Cedar Lakes Casino & Hotel | 800+ Slots, Tables & Award-Winning Dining

I was just killing time on a Thursday afternoon, feeding twenty bucks into this machine I'd never tried before. My daughter had been after me to take a day off work, so there I was. When that third cherry lined up, I honestly thought it was just another small win until the machine started going crazy. I sat there for like two minutes before I could even move. My hands were shaking so bad I could barely hit the button to call the attendant. I told my wife we're finally taking that trip to see her sister in Colorado—we've been talking about it for five years.

I was having one of those nights where nothing goes right at work, and I needed to clear my head. Figured I'd play a few hands of blackjack for maybe an hour. Got myeslf some decent luck early on, won three hands in a row, and decided to press my bets a little. The dealer kept busting while I kept hitting 19s and 20s—felt like the cards were just flowing my way. When I cashed out, I actualy didn't believe the pit boss at first. I've already paid off half my truck with it, and the rest is going into my kids' college fund.

I've been playing poker seriously for about eight years, mostly online, but I decided to enter the Cedar Lakes tournament on a whim. Made it to the final table and felt this weird calm the whole time—like everything just clicked. I remember this one hand against the chip leader where I went all in with ace-king, and he had queen-jack. The river gave me the ace and I just exhaled. Won the tournament three hours later and honestly, it hasn't sunk in yet. I'm taking a sabbatical from work and heading to Vegas next month to play in some bigger games.

My mom had just passed two weeks before, and I wasn't handling it well. A friend dragged me to the casino to get me out of the house, and we were just messing around at the roulette table. I was barely paying attention, honestly thinking about how I'd pay for her funeral when I looked up and my number came in. I hit red 23 and just froze. My friend started screaming and suddenly I was crying and laughing at the same time. It felt like Mom was looking out for me when I needed it most. I'm using most of it to set up a small scholarship in her name.

I'd been coming to Cedar Lakes every couple months for about three years, usually playing Buffalo Gold because I liked the bonus rounds. This particular visit, I'd set a strict budget of a hundred bucks and was down to my last few spins when the free games hit. The bonus round went wild—buffalo symbols everywhere—and I could hear my heart pounding in my ears. When it was all over, I just stared at the screen and called my wife from the casino floor. We're putting a new roof on the house and finally getting our kitchen redone like we've been planning.

My buddy invited me to a guys' weekend and Three Card Poker was the only game I kind of understood. I wasn't really confident, just playing with five-dollar bets, trying not to lose too much. Then I caught a straight flush and my hands actually trembled when I put the chips down. Next hand I hit a pair plus and just ran the table for about twenty minutes. By the time I cashed out I was up more than I expected and seriously grinning. I'm using it to finally upgrade my work truck—been driving a clunker for way too long.