The casino was very popular and a lot of top players would play there when they were visiting the LA area. This caused a problem - lines for games, especially Poker, would get too long and players would get impatient.

The owner of the casino, a man I've never met, came up with a brilliant idea: install several pinball machines to keep the waiting list happy.

Among the machines involved was Bally's Addams Family Pinball, the top-selling pinball machine of all time. At first only one machine was installed, but it proved to be so popular that 2 more were installed, and then another 2. Soon, a whole bank of Addams Family Pinball machines was installed on the floor, at the expense of a couple of poker tables.

At the time, I was playing mid-stakes lowball, usually limit Razz or no-limit deuce-seven triple draw. The limit stakes ranged for $30-$60 to $100-$200 blinds for me, as I worked up my bankroll from playing just $2-$4 and $3-$6 limits. The Addams Family game, however, piqued my interest, and I played the game frequently as a break or while on the waiting list.

I became quite good and had challenged several of the top spots on the machine. At the same time (and unbeknownst to me), several players were making prop bets at the machine. A prop bet is short for proposition bet and is just what it sounds - two players agree on a something to wager, agree on a pay structure, and then play to determine the winner. A typical conversation might go like so:

"Hey Johnny, I'll bet you that I can break 100,000,000 points this game. What do you say we put $1,000 on it?"

"No way. You're too good. Give me 2-to-1."