The Foreigner
The Foreigner stalks the floor of the Fallsview Casino in Niagra Falls. Not quite convinced by his identification, he almost never made it past security, he was questioned at length before finally being allowed on to the gaming floor. He floats from one table game to next, observing only. He follows the action, reviews the betting, watches the players, follows the cards. Onto the next table, he follows the action, reviews the betting, watches the players, follows the cards. Onto the next table and the next. After some time, he settles behind the empty seat of a Caribbean Poker table, continuing to observe.
When the time is right, he sits down with just enough money for one bet. The young foreigner wins his first hand, plays another, wins another, he continues this pattern until he catches the attention of a suited man representing the casino. The Suit asks The Foreigner where he is from but it's nowhere he's heard of before. The Suit asks The Foreigner where he is staying but he doesn't seem to know. The Suit asks The Foreigner how he got there but again the answer is vague.
The Foreigner finds his friends, they head over to the bar and he shares what has just happened.
They of course already know about the trouble he had getting in, his youthful looks somehow nearly overriding the validity of an official passport, and they also knew he had wondered off to find something to have a gamble on.
Long before he found poker, he had always enjoyed gambling in it's various forms but this was long before he was a dogged veteran of casinos. No, in this simpler time, he was simply looking for the cheapest table game he could find but everything seemed so expensive. Back home you could sit down at pretty much any blackjack table with £20 and make £1/2 bets but despite wandering the massive casino floor, everything seemed to be $5 minimum, he wasn't about to blow all his holiday spending money on that!
Eventually, he found a table where there was a $2 minimum bet, 'excellent' he thought. He watched hesitantly before sitting down to play. He placed his $2 in the circle marked on the table in front of him. However, it would turn out, he did not quite know what he was doing. The $2 was only for the bonus, in order to play an actual hand, he would have to stake a minimum of $5 for some cards. Not wanting to lose face, he done that and got dealt a pair of kings and a three. The dealer informed him he would need to put another $5 in if he wanted to continue! With only $20, he could only afford one full hand at the table, but again, he was in too deep now, he would have to carry on. Fortunately he won the hand and got some more money to play with. Despite not really knowing what he was doing he continued to play and continued to win. He won the next hand and every hand after that. Things were going well until a man in suit, who presumably worked for the casino, arrived at the table and began speaking to him. The man in the suit was very pleasant and his line of questioning was put in a way that seemed to be done out of helpfulness, and yet, it was only directed and the player on the winning streak, which was suspicious for the player on the winning streak.
The 'interrogation' was friendly but at the same time intrusive, it was as if the man in the suit was trying to build a picture about the young foreigner, and being fairly introverted, the young foreigner didn't really want to share anything with this mysterious stranger with the mysterious motive. Fully aware of how he had stumbled into a remarkable winning streak, was he about to led to a back room of the casino? That's just a thing from the movies, right? He was becoming less sure of that and yet he was on a winning streak, there was stream of never ending free money being pushed his way, it would be madness to leave.
Despite the ever increasing pile of money in front of him, he had long since stopped enjoying the experience, the man in the suit had seen to that. Just as he broke the $300 mark, he lost his first hand, the dream was over. That signaled to the young man it was time to stop, so he gathered his winnings, said 'goodnight' to the man in the suit and quickly made his way back to the relative safety of his friends.
The group left after just one round of celebratory drinks, the Foreigner couldn't quite shake the feeling he was being watched.
When the time is right, he sits down with just enough money for one bet. The young foreigner wins his first hand, plays another, wins another, he continues this pattern until he catches the attention of a suited man representing the casino. The Suit asks The Foreigner where he is from but it's nowhere he's heard of before. The Suit asks The Foreigner where he is staying but he doesn't seem to know. The Suit asks The Foreigner how he got there but again the answer is vague.
As the suited man continued his line of inquiries, the initial $20 stake has grown to a stack of $300. The Foreigner is increasingly aware that while pleasant and polite, the suited man has no interest in any of the other players around him, he's solely focused on finding out more about the mysterious winning foreigner. Concerned about the attention he is receiving, The Foreigner gathers his winnings, says 'goodnight' and leaves the table.
The Foreigner finds his friends, they head over to the bar and he shares what has just happened.
They of course already know about the trouble he had getting in, his youthful looks somehow nearly overriding the validity of an official passport, and they also knew he had wondered off to find something to have a gamble on.
Long before he found poker, he had always enjoyed gambling in it's various forms but this was long before he was a dogged veteran of casinos. No, in this simpler time, he was simply looking for the cheapest table game he could find but everything seemed so expensive. Back home you could sit down at pretty much any blackjack table with £20 and make £1/2 bets but despite wandering the massive casino floor, everything seemed to be $5 minimum, he wasn't about to blow all his holiday spending money on that!
Eventually, he found a table where there was a $2 minimum bet, 'excellent' he thought. He watched hesitantly before sitting down to play. He placed his $2 in the circle marked on the table in front of him. However, it would turn out, he did not quite know what he was doing. The $2 was only for the bonus, in order to play an actual hand, he would have to stake a minimum of $5 for some cards. Not wanting to lose face, he done that and got dealt a pair of kings and a three. The dealer informed him he would need to put another $5 in if he wanted to continue! With only $20, he could only afford one full hand at the table, but again, he was in too deep now, he would have to carry on. Fortunately he won the hand and got some more money to play with. Despite not really knowing what he was doing he continued to play and continued to win. He won the next hand and every hand after that. Things were going well until a man in suit, who presumably worked for the casino, arrived at the table and began speaking to him. The man in the suit was very pleasant and his line of questioning was put in a way that seemed to be done out of helpfulness, and yet, it was only directed and the player on the winning streak, which was suspicious for the player on the winning streak.
The 'interrogation' was friendly but at the same time intrusive, it was as if the man in the suit was trying to build a picture about the young foreigner, and being fairly introverted, the young foreigner didn't really want to share anything with this mysterious stranger with the mysterious motive. Fully aware of how he had stumbled into a remarkable winning streak, was he about to led to a back room of the casino? That's just a thing from the movies, right? He was becoming less sure of that and yet he was on a winning streak, there was stream of never ending free money being pushed his way, it would be madness to leave.
The group left after just one round of celebratory drinks, the Foreigner couldn't quite shake the feeling he was being watched.
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