Something seemed out of place, different, unusual. Although the atmosphere appeared the same as any other casino I was sure there was something unfamiliar about the room. There were slot machines and card dealers. Patrons perched contentedly in their seats as many held a drink or cigarette in one hand and played their chosen game with the other. A cashier's cage stood in the corner and looking around a waitress interrupted my view as she passed by toting her tray of beverages. It was my first time in an Indian casino. I had heard the experience would be as any other casino visit, but as I stood there I wondered why I was positive that something was not the same. Off in the distance I saw a restaurant and to my left a slot machine attendant was opening a machine. Smoke filled the air and I found reprieve in the no-smoking section, a room isolated from the main casino floor. Within moments a waitress asking if I would like a beverage greeted me. My naivete showed as I asked for a vodka tonic and was informed that there was no alcohol served. "Oh," I thought, "so there was a difference-but surely not the difference I was able to sense when I first arrived." I opted for cola and turned my attention back to my game. After three of my crisp five-dollar-bills were spent, I decided to move to another machine. Looking around for the usual coin cups available near all slots I was disappointed not to find any. With a mental shrug, I decided I would worry about the spill tray filling up after my big win and I began feeding my newest choice of hungry machine.
Soon I had won a $250 jackpot and decided it was time to visit the cashier's cage in the main casino. I pushed the 'cash out' button and heard the slot machine make an odd typewriter or printer sound. For a moment I thought the machine was malfunctioning and then a piece of paper quietly floated down into the spill tray. Paper? Not one cha-ching, no clank of metal on metal, no need to worry about coins spilling onto the floor - indeed there was no sound of coins hitting the coin tray filling the air. Thinking back over the short time I had been in the casino I realized what was out of place, the background noise of slot machine coins, was nowhere to be found.
I knew something was different.
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