The first time I went to a Casino was when my Aunt dragged me to the Tropicana in Atlantic City, New Year's Eve 1987. I had no interest in gambling, but got $20 in quarters just for something to do. $14 later, the slot machine I was playing lit up - I had hit the jackpot, yay! Because I was only playing one quarter at a time, I only won $125. If I had been throwing my money away at the rate of five quarters per throw, it would have been $12,500. I was quite happy to walk away with $111.
I've been back there many times over the years, only because my in-laws live in Atlantic City, so we often ate (free on their points) at the Tropicana restaurants. It still blows my mind to see people huddled over machines, pouring money into them.
We were walking past a roped-off slot machine area one day when a woman hit the jackpot on the dollar slot machine. I forget how much she won, but the guy guarding the entrance told me she'd been there for hours, playing five dollars at a time. I'm sure nobody heard about that part later on, just the winnings.