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Taking Savannah to the Ball
There was, however, a built-in simplifying factor for the third column: all its numbers were divisible by. I had no idea about Pat's mathematical skills, or if he even recognized that simple math was applicable to our situation, bur nevertheless, he was now chinning me with a shrug that said, Why not. I left the chips in the box and steeled myself in concentration as Guillermo spun the ball. It made several revolutions around the wheel, then fell dead in the number-3 slot. Everything was perfect. The ball didn't bounce out, and Pat had the easiest of calls because number 3 was in the top row, the first number in the third column. It was also, of course, divisible by . He remained silent. I exploded. All that pent-up energy came rushing out of my body. I let our a thunderous Yes! and followed it up with a monster claim. I hit the big one! I shouted, clapping my hands with an assortment of exaggerated gestures. It wasn't all an act, however. I was genuinely both thrilled to death and immensely relieved. Our number had finally come in. The tension had been building up in me that whole weekend. I just love Caesars Palace, I carried on. That's ten grand in the third column for me, Guillermo ten thousand dollars!
Guillermo looked down at my bet, casually lifted off the three red chips, flinched momentarily when he saw the chocolate under- neatn, put toe reas Deck a own next to It, then reaches low IllS IllP well and delicately peeled off two Caesars five- thousand- dollar chips from the handsome chocolate stack sitting behind the red, green, black, purple, and yellow stacks of chips in the well. He put the chocolates on the layout in front of him and announced, Chocolate going out, to let the pit personnel know he was paying out chocolate chips. Finally, he placed the two chocolates next to mine in the third column box. Are these yours also? he asked me, indicating the three red chips sitting in the box next to the chocolates. I was in seventh heaven. A clean ten-thousand-dollar payoff! No, Guillermo," I responded loftily. They're yours.
Thank you, sir. He paid himself , pocketed that plus the three red chips I had bet, picking up a forty-five dollar toke for the spin.
We cleared ten grand. I picked up the three chocolate chips and admired them in my hand, appreciating them as a jeweler did pre¬CIOUS stones. During all that hoopla I'd completely forgotten Pat was even there. When I finally did look over at him, he was smiling profusely and giving me chins, telling me everything was superclean. The floorman came over to take a look at me. There was no misgiving in his eyes whatsoever. He just wanted to catch a glimpse of Caesars' newest chocolate-chip roulette player. Before leaving the table, I placed two of the chocolates in the middle of the layout and asked Guillermo to change them into ten yellow thousand- dollar chips. This would facilitate our cash-out procedure later. Working Savannah with the chocolates, we'd have take the same cash-out precautions we'd taken when Pat romped through Caesars doing the blackjacks. If we were not prudent at the cage, they could pick up on us and discover our new move through surveillance.
I think the best feeling I ever had in my life was leaving that roulette table with a fistful of yellow chips from Caesars Palace. I let them jiggle in my hand, delighted in their sweet rattling music as I crossed through the main online casino and eased down the passageway (0- ward the back entrance and out the door. I had purposely taken the long route out of the casino because I didn't want the floorman, or any other personnel who'd been in that roulette pit, seeing me walk right out of the online casino after having made the winning five-thousand dollar bet. I never turned my head but assumed I was being watched. Just before leaving the table, I'd said loudly so that everyone in the pit heard, "I think I'll try my luck at baccarat. I did pass and stand briefly by the baccarat pit, which was in full view of the main pit where I'd won the ten grand. Anything and everything to keep up appearances.
