Nittany Mall Casino | 500+ Slots, Table Games & Dining – Penn State Area Gaming

I'd been coming to Nittany Mall Casino for about three years, just playing $20 here and there on my lunch breaks. That Friady I decided to try the progressive slots instead of my usual machine. I hit three wild symbols and watched the number climb—I couldn't believe it was actually happening. My hands were shaking so bad I could barely press the button to call the attendant. I kept saying 'this isn't real, this isn't real' and honestly the first thing I thought about was finally fixing my roof that's been leaking since last winter.

I was having a rough month—work had been stressful and I needed to decompress, so I went to the casino on a Saturday afternoon. I sat down at blackjack with $200 just wanting to relax for a couple hours. The dealer kept busting and I got into this grove where every hand felt right. By the end I looked down at my chips and realized what was happening. My buddy who was watching called my wife right away because I was to shocked to even use my phone. We're using some for our kids collage fund and taking a real vacation this summer.

I've been playing in the monthly tournaments at Nittany for almost a year, mostly finishing in the middle of the pack. This time felt different from the moment I sat down—I was reading the table well and my cards were coming. When we got down to the final table, I stayed patient and picked my spots carefully. The last hand I went all in with pocket kings and beat someone's ace-queen. I won't lie, I cried in the parking lot because this was something I'd dreamed about since I started playing seriously. I'm paying off my student loans and my kids are getting their college savings funded.

My sister convinced me to go with her on a Thursday night—I'm not really a gambler but I figured why not. We were just having fun, putting down small bets and laughing about it. I picked 17 because that's my son's jersey number and decided to put $50 on it. When that ball landed on my number I literally jumped out of my seat and screamed. The people at the table were cheering with me like we'd won together. My son doesn't know yet but he's going to freak out when we surprise him with a new laptop for school like he's been asking for.

I stopped by Nittany Mall after picking up some groceries, told myself I'd play for exactly 30 minutes before heading home. Buffalo Gold has always been lucky for me so I sat down with a hundred bucks. I wasn't really thinking about anything except enjoying the game when suddenly the machine started lighting up and making noise. A jackpot alert came on the screen and I thought there was some kind of mistake at first. Turns out it wasn't—I'm finally debt free and my wife and I are booking that trip to visit her parents in Florida we've been talking about for years.

I'd never played three card poker before but my coworker said it was easier to learn than I thought. I spent twenty minutes watching another player, then decided to sit down and try it. I got lucky right away with some good hands and my confidence grew. Within an hour I was up way more than I expected and decided to cash out before I lost it all. I felt smart for knowing when to quit, which honestly isn't usually my strong suit with gambling.