text: The Gambler Kage Griffin sat down at the blackjack table with $10,000 worth of chips he’d just won from craps. Tonight was his night. He was going to start earning back all the money he’d drained from his children’s college funds. He motioned to the waitress who was wearing a tiny French maid costume, “Double scotch on the rocks, honey.” “Sure thing,” she smiled. It was a challenge to file a sexual harassment complaint when she was showing half her boobs, she reminded herself. Plus, this was a customer who obviously had a lot of money to spend, and her boss, who was the worst of them all, had the motto that unless someone was counting cards, the customer was right. Someday, she promised herself, she’d find a better job. Until then, she’d continue to put up with the ogling and all the honeys, babydolls, and love muffins. On the green felt, Kage laid down a $100 chip. The dealer dealt two cards face up to each player. To himself, he had dealt a ten and a card face down. Kage looked at his cards. A King and a nine. When the dealer came back around, Kage held firm. The dealer’s facedown card was a jack. He took Kage’s money. Kage laid down three $20 chips this time. No sense in losing big right out of the gate. This time, he won. As he played, Kage allowed himself to think about his wife, Charlotte. Charlotte thought Kage was at a sales convention. Charlotte was starting to think that Kage was having an affair. As much as Kage didn’t want to lose her, he allowed her just enough doubt that the affair was, in fact, the problem. It was way better than telling her the truth. He played for another hour, neither getting very far up or down from where he started. A tall man wearing all black sat down next to him. “Howdy,” the stranger said. “Hi,” said Kage. “How’s the table?” the man in black asked. “Pretty stable. Not too good, not too bad. Just waiting for Lady Luck to show up.” The stranger lifted his glass, “Here’s to the Lady. May she always treat you kindly and never kick you in the balls.” Kage clinked glasses with the man. Indeed, Lady Luck did show up, as the man and Kage both won the next four hands. With every win, Kage added another $20 chip to his betting pile. “Put an extra $200 down on this one. It’s going to be a good hand,” the man whispered to Kage. “How do you know?” Kage asked suspiciously. “Just a feeling.” Kage bet $300 before the hand was dealt. His cards were an ace and a queen. The dealer paid out immediately to him. The man in black busted out. “Well, it looks like it was a good hand for you, anyway,” he laughed. On the next hand, Kage was dealt a king and a ten. “Split them and put $1,000 on each.” “I appreciate the advice, but I know how to play the game.” “Just do it, you’ll see.” “If you’re wrong, I’m gonna kick your ass,” Kage laughed humorlessly. But he took the suggestion. The dealer gave him a seven and another king. “See? A seventeen?” The stranger placed his hand on Kage’s arm. The dealer busted. Kage jumped off his chair and whooped. “That’s what I’m talking about!” They played five more rounds, Kage winning each one and betting ridiculously higher each time. He was up $27,500 from when he entered the casino. “I’m gonna cash out, man. I don’t like to tempt fate.” “Come have a drink with me first.” “Alright, but I’m buying,” said Kage. The went to a table on the edge of the casino with their drinks and sat down in a booth. “So how do you know what cards are coming up next? Are you counting?” “No, nothing like that. I just have a feeling. It usually pans out.” “I’m Kage, by the way, Kage Griffin.” Kage stuck his hand out. “You can call me Ol’Scratch. It’s a nickname some buddies came up with years ago, and it’s always stuck.” “Is it cuz you wear black, or what?” Kage joked. “That, and I’m a helluva pool player,” Ol’Scratch laughed. They drank, and Kage ordered a plate of fries. “I really gotta thank you, man. That table was not being kind to me until you sat down. And I kinda drained my kids’ bank accounts. One’s in college already, and the other one starts next year. That’s on top of my retirement fund, and last year I had to refinance the house to pay back the 401K. Which I then lost. I’ve got a problem, man, but I’m in over my head. I just gotta win back what I’ve lost.” Ol’Scratch nodded in understanding. “Rome wasn’t built in a day, my friend. It’ll probably take some time. And I get it - been there. But now I hardly ever lose. I get a feeling about a table, and I play until it goes cold.” “I wish I had your talent. I’m up more than I’ve been in a while, though. This is enough to pay for my daughter’s tuition and housing for the year without my wife finding out.” “What if I told you I could make it to where you never lose again? I mean, you might lose a hand or two here and there - we don’t want the pit bosses to get suspicious, but I mean, you could win big .” “How?” Ol’Scratch took a drink of his scotch and then pushed it towards Kage. “Drink it.” “That’s your drink, man, I’ve got my own.” “Yours is empty.” Lo and behold, when Kage looked at his own glass, his ice cubes were getting thirsty. “Thanks,” he drank down the other man’s drink. “Let’s go play. I bet we can get you up by $100,000 by the time you go back to your hotel room in a couple of hours.” Kage started. He hadn’t told the man he was staying in the hotel. But they went to the craps table, where the odds were in their favor. Two hours later, they were cashing out and filling out the appropriate forms for the IRS and direct deposit. Kage was up by $109,200. “I can return all of this to my kids’ college funds, and my wife never has to know!” he said excitedly. He noticed that Ol’Scratch had turned in his chips but wasn’t filling anything out or collecting cash. “What about you?” “I have an account with the casino.” “I can’t believe this worked! I still don’t know how you made me so lucky!” “It’s just a little trick in manifestation,” Ol’Scratch said, smiling. “Nothing to it.” # Later that night, Kage sat straight up in his hotel bed with a sharp pain in his chest and numbness shooting down his arm. A moment later, he was dead. Outside Kage’s door, Ol’Scratch lit a hand-rolled cigarette without a lighter or match. He puffed on it and laughed. “Silly man. Don’t you know the House always wins?”