She turned north finally on U.S. 165, and then they knew it wouldn't be long. "How do you feel today, Burnie?" Jean asked. "You feeling good?" And Burnie said, yeah, he was going to win. "You've got to think positive.''
Some days, Jean explained, Burnie feels good, "and then he loses his butt." This rarely happens to her, she said, and every now and then, Burnie gets lucky, too. It was only May that a slot machine coughed $20,000 into his hands.
By now, they were deep in the country outside of Kinder, and then the pine trees suddenly gave way to a clearing and to the great metal dome that is the Grand Casino Coushatta. The casino has been open seven days a week, 24 hours a day since January, and at 2:30 on a Thursday afternoon, the parking lot was nearly full. The valet opened the car door, and Jean stepped out and told him she was good, thank you, and that she had come to take the money home.
Through the door in their Vegas gambling clothes, they walked like king and queen into the castle. The room stretched on for acres, hundreds of people staring at machines and clustering around tables, chasing the sound of falling money. Jean counted $500 into Burnie's palm, kept $500 for herself, and in different directions, they set off to find their latest fortune.
"A lot of people go home crying their eyeballs out, but you shouldn't be gambling the light bill," she said. "You should never bring more than you can afford to lose."
She sat down at a favorite slot machine and began pumping it three dollars at a time. She won $10 in her first spin. Ten minutes later, she had lost $100. It takes money to make money, so Jean kept on going.
"This machine is completely off," she concluded, $100 later. She got up to find another, and she hadn't been seated long before a lady beside her began convulsing with joy. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh,'' the woman squealed. She had won $1,200 and was holding her cheeks just like a player on The Price Is Right. Jean said she was glad and quietly resumed her losing streak.
To play the slot machines requires no skill or strategy, just a measure of luck. The Grahams play nothing else. Behind Jean, beside her, in every direction, people stared into the lighted machines. It was like they were watching television, some great drama unfold, but then when you looked over their shoulders, nothing was ever there. Jean eventually got up to go to the bank machine, and afterward sat right back down. Not far away, a red-eyed man with a huge cigar was feeding three machines $25 chips as fast as he could. Another man groused that he ought to own this place, as much as he's dropped here. Another said a slot machine is like a pretty lady: "She's always teasing you."
Around 5:30, Burnie showed up and confessed he was $200 in the hole and hungry. Jean got up reluctantly. As long as you're playing, you get free drinks at the casino, but eating interrupts the cash flow, and so you have to pay. The Grahams filled their plates from the big buffet. Jean guessed that Burnie would get the fish and hushpuppies, and she was right. With his mouth full, he asked if Jean was going to try to win the Dodge Viper. No, she said, a Jaguar is more her speed, and Burnie grinned and said that's a prestige car. Well, if that's what it is, she said, she doesn't need it. She's happy with who she is.
"Gambling is just fun," said Jean. "We played the slots before, and we haven't changed. We're normal people, don't you think?"
Out in the fray a few moments later, Burnie and Jean sat side by side. They held hands and fed the machines dollar after dollar, and the light from the spinning bar shone on their faces. A waitress told Burnie he looked mighty sharp in that vest he wore, and Burnie showed her his matching suspenders and laughed at the old rascal he'd become.
Around eight o'clock, Burnie finally broke even and would play no more. Jean couldn't leave this way. She filled her bucket with $5 tokens, and when it was empty ten minutes later, her wealth was diminished $400. It was time to go. Burnie was feeling good. They stepped into the quiet night, and he told his wife she should have quit while she was ahead.
"One of these days, I'm going to hit it big,'' he said. "I've got that feeling, Jean. Don't you think the law of averages will catch up with us?''
"Burnie," she said, "I think the law of averages has been here and gone.
