In almost every casino-themed gambling film, you’re bound to hear an obligatory phrase that makes next to no sense in the context of the glitzy casino surrounds. Just picture it: the main character rolls a pair of victorious dice, hits the jackpot, and the blackjack dealer suddenly and loudly proclaims, “Winner, winner, chicken dinnerrrrr!” It’s clear that this strange phrase conveys congratulations to the competitor, but what’s less certain is how it came about: what could a chicken dinner possibly have to do with gambling?

The origins of this unexpected line are somewhat murky, but most accounts take us back to the flashy neon strip of casinos in Las Vegas, around the 1970s, when institutions with names like “Bonanza,” “Imperial Palace,” and the “The Fabulous Flamingo” were flush with eager participants keen to snare their fortune.

If you were a gambler at the time, the standard bet you could place was for $2. As the story goes, if this modest offering resulted in your winning a hand, you’d at least have enough to purchase an equally modest but filling meal: yes, you guessed it, a “chicken dinner.” All you needed was $1.79, in fact, and you’d get a standard casino meal of three chicken pieces and a side of vegetables. You’d have both enough to eat, and a few leftover pennies to put toward your next bet.

According to a blackjack dealer named “Janifer”, writing for On the Felt: “During that time period, this chicken dinner was the most common, cheapest meal around.  So essentially, when you’re repeating this line, what you’re really saying is ‘yay, I won $5 bucks!  I have enough to buy myself a happy meal!’”

How exactly the phrase infiltrated common parlance in the world beyond the casino walls is something that no one will ever know. But some credit its more recent popularity to modern films like 21, whose characters utter the odd string of words to crow about their gambling success. Whatever the origins of this whacky phrase, it remains a truly unusual and quirky way to express your personal triumph.