All In

The sound of Wednesday rush hour traffic stumbled into Theo's haphazard apartment. It was a rough experience from all the senses: sight, hearing, smell, and even taste. An old and moldy slice of pizza dangled out of Theo's mouth as he sat on a couch. The TV volume was at maximum output, but still couldn't drown out the traffic outside. However, he was too lazy to get up and shut the window down.

A barrage of banging made Theo's eyes slightly widen from shock. It took a great mustering of courage for him to walk over to the door and open it.

"Is this Mr. Ferencik?" A mailman stood at the door.
"Yes," Theo mumbled.

"This is your eviction notice, Mrs. Campbell told me to deliver it to you."

Theo took the paper, eyeing it for a bit, and closed the door without responding.

At 10 P.M. The doors to the Resorts World Casino open. In Theo's hands, a dusty piggy bank, and a dream. Years of slot machine experience rushed right back to him. He was due for a win, but there wasn't a jackpot big enough to make his money back.

Win after win, his small bets turned big. His eyes began to glow. This was what he had waited years for. Every time he placed a small bet, it would lose, and he would let that small bet ride for a couple of spins. Then, he would place a big bet, because all of the bad luck in the machine had been washed out by the small bets. It worked, it worked well. He now had enough to get his apartment back, and more.

But the slot machine was only the beginning. The real money always lies on the blackjack table. Theo goes all in, and closes his eyes. 21, he chanted in his mind.

12. Hit.

14. Stand.

It's a win. All in again.

16. Stand.

It's a win.

Quit while you're up, Theo thinks as he leaves the blackjack table.

On his way out, Theo sees a new table which hadn't been there before. His eyes brightened, it was the coin flip table. He had to run his favorite strategy, and small bets wouldn't hurt, right?

10 dollar bet. Tails.

The coin flies into the air, and hits the table with a thud. It's heads.

20 dollar bet, to make that money back. Heads this time.

It's a loss.

Doubling every time to recover what he lost and more, there was practically no way for him to lose.

It's up to 1,280 and the stakes are getting high. It's a loss.

But he was due for a win.

2,560 on heads. Even time slowed down. There was no way this would be a loss, that would be so improbable. This bet breaks even, and Theo will take his profit and leave.

The coin shudders when it hits the table. It's still too blurry to see what the coin landed on. Theo squints as the coin settles down. The image in his head is broken by an unexpected reality. It's a bald eagle with the United States of America on top. He looks at the dealer. The dealer smiles.