ESL Podcast 249 - At a Casino
slot machine - a machine where one puts in a coin and pushes a button to move the images (pictures) inside the machine, and if three images are the same, one receives a prize of a lot of coins
Grandma likes to play the five-cent slot machines because with just ten dollars, she can play all night.
jackpot - a large amount of money; the maximum amount of money that one can win when playing a game
The jackpot for this game is one million dollars!
to break even - to win the same amount of money that one has already lost
When I had lost $100, I started to get very nervous, but fortunately a few minutes later, I won $100 and broke even.
to rub off on (someone) - to be contagious; to move from one person to another
Basho is so smart! We should start spending more time with him, to see if some of his intelligence rubs off on us.
high roller - a person who bets a lot of money at a casino
High rollers sometimes bet thousands of dollars on a single game.
blackjack table - where people play a card game, trying to get cards that are close to but not more than 21 points
Pete lost $250 at the blackjack table last night. He isn't very good at card games.
roulette - a game where a small ball is dropped onto a moving round plate with numbers and people bet money on which number the ball will land on
Don't touch the roulette wheel while it's moving or you might change which number the ball lands on!
high-stakes - very risky, where a lot of money can be won or lost
In her job, Naomi is responsible for some very high-stakes deals that are worth millions of dollars.
to bet - to make a guess about how a game will end, so that if one is correct one receives more money, but if one is wrong one loses the money that one has bet
Luke bet $415 that the black horse would win the race, but when it fell and broke its leg, he lost all his money.
comps - "complimentary;" free gifts that casinos give to the players who are betting large amounts of money, such as free meals or a night stay at the hotel
When Yvonne started placing big bets in Las Vegas, the casinos gave her lots of comps, including a free room and free meals.
to gamble - to bet or risk money on a game or race
We spent the night gambling and stopped only when we lost all of our money.
to bankroll - to provide money usually for someone else to play casino games
Lisbet doesn't have enough money to go to casinos, but her uncle is bankrolling her to keep her busy.
to count cards - to remember which cards have already been seen in a game, so that one can make better bets
You'd better not get caught counting cards while you're playing with your friends. They won't be your friends for long!
to try my hand at - to try to do something for the first time, especially to play a game or to make something
Shelly's learning how to cook and today she has decided to try her hand at making lasagna.
to get kicked out of (somewhere) - to be told to leave a place
Last night, a group of men were kicked out of the bar because they were yelling and fighting with each other.
casino - a place where gambling games are played
In the United States, each state has a minimum age (usually 18 or 21) for people who can go into casinos.
tournament - a competition with many different games to see who is the best player or team
Are you going to watch the final game in this year's soccer tournament?
chips - small, round pieces of plastic that represent money and are used in casino games to make bets on a game
In most casino games, a white chip is worth $1, a red chip is worth $5, a blue chip is worth $10, a green chip is worth $25, and a black chip is worth $100.
dice - plastic cubes used to play games, and each of the six sides has 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 dots
When Rita rolled the dice, they fell off the table, so she had to roll again.