The Downs at Lehigh Valley OTW | Premium Slots, Table Games & Dining Destination

I was just killing time on a Wednesday afternoon, figured I'd play a couple bucks before heading to work. Hit the prorgessive on my fourth spin and just... sat there. My hands were shaking so bad I could barely press the button to call the attendant. I kept thinking, 'This isn't real, this can't be real.' My wife cried when I told her—we've been saving for years to fix up the house, and now we actually can. I'm paying off some debt too, nothing crazy, just finally breathing a little easier.

Been playing blackjack for twenty years, never hit anything bigger than a couple grand. Got a hot table around midnight, cards were just falling my way. I was up about forty grand at one point, pulled back a little to be smart, and still ended up with eighty-nine. My buddy kept telling me to walk but I had a feeling, you know? I'm using half for my daughter's college fund and taking my wife somewhere nice. We deserve it.

I'd been playing cash games every weekend for years, never really tried tournaments. Drove up from Philly on a whim, registered the six-hour tourney, and honestly I was just hoping to cash. Final table came down to me and this older guy, we went back and forth for like forty minutes. When I hit my straight on the river, I knew it was over—I just got real quiet, shook his hand. Best part was calling my mom. She kept asking if I was joking and I had to send her the check photo.

My roommate dragged me there because she had a birthday coupon or something. I don't usually gamble, nervous about the whole thing honestly. We were at the roulette wheel and I just randomly put money on red thirty-seven because that's my nephews birthday. Wheel spins and... boom. I remember just laughing because it felt so surreal, like it was happening to someone else. I'm paying off my car early and opening that savings account I've been talking about forever.

Was there with my brother for his birthday weekend, neither of us expected much. We were just having fun, drinking beers, not taking anything seriously. I sat down at Buffalo Gold on a completely random machine and got the bonus feature twice in like fifteen minutes. My brother couldn't beleive what he was seeing on the screen. We celebrated that night pretty hard, and I've got enough to finally take that trip to Colorado I've been planning.

I work construction so I don't get many days off, but this Saturday I had nothing planned. Three Card Poker's always been my game—faster than blackjack, less thinking. Got lucky with a couple really good hands back to back and decided to quit while I was ahead. Still can't believe I walked away with that much. I'm fixing my truck and taking my kids on a nice vacation this summer, something we haven't done in years.