Jingle of Coins by C D Ledbetter Page A

the row and grabbed a seat. Keeping an eye out for any security guards he knew, he ordered a cup of coffee and angled his body so that he could keep tabs on Emily without causing undue suspicion. She was close enough for him to tell how many coins she was playing, but with his cap over his face, she shouldn’t be able to recognize him—he hoped. If any of his buddies stopped to talk, he’d simply tell them he was collecting material for his training lectures on the playing habits of gamblers. That much, at least, was true. He was collecting material, but not in the usual sense.
    Unlike most slot players, Emily didn’t react visibly whenever her machine paid out varying amounts of coins. However, like many gamblers, she did press the 'collect' button before she’d spent all of the ten dollars she’d inserted into the paper money acceptor. Once the last of her remaining quarters bounced into the metal tray underneath, she scooped up a handful and dropped them into the coin feeder one by one, occasionally tilting her head from left to right. She repeated this action several times, then nodded, as if she’d seen or heard something she liked.
    Glen recognized the unusual movement. It was same one that caught his eye at the Indian Casino in California. Curious as to what she would do next, he remained where he was. A few moments later, she moved to the machine directly across from the one she’d been playing. Instead of putting her quarters in one by one, this time she inserted the maximum number each time she spun the reels.
    He sipped his coffee and chatted to the bartender while she racked up a series of small payoffs. Two security guards caught his attention as they wandered over to the end of her aisle and looked her way. Finishing his coffee, Glen set his empty cup on the counter and started toward Emily. As he passed her machine, he faked a stumble and dropped his keys. “Be careful, you’ve got an audience,” he whispered softly as he bent over.
    Emily looked startled, but he didn’t give her a chance to speak. The moment his fingers touched the key ring, he snatched it off the floor, then continued walking until he reached the blackjack area. The first table he came to was empty, so he struck up a conversation with the dealer while keeping his gaze pinned to Emily’s row.
    Instead of leaving, she jutted out her chin and fed enough quarters into the machine to play another round. The combination of reels netted a hundred quarters, and a loud tune blared as the machine counted out the addition to her cache. When the tune stopped, she glanced at her watch, and pressed the ‘collect’ button. Quarter after quarter spit out of the square metal chute underneath the machine and bounced into the tray.
    She made quick work of scooping the quarters out of the tray and dumped them into a plastic bucket. On her way to the pay out window, she passed the two guards, flashed them a giddy smile, and held up her winnings. They gave her a ‘thumbs up’ and pointed to a teller on their right before turning their attention elsewhere.
    Watching the drama unfold, Glen gave Emily full points for sheer nerve. She was certainly one of a kind! He watched her walk over to the cash window and slide her bucket over to the payout teller. The numbers on the digital coin counter kept rising as the woman poured the quarters into the metal bin, eventually stopping at a one hundred fifty-six dollars and seventy-five cents.
    Once she’d collected the money, Emily left the slot floor. However, instead of leaving, she sauntered through the hotel’s shopping area, then paused at the entrance to the Renaissance restaurant. Clever girl, he thought smugly, watching her tip the maître‘d. Not only was she celebrating her new job in style by eating at the casino’s most exclusive restaurant—she was making them pay for it! What a woman! There was no reason to shadow her any further. Unless he missed his guess, the smug grin on her face was