Donna and I were on a 3 week honeymoon jaunt – driving around Spain and Portugal. Staying in paradors. Eating chocolate and churros. And following famed matador Diego Puerta at Sunday corridas around Spain.

Upon arrival at our hotel in Lisbon, we learned there was a casino – Estoril – outside of town. They offered meals and a theater production that sounded interesting. Soooooo. . . . we hailed a taxi and headed off west from Lisbon along the coast. It was a 45 minute ride. We went in the magnificent entrance and soon learned that you had to walk through the casino to get to the restaurant and theater. Having enjoyed a few casino stops in Las Vegas and Reno with my old friend Ox, I slowed as we approached the roulette table. I looked at Donna and said “give me just a few minutes.” She rolled her eyes, crossed her arms, exhaled a heavy breath and gave me a slight “okay” nod.

I bellied up to the table, got about twenty dollars of chips in escudos (the old currency of Portugal) and I dropped a few on number 23. And on red. And on “odd.” The wheel spun – for what seemed like an eternity. The ball bounced and settled on number 23. Red. Odd. The payoff was about $160.00. Donna looked at me, smiled and gave the “let’s go” sign. And we did. That lucky number paid for our dinner, the theater, the cab and a few other things on our trip. Since then, number 23 has been the “go to” number – and no it is not used for passwords. . . . .