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Casinos in Space, a full-length novel serialized for Casino Detroit Magazine. Copyright © 2000 - 2007 By Howard Berenbon Chapter 2 You Can Count On Me As they road the elevator back to their rooms, Paul was happily counting his winnings. He was still a little fuzzy about Slim and what had actually happened, but he didn't care. He already decided that he was going to treat everyone for drinks, and also buy them gifts at the gift shop. He had never been much of a gambler, until now. The bug had hit him, but in an unusual way. On his own, he would never have played craps, let alone blackjack at a table with other people. If anything, he would be at the video poker machines or slots. "Well, Paul," Barry said. "I must say that you're doing well these days. Maybe you'll have to teach me what you know about craps. I've always been fascinated by the game, but never had the guts to play it." "I can't help you, Barry," Paul answered. "You'll have to consult with Slim." "I'm confused," Mark said. "Now, who is this Slim person?" Paul explained what had happened, and everyone listened, but no one really believed him. "He just appeared from nowhere, and forced me to play craps," Paul explained. "And I won." "I believe you," Barry said. He worried that Paul was headed for another nervous breakdown. They couldn't afford to have Paul ill again, especially if they were millions of miles away from home. "Okay, guys," Paul said as they reached their rooms, "tomorrow, drinks are on me. And maybe later on, I'll run down to the gift shop and buy snacks and tee shirts for everyone." "You mean the drinks are on the casino," Mark said. "Why don't we have drinks in the sphinx?" Barry said with a chuckle. "That's cute, Barry," Susan said with a grin. "You can have drinks anywhere your heart desires, partner," Paul said. A message on the video display interrupted their conversation announcing the Las Vegas departure for the Briney System at twenty-three hundred hours. Though the effects of acceleration, and leaving Earth's gravitational pull would be minimal, they were warned to stay in their rooms to avert any possible complications. "Hey, men," Mark said. "Why don't we go up to the bridge tonight? I'm sure we can talk them into letting us observe our departure." "Great idea," Barry said. "But we'll need clearance." "Not a problem," Mark said. "I'm sure we're in their database. Don't forget to bring your identification cards."
The men met in the lobby at 10:35 p.m., but without their wives. Susan, Jane and Elena planned an early morning aerobics class, so they were in bed by 10 p.m. "It's boys' night out," Barry said. "I can't believe the women already signed up for a morning exercise class." "Early to rise for exercise," Mark added. "That is a true statement," Paul said stiffly. It was 10:45 p.m. when Mark, Barry and Paul exited the monorail at Caesar's Palace on the second level. It was a busy night. The tables were crowded, slot machines were ringing and clanking their payoff songs and cigarette smoke filled the air. They exited the hotel lobby and started walking toward the front of the ship. It was like any typical night on the strip. The lights glowed and flashed in the distance as an artificial night breeze gently pushed them forward. It was 10:50 p.m. when they reached the restricted area leading to the bridge and control room. "Halt," the armed guard demanded as the men reached their destination. "Passengers are not allowed here. Go back to your rooms." Paul, startled by the guard, turned around, but Barry placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "Get your IDs out, guys. We're allowed to be here." "We are cleared here, sir," Mark said. "We'll check out okay." The guard looked at the men suspiciously, but accepted their identification cards and then turned to a computer terminal for just a minute. "Sorry for the inconvenience, gentleman. Yes, you are cleared." He looked surprised. "First, put these badges on, then go right ahead." It was 10:58 p.m. when Paul, Mark and Barry stepped off the elevator and entered onto the bridge. They were just in time. The crew was busy in the final stages of engine startup initialization, so they went unnoticed for the moment. "I am amazed at what they have done with our TSPACE drive," Paul said. "Me too," Barry whispered. "Quiet," Mark interrupted. "Look, it's happening." Suddenly, there was complete silence and everyone was looking toward the bridge's front portal. It was 10:59 p.m. and the countdown for the jump was in progress. The room darkened and thousands of stars were visible. Computer screens on every terminal displayed the countdown as the ship's engines built up to the correct field strength for departure. It was the first of four faster-than-light-speed jumps before they reached the Briney System in the constellation, Vega, their final destination. Total time required for the trip was one week, or four space jumps, with time in between for power rejuvenation. That was the best they could do with the current technology. In the future, they hoped for the same trip to take only one day. At exactly 11 p.m., what they saw through the forward portal was amazing. As the engines generated their familiar humming sound with only slight noticeable vibrations, the stars expanded from pinpoints of light to large ellipses and then collapsed into elliptical pinpoints for a moment. The process repeated for several minutes as the spacecraft and passengers gently soared from Earth and into the depths of the Milky Way. "Good evening, gentleman," Captain White said as he approached the visitors. "We really enjoyed the show," Barry said. "I'm Barry Cohen, Captain. Thanks for having us on the bridge." "It's our pleasure, Dr. Cohen," he said. "It's your space drive that powers the Las Vegas." "I would love to look around the control room," Mark said. "The ship is way beyond the size we envisioned for use with our drives. I am very impressed." "That's the reason for four individual jumps rather than one long one. We can't sustain the energy for one jump, so we do it in four, recharging after each leg of our trip." "The Pentagon really took our idea and ran with it," Barry said with a smile. Paul started wandering on his own and was headed for the exit. "Excuse me, Captain," Barry said as he watched Paul approach the elevator. "Thanks for the tour. But we've got to go. It's late and our wives will be missing us." "Well, then, I'm sorry we couldn't talk more," Captain White said. "Please come again." Barry grabbed at Mark's coat with such a force that he almost knocked him down. "Paul is acting strange. I saw him talking to himself. We can't leave him alone. It looks like he's headed for a breakdown." Unfortunately, it was too late to catch Paul. As they reached the elevator, the doors were closing and they could just get a glimpse of him. His head was turned and his mouth moving, as if he was talking to someone. They tried to call to him to stop the elevator and open the door, but he either didn't hear them or refused to respond. "It's not like Paul to run off on his own," Barry said. "Let's hope he goes directly back to his room." "If history repeats itself," Mark said. "I bet that he's on his way to a casino." He paused. "But which one?" "I'd say back to the Mirage," Barry answered. "That's where he won his $900."
Paul was not surprised to see Slim. In fact, he was looking forward to learning more about gambling from the old-timer. He didn't care if it was an entity, or ghost or something from his own imagination, like a giant invisible rabbit named Harvey. He was on a long needed vacation and he was going to enjoy himself, no matter. "Howdy, partner," Slim said. "Long time no see." It had only been a few hours. "Oh, hello," Paul said with a grin. "Ready for another lesson in winning, boy?" "I'd like that," Paul said. "But aren't the casinos closed for the departure?" "Why, yes and no boy," Slim returned. "They are closed until 11:30 p.m. and it's just about that time now. By the time we hop onto that there rail car, we can be there for the reopening. And I know a nice quiet table at the Dunes, in the aft of this tin can, where we can play a nice quiet game of single-deck blackjack. And you can count on me to help you walk away a winning cowboy." Paul chuckled to himself thinking that if his subconscious had invented Slim, it must have used Barry's image because it was coming up with ridiculous puns, a trademark of Barry Cohen. "Are you ready, partner?" Slim asked, interrupting Paul's thoughts. "Uh, yes. I'm a ready to win, partner." They exited the monorail at the Dunes. It was almost empty, except for a few people at the slot machines, and several more at blackjack tables. It was quiet, and there was no cigarette smoke in the air. It was a perfect time for gambling, Paul thought as he followed Slim toward the rear of the casino where a row of single-deck blackjack tables resided. "Sit down and make yourself at home," Slim said. "Let's lasso the bull by the horns, here, and that's no bull." "Place your bet," the dealer said as he shuffled the deck. Paul looked at Slim for advice. "Take $100 and bet it on the first hand," Slim said. "It may not be scientific, but you're likely to win first time out. Let's play with their money." Paul did what Slim said and placed a $100 bill on the table. "Do you want change, sir?" the dealer asked. "No, that's my bet." The dealer dealt the cards, with an ace showing. Paul had a ten and a queen. "Insurance?" Slim responded saying, "I never much liked insurance. It's a waste of money." "No, thank you," Paul said. The dealer turned over his card and revealed another ace. He then proceeded to deal himself a queen and a ten. "Bust," he said. Paul was happily grinning. He was now $100 ahead. It was a nice private game of blackjack, without interruptions, except for the waitress bringing Paul drinks. Then, after fifteen minutes of betting $100 a hand, and downing four double shots of a synthesized Russian vodka, Paul was again ahead $900 and very much relaxed. He was so relaxed that he flirted with the waitress, which was not like him at all. "Let's get going, boy," Slim said. "Take your winnings and run. I know a place around here where you can spend it. And I think you'll like it. Lots of topless cowgirls to wrestle, and it's more fun than hog-tying a steer." They left the casino, and walked a block toward the aft area of the ship, near the entry hatch. Stopping just short of the hatch, they followed a stairway two flights down to a dimly lit corridor that served as a maintenance area for the monorail system. When Slim reached the bottom of the stairs, he turned right and motioned for Paul to follow. They walked several minutes, following the curve of the monorail tracks. After passing several steel doors identified only by large yellow numbers, Slim stopped at one, taking a closer look. "Yep," he said, "this is it. Why don't you bang on the door, boy." Paul followed Slim's command, and after several seconds, the door opened. A large, dark-haired man stared threateningly at Paul and said, "What's the password, buddy?" They could hear loud music and people laughing inside. A strong stale odor from cigarette smoke reached Paul and passed into the corridor. Paul looked at Slim for an answer and Slim said, "Eat grits." "Eat grits?" Paul whispered back. "What kind of password is that?" "Who are you talking to, buddy?" the man asked. "Just give me the password. I don't have all night." "Uh, uh, it's 'eat grits.'" The man paused for a moment and then said with a grin, "Well, why didn't you say so in the first place. Come on in." Next, a scantily dressed woman greeted Paul. She looked him up and down and then motioned for him to follow. She led him through the crowded bar and to a couch near the stage. He could see three beautiful young women gyrating completely nude to the music. Red, blue and green spotlights illuminated the dancers with their light beams were visible in the smoke-filled air. The music blared intolerably. When Paul sat down, two woman, one blond and another brunette, sat beside him. They were completely topless. "Hello," Paul said shyly "Hi," the women said simultaneously. "We're yours, honey," the brunette said. "I'm Belinda and that's Tina. What's your pleasure?" "Uh, uh, nice to meet you," Paul said nervously. He then looked around the room for Slim, but couldn't find him. Belinda turned toward Paul, and stood over him, brushing her right breast on his cheek and said with a wink, "I'll be right back, honey. Want something to drink?" "Uh, no thank you," Paul said blushing. "I've had enough for the night. But go ahead and get drinks for yourself and, uh, Tina. My treat." "Well, thank you dear," Tina said, and then she kissed him on the lips. Paul blushed again, and then said, "Please don't do that. I'm married." He waved his wedding band in her face but she grabbed his hand and pulled it to her breasts. The effects of the vodka were lessening and he realized that he shouldn't be at the bar. He had to leave, he thought. "So, what?" Tina said. "We won't tell." A few minutes passed and then Belinda returned with the drinks. "Thank you dear," she said. "The waitress will be over in a little while to collect for the drinks." "Well, thank you very much for your fine company, girls," he said nervously, "but I really must go now. My wife must be worried about me as it's getting very late. So, thank you very much again for the company." He stood up and tried to locate the entrance. "Oh, no," Belinda said as she stroked his leg. "We are very sorry to see you go. But do come again, please." Just then, the waitress came over and handed Paul the bill. "What!" he said. "Nine hundred dollars? This can't be." If he wasn't sober a minute ago, he was completely sober after reading the bill. After several kisses from Belinda and Tina, followed by threats of bodily harm by two large bouncers, Paul paid the nine hundred dollars, and then was thrown out. Slim suddenly appeared in the corridor next to Paul. "What's the matter, partner? Didn't I say you'd have one fine time? I saw you wresting with those two cuties." "Oh, uh, yes, you're right," Paul answered, sounding discussed. "I'm going home. Good night." "I'm planning a nice game of roulette for you next time, partner," Slim said as Paul walked away. "See you soon." ### To be continued ..... |
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