Casino Grand (VI)
As the ball spun around the roulette wheel, James turned his attention inward.
It's time to begin. He announced to his system. Make us win until I say otherwise.
[ Affirmative. Finally! ]
A brief flash of pain shot through James' system as his vision swum for a second. For that brief second, James once more felt as if he could grasp the inner workings of the universe in his hand, and with a simple squeeze, control destiny. James also noted a brief red tinge to his vision, coloring his sight with a slight flavor of rage, and creating an unspoken desire to tightly close his fist and shatter fate.
When the pain passed, James blinked and eyes were clear once more.
This time, there was a cold glint in his gaze as he stared at the roulette wheel.
The ball continued to spin around the roulette wheel before slowly losing it's centrifugal force and making its way down from the groove at the top of the wheel towards the pockets at the bottom.
All too quickly, the ball made contact with the raised edge of a pocket and bounced around crazily before landing in it's final destination.
"Seven. Red." The dealer announced, placing a small metal marker on top of the winning number.
She cut out two chips and placed them next to James' winning wager, before lifting the marker and stepping back from the table.
James leaned back in his chair and waited patiently for the next spin.
After a brief, predetermined amount of time, the dealer stepped back towards the table and announced, "Bets riding."
Then, she picked up the ball and placed it over the roulette wheel, before a practiced flick sent the ball once more dancing among the pockets.
Several bounces and jumps later, the ball rested in it's pocket once more.
"Thirty-Six. Red." The dealer announced, placing the same metal marker on top of the winning number again.
She combined the two stacks of chips left on the red section of the table layout, before cutting out four chips and placing them next to James' wager.
James' bet had gone from one thousand to four thousand in the space of minutes.
"Bets riding." The announcement came once more.
"Twenty-Three. Red."
Eight chips were cut out from her stack, and James' bet doubled once more to eight thousand.
"Bets riding."
This time, the pit boss came back over to personally overlook the wheel, astounded by the fourth consecutive announcement. Around the room, heads were starting to turn, and a couple of more superstitious gamblers from the baccarat table looked at the three consecutive numbers and wondered if this would be the start of another streak.
"One. Red."
Sixteen chips cut out from the stack. Thirty two chips in total on the felt. Sixteen thousand on the line.
The pit boss went back into the pit and picked up the phone, speaking a couple of hurried phrases before coming back to the table.
"Bets riding."
"Fourteen. Red."
Thirty two chips cut out from the stack. Sixty four chips in total on the felt. Thirty two thousand on the line.
The sound of rushed footsteps heralded the arrival of Richard.
"Good evening Mr S. Welcome back to the Casino Grand." Richard said, panting slightly from his exertion.
James turned his body away from the wheel to greet his host politely, "Hello Richard. How goes it?"
"It goes well Mr S. I see you're on somewhat of a streak?" Richard asked archly.
"It seems to be a lucky day indeed. I saw the eighteen dealer wins at the baccarat table over there and was inspired to give it a try. So far, it's five reds in a row. Who would have thought that that would work?" James said.
Behind him, the dealer announced once more, "Bets riding."
James continued to chat idly with Richard, who was alternating between making polite eye contact and glancing at the wheel behind James.
On the wheel, the ball fell towards and landed into the solitary green pocket, before bouncing up off the bottom and settling into it's final resting place adjacent to the zero.
"Thirty-two. Red."
Sixty four chips from the stack. One hundred and twenty eight on the felt. Sixty four thousand on the line. In the space of four minutes, James had already more than doubled the table maximum.
"Congratulations Mr S! That was a lucky bounce indeed." Richard commented.
"What?" James feigned surprise.
"Oh the roulette wheel, it landed on red again." Richard said.
"Ah! I forgot about that completely, I was so carried away by our conversation." James said.
A couple of sweat drops rolled down Richard's forehead as he heard James' words.
Dammit. You talk to me and still manage to double up. If this matches the sixteen dealer streak on the baccarat table, it'll be a hundred and thirty one million dollars. At that point in time, you may as well leave it there for a few more spins and win the whole damn casino. Richard couldn't help but think to himself. He started to regret getting the casino executives to agree to allowing James' bets to ride.
"Haha. That's terribly witty of you Mr S." Richard laughed bitterly, before interjecting, "Would you like to see the suite we have prepared for you? I'd be overjoyed to have the honor of giving you a tour of the facilities."
"Trying to get me to stand up already?" James asked jokingly. "Let's give it two more spins. Eight is my lucky number after all. Even if it does happen, it's only a quarter of million dollars. You could win more from a maximum bet on a specific number."
"That's true." Richard nodded. "Of course we're not going back on our agreement Mr S. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't distracting you from your gambling. I'd love for you to lock in a large win early on."
And lose it back to us chasing a bigger score later, like you did last week. Richard added internally.
"Oh not at all. This is still just fun money for me." James said casually, "If it were serious money, I'd be standing at the wheel sweating the spin. This is still just one of my big bets at Vegas."
Richard drooled a little to himself. If he could hook a large whale like Mr S into the casino and get the whale to keep coming, the whale would eventually drop a large sum. When that happened, his bonus from the share of the casino's winnings would be significant.
"Of course Mr S. Would you allow me the honor of watching the next two spins with you?" Richard asked.
"Sure! Maybe you'll bring me luck and we can leave it there for a while longer." James said, sending Richard's head hurting again.
"Bets riding."
Two sets of eyes followed the ball, one rooting for it to fall into anything but a red pocket, and the other staring coldly, already knowing the final result.
"Six. Red."
One hundred and twenty eight thousand.
At this point, a small crowd had gathered around the roulette wheel, looking at the seven consecutive red numbers and muttering to themselves. A couple of the more adventurous gamblers placed bets next to James' chips. Compared to his monstrous tower, those chips looked small and insignificant.
"Bets riding."
Black. Black. Black. Black. Black. Richard chanted to himself.
"Eight. Red."
A loud cheer erupted from the crowd as the dealer paid off the winning bets.
James was now up to just over a quarter of a million dollars.
"What do you think Richard? Should I book the win now, or give it a couple more spins?" James asked slyly.
"It's up to you Mr S. On one hand, it does seem like you're pretty lucky today, and I must admit a certain personal curiosity in seeing how far you can get." Richard answered to cheers from the crowd.
"On the other hand, a quarter of a million dollars is a pretty big win for most of our clients, and I'm sure no one will blame you if you decide to lock it in." Richard continued, drawing scattered boos.
James looked up at the eager crowd around the table, before announcing loudly.
"Let it ride."
"Bets riding." The dealer confirmed.
This time, a frenzy surrounded the table as more gamblers tried to place their chips on red.
Several pairs of eyes followed the ball as it rattled around the wheel, before once more settling into a red pocket.
"Thirty-four. Red."
Half a million dollars.
James grinned at Richard cheekily and announced his action again.
"Let it ride."
"Bets riding."
Before the dealer could spin the ball, the pit boss approached the table quickly.
"Dealer change." The pit boss announced, as the nervous young croupier made her way off the table to the side to watch.
A professional looking man took her place, picked up a new ball, and gave it a hefty spin on the wheel.
The ball spun around the wheel, before dropping gently onto a divider between two pockets and teetering precariously on the edge.