“Something like that. If they got the multiplier, they get fifteen.”
I shake my head in disappointment, “Poor, old saps. Wasting their money on chump change. They have no idea what they could be winning if they took the risk.”
As we’re passing the machines, we head over to the card table section, walking up to the first empty table we could find. To our luck, it so happened to be a Blackjack table. We approach the able and calmly stand at the front. Dressed in the normal red and black attire a young looking man is our dealer eagerly looks at us with a deck of cards in his hands.
“Hello there, gentlemen. Feel like testing your luck in some Blackjack?”
I answer first, “Of course. We’re here to try and make it rain tonight.”
The dealer laughs and begins shuffling the cards, “Well, come on and have a seat. However, I will have to ask you to remove your glasses. There’s a strict policy about that in the casino.”
I give a slight nod, “Ah, I see. Sorry about that.” I carefully take off the glasses and reveal the next step in the plan. I can tell by the man’s face that he’s confused by what he sees.
Our plan is to get away with counting cards. Typically, the dealer can tell somebody is counting when they spend too much time staring at the cards, so I put false contacts in my eyes to make it seem like the color in my eyes are faded.
Seeing my eyes, the dealer quickly apologizes, “Oh, I’m sorry, Sir. I had no idea that you were…”
“Blind? It’s perfectly fine, my boy.” I pat Marcus on the shoulder and put on a small smile, “That’s why I have this guy next to me. Mr. Boweman will be my eyes in this game of luck. I’m just carrying the money.” To make everything seem more authentic and believable, I put the glasses on the table so the dealer can see them in his sight.
Marcus begins his role as my care giver, “I’ll tell Mr. Pauling here what cards are on the table and he’ll say what he wants to do.”
The dealer smiles back and gives a thumbs up, “That’s fine with me. It’s unusual to have a customer of his status playing, but who are we to judge how people spend their money?”
I let out a small laugh and feel out for the edge of the table, “Damn straight. Now let’s get playing!”
I drop a few dollar bills on the table and our card game begins. The dealer passes out the cards between Marcus, himself, and I. Without moving my head, I glance down at the cards in front of me and observe.
A king and an eight… this one is obvious.
“Mr. Pauling, it’s a king of hearts and an eight of spades,” Marcus says. “What would you like to do?”
“A king and eight, huh? Well, that’s easy: I’ll pass.”
The dealer nods and flips up the next card, “A seven. And that puts me over, Sir. You’ve won this round.”

