A few months ago, I relayed stories from several readers who had odd interactions with other players.

Most conversations among players are run of the mill. Maybe you congratulate the slot player next to you on a jackpot. At table games, you might talk between hands about where you're from and where you've been.

But the stories I shared here inspired others to email me with their tales from the odd side.

KELLY: Three girlfriends and I were making a day of it, out for slots, lunch, and more slots.

We're pretty loose about it. Sometimes we play together, sometimes we find our own games and eventually make our way back to each other.

In one of those times, I was by myself in the middle of a row of three machines. I was doing OK, nothing spectacular. It was one of those Sky Wheel bonus games, and I went to the wheel a couple of times but just won small credit awards and low multipliers.

A man and a woman came over and asked if I'd move to one end so they could sit together. I had no objection. It's not like I was on a roll. So, I moved to the right. the man took the left and the woman took my place in the middle.

I got the Sky Wheel twice real fast after that, and each time the man said, "I told you we should have had her move left." Then he got a bonus, but the woman in my spot wasn't winning anything. She started complaining that maybe they shouldn't have asked me to move at all.

Maybe bickering was just their thing, but it was getting annoying, especially with the head nods toward me with every comment. All I was doing was breaking even, so I left to find my friends and we laughed about it.

HERB: I like to cheer on the players around me. I'll congratulate them on jackpots or say, "Come on, bonus," when they have two symbols up and the last reel is spinning for the third.

Sometimes others join in and we have a good time together. One day, three of us were all cheering for each other and had enough camaraderie we decided to take a lunch break together.

Once in a while, it backfires. I did the "Come on, bonus" bit with one guy and when he didn't get it, he moaned, "The machines are so tight here, I don't know why I come."

I changed approach and stuck to my own machine, but when he got a bonus, I let slip a, "Hooray!" He didn't want to hear it. "Look, you play your game, I'll play mine, OK?"

Sucked the air out of the atmosphere for me. I changed games in search of friendlier neighbors.

LISA: I had an unexpected argument over a seat at a video poker game. This casino had quarter 9-5 Double Double Bonus Poker with a progressive jackpot. I hit the progressive for $1,800 early, then later on I got the four Aces with a 4.

This woman comes up and says, "Thanks for warming my seat." I played another hand, but she said, "It's time to move. I always play this machine."

I told her there were lots of seats around and I wasn't moving. She swore at me, called me the "b" word and said she was going to have me thrown out. She stormed off to yell at staff. A slot supervisor came over and asked what the problem was. I explained, and she left. I didn't hear any more about it.