Page 12 - Jackpot Magazine Tunica ~ August, 2026

PLAY TO WIN
Play To Win Again
Not all losing sessions end that way
“Every setback is a setup for a
of my winning. I
comeback.”
couldn’t hit anything
~ Les Brown, motivational speaker
but even-money hits.
I changed machines
The Best of… Series
Every casino visitor knows one of
the worst ways to begin a casino visit is
by losing right away. Sliding that first
$20, or maybe even a $100 bill, into
the bill reader should be a moment of
excitement, filled with anticipation of a
winning spin, a great hand or, if luck is
really on your side, a jackpot.
But then nothing. A losing spin.
A nothing hand. No jackpot. And
one losing spin follows another and
another. Losing quickly is draining, both
emotionally and financially. Gaming
expert Frank Scoblete, author of many
best-selling books on gambling, including
I am a Dice Controller!, Confessions of a
Wayward Catholic! and I
am a Card Counter!, wrote
about the experience in a
Jackpot! column, sharing
that the more a player visits
a casino, the better the
chances are that the player
will inevitably experience
a rotten opening to their trip. If you
haven’t had it yet, he said, that trip is
waiting for you.
We’ve all had those times, but
there is nothing sweeter than making a
comeback. Scoblete shared with us the
story of two of his friends who started
their trip off drearily but then were
able to turn things around and make a
comeback, again, both emotionally and
financially.
for the next two hours
— and nothing. I had lost half the
money I had brought with me to play.
I mean, I was so down in the dumps I’ll
tell you that.
That night we saw enjoyable
entertainment but I decided to just go to
my room and sleep. Maybe the next day
would be different. I still had half the
money I brought and was hopeful things
would turn around. I still had a little
hope; well, very little, but I slept well and
the next morning after breakfast I gave it
another shot.
Within a few spins I hit a nice-sized
jackpot. I wasn’t back, obviously, but I
now felt a little better. In
about a half hour I had
made back everything I
lost. I was hitting decent
wins and when that
happens at slots you have
a good chance of making
a comeback. I made my
comeback. I doubled the amount of the
money I had originally brought to the
casino, and you know what? I stopped
playing after a couple of hours and
decided to take my win home.
The worst trip turned out to be a
great trip. I wouldn’t want to go through
that first day again but the second day
was one of the best I ever had in a casino.
MACY: It was an overnight trip to
my favorite casino. I got to the casino in
the morning with my husband. He likes
movies.
At lunch my
husband was bragging
about how well he
did at blackjack. That
didn’t make me feel too good because
when I told him that I got hammered,
he laughed. “Some of us know how to
play,” he joked. I could have hit him
over the head with a plate.
But that afternoon, while you would
think it would be different, it was the
same, although not quite as bad. I just
kept going lower and lower and I was
really down. I mean, I know the casino
has the edge at the machines but really
could I win just a little now and then?
My husband broke even that
afternoon so he wasn’t as obnoxious at
dinner about his exploits. We ate at the
buffet and I must confess I handled my
sorrow by eating like a madwoman. My
husband made a comment that I might
explode if I kept refilling my plate.
Again, I thought to myself that maybe
I should hit him over the head with my
plate. I didn’t.
That night was magic. I didn’t win
any big jackpots but I kept winning
consistently. In two hours, I was now
ahead and I played another hour and
made some decent money. Considering
how the day went I was so, so very
happy.
The really good news was that my
husband had a rotten night at the
blackjack table. I laughed and told him
he had to learn how to play! I’ll bet he
wanted to hit me over the head with a
plate then.
NATALIE: I signed up for a two-day
casino trip with my women’s club. It was
to be two days of play, fun shows, and
great dinners. I was so looking forward
to it. I mean I actually had dreams about
going and in those dreams I won money.
I went to my first machine and the
roof caved in, not literally but in terms
blackjack and I like the slots because
they relax me. I was holding my own for
about 45 minutes but I slowly started to
go down, then down further and then
it became a blur of losing. I wandered
around from machine to machine but I
couldn’t get anything started. Seriously,
I felt like those zombies in those horror
What turned it around for these two?
What made those first disappointing,
losing sessions disappear and be replaced
with bigger, winning sessions? When it
comes to playing the slots, no one can
say for sure. But no doubt, Lady Luck
played a hand in the comebacks.
12 JACKPOT! MAGAZINE • August 2026 THE SOUTH’S LARGEST GUIDE TO GAMING & FUN • www.jackpotmagazine.com