I have times when I win at the casino and times when I lose. When I go I normally just stay for about an hour then catch the next bus home. Mostly I go to give me a reason to get dressed and get out of the house. I have friends that go there as well. It is our "social hour" in a way.
Today I met a friend on the bus and we walked into the casino together. Just inside the door we saw two of our friends standing not too far from us and they didn't look happy at all. When we got to where they were they started telling us about an event at the casino that nearly floored us both. I never thought it would really happen.
I have joked about not wanting to win a jack pot saying I would probably die of a heart attack if I did. As it turns out, that is what had happened to an older gentleman today not long before we arrived. He was playing a 50 cent meltdown machine and got three meltdowns. The machine started to spin again and hit three meltdowns a few more times. He had actually hit the maximum jack pot on the machine.
It seems the excitement proved to be too much for him because he fell to the floor and died there. Even though help got to him very quickly there wasn't anything they could do for him. Our friends also said they saw a woman they assumed was his wife with a look of total shock on her face. They said they were concerned for her because all the color had left her face and she was paper white. She left with two other relatives who were there as well.
I don't know why I stayed for the hour. When I walked by the spot where the man fell I was filled with sadness for his family. There was trace amount of a kitty litter type substance on the floor that they used to clean up the bodily fluids. I have been thinking about this all evening.
Who knew that a fun day out would end so tragically for them all?
It makes you think long and hard about a lot of things you take for granted. I don't know if I will be back at the casino any time soon. It just didn't feel right being there.
Monday, January 11, 2010
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Well I don't think slot machines are hazardous to your health. Maybe the man's time had just come, and that was it. I'm sorry you had to witness the aftermath though.
ReplyDeleteI have a similar type of reaction when I pass the scene of fatal car accidents. Someone riding a bicycle was hit and killed on a road that I use as part of my daily commute. For weeks I thought about that every time I drove that stretch of road. The driver of the car has never fessed up and never been found, and I still think about it often when I drive through there.
Really brings home the point that no one is promised tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteNo doubt this came as a shock to his family.
I have made a decision to live my life today. I am not going to "do it later" because later may never come.