The Casino

The two had never seen anything like it. There was so much noise and commotion about, it was hard to focus on anything at once. Immediately Leena grabbed Manny by the arm and **** him towards a flashing machine.

"What do we do?" She pondered.

"No idea" Manny responded.

"Hmm it looks like we need to put in the cruise card that we got when we boarded, the one for our rooms." Leena discovered.

They were at a slot machine with an Egyptian theme called "Pharaoh's Choice".

"Maybe we should watch the person next to us?" , Manny turned towards their neighbor who was apparently on a roll. They figured out that you needed to match so many symbols and that if you got enough of the hieroglyph signs you got to do a worship event. If the worship event goes well then you collect gold coins. If you get enough gold coins then you could go into free spin mode with double value. It all seemed like a lot to remember and keep track of.

"I think it's like a video game system, you have to work your way through one progression to get to the next." Manny said, like a true nerd.

"Uh huh. I think you mean bigger number more fun, right?" Leena said with a laugh.

"Right."

"So... are your parents going to give us money for this?" Leena asked, remembering that Manny said he would ask them.

"Well, I told you I would talk to them, and I did. They already loaded us up with $1000 each. They said to make it last at least a quote unquote [raising his fingers here] 'reasonable amount of time' so I think we should be good for a while. I don't want to rush through it and have to ask them again like tomorrow, they wouldn't be happy with me and would think I was a gambling addict in a day." Manny said half kidding half serious.

"A THOUSAND DOLLARS?! Are you kidding me babe? Your parents are crazy!" She was blown away by the depth of his parents pockets sometimes. "Okay so, lets try it out. I wanna bet just a little at first and then see how we go from there okay?"

Just then they were interrupted by a waitress. "What can I get for you guys tonight?" She asked politely.

Leena looked at Manny "I FORGOT ABOUT THE BOOZE ALREADY!" she seemed ready to explode.

"Uh, uhm. I'm not really sure" She stammered out "It's our first time ordering drinks, what do you recommend?"

The waitress was knowledgeable of course so she offered a few classic choices. "Do you guys prefer Lime or Strawberry?"

Leena was confident on her answer "Strawberry please!"

Manny wasn't going to order the same drink, he liked variety and they liked to share. "Lime for me" he said.

"Okay then a Lime Margarita and a Strawberry Daiquiri on the way"

This being a luxury and all expenses paid for cruise, the **** would be free and limitless. Limitless unless you fell overboard because you were too drunk. Leena began to gamble in small amounts, gaining insight on how the game worked and what was the best way to bet. The game had all sorts of max bet bonuses where if you bet 5$ maximum you could more quickly earn your way to the jackpot. Leena wasn't very interested in figuring out the most efficient way to optimally play the games, instead enjoying the atmosphere and noises. She felt like the room was a stimulation chamber, every sense being activated all at once. It was a lot to get lost in.

The waitress arrived back with their drinks minutes later. They noticed she had tips on her tray so they left her a couple dollars to be nice. They weren't very experienced with **** at this point. Leena had enjoyed some wine coolers with her friends and they had both been to parties where they had some really cheap shots of cinnamon whiskey that tasted like candy, but other than that they were fledgling drinkers.

Leena grabbed her glass and raised it up in a toasting motion. "We're HERE!" She said.

They clinked their drinks and took their first sip.

"HOLY" Leena recoiled. "That is so strong!"

Manny had the opposite reaction, his lips puckering up at the sweet/sourness of the margarita. "Too sweet" They switched drinks, proving Manny's point to order a different drink to be a smart one. They had been laughing and talking while playing the game but not winning much money. Manny thought it would be a good time to try something new.

"Hey, do you think we could maybe try a table game? Like maybe blackjack?"

"Blackjack? What do you know about playing blackjack? You been learning to count cards behind my back?" Leena questioned.

"Well, it's just it was always a fun game to pass the time on my game boy or my phone when I got older. Plus, my dad would sometimes have his insurance buddies over and play for money in our dining room. They would let me watch and teach me sometimes, in between having me fetch them beers or rocks for their whiskey" He laughed at this.

"We could give it a shot I guess, let's go" Leena was usually enthusiastic about trying new things. She could even be a little risky at times if it was in the name of fun. They moved over towards a table, again deciding to watch a bit first before committing to the game. Manny told her everything he knew while they were watching.

"My dad told me that they can be very strict about following the rules. Things like making sure you have only hand on the table, or the way you swipe your cards to hit or put them under the chips stop." Manny explained. He always thought it sounded intimidating, but watching now made it seem more approachable.

"Hey, come on have a seat you two" An older gentleman instructed them, gesturing toward two stools to his right. They did as they were told and sat down, placing their finished drinks in the cup holders.

"How much would you like?" The dealer asked, motioning at their cruise card. "You have to use chips at the tables."

"Oh, umm, like 50$?" Manny came to an answer after seeing the sign on the table that said 'minimum bet: $1'. He decided they could give it a try and play a good number of hands on $25 each. The dealer entered their card into a machine and took out their chips and divided it among the two of them.

"You guys ever gamble before?" The older man asked, being friendly.

"No this is our first time" Manny answered for them.

"I thought so, you looked a little lost. My names Mark. I'm an old degenerate so I've spent many an hour in front of a dealer with a drink in my hand. I'll let you know if you do something funny, how's that?" He overshared, clearly a bit buzzed.

"Sure, yeah thanks" Manny replied, appreciating the help. "I'm Manny and this is Leena, nice to meet you" He stuck out his and hand for a shake. Leena followed and repeated "Nice to meet you".

They made their bets and the dealer played their initial cards. Manny had eight with a five and three, and Leena six with a four and two. The dealer had a three showing. Manny had explained earlier that you always assume the dealer has a ten as their second card, unless you've been counting the cards that is.

"Hit me" Manny said on his turn. It was a three. "Again" he said, swiping his cards towards him like his dad taught him. This time it was a nine. This made twenty.

"I'm done" Manny said while sliding his cards under the chips he bet. The dealer now motioned to Leena.

"Uh, hit me." She said. It was a king. Sixteen was her total now. She remembered something about how the dealer has to stop at seventeen and without thinking too much said again "hit me". It was a seven. She had busted. She turned her cards over to show a total of twenty-three and forfeited her chips.

"Nice!" Manny said as his twenty beat the three, nine, jack that made twenty-two for dealer. Mark had won his hand too.

"Honey, you never hit on a sixteen when the dealer has a three." Mark chimed in.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm not very good at this I've never played it before."

"That's okay, like I said I'm here to help" He said, keeping the mood buoyant. "Would you like me to teach you guys a few things over a drink at the bar?" He said, pointing over to the opposite wall where servers were coming to and fro.

Leena looked at Manny and shrugged "Yeah sure I guess, that would be fine." she was shy and smiley when saying this.

It was at this point Manny really looked at Mark for the first time. He was older but pretty good looking. Maybe about fifty. He had salt and pepper hair that made him look like a gentleman, but it was a little rough. He wore jeans, a ball cap, and a T-shirt. He had a little extra weight on him but he looked fine with it. His hat said U.S Marines. He knew Leena liked a man in uniform and at one point thought she was looking a bit too hard at him, but he brushed it off.

The trio moved to the bar and had a seat.

"I noticed your drinks earlier while you were watching before, how about we get something a little harder this time. Bartender! Three rum and cokes please, doubles." He ordered, sliding a five towards the bartender for tip. He was a bit loud when doing this, but Manny and Leena were happy to be treated nice by a stranger so they tolerated it.

"So, tell me this fine lady is your sister or something and make me feel better" Mark said, clearly hitting on Leena.

"No, we're together. We just graduated and came here to celebrate together" Manny said, feeling a little defensive.

"Damn, well never lucky I guess." Mark said, ignoring the attempt to change subject and still hitting on his girlfriend. "So is it just you two or what?" He asked, trying to figure out their story.

"No, our families are here, and a couple of friends too." Leena told him, trying to be included. "What about you? Who are you with?"

"I came alone right now, but I have a brother and his wife and son are joining the cruise later" He said. This was a very long cruise and there were options to join later for a smaller segment of the voyage.

"Were you in the Marines?" Leena asked, pointing at his hat.

"Yeah I was, honey. A long time ago. You never forget though." He said, a little distant now.

Returning to the point of the gathering Manny said "So about those pointers you had for us?"

The drinks were now delivered and they said cheers to meeting new friends. Mark began to explain what he knew to them, focusing more on Leena than Manny but conveying the information well. His knowledge felt like it would prove useful to them in the future.

Finally, they decided that it had been long enough and they should get back to their group so they could all talk about what they found. Manny wanted to talk to Josh about tactics gambling, and Leena had something she wanted to talk to Naomi about. They gave their goodbye and got up from the bar to head back to their cabins.

"Hey, catch you around soon?" Mark said after them.

Manny turned his head around, "Yeah, maybe tomorrow" he offered.

They had not expected to meet a stranger so friendly on their first day, within their first few hours.

If this a sign of what's to come in the future, this is going to be a wild ride, Manny thought to himself.

They rejoined the group and everyone had something to tell about their first moments on the ship. The night was still young and the group had a lot more waiting for them to discover.