Casino Grand (IV)
James leaned back lazily in his seat and waited patiently.
A couple of minutes later, Richard walked up with a uniformed attendant obediently trotting two steps behind and to his right.
"Nicely done Mr S! I was in my office when they informed me about your win, and I wanted to be the first to congratulate you." Richard said ingratiatingly.
"Hey Richard, nice of you to come personally." James said politely.
"Of course, as your host, it's the least I could do. Would you like your winnings in cash, check, or credits?" Richard asked.
"Credits please. I'm going to take this over to the five hundred dollar machine over there and give it a try. Strike while the iron is hot, you know." James said.
"Just so, Mr S. Let us just unlock this machine and credit your win, and then I'll be sure to have an attendant standing by so we don't delay your play." Richard said pleasantly, struggling to conceal the predatory smile on his face.
Casinos loved gamblers that reinvested their winnings. Most of the time, those winnings would go straight back into the casino coffers, and the desperate gambler would dig deep into their own pockets to chase the jackpot that was surely "due to hit".
"Thank you Richard, very kind of you. I hope your colleague will not be bored following behind me." James said.
"Of course Mr S. We always hope that our guests win, it keeps them coming back." Richard said politely, as he manipulated a hidden console on the jackpot machine.
After a brief wait, the slot machine finally quietened down, and the balance on the screen updated to $11,550.
"There you go Mr S. I'll take my leave now, but let me once more wish you the best of luck. My colleague here will be standing by in case you need any assistance." Richard said, before reaching over to shake James' hand.
James shook hands with Richard obligingly. After Richard had left, James reached over and claimed his ticket voucher. Then, he stood up and headed over towards the interior of the high limit slot section.
"Would you be able to recommend a machine that's due to hit, do you think?" James asked the slot attendant who was following him discreetly.
"I wouldn't dare to, Mr S." She said with a trace of worry in her voice.
"Don't worry too much about it. It's my first time here, and if I'm unlucky with your choice, then that's due to my luck and not your recommendation." James said, fully intending to blow through the entire amount gracefully.
"Well then, Mr S, if you insist, that Wheel of Fortune slot machine has been very quiet this week. It usually pays a jackpot several times a day, but I've yet to see a customer hit one on it." She said accommodatingly.
"Excellent. Wheel of Fortune it is then!" James said, before adding, "There's an old saying that I'm fond of that goes, the Wheel of Fortune spins in turn."
"What does that mean sir?" The slot attendant asked politely.
"Simply put, good and bad things happen to everyone in turn. Since that machine has been quiet for such a long time, it should be full of luck and ripe to harvest." James nodded sagely.
[ That's rubbish. How about the saying that System will help you strike the big jackpot? ]
I know it's superstition and rubbish, James thought inwardly to his system, but right now the profile on Sanjay is being updated to include a trait of being superstitious, mystical, and believing in luck. That's called camouflage. That means next week, when we come back and put the fear of God into them, they'll wave their hands off and say it's luck. Which means we can come back again the week after and hit them again and again and again.
[ You're much sneakier today then you were a month ago. This is progress. System approves. How can System help? ]
You can help by making sure I lose everything as fast as possible, James thought.
[ No problem. System will sit down and eat popcorn while watching the show. ]
I'm serious. Hitting another jackpot today will completely ruin my plan, James argued mentally.
[ Fine. System has never been asked to lose on purpose before. This will be a first. ]
It's good to know I can take some of your first blood too, James teased his system, I'll use this the next time you say you need a sacrifice.
[ ... ]
James sat down in front of the machine and loaded his credit voucher. At five hundred dollars a spin, and a maximum bet of two credits, each press of the button would be one thousand dollars. He would have eleven spins of two credits, one spin of one credit, and the leftover would be used for a tip for the slot attendant.
"Good luck Mr S." The slot attendant said gently as she prepared to watch the young looking high roller blow away a mortgage payment with each press of the button.
James rubbed the side of the machine gently before pressing the "Max Bet" button. He had to make it look good for the cameras.
---
Thirty seconds later, it was all over. The machine had given James nothing but near misses.
The slot attendant watched on in shock as the balance drained towards zero, leaving only fifty dollars left on the credit voucher. Despite his earlier reassurances, she was still afraid that he would turn around and blame her. She was only a slot attendant after all. If James deposited a large amount of front money and promised to give the casino a shot at it, she was sure that the casino would not blink an eye at retiring her.
"Well, easy come easy go I guess. Maybe I'll have better luck next week." James sighed, as he mulled to himself.
As planned, he cashed out his final fifty dollars and handed it to the slot attendant.
"Thank you for the try. Maybe I'll see you again next week and we'll be lucky then." James said.
The attendant breathed a sigh of relief as she accepted the tip. She would be sure to report that Mr S had taken the loss graciously and seemed hungry for more.
Just as James had planned.
---
The morning of the next day dawned and found the team gathered in the villa going through the results of the previous night.
"How did you do last night James? I saw you wandering around the gambling tables and slot machines." Phil asked.
"I think pretty good. I lost all the money you gave me, but I have a clear plan on how to attack next week." James said.
"Oh? How on earth are you going to beat the casino at a rigged game? By being lucky?" Phil asked skeptically.
"That's the long and short of it, yep. How much do we have to win for our mission to be considered a success?" James asked.
"I look forward to seeing that happen," Phil said with a laugh, "All of our results are recorded anyway. We'd want to hit them for about half a million dollars ideally. That's when they'll start to notice the hurt to the bottom line."
"What if I can beat them for a million dollars? Just me, by myself." James asked curiously.
"If you do that James, I guarantee you that the higher ups will notice your meritorious accomplishment and reward you. Hell, I'll reward you. What do you want?" Phil said jokingly.
"How about removing my debt?" James said.
"You play on a separate account with borrowed money, and if you win a million, I'll wipe off all your debt. If you lose, the amount you lose will be added to your debt. Fair?" Phil countered.
"Works for me. I'll just need to borrow a hundred thousand in seed money to start, wired to the casino under the Sanjay identity as front money, from an untraceable account." James said.
"Sure. I'll do that right now." Phil nodded as he pulled out his cell phone. He was pleased at the suggestion. Wiring the money would significantly reduce the risk of James pulling a runner.
"Great," James said, "How did you guys do?"
The next part of James' plan had fallen into place. Now, there was only one thing left to do before he went into the casino and unleashed his system.
"Not so hot. We lost about fifty grand between the three of us. The pit boss recognized that we were counting straight away and reduced the penetration of the decks." Phil said.
"Ah that's dreadfully unlucky mate." James commiserated.
"It happens. I think we'll have to split up next week and go in on different days. Makes it less likely for us to be all tagged at the same time." Phil suggested.
"That's a good idea. I'll take Friday night." James jumped at the opportunity to work unobserved.
"Alright. I'll split the other days with Rishabh and Luke." Phil said.