way to explain this.”
He quickly went over the rules of blackjack, explaining the basics. “The object is to get twenty-one or as close to it without going over. You’re playing against the dealer, not the other people at the table, so whoever gets the highest number without going over wins. If you go over, you lose. If the dealer goes over, they lose.”
“That doesn’t sound too complicated.”
“Actually, it is. You’ll see if you watch the other players. Now, two things.” He placed a soft kiss on my lips. “First, I’m so glad you’re here.” He kissed me again, this time a little longer, before pulling away just an inch from my face. “Second, just watch me. Don’t ask me anything about what I’m doing until later. I’ll explain it all.” Another quick kiss. “Ready?”
“Wait. On the plane I asked if you were a gambler and you said no. ”
Drew’s face remained serious as he responded. “It’s not gambling if you don’t lose. And I don’t lose.”
. . . . .
Walking out onto the casino floor was an experience in sensory overload. The lights from hundreds of gambling machines provided more illumination than the lights in the ceiling. This was the most crowded area of the casino, with each machine occupied by someone sitting on a stool, pumping tokens in, hoping more would come out. Video slot machines, video poker, video everything —instant lotteries, or so people hoped. There was a chance the lights or the colorful displays attracted players, but the real lure was the hope that they would experience uncommon luck and get rich. The vast majority of them, Drew pointed out, would leave in a far more sullen mood than when they arrived.
M usic played throughout the room, not loud enough to drown out talking, but just enough to add to the atmosphere.
Some people were in shorts and t-shirts while others wore tuxedoes and evening gowns, as if a post-Oscar party collided with a group of tailgating football fans.
Taking in the sights and sounds intensified the racing thoughts I was having about Drew. He gambled for a living? Yeah, he said it wasn’t gambling when you don’t lose, and he said he doesn’t lose, but…what had I gotten myself into?
It was a good thing he warned me not to ask questions while he played blackjack. I’ll be honest—I had no idea what was going on. I had never played the game before, but I got the feeling that even if I had, I still wouldn’t have been able to keep up.
I stood behind Drew, looking over his shoulder. He would sometimes bet the minimum and other times bet a huge amount. I tried to detect some kind of pattern that would reveal why he switched back and forth like that, even before knowing what cards he was going to get, but I couldn’t figure it out. I like to think of myself as a fairly smart person who enjoys a challenge, and this was certainly one of the more interesting ones.
Early on, Drew won more hands than he lost, but not by much. I noticed the other players at the table were having about the same amount of luck. But it wasn’t long before Drew started winning far more than he lost, both in terms of the hands and the money—he’d increased his bets by this point, and with each win, he raked higher stacks of chips into his collection. Meanwhile, the other players were still trading winning hands with losing ones, having nowhere near the luck that Drew was having.
Or maybe it wasn’t luck. Maybe he was just that good.
At one point when he had almost doubled his amount of chips, he handed a few over to me and told me to take a seat at the spot next to him.
I shook my head. “I’ll probably lose your money.”
He smiled and shrugged a little as if to say: So what?
The dealer put the cards down and I did my best to figure out if I should take another card or stay with what I had. Drew and I had different cards, but they added up to the same total number. Drew was staying with his. I did the same. The house busted,
He quickly went over the rules of blackjack, explaining the basics. “The object is to get twenty-one or as close to it without going over. You’re playing against the dealer, not the other people at the table, so whoever gets the highest number without going over wins. If you go over, you lose. If the dealer goes over, they lose.”
“That doesn’t sound too complicated.”
“Actually, it is. You’ll see if you watch the other players. Now, two things.” He placed a soft kiss on my lips. “First, I’m so glad you’re here.” He kissed me again, this time a little longer, before pulling away just an inch from my face. “Second, just watch me. Don’t ask me anything about what I’m doing until later. I’ll explain it all.” Another quick kiss. “Ready?”
“Wait. On the plane I asked if you were a gambler and you said no. ”
Drew’s face remained serious as he responded. “It’s not gambling if you don’t lose. And I don’t lose.”
. . . . .
Walking out onto the casino floor was an experience in sensory overload. The lights from hundreds of gambling machines provided more illumination than the lights in the ceiling. This was the most crowded area of the casino, with each machine occupied by someone sitting on a stool, pumping tokens in, hoping more would come out. Video slot machines, video poker, video everything —instant lotteries, or so people hoped. There was a chance the lights or the colorful displays attracted players, but the real lure was the hope that they would experience uncommon luck and get rich. The vast majority of them, Drew pointed out, would leave in a far more sullen mood than when they arrived.
M usic played throughout the room, not loud enough to drown out talking, but just enough to add to the atmosphere.
Some people were in shorts and t-shirts while others wore tuxedoes and evening gowns, as if a post-Oscar party collided with a group of tailgating football fans.
Taking in the sights and sounds intensified the racing thoughts I was having about Drew. He gambled for a living? Yeah, he said it wasn’t gambling when you don’t lose, and he said he doesn’t lose, but…what had I gotten myself into?
It was a good thing he warned me not to ask questions while he played blackjack. I’ll be honest—I had no idea what was going on. I had never played the game before, but I got the feeling that even if I had, I still wouldn’t have been able to keep up.
I stood behind Drew, looking over his shoulder. He would sometimes bet the minimum and other times bet a huge amount. I tried to detect some kind of pattern that would reveal why he switched back and forth like that, even before knowing what cards he was going to get, but I couldn’t figure it out. I like to think of myself as a fairly smart person who enjoys a challenge, and this was certainly one of the more interesting ones.
Early on, Drew won more hands than he lost, but not by much. I noticed the other players at the table were having about the same amount of luck. But it wasn’t long before Drew started winning far more than he lost, both in terms of the hands and the money—he’d increased his bets by this point, and with each win, he raked higher stacks of chips into his collection. Meanwhile, the other players were still trading winning hands with losing ones, having nowhere near the luck that Drew was having.
Or maybe it wasn’t luck. Maybe he was just that good.
At one point when he had almost doubled his amount of chips, he handed a few over to me and told me to take a seat at the spot next to him.
I shook my head. “I’ll probably lose your money.”
He smiled and shrugged a little as if to say: So what?
The dealer put the cards down and I did my best to figure out if I should take another card or stay with what I had. Drew and I had different cards, but they added up to the same total number. Drew was staying with his. I did the same. The house busted,
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