I attended a convention last week in Las Vegas, staying at the new Palazzo-Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas. Close to 11:00 PM on Tuesday May 13th, I was playing the $1 Wheel of Fortune slot machine, and I believe it was the Double 3x4x5x Times Pay. I was playing the maximum $2 bet per pull, trying to blow my last $30 before heading up to bed. On the 3rd pull, the machine came up with the symbols 3X, 2X, 5X. The machine showed that the payout was $2,000 for the 1st coin, but then was hard to deceipher what the payout would be for the maximum $2 bet. The light on top was lit and the LED display said "call attendant." When the attendant arrived I asked what the payout was and he said $2,000. When I asked why the payout wasn't progressive, he said that for my combination the payout was as indicated for the first coin, regardless of the number of coins played, and then he pointed to the LED display which said "2000 credits." After filling out the requisite IRS W-2G forms the casino counted out 20 $100 bills. Obviously I was thrilled and remain so, but it is still nagging at me why the payout wasn't higher. Perhaps someone might be able to explain why the payout is $2,000, regardless of the number of coins played. I'll rest better at night.

Lucky Jim.