It was New Year’s Eve, and I got stuck at work late. Yeah, it bites, but don’t tell my bosses that. When I finally got out at 6:30 p.m., I didn’t want to go home to watch garbage on TV. I didn’t feel like going to the party I was invited to. So of course, I hit Atlantic City.

   I went to Bally’s with a bonus cash coupon. If my money and my energy lasted, I would stay for a “hot seat” promotion in the high-limit room that started at 1 a.m. Well, my money didn’t last long at all, so I headed out the door just before midnight.

   Just a few steps from the entrance to the Claridge parking garage, I saw a penny slot machine all lit up and blinking. I took a look, and saw there were about $9.50 in credits left on it. Someone had forgotten them, and I sat down to play them off a little. I looked up again, and saw it was really about $95 left. That’s a pretty nice chunk of change.

   So what do I do? The perfectly ethical thing would have been to call over an attendant and point it out. Somehow, that didn’t feel right. On the other extreme, I could have cashed out the money, cashed in the ticket and beat it, $95 richer. I think most people would have done that, including many of the homeless who wander the casinos looking for abandoned credits to live on. I chose a third option, to play it for a little while and see if the original player returned. If no one came back 10 or 15 minutes, I would cash out the rest and leave.

   Well, about 5 minutes later, a frantic older woman came back, saying she had been playing the game and had left $95 on it. I told her I sat down to play and then noticed there was quite a bit of money on it. I had played off about $1.50 to $2 of it, and cashed out the ticket and handed it to her. She was quite happy to get the vast majority of the money back.

   Some people will say I was a fool to not just take the money and run. Others will say I was selfish to even think about taking the money, and should have called an employee to watch it. But I was happy with my choice. The woman seemed to need that money more than I did, and I left feeling on a good note.

   I got into my car and turned on the engine, and the radio was playing the last 5 seconds of the countdown for the New Year.

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