For many years, we enjoyed going to Las Vegas and Reno a couple of times a year.

When the Trump Casino, and the Majestic Star Casino, opened in Gary, Indiana, we were curious to check them out. Initially they used to sail, on Lake Michigan, pretty regularly. The two casinos shared a boarding area, and the entrances to the boats were across the hall from each other. Whether the boats were sailing, or not, the boarding times were restricted...one boat was open for boarding during even hours; the other could be boarded on odd hours. Each boat could only be boarded during a 30-minute window, though you could exit any time that the boat was docked. We didn't go on the boats when they were sailing...but we occasionally gambled on them when they were docked.

Anyway...eventually the state of Indiana dropped the sailing requirements, in return for receiving a larger share of the revenue. Once they didn't have to sail, the customers could board at any time. We started going more often. We'd always played with our slot cards, which would earn free dinners and free rooms for us. It became a fun weekend getaway!

One day, on the Trump, I put my slot card into a 100-play video poker machine (hubby and I both played on the same card, on my husband's account). I noticed that a button started blinking next to the card slot. I pushed the button. It asked for my code, so I punched it in. A message came across the readout...something like this "Your cash back value is $687.45...your cash back value is $687.45..." Huh? I wasn't sure what to think about that!?

I called my husband over. I told him that I wanted to show him something "not that I think they're about to pay us $687.45, but what do you think this means?" I showed him the readout. He was as puzzled as I was. He went to the slot booth and told them that he wanted to redeem his cash back. The clerk swiped his card, looked up at him, went over to a telephone and made a call. She came back, printed out a voucher, handed it to him and told him to take it to the cashier cage. He accepted the voucher and left the booth. We studied it, on our way to the cashier cage...still not sure exactly what was about to happen.

We got to the cashier cage and he presented the voucher to the cashier. She asked how he wanted it and he responded "hundreds, please". The cashier counted out $687.45!!

That's when we figured out that maybe we should read some of the stuff that the casinos sent us in the mail...and when we learned that "cash back" meant they were giving us actual CASH back!! lol!

(The Majestic Star is on the right; you can see the covered walkway between the Trump and the Majestic Star, and you can just see the top of the Trump behind the walkway)