NATIONAL LUCKY PENNY DAY—MAY 23, 2023

Nothing Wrong With Believing In A Little Thing Called Luck!

Find a penny, pick it up, and all day long you’ll have good luck! It’s true! I am one of those steadfast believers in fate, fortune, kismet, luck, timing, chance, superstition, destiny call it what you may. I will always pick up a coin (the higher the denomination, the luckier I will be that day) but only if it’s heads up (of course), because tails up is bad luck. I’ll even flip the tails up coin over before I pick it up. My friend, on the other hand, doesn’t believe you need to flip the coin as long as you say, “Penny, penny, bring me luck, ’cause I’m the one who’ll pick you up!”

I’m not embarrassed to proclaim there hasn’t been a shooting star, birthday candle, wishbone, crescent moon or eyelash I haven’t made a wish on, a rabbit’s foot I haven’t rubbed, and a ladybug, pure white cat, or ladybird I haven’t gotten excited about.

In fact, when it comes to the casino, I am as superstitious as they come. Wearing green is my luckiest color and I’d rather go during a new moon than a full one. And, the superstition a large amount of people might find to be the most disturbing, I actually believe the number 13 is lucky (even better if it’s Friday the 13th). I also feel that luck comes in threes. So, if I am lucky during my casino visit, then I will be lucky during my next two casino visits.

There are many casino visitors that feel the same way I do. Whether it’s bringing lucky charms and gadgets with them or it’s performing lucky rituals. I see it all the time. So, if you have ever openly or secretly said or done something to attract good fortune before or during your trip to the casino, such as wearing a lucky piece of jewelry or item of clothing, rest assured, you are not alone.

Walk through any Bingo Hall and you’ll know what I’m talking about. You’ll see a larger assortment of colors on the heads of the Trolls sitting on the tables than you will in an art supply store.

I’ve even known people whose spouses are their good luck charms at the casino, and every time they win something they will give each other a quick peck for continued luck. On the flip side, I was sitting next to a lady one day who, rather frustratingly, informed me her husband was bad luck. He had just came and sat down next to her for a while before leaving again when she turned to me and said, “My luck always turns for the worse when he sits down next to me!” Poor guy, I wonder if he knew his wife felt he brought her bad luck!

Okay, there is no proof that lucky charms or rituals can bring you luck at the casino (or that husbands can bring you bad luck). However, I will tell you that feeling lucky makes people feel happy. And, I know that the people who feel happy are usually the ones who are having the most fun and enjoying themselves.

So, next time you see that penny on the ground, go ahead and pick it up and don’t forget to bring it with you on your next casino trip. Especially keep an eye out for those super lucky pennies on National Lucky Penny Day on May 23! Whether it’s carrying found lucky money, bringing another lucky charm with you on your next visit to the casino, or if rubbing the screen before you hit the spin button makes you feel good, then go ahead and do it! The truth is that lucky people (in work, at the casino, in life in general) aren’t lucky by sheer accident. They’re lucky because of the mindset they bring to life. They know that bad luck is inevitable but good luck is something each one of us creates through optimism.

Many of us may not have been tremendous admirers of Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire (even when Marlon Brando played the lead role), but he sure was right on the money when he said, “You know what luck is? Luck is believing you’re lucky, that’s all...To hold a front position in this rat race, you’ve got to believe you’re lucky.” $