Cochise County Fair Racing | Live Racing, Gaming & Events in Arizona

I was just killing time between shifts at the warehouse, figured I'd play a couple dollars before heading home. My ex-wife always said I had no patience for gambling, so I wasn't expecting much. Then the machine lit up and I couldn't believe what I was seeing—kept looking at the screen thinking I was misreading it. My hands were shaking so bad I could barely hit the button to claim it. First thing I did was call my daughter and tell her about her college fund.

Been coming to the fair for twenty years, never won anything big. This particular night I was down about two hundred bucks and honestly just wanted to break even and go home. The delaer kept busting and I kept hitting eighteen, nineteen—couldn't do wrong that night. By the time I cashed out, I'd tripled my buy-in, and I actually felt dizzy walking to the cage. Used it to finally fix up the front porch I've been putting off for three years.

I'd been playing poker seriously for about five years, lost more than I'd like to admit, but my buddies always said I had the skills. Got lucky with the tournament draw and stayed focused through eight hours of play. Made it to heads-up and just stayed patient—folded bad hands, took down pots when I had the advantage. When I won that final hand, the whole table erupted and I remember thinking this was the moment that would change everything. I quit my job last month and started coaching poker, which is something I always wanted to do.

My husband had just passed away three months before and I was really struggling, you know? Friend convinced me to get out of the house for the evening, said it would do me good. I wasn't really paying attention to anything, just kind of numbly putting chips down on numbers that meant something to us. Hit on his birthday and I just lost it—sat there crying like an idiot while people congratulated me. Paid off his medical bills and took the trip to Italy we always talked about together.

My brother swears by that machine, says he's seen people hit big there before. I was skeptical but figured why not during the holidays when I had some extra cash. Sat down, wasn't really thinking about winning, just enjoying the sound and the lights. Then suddenly the whole machine was going crazy and I thought somthing was broken at first. Turns out I hit the progressive and had enough to finally buy my mom that new car she needed.

I'm not usually a table games person—slots are more my speed. But my coworker was playing Three Card Poker and kept waving me over, so I decided to join in for a few hands. Got a decent run of luck, hit a couple straights and flushes in the bonus hands. Before I knew it I was way ahead and decided to cash out before my luck changed. Paid off my truck and finally had breathing room in my budget for the first time in years.