Casino

1

The formless flamboyancy of cigarette smoke filled the lungs of James Holimer as he sauntered his way to a vibrant, colorful slot machine. Around the Diamond Casino, the faces of many risk-taking individuals could be seen expressing a focused and hopeful look as they placed their bets upon all the casino’s treasures. Around the well-lit space were people dressed in dapper and extravagant suits, dress shirts, dresses, and luxury accessories. Subtle murmurs could be heard coming from the entrepreneurs huddled together in groups and the stock investors gathered at the bar. Sweet Jazz music filled the room, and the subtly dry stench of cigar smoke engulfed the entire casino.

Dressed in a white dress shirt and tie, and exhausted from another long workday at the office, James made it to the slot machine. Its lights glowed brightly, and its metal interior was surrounded by artwork of scantily clad women. The machine let off overly exciting sounds that would tempt even the strongest wills of the human psyche. James stared at it, getting himself mentally prepared for whatever fate itself had in store for him tonight. He hoped this one night would make up for the unfortunate disappointments of many others.

Playing it safe for the first few tries, he decided to bet a mere ten dollars into the slot machine. He anxiously pulled the cold, metallic lever dwelling on its side. Quickly his heart began to race.

One seven, two cherries, one diamond. No win.

A minor wave of disappointment began to fill James’ body. Mustering up some willpower, he pulled the lever again.

One diamond, one cherry, two sevens. No win.

James let out a sigh of exhaustion. He now feared that tonight was going to be like all the others: full of wasted money, wasted hope, and disappointment. He pulled the lever again. No win. He pulled it again, this time slightly harder out of frustration. No win. The third time he waited, hoping that time itself would give him its gift of financial profit. He pulled it once more. No win, and no more money.

James cursed under his breath and adjusted his tie. He leaned his arm on the slot machine, taking another breath of his cigarette. After exhaling the vaporous concoction, he ran his hand through his short, black hair. Another cut of my savings lost, he thought. He shook his head in disappointment.

Suddenly, he felt a wave of air hit him from behind, as if someone walked up to him.

“Another night in the dumps, eh?” Said a mysterious, deep voice.

James turned around. He was greeted by a very dapper black man dressed in a blue suit and wearing a nice diamond watch. The man offered him a warm smile.

“Yeah…always is.” replied James, taking another inhale of his cigar. “I like your outfit. Very nice.”

“Thanks, my good man. I suppose you can guess how I’m able to afford it.”

“You’re quite the gambler?”

“Oh, ‘gambler’ is a strong word, friend. I prefer…’calculated risk-taker’. I just take a guess based on previous knowledge and past mistakes.”

“That’s too many words.”

The mysterious man laughed. He touched James on his shoulder. “You’re a funny guy. Come on, how about I get you a drink? You look like you need one. Then maybe, I can reveal a few of my tricks for these little ‘games’, huh?” asked the man, smiling.

James thought for a moment. He wanted to decline, but something about the man was hypnotizing. He felt drawn to him in an uncontrollable way. His hazel-eyed gaze was that of a father. Someone who James could trust, even with his own life.

He finally agreed. “Alright, I could use some tips for these damn things.”

“Cool, cool! Come on, I know the bartender well. I’ll have her hook us up.”

2

James sat patiently beside the mysterious man, his arm settled on the cold marble counter of the bar and his other stroking his subtle beard. The well-dressed man was kind enough to buy him a drink. As the bartender left, the man turned to James, smiling once more.

‘I’m sorry,” said James, “I didn’t even ask your name. Hell, I don’t even think I told you mine.”

The man laughed. “That’s alright, James. My name isn’t important. What’s important right now, is you.”

A confused look emitted from James’ face. “Wait…how did you know my name?”

“Well, I know everyone here, to be honest. I come around often. But you? Hm, lucky guess I suppose.”

“Hmph. You sure know your way around luck.” Said James.

“Oh, luck this, luck that. Listen James, luck is ours to control. That’s the first lesson you need to learn. Everything, man…everything has its place in the Grand Scale.”

“Grand Scale?”

“I can tell you’re unsatisfied in life, James. Let me ask you something. A hypothetical question, if you may. What if you could control luck? What if you weren’t a victim of it anymore? Would you take that power?”

“Well of course, man. Who wouldn’t? See all of these games in here? I’d win every one of them. Cash out an instant millionaire. Probably billionaire if it keeps up.”

“I didn’t finish. There’s a part two to this question. You see, everything has its price. What if you only had five years to live? But in these five years, luck would be in your control.”

James thought for a moment. “I couldn’t use luck to survive past those five years?”

“Nope,” said the man, “you have five years of living. But for those five years, the world is essentially yours. All the money…all the power. Would you take it?”

“Yes.” Said James, without a second thought. “If it means I get to live my best life possible, without a doubt.”

“Are you sure, James? We’re talking about dying in a few years. Dying. You know, not breathing anymore?”

“Well, yeah. I mean, wouldn’t you? Especially if you worked a crappy job like I do? With a rude boss and robot-like coworkers? What kind of life is that? Especially until 65? Screw that.”

James paused for a moment, looking down with shame. “I’m already dead, man. I’m already dead.”

The mysterious man smiled. “I like your philosophy.” He spoke.

He reached into his suit pocket, and calmly set a little black book down on the marble counter.

“What’s that?” asked James.

“The answer…to all of your casino issues.”

“Is this your little book of techniques?”

“Eh, something like that. One last question, James. That last question, you were serious about it, yes?”

James laughed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, man--”

“I mean,” the man interrupted, “would you really be willing to live such a life?”

The man looked into the eyes of James with such a calming allure. James found himself in a minor trance. Seconds later, he snapped out of it.

“Yes. I would. I’m sure anyone would.” Said James.

“I see…” said the man, a sly look on his face.

The man opened the book. A blank, brown page sat between James and the blue-suited stranger.

“Uh, it’s empty.” Said James.

“Oh, no its not,” replied the stranger, “this book is full of memories. Memories of all the people I’ve helped. People are interesting, James. Humans are interesting. We are willing to do anything to get ahead, no matter if it negatively affects the world at large. I’ve seen it so many times. In a way it’s quite…comical.” He lifted his shot of alcohol in the air. “To a new life?”

James looked confused. He raised his shot to the stranger’s. “Sure brother, whatever that means.”

They did a toast and drank their shots of alcohol. After drinking his shot, the glass abruptly split in half, deeply cutting James’ finger. Droplets of blood spilled from the wound.

James winced in pain. “Dammit!” he cursed.

“Oh, these cheap fools. You would think this place would have the money to afford some proper shot glasses! My apologies, James.”

The stranger turned to the bartender. “Jezebel! Please bring some napkins for my wounded friend here, sweetheart.”

As the bartender set down a pack of napkins and cleaned the glass shards, James glanced at the black book. Red liquid plagued the corner of its pages.

“Crap…I’m so sorry, man.”

“Oh no, no James. It’s quite alright. This place is just cheap as hell. Come on, get yourself cleaned up. How about we go back to that slot machine, hm?”

“Yeah, for sure. Teach me some of your tricks.”

3

The stranger lit a cigar. “Now James, how much money do you have left tonight?”

“Uh, only like…fifty dollars. Why?”

The man took a breath of his cigar. “I want you to bet it. All of it. Right on this machine.”

James laughed. “Dude, come on…”

“Do you want my help or not?”

James let out a sigh. “Fine…you’ll help me, right?”

“Of course,” said the man, “I got your back.”

James bet fifty dollars into the slot machine. Its lights flashed a hypnotizing glow as exciting sounds emitted from its metal shell.

“Now pull the lever, James. And as you do, I want you to imagine that you hit all diamonds. The jackpot.”

“Are you serious? Imagine it?

“Just trust me.”

James pulled the lever. His heart began to race. He decided to take the man’s advice and visualize the machine hitting all diamonds. With his eyes closed, he used all his concentration for hopes that fate would change course.

The machine let out a different sound this time, ejecting James from his visualization. The lights flashed repeatedly, and the machine let out a loud, repetitive “ding” sound, attracting the attention of some onlookers. James looked at the machine. Across its face were four sparkling diamonds, and the text ‘$20,000’ across the top corner.

A force of excitement filled James, who had just made half of his usual salary in one night. He turned to the blue-suited stranger, who had a big smile on his face. It was the smile that a proud parent would have when their baby begins to walk.

“Dude! We won the jackpot! We won!”

“You won the jackpot, James. Congratulations.”

The stranger began to clap loudly, attracting the attention of even more fancily dressed bystanders. They crowded around James, congratulating him on his big win.

“Well James, my work is done here for tonight. You enjoy your big wins, alright?”

“Now hang on, I still didn’t get your name. Who are you?”

“If I may, James, why is my name of such importance to you?”

“I’d really like to know the guy that bought me a drink and helped me win a jackpot.”

“Well James…let’s just say that one day, years down the line, we’ll likely meet again. And then you will get to know me better. For now, enjoy your win. I’m going to go eat some fruit.”

The man came closer to James’ ear.

“And just remember, brother, everything has its price.” The stranger whispered.

As the man turned away, James caught a glance of the little black book grasped between his fingers, with the little red splotches coating the brown pages.

A slight feeling of worry came over James, and his happy expression turned into vague concern.

“Seriously, man. Who are you?” asked James in a concerned tone.

The stranger said nothing more and continued to walk towards the casino’s entrance.

The crowd of onlookers made it impossible to catch up with the stranger, who disappeared into the night. James turned around to the slot machine. Its colorful lights lit up the space around it. He looked at the machine to its very right, unsure as to if he wanted to participate further. A peculiar thought prevented him from doing so. It plagued the deepest, darkest corners of his mind. It was just luck, right? I just got lucky.