This story happened a long time ago…it is real and I love it!
It was my first trip to Las Vegas, some time around 1973. I stayed at the Las Vegas Hilton, which was the newest hotel in town at the time. The great comedian, Red Skelton, was headlining in the night club. If you’re too young, or do not know who Red Skelton was, I suggest you Google him or check him out on You Tube. He was really one of the greats.
One afternoon as I was walking about the casino, I spotted Red Skelton hiding in a corner, watching intently, someone playing a slot machine. In Red’s hand was his floppy hat (a prop he used in many of his comedy routines), filled with coins. I observed him watching this person for a rather long time and eventually the person left the slot machine, frustrated and disappointed for losing.
In a flash, Red Skelton ran to the slot machine and dumped all of his change into the cash bin. (Note: In those days the machines paid off in actual money, not a voucher as is done today. The money made a lot of noise as it spilled into the cash bin.) As he dumped the money in, he began to jump up and down, very excited, as if he had just won a big pot.
Hearing the ruckus, the poor fellow who just left the machine, turned to see what was going on and realizing that he left that machine just one “pull” too soon, stopped in his tracks, smacked in forehead and let out a big, “Oh no!”
With that Mr. Skelton scooped up the change back into his hat and ran to the fellow he had just duped. He explained what he had done and that, rather than gambling, this was how he spent his time in the casino. The two of them had a good laugh, shook hands and parted ways. Red Skelton headed back to his corner to find his next victim.
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