Day One

"Do you deal roulette?"

Oh god, I thought. I do deal roulette. I hadn't dealt it in a year. He's going to put me on roulette and some jerk is going to bet some horrible amount on splits, corners and straight-ups and I'm going to be screwed. "Uhhh..." I stalled as I looked over at the roulette game. No players there. "Yes, I deal roulette."

"Hmm," he spotted my obvious tactic. "That dealer needs to go home. It's only for an hour. Go take her out."

I like standing behind the roulette table. I like playing with the checks on a dead game. I shuffle them, cut them out, and stack them back up. It beats standing dead on a blackjack game. There's nothing to do on a blackjack game, but stand and direct people to the bathroom or the exit.

A customer approached. He was a short, rotund man with an obvious comb-over of grey hair. He wore a cheap dark blue windbreaker buttoned up all the way to the top. I knew he was either a small player that I could handle or the type of high roller that looks like a small player until they whip out a stack of hundreds.

"So, what do they do here?" He said looking with his crossed eyes all over the layout of red and black numbers.

I knew then that I wasn't going to be in over my head. "This is roulette," I smiled. "Are you familiar with roulette?"

"No, what is it?" He sounded very innocent and sincere. I was a little surprised that he hadn't heard of roulette, but it looked like maybe he spent his life in his mother's basement playing Dungeons and Dragons. I'm not making a judgment here, I would probably have done the same if I liked Dungeons and Dragons and my parents had a basement.

I happily explained, "You bet on numbers and if the number you bet on comes up, you win. It's very easy."

"Oh, I tried playing the game with the dice and I didn't do very well. Maybe this is better. How much do I have to bet?" He asked eagerly.

"Well, the minimum right now is five dollars and that means you can bet five dollars on one section or you can spread five dollars around on all of the numbers."

He pulled out exactly five dollars. I gave him five chips and explained the different ways to bet on more than one number at a time. He understood readily and decided to bet on splits (two numbers at a time) to cover a total of ten numbers. I noticed as he bet that his index finger on his right hand had previously been a toe that was sewn on in place of a finger. It was mesmerizing and surreal to see a toe where a finger should be.

I spun the ball. He looked over at the wheel as if he just saw it for the first time. "What happens now? Do I have to wait for that to stop?" Before I could answer, the ball dropped on a loser. I dropped my shoulders, marked the number and swept up his five chips. "Did I win?" he sounded hopeful.

"No, I'm sorry. You lost."

"Oh," he said. "I lost. Well, they say the only way you can make a small fortune in Vegas is by coming with a large fortune." I laughed. I'm sure I heard that one before, but I always try to make it seem like the I'm hearing it for the first time.

He pulled out a twenty. I gave him twenty chips. This time he bet on ten splits for a total of twenty numbers. I explained that he was betting ten to win seventeen, but it didn't really register which was OK. I lot of people play that way. I spun the ball. Again, a loser. He set up his last ten chips. I spun the ball hoping to give this poor guy something. I even muttered, "come on winner" under my breath.

He got one. "You won."

"I won," he said flatly.

"Yes, you won. Here you go. Seventeen plus you keep the chip that won, so now you have eighteen dollars."

"Oh, I think I better stop now." He said holding his chips tightly. "Do you cash them?"

"No, I don't cash them, but let me exchange them for chips that you can take to the cashier." I was a little disappointed he didn't want to go one more spin. I figured I could probably get him back to even at least. The way he was betting, it had a possibility.

"Are there any other casinos in the area?" He asked innocently.

"Yeah, just go out the front doors and there is one across the street and four that way and eight that way." How could he miss them?

"Oh, are there any restaurants in the area? I mean cheaper ones. I just got here today and I'm staying here. I went the cafe here and I got a turkey sandwich and it came to thirteen dollars." Mild outrage surrounded the words, "thirteen dollars". I explained that a lot of casinos in the area have much cheaper places to eat and that we tended to be the most expensive. He replied, "that will be good I could go eat there and spend more here." I chuckled appreciatively on the casino's behalf. I felt bad for the guy. He obviously didn't come prepared for the expenses of Vegas. He didn't even come prepared for the expenses of gambling. He plans money for vacations like I do. I always underestimate expenses horribly and end up in debt. Poor guy. Vegas is going to eat him alive.

He gathered up his eighteen dollars. "Thank you for your help. I'm sure I'll see you around. I'm going to be here for six days."