The Game Room - Roulette

Connors finished his beer and decided to try and find the figure he had seen. He headed to a discrete green door in the rear of the bar and pushed it open. Inside was a dimly lit room with pools of light over card tables, pool & billiards tables and highlighting dart boards. There were a few figures playing at them and no-one seemed to notice him come in. He wandered further into the room and saw a small group of people standing around a roulette wheel. They were conversing in low voices and as he approached he could hear the familiar rhythmic sound of the wheel and the ball bouncing around as it slowed and finally stopped. One of the men raised his arms in victory and cheered. The croupier placed a large stack of chips in front of the man, who gathered them up and took them to a discrete window in the corner of the room. As Connors watched, the man was handed several thick wads of cash and grinning he turned to go.

"You've had some good luck there."

The man grinned at him, clearly delighted "You bet I have. It's a miracle. I came in here stony broke and now I have £100,000. And all I did was bet Red!" He walked past Connors and towards the exit.

Connors moved closer to the wheel and nodded to the men stood around it. They nodded back and turned their attention to the croupier. Connors studied the table - it all looked fairly familiar. The chips themselves looked standard, though each side was embossed with the head of a bear. He noticed that there were small markings on the squares by each number but he couldn't make out what they were. He bent to get a closer look and the croupier immediately said "Don't get too close to the table please Sir"

Connors stood back up. He unshipped the bag from his shoulder and took out a wad of £2000. "Can I buy myself in?"

The croupier smiled back at him "Of course, Sir." He quickly counted the money and passed Connors a stack of chips. "Welcome to the game, Sir. I draw your attention to the rules of the table." He pointed to a framed poster on the wall packed with writing. Connors shrugged "I'll check them out later. Let's play."

The croupier nodded "As you wish Sir." As he did so the other men exchanged knowing grins. "Place your bets please."

Connors decided to do exactly what the other man had done and bet on Red. He put a £50 chip down and stood back. He watched the ball as it slowed and nestled into a red pocket. "Red 32." said the croupier and slid 3 more £50 chips back to Connors. "Wait a minute," said the policeman, "this is usually a 1:1 bid." The croupier smiled "Not on this table, Sir. The rewards are higher - as are the forfeits."

Connors couldn't believe his luck. With just a few bets he could be rolling in money. On the next spin, he slid £200 onto the Red square and crowed as he won, netting him another £600.

He licked his lips and started to gamble in earnest