Matt from the Upper East Side Says...

Headed down to Atlantic City with my friend Dave W. on 7-7-07, hoping for a little luck (as well as a little beach time in the 85 degree heat). Had no luck with the traffic, getting stuck in 4 hours of stop-and-go on the way down there, but we finally rolled into town at about 2pm, leaving a few hours of beach time ahead of us. We had booked a room at the Holiday Inn on the Boardwalk. Great location, but the place was a dump, and horribly overpriced. On 24 hours notice, it was the best we could do.

However, once we settled in and made our way to the beach, things were definitely looking up. AC has done much to improve its beach in the past several years, and we spent the afternoon swimming, tanning, and listening to the bands at the beach bar they've set up near the boardwalk.

We finally returned to the hotel, showered and changed, and the evening began. The atmosphere in AC was lively, with lots of 7-7-07 promotions and general good cheer. Dave and I started by playing craps at the Tropicana, and after an hour, I was up $250 and he was up $150. Nice! A good start.

We then cabbed our way to the Borgata, where we had made dinner reservations at Seablue. We had a little time to kill before the reservation, so Dave and I took a little stroll around the casino. We passed a bank of slot machines called "Blazing Sevens." Now, I never play slots. Never. I find them boring, and they just suck your money. I'm much more into table games. However....

I couldn't resist. "Blazing Sevens" on 7-7-7? I had to do one spin. So I did: One spin, on a lark, for the humor value if nothing else. One $3 spin, just to say that I had done it.

And the wheels spun. The first wheel... 7. The second wheel... 7. The third wheel... which seemed to turn in slow motion........

7!!!

Time seemed to stand still for a moment. The machine started ringing and whooping, and I stared at it dumbfounded. Yes indeed, with one spin only, I had hit 7-7-7 on "Blazing Sevens" on 7-7-07. Incredible.

Ok, ok, before anyone gets too excited, the jackpot wasn't anything earth-shattering. The payout was $300, which is terrific but I'm not quitting my day job. Still, I had been kissed by Lady Luck, and I was swooning.

Afterward, I floated with Dave toward dinner, and we did dine well, oh yes. Rounded out the evening with some light $1-$2 poker (which gained me another whopping $8) and a few stupid hands at blackjack (lost $50) before calling it a night. We headed back to NYC the next morning, me with a $500 profit in my pocket, and more importantly, a great 7-7-7 story. Dave also posted a $100 gain. Definitely, a good time had by all.

Matt (a/k/a "Lucky Sevens")