Put the rest of your cash on Red 27 at 36:1 odds

The croupier?s eyes open just a bit at your bravery. ?Are you sure, miss? Those are long odds.?

?I?m sure,? you squeak, not as confidently as your had hoped to come off.

?All bets are final,? he says, and he spins the wheel. You grow dizzy as watch it twirl in all its glorious colors. The ball is dropped into the whirlwind, going round and around, clinging and clanging up and down the divots of the wheel. You try to get a fix on 27, but you?re too far away to see it clearly. Finally, the ball catches. It?s red! As the wheel slows down, you close your eyes and cross your fingers. The croupier catches his breath?

?Red Twenty-three!? he booms. Your heart sinks. ?Sorry, Miss. Thought you had it there for a second.?

Maddie tries to comfort you, but you just shrug her off. The ride back to the hotel is pretty quiet, though mostly because you?re both tired. You have to assure Maddie a half-dozen times that you?re okay, though by the time your head hits the pillow you?re beginning to wish you?d never placed that bet.