Los Paraidos: Pellagio Casino: Blackjack Table
It was without fanfare or announcement that Moira, Syed and Amy suddenly arrived at the blackjack table, courtesy of Dylan panicking over Don’s pure efforts of playing, and the former clasping her powerful mitts over Don’s mouth and forcing him to obey her next words. Normally Don would have been ecstatic to see his bro and his two wonderful sis’s, but not like this!
"What are you doing?!" Moira hissed to Don, locking those scary eyes with his. "Say hold!"
Don paused for but a fraction, and the crowd of onlookers that had gathered around the table all watched the friction with bated breath.
Don’s cheeks puffed out, before he suddenly gripped Moira’s wrist and wrenched it free, his own eyes becoming scarily passionate. A wagging finger extended out from his other hand.
“Now hold it right there, sis, you-”
“Hold,” The dealer, Serena, repeated, the assembled crowd all breathing a heavy sigh mixed with a variety of emotions – some relief and some disappointment. Even Serena herself had a small smile scribed on her face to see this hapless man finally win once. His collected twenty, beating the dealer’s sixteen, meant he was returned twice his bet.
Don looked at the table, stunned silent.
“See, you idiot?” Moira folded her arms and grumbled a mammoth huff, looking off into the distance with pride… making sure to look cool but not be too obvious about it.
“Well done, bro!” Dylan clapped Don’s shoulders, wiping his brow and then turning to Amy to answer the cleric’s question.
Don, meanwhile, seemed transfixed on the table, his eyes bulging wide, as he studied the procedures that just happened. And then… then…!
“I’ve got it now!” Don screamed at the top of his lungs, slamming down a fresh bet of chips. He eased back into his stool, flicking another of his chips up and down, up and down. A cocky grin forming.
“You know how to play now?” Syed looked bewildered. He was still having some trouble himself.
“I’ve got it!!” Don flashed the dealer a look that spoke pure confidence, one leg folded over the other, and a lithe, slender finger tapping against his forehead. The dealer gulped, and nodded. Praying herself for this man to be lucky, for as ridiculous as he was, he held a mesmerising charm.
What was dealt to Don was a two and a three.
“HOLD!” Don screamed again, thrusting his open palm out across the table, his head turned the other way, looking smoothly into the distance. He knew now… he just knew… that ‘HOLD’ was the way to win. He had this game in the bag.
A chorus of screams echoed throughout the casino.
Los Paraidos: Pellagio Casino: Texas Hold’em Poker Table
“Well well well, lookee here. Who’s a popular ol’son of a gun, eh?” Kenneth laughed, amused with the way beautiful young women of all varieties swarmed from out the casino, latching themselves to the lanky thin silver haired man with the boyish face opposite him. If Kenneth wasn’t the type of man he was, he might have felt jealous. Instead, he felt proud.
First it was the red haired Estelle, clutching onto him tightly as if jealous of Mordie’s own advances, with a diminutive looking wallflower of a brunette accompanying a short distance behind. And then another girl, the one Mordie had brought with her to the table, called out from over Kenneth’s shoulder, showing enthusiastic support for the man who’s name was Marcus, her pigtails bobbing up and down with the energetic shaking of her cheering body. And another woman, this one much more of an actual woman compared to the others, filled out in all the right places in a stunning black evening gown and fluffy scarf draped over her shoulders. Kenneth let out a silent whistle, as Mordie shuffled all around the table again to rejoin Kenneth, feeling her Kenny-poo was beginning to look outmatched, not that there was ever any worry of that happening.
“Just a heads up, M…M… Marco?” Aria spoke up, smiling as she greeted the Wind Mage, Estelle, and Lisette with a short wave. “We’ve only got two hours left so you might want to wrap up things with your friend here soon.”
“Two hours? Shucks! Sweetheart, you don’t need to worry about your little friend here running all you fine lasses late. This here game will be done in no time at all upon your ol’ friend Kenneth’s honour.” Kenneth grinned and winked again. Marcus simply laughed and thanked Aria for the time update. Casinos held no clocks at all, designed in such a way as to beguile the sense of time and keep customers trapped inside far longer then they otherwise might.
“Hmm…” Estelle frowned, gladly taking the free seat Mordie had offered her, and leaning in close to whisper to Marcus. “I don’t like him. Make sure you kick his butt, Marcus!!”
Marcus just laughed and nodded again.
“Er, bros…? Can we… get back to the game now bros…?” Clive blinked.
“I reckon so,” Kenneth grinned. His sight turned from Clive to his right, towards his left, and at the next player they were waiting for, Kenneth having been the last one to raise the pot. When suddenly-
“ALL IN!” The thin hair receding middle aged, sweaty man declared, pushing all of his pot in. It wasn’t much compared to the considerable stacks Marcus and Kenneth had already accumulated, but it was enough to provoke a surprising reaction.
“Woah-ho-ho-ho! Looks like our little cowboy over here wants in on some action!” Kenneth grinned.
“I’m… I’m sick of being ignored! I’m a player here too!!” The unassuming man shouted, hunching down, mentally preparing himself to ride the buckling bronco gauntlet. He had actually gotten jealous of all the female attention Marcus and Kenneth were receiving, and wanted to be noticed too.
“I CALL! ALL IN TOO!” The next player, the sole female, pushed her stack in as well. It wasn’t as large as the other man’s, but she too wanted to become a part of things here, and she didn’t like how the white haired woman Mordie had suddenly stolen her crush’s affections. Why didn’t he give HER his lollipop?!
“ME TOO!” The third player added, a large, bulky man throwing in all of his chips, an amount hovering inbetween the two called stacks so far. Compared to the others, this one was simply following the motions everyone else was doing too.
“Oooh… this just got serious…” Estelle tilted her head in curiosity.
Marcus, at the end of the table, seated at Clive’s right, opposite Kenneth, just kept smiling. He didn’t pause to check his cards, instead counting his stack of chips. And then…
“Call, with a raise of…”
With everyone else already throwing everything they had in, there was only one thing this action could mean. It was a challenge.
Kenneth grinned. This little doggy had teeth.
“Hohoho, didn’t I say this game was going to end quick…?” A flash sparkled from Kenneth's teeth.