Well, Las Vegas can be an unpredictable arena. During the Pennzoil 400 race, we witnessed 32 lead changes among 13 drivers. But while Kyle Larson ended up with nothing after leading for 61 laps, Josh Berry ended up with the trophy after leading for just 18 laps. This capricious nature of Sin City mainly emanates from the venues it is famous for – its casinos. And Dale Earnhardt Jr tried his hand while following in Denny Hamlin’s footsteps – but in vain.
The 26-time Cup Series race winner hung up his firesuit back in 2017. Spending most of his days managing his Xfinity Series team or podcast, sometimes Dale Earnhardt Jr wants to have some fun. Unfortunately, one of his fun escapades turned sour as he ran out of luck.
Dale Earnhardt Jr reveals a gaping hole in his fortune
Josh Berry may have dazzled his fan base with his first victory in Las Vegas. However, the mind-blowing storyline that people took away from that weekend was something else. Before the Cup Series grid hit the 1.5-mile Las Vegas Motor Speedway track, Denny Hamlin hit the slot machines. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver hit a round of jackpots, the highest of which yielded a jaw-dropping $126,150 from a single $300 spin. According to Hamlin, it was all because his friend Austin who “gave up his hot seat for me and it worked out well.” Similarly, Dale Earnhardt Jr also sought the advice of a friend, who was Hamlin himself. The NASCAR veteran was staying at a Las Vegas hotel with his wife, Amy Earnhardt. While roaming around inside the casino, he decided to try his luck like Hamlin. But the results were quite different.
In a recent episode of ‘Bless Your Hardt’, Dale Jr revealed how he asked Denny Hamlin for details. The JGR driver was very specific in his instructions: “I texted Denny about that slot machine that he hit, won all that money on. I was like, ‘What exactly was the specific name?’ And he told me, he’s like, ‘Buffalo Stampede.’ He’s like, ‘There’s other Buffalos. Don’t be fooled.’ You’ve got to go to that stampede only. And I was like, all right. So we walked all around. I walked all around the hotel.”
Homestead, FL – November 20, 2009: Denny Hamlin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. talk before qualifying for the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Dale Earnhardt Jr‘s wife Amy then added an interesting snippet. While her husband preferred to opt for an old-fashioned method, she chose a modern solution. Amy said, “He’s like, ‘I’m just going to walk around and look for it’…Morgan and I get on the website because you can find exactly where these machines are located in the casino. So we were kind of laughing at that. This is just one of those things. The men versus women. The total difference.”
Despite all his hard work, Dale Jr’s efforts came to naught. He said, “I found the Buffalo stampede, it’s kind of a four-game kiosk…Like Denny’s playing with thousands of dollars winning hundreds, you know, tens of thousands of dollars, I played with you know, dollars. I won a $1000 sitting on that machine for like 4-5 minutes. Then we walked down through the casino, and I found another machine that was just calling my name. I won $600, I sat there for a while on the Wheel of Fortune. Amy and them went to bed, and I ended up going to the roulette wheel. I like roulette because you don’t have to do math…And I lost all the money that I won.”
Clearly, Lady Luck did not smile down at Dale Jr as she had done with Denny Hamlin. Nevertheless, you may remember the veteran when you visit a casino.
A new and golden partnership
Well, it is definitely golden as people stand a chance of cashing out big money. In early April, Dale Earnhardt Jr was named a brand ambassador for Hard Rock International. It is a chain of theme bar-restaurants, memorabilia shops, museums, and casinos, which matters a lot to Dale Jr. Now, a snazzy new video game is part of this partnership. Hard Rock Games’ Full Throttle with Dale Jr is now officially live. The free-to-play social title is available for play now on both the Hard Rock Neverland Casino and Jackpot Planet apps. The special feature is the NASCAR Hall of Famer’s high-speed slots action. The feature expands the reels one row per consecutive win or loss, unlocking 10 new paylines with each level, up to a maximum of 7 rows and 70 paylines.
Dale Earnhardt Jr spoke highly of his newest partnership with Hard Rock’s racing game. He said, “It’s been a lot of fun to partner with Hard Rock on a racing game for their platform. Hard Rock is such an iconic brand that has something for everyone, and this game is no different. I’m excited to continue working with them and having the opportunity to collaborate on these projects together.” Daniel Kajouie, Managing Director of Hard Rock Games, also shed light on how Earnhardt was the prime factor in this whole deal. “Dale Jr. was the perfect inspiration for this game, which features high-speed action and a dual-streak system to ensure gameplay is always at Full Throttle.”
Evidently, casinos do not entirely disfavor Dale Earnhardt Jr. With a new partnership and more slot practice, maybe Dale Jr can hit a jackpot in the near future.
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