Fish Stories

Normally, I wouldn't recommend gambling as a cost conscious way to spend the day . . . but my response to "Problem Gambling" has always been "it is only a problem when I am losing" . . . and last night I had a blast winning and playing "the fishing game."

Officially, this penny slot is called "Reel 'Em In! Compete to Win!" and it is made by WMS (a.k.a. Williams by casino floor folk) my favorite slot manufacturer.

It's Community Style Gaming bonus round (when it randomly hits everyone playing the extra amount for inclusion participates together) is based on a tried and true WMS slot "Reel 'Em In!" A group of fishermen (and one lady in a hot pink bassboat) compete in fishing contests and boat races. You can choose your character, and switch your character whenever you like -- if your character wins then you get more money and braggin' rights.

The base slot game is either "Hog Wild" or "Pegasus II" and I like the Pegasus game better (it has a bonus round, and a good 5 line pay that can multiply), but the real fun begins when the fishing bonus kicks in.

Last night I was playing for a bit and doing alright, when a young man in a wife beater sat down next to me. The wife beater alone gave this guy a certain air, he looked like he had a pretty good sense of humor and would be alright to play with.

He had never played this new game before, but certainly seemed to know his way around a slot machine. I mentioned he could change his character, and he chose the thin, African American fisherman, naming him "Willis." That really cracked me up, and for the rest of the session "Willis" it was.

I was partial to the big, beer belly redneck (of course) who I called "Bubba." I was partial, but I wasn't loyal, I also tried the skinny white guy with the Minnesota accent (someone from the land of a thousand lakes must be a pretty good fisherman), but I never came up with a name for him. I also picked the cute Southern Belle with the pony tail and pink boat, dubbing her "Deb" after my friend in Nashville, TN who always dated guys with fancy Bass Boats.

I won a couple, and even received a congratulatory sock in the arm from my buddy after my best fish took first prize and I landed on the leader board.

We decided that Willis hadn't won for a while and we both went back to him as our angler. A bonus round soon hit and we were off to the boat races. In this game the characters snag a fish off screen and instead of reeling them in, sort of the opposite occurs as the fish pulls them to the finish line. Willis started out alright, but then started moving backward until he was almost at the starting line when Minnesota guy, Bubba, and Deb were barrelling toward the finish. All of a sudden Willis zoomed all the way across the screen to win the race!!! Me, my buddy, and the woman down the way who had stayed with Willis the whole time were cheering wildly. It happened so fast, we didn't exactly know what had happened but I won $80, my buddy won $160, and the woman won a whopping $600 !! My multiply was 1x on a 40 cent bet, wife beater's was a 2x and the other Willis fan was betting the max ($4.00 or 10x) or close to it.

It was whoopin' and hollerin' and high fives all around.

I played a while longer and decided to leave ahead for a change. As I was getting up, a guy sat down next to us and said "So, you been fishin'?" My buddy said "Oh yeah, we got fish stories!"

Fish stories, indeed.