Choctaw Casino McAlester | 500+ Slots, Table Games & Award-Winning Dining

I'd been coming to Choctaw McAlester for about three years, usually just playing $20 or $30 a visit on my lunch breaks. That Frdiay morning I had maybe two hours before I needed to get back to work at the factory. Hit the progressive slot machine around 10:45 and honestly the first thing I did was just stare at the screen—didn't even believe it at first. My hands were shaking so bad I had to sit down. I called my wife right there from the casino floor and she thought I was joking with her. We've been talking about fixing the roof on the house for two years now, so that's the first thing we're doing with some of it.

My buddy invited me down to McAlester for his birthday weekend and I'm not really a big gambler—maybe hit a casino once a year. We were sitting at the blackjack table, I'd lost about $200 already and was thinking about calling it quits. Then I went on this crazy run, got six wins in a row, and somehow ended up beating the dealer on a hand that should've busted me. The pit boss came over to shake my hand after the big payout. I kept saying 'this is unreal' over and over. Taking my wife on that trip to Colorado we've talked about forever, and putting the rest toward my truck payment.

I've been playing in the Tuesday night tourneys at Choctaw for like five years, never cashed out more than $1,200 before. Drove down that weekend knowing I had a decent shot since I'd been studying the game pretty seriously. Got down to the final table and my heart was pounding so hard I thought people could hear it. Made some aggressive moves at the right time and ended up heads up with a guy from Tulsa—felt like that hand lasted twenty minutes even though it was probably two. When I won, I just sat there for a second, then shook his hand. I'm reinvesting some into my plumbing business, but honestly most of it's going into my daughters' college fund.

I'd been having the worst month—got laid off in January and wasn't feeling great about myself. My sister suggested we go to the casino just to get out of the house and have some fun together. We started playing roulette kind of casually, not betting huge amounts, and I hit on a number I'd been thinking about all day. When that ball landed, I just looked at my sister and we both started crying a little bit. It sounds stupid but I really needed that win right then. It's giving me a cushion while I look for a new job, taking some pressure off.

I'm retired and spend maybe two days a week at the casino just for something to do—keeps me out of the house. Hit the Buffalo Gold machine right around dinner time, and when those bonus rounds started stacking up I could feel something diffrent was happening. Got to talk to a couple other players around me while I was waiting for the final payout, which made it even more fun to celebrate with. My grandkids have been wanting new bikes and their birthday is coming up, so that's where a good chunk is going. The rest is just nice to have for unexpected expenses.

I usually play blackjack when I come to McAlester, but I was waiting for a seat to open up so I tried Three Card Poker while I had some time. Figured I'd play a few hands to pass the time and stay warm inside. Got a really strong hand—straight flush, I think—and made a good raise that ended up paying off huge. Wasn't expecting to win anything serious that day, so it was a really nice suprise. My truck needed some work done and I've been putting it off, so at least that's taken care of now.