The 7 Stages of KC’s Montana Lottery Treasure Play Trip

Montana Lottery games are always a flight of fancy for me. I remember my mom playing scratch tickets, especially around Christmas, and how we'd upgrade our shopping trips if she won. There's something magical about that moment between buying the ticket and learning if you won.

The Montana Lottery Treasure Play games are available in casinos and bars throughout the state — and their self-serve, instant gratification pace puts them neck-to-neck with other casino games. In bars, they're great ways to entertain yourself when there aren't any sports on TV or you're waiting for your buddies or the band to show up.

Paradise Falls on Brooks offers free drinks and chips to Treasure Play gamers, so I recently headed over there to try my luck. (Click here for a full directory of Treasure Play locations.)

Stage 1: SO MANY CHOICES. New Treasure Play games are introduced periodically, with a variety of price points. Some, like Shake-a-Day, have progressive jackpots, so the more everyone plays, the more we can win!

Stage 2: Crossing my Fingers. My favorite is Shake-a-Day, so I threw $3 at that.

Stage 3: The Anticipation. Just like a scratch ticket, you can tell by looking at the print-out whether it's a winner, but you can double-check (and get your credits or cash out) by scanning it into the terminal.

Stage 4: VICTORY. Video of my victory dance is forever lost to posterity. But it was glorious.

Stage 5: Play again. Of course!

Stage 6: Wiping away the tears of defeat. 

Stage 7: Manning up for the next game. Not everyone can win all the time ... and like I said, the flight of fancy is the fun part. I won a little, lost a little, and I'm looking forward to the next time a play.

Not everyone has the same approach to Treasure Play, though. Take this fun (and totally unscientific quiz) to see what kind of player you are. (Me? I'm a pirate. OF COURSE.)