Luck of the Belgian

Simon is my neighbor. He's been living here for a little over a month now. He's a business student from Belgium, in Milwaukee for an internship. He doesn't know anyone else, so we hang out together often. Whenever I want to try something new like a restaurant or a section of town, I know that Simon will be willing to give it a shot and that he probably doesn't have other plans anyway.

The other night Simon went to the bar with me to check out their Trivia set-up. We spent some of the evening playing darts. I taught him to play Cricket. He beat me in all three games.

I've taught him to play Cribbage, a great game for two players. Simon must have had a fantastic teacher because he hasn't lost yet.

Tonight we went for dinner at a BBQ - the Q BBQ. It was delicious. Afterwards, I asked Simon if we could check out the Milwaukee casino, Potawatomi. I've always wanted to look around and become familar with it. I may want to bring visitors there sometime or it could be a good way to spend a Friday evening with friends. I want to know what to expect.

Simon and I walked around Potawatomi for a while, probably 15 minutes checking things out. Finally he said he wanted to try a slot machine - "just for $5" he said with a casual shrug of his shoulders. Sure, and I want to try some video poker too. I watched him play the slot for about 5 spins before he won $20. He automatically hit the "cash out" button and said he was done. I certainly did not have a compulsive gambler on my hands. We then went to the video poker machines. I explained some of the rules, but when my $5 was spent we left the machine. As we walked around a little more Simon decided he was going to sit down at another slot machine. "As long as I leave with $10," he said. We found a good machine, and good it was. Within 5 spins Simon had a row of "wilds." I thought he won another $20 but no, the credits kept climbing and Simon asked me, "What's going on? When's it going to stop?" A lady passing by stopped and told us he had won 1000 credits or $250. We were shocked but very happy. Simon cashed out and we walked away. I told him that I'm a paranoid person and I would rather not cash out right away. We walked around some more and Simon had cigarette. We got Simon's cash and got out of the casino before we could give it back.

I'm thinking about taking Simon to Vegas. Well, at least I'm going to make sure he's on my ultimate frisbee team.