The Day of Reckoning
“Fine. If you think the forty percent I’m getting is too much, I’ll throw in the car and trailer as a gift.”
“…….”
Because of that guy, I always managed to find work, too.
James had played a major part in getting Colt the chance to host the recent Las Vegas shows. He was getting on in years now, and at his age it had become hard to land work when younger new faces kept pushing in from below. But by working with James, he kept getting hosting jobs, and that had made him into a veteran emcee quick on his feet.
“Make the math clean. I said we were splitting it sixty-forty.”
“Once you’ve made up your mind, James, is there anything that can stop you? I figure we’ll bring in at least two million dollars...”
With a minimum estimate of two million dollars, forty percent came to eight hundred thousand dollars for him. And that was only the floor. If they went over three million, his share could easily climb past a million.
At the thought of a million dollars landing in his lap, what was a hundred grand to him?
“So now you’re feeling generous? What if I lose everything tomorrow?”
“…….”
Colt never even imagined James failing.
“You failing? That’s impossible.”
“That’s an awfully unconditional kind of optimism.”
“Can’t you just say you trust me a lot?”
“Heh. Then I guess I can’t help but repay Colt’s trust.”
“Puhahaha.”
“Don’t laugh yet. Laugh after I get rich tomorrow.”
“Puhaha. Let’s go home. If we’re going to stay sharp tomorrow, we need to get to bed early.”
“Col-col. Colt!”
“...If I really pull this off tomorrow, you can call me whatever you want.”
“Oh? Nice! Col!”
Vwoom.
A single vehicle slipped quietly out of the dark desert valley.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Business began at the Las Vegas casino, and by evening the VIPs had started arriving one after another.
“Welcome, Mr. Tony.”
“I’m in a good mood today. I think I’ll win big.”
Kennt had already been thinking about the professionals scheduled to show up at the poker tables tonight, but he kept his bright smile in place and wished him luck anyway.
“Of course. I can already tell Lady Luck is waving at you, Tony Anderson.”
“Hahaha. Show me in.”
Next came the professional players dispatched from each casino.
“Welcome, Rene Chiffre.”
“Thank you, Manager Kent.”
The fact that pro poker players belonged to a casino did not mean they were legally employed there. It only meant they operated at that casino under an unofficial contract.
“Felix Carlos. Welcome.”
“...I’d like it if you called me often from now on.”
“…….”
Between casinos, there were lines you were expected to respect without ever saying so aloud. You could not casually try to recruit a pro player from another casino.
It couldn’t be helped tonight because the situation was unusual, but even so...
No matter how talented someone was, becoming an affiliated player was a completely different matter.
“Haha. The VIP room is this way.”
“...I’ll show you my real skill tonight.”
After Felix came Leo Branson, a casino-backed player.
“Mr. Kent. We haven’t started yet, have we?”
“Don’t stand there chatting. Get in there quick. Before the bastard shows up...”
Leo was one of the pro poker players under Kent’s management.
“You mean I can use anything at all?”
“I’ve already cleared it with the other pros. Just don’t let him catch on. Oh, and make sure you treat Tony Anderson especially well.”
“Tony’s here too?”
“Yes.”
“Oh... that raises the stakes for tonight.”
Leo’s eyes gleamed with greed. Tony Anderson was one of the few true billionaires in the room.
If I handle this right tonight...
“...What’s with that look? I told you not to touch Tony Anderson!”
“Tch.”
“Remember that tonight you’re playing with pros from other casinos. If you use your tricks carelessly, your name will spread all through this business.”
It wasn’t just Leo who mattered. If the rumor got out, the casino’s reputation would be ruined too.
“I understand.”
Not long after Leo went in, another car arrived.
Vwoooom.
Click.
The person who stepped out of the car was the James Kent had been waiting for.
“James, you made it again today.”
“Haha. I heard I’d be brought up to the VIP room today. So I brought everything I could.”
For today, James had dressed himself in a fine suit and withdrawn the large sum he had earned from his performances so far.
“If it’s the lucky James, I’m sure it’ll turn out well.”
“Of course. I’m confident.”
“Let me show you in. This way...”
“Thanks, Mr. Kent.”
He’s not nervous at all. But today will be different, James Kane.
Following Kent toward the VIP poker room, James smiled faintly.
I’m looking forward to this.
James had a plan that could only end in success.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“The starting buy-in is set at one million dollars, but rebuys are allowed at any time.”
With that brief explanation, the dealer’s hand sent the cards flying out, and each player checked his hand before the game began in earnest.
“Raise.”
Clack.
“Call.”
Clack.
“Raise.”
Clack.
It was a fierce struggle right from the start.
How impatient.
“Fold.”
The moment James laid his cards down, the heat in the room cooled so quickly it was almost absurd.
What is this?
As a few hands played out, James gradually began to sense something off about the atmosphere.
It feels like they’re only targeting me.
Even if one player dropped out, the flow of the game should have remained roughly the same. But whenever he folded out, the players who had been raising suddenly settled for checking or calling instead of pushing the pot higher.
Should I test it?
“Check.”
James passed without adding chips, but the next player raised the bet.
“Raise. Forty thousand.”
Tony Anderson may be a very well-known name, and he’s certainly a massive tycoon, but he has no reason to target me...
“Call.”
“Call.”
“Call.”
In a five-player game, everyone except James called and waited for the next turn to come back to him.
“...Call.”
Clack.
Their eyes were shining now that they had confirmed James was in. The next cards were dealt, and Tony, who had been the first to raise, passed cautiously with a check.
“Check.”
“Call.”
“Call.”
“Call.”
“...Raise. Eighty thousand.”
James deliberately pushed the pot higher. Tony glanced at his own hand and said,
“Fold.”
Then the raising began again on the next players’ turns.
“Raise. One hundred sixty thousand.”
“Call.”
“Raise. Three hundred thousand.”
The bets were growing as though this were the final showdown.
James studied their hands with mana and frowned inwardly.
Nothing at all...
He himself had two pair, aces and kings, but the others were chasing straights and flushes. The two most wary players were after something, and the remaining one didn’t even have that much, sitting on no pair at all.
“Call.”
As though they had all agreed to settle at three hundred thousand, everyone called, and the final card fell.
Jack...
The last card was a jack, and James’s hand ended with two pair. He hurriedly checked the others’ hands.
Huh?
Rene, who had been chasing a straight, failed to get the card he wanted at the end and came up empty. Felix, who had been chasing a flush, also failed to match the suit and missed it. But when James looked again, he realized he did not have the best hand.
The card changed?
The problem was Leo’s hand, which had given him nothing to hope for.
7 triple?
Leo’s last card was a seven, and with the seven he already had, it should have become one pair of sevens. But now one of the cards had changed into a seven, giving him three sevens total. A triple was a higher hand than James’s two pair.
James flicked his eyes toward the dealer.
So that bastard swapped the card, which means...
It was impossible without prior coordination with the dealer. If they simply shuffled and dealt again right away, there was even a chance of an absurd result where five sevens would appear.
“Check.”
James let it pass with a check, but Leo boldly raised the bet.
“Raise. Five hundred thousand.”
James tossed his cards aside as if he didn’t even need to look at them.
“Fold.”
“Wow. My instincts are sharp today, huh?”
“…….”
It wasn’t instinct.
James could be certain of that after hearing the dealer’s next words.
“I’ll replace the cards.”
They’re coming for me, him and the dealer both.
It wasn’t just Leo. The other two, excluding Tony, also carried the scent of professionals. Even the movement of the chips in their hands was natural.
This... is getting more interesting.
It was clearly a stage set up for him by the casino.
I’m built for the stage, after all...
With years of stage experience behind him, James was enjoying the moment he had become the main act.
“Let’s rebuy and bring it back up to one million dollars.”
The chips, which had fallen to five hundred thousand after several losses, were restored to one million. James had no more money left to rebuy with.
My entire fortune from Las Vegas, then.
“James. Isn’t this money that you earned through hard performances? Don’t you mind losing it?”
James laughed off Tony’s concerned words.
“I’m still young. I can always do more magic shows.”
“Haha. Youth is something you can’t trade for anything.”
Smiling at James’s bold words, Tony asked curiously,
“I still can’t figure out James’s magic tricks. No matter how I look at it.”
“You’ve been watching my show? Thank you, Tony.”
“Truthfully, when I saw James coming into poker today, I was a little worried.”
“That I might use magic in poker?”
“Exactly. But now I think I was worrying for nothing.”
“Card magic requires secret preparation, but how could anyone prepare in a place like this? Unless the dealer helps, it’s impossible.”
“…….”
“…….”
The last line was meant for the dealer and Leo to hear.
“Hahaha. Right.”
Thanks to Tony speaking up, the dealer was able to smoothly swap in the new cards and finish shuffling them.
“...I’ll deal the hands now.”
In the games that followed, James kept a serious expression. This was a hand with his entire fortune on the line, so he made sure to look tense.
“...Check.”
“Raise.”
“Raise.”
“Fold...”
Yet he kept folding over and over, shaking his head as though no good cards would ever come his way.
And then the opportunity came.
“Raise. One hundred thousand.”
“Call.”
“Fold.”
“Raise. Two hundred thousand.”
This time it was the Hispanic player, Felix, who was willing to gamble.
Straight?
His hand was definitely ahead of James’s, but the final card James was due to receive was the kind that could overturn the entire table.
“Call.”
The total chips in play for this game came to four hundred and seventy thousand dollars.
Huu.
James called and let out a nervous sigh, waiting for the next card exactly as he had already checked it in advance. The last card was just what he had expected.
Felix has a king straight. I have...
“Raise. Four hundred thousand.”
James concealed his expression and went after Felix, and Felix studied the cards laid out before James with care before calling.
“Call.”
“Showdown.”
At the dealer’s word, Felix opened first.
“King straight.”
James turned over his own hand as well.
“Eight full house.”
“…….”
James’s victory. He had nearly doubled his chips in a single stroke.
“What a shame. I’ll rebuy.”
Felix, having lost almost all of his chips, added more without hesitation, and James straightened his own stack.
If this keeps going, it’ll never end.
The people in the game were the sort who thought nothing of a million dollars.
Should I wait until Leo and the dealer show their hand?
After waiting a long while, the chance finally came. The dealer was subtly manipulating the deal. James watched it plain as day and pretended not to notice, and the other players were also making an effort not to look toward the dealer.
They’re all in on it. I can’t drag this out too long.
James’s hidden cards held a consistent suit. When the additional face-up card was added, a real flush came together.
A heart flush...
Everyone else had hands ranked below a flush. And then James’s final card came down.
!
The final card was another heart, which completed a ten-high straight as well. He had made a straight flush, a hand that doesn’t come around easily in poker.