The sound of an old-fashioned ringing phone echoed through the room, causing George's eyes to widen slightly, as he moved over to a security phone, that hung from the wall directly adjacent to the door, the acoustic bell artificially created. After he mentioned being present, the casino owner listened for a short while, and then turned around, looking at Clarissa. "It's for you, Miss." he informed her, his tone slightly worried. "It seems to be urgent."<br/><br/>After Clarissa got on the phone and listened to what the person on the other side had to say, she had a brief discussion in whisper with George, which ended in him opening the door for her, and her slipping out. After he had locked the door again behind her, he walked up to the rest of the group, explaining with a downcast face: "It seems Miss Wright has an emergency situation to attend to, the details of which she does not wish to share, so unfortunately, she will not be joining us tonight."<br/><br/><hr/><div align="center"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 12pt;"><em>The first game</em></span></span></div><hr/><br/>"Since everyone has drawn a card, let's get down to business, shall we?" George stated, as he lifted up the extra chair and moved it back to the position near the sofa table. "Miss Claire drew the highest card, so she will start out as the dealer. Since I drew the second highest card, she will sit directly right of me. Damien, who drew the lowest card, will sit right of Claire at the far end of the table." He adjusted the chair's position slightly, was satisfied, and then walked back. "Mel is already sitting in the appropriate char, and Miss Carmen will sit to her left, across the table from Damien. I'm afraid you'll have to scoot a seat to the left, Miss Gina, as the seat you're currently occupying will be Evan's seat.<br/><br/>After the casino owner walked around the table, offering to hold the chair for those ladies who were not yet seated, as he passed behind Carmen and Mel, he sat down in his own chair as he made himself comfortable. He opened a drawer of one of the cabinets and retrieved a suit of brand new cards. He quickly removed the seal and cover, and gave the cards a brief shuffle, before placing the stack on the table in front of Claire. Opening another drawer, it showed a lot of chips, of which he swiftly counted seven stacks of 10 white chips, handing one stack out to each player, along with two blue chips per player.<br/><br/>"The game's afoot!" George exclaimed, his eyes glittering with interest, as he moved one chip forward as the small blind.