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This is a thought I had on my ride home last night. How far do you all travel from home or work to your casino or card room to play poker?
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I live in Houston's and it's an odd market. The 'Texas' rooms play way too big for me, so I'm left to travel to Lake Charles, LA (120-150 miles away) to the 4 casinos there - but the Texas rooms have taken a lot of that traffic away. None of the legit casinos ever have more than six 1/3 tables going on a busy Saturday night or Winstar at the OK/TX border on I35 (305 miles).
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Basically, I can't get a live game that I want to play unless I commit a significant portion of a day or a full weekend (costing a hotel night, etc.). If cost isn't a factor, I can add 30 minutes each way to my travel time and get to Vegas for the time it takes me to get to Winstar. It's why I can't ever really get more than 300 hours at the table. Because I'm basically spending just as much time time travelling as I do playing.
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When I fly to where I grew up to visit my mom, she lives 35 minutes from Sands in Bethlehem PA. It's super convenient and the gas costs/toll isn't ridiculous to go play for a few hours. It makes visiting my mom much more tolerable when I can jump out after she goes to bed and play for a few hours.
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Anyway - how far do y'all travel?

So I have only been playing poker for about a month now, but I have nonetheless already fallen in love with the game. I love it so much that I want to try and become a poker pro. My only issue is that aside from learning as much as I can, I can't really improve unless I am playing for real money. This leaves me in a bind because I have to be 21 to play on Bovada in Texas. I am going to college next year so I can certainly go to a state where the betting age is 18 and play on Bovada there: I think this may be my best option. Otherwise, I could try and take a gap year to Canada to work/go to school part time and dedicate the rest of my time towards learning/pokerstars/tournaments I can find.
I would appreciate any help in the best direction to take given my goal. If you think my goal is unreasonable, I understand, but please don't tell me that! ;)

I went to Shreveport this weekend for a guys' trip. This is my experience. This will be long and a lot will be common knowledge to live grinders. Believe it or not, I did cut out A LOT of unnecessary info..
I just want to start by saying the 1/3 game at The Horseshoe was AMAZING compared to the 1/2 games I've played 8+ years ago at Chocktaw/Winstar. I really hate low stakes NLH because of the 6-10x standard open and capped buyin, which basically turns the post flop game into a short stacked 2/5 game. 1/3 at The Horseshoe allows you to buy in and match the biggest stack. All of a sudden those $20 opens aren't so crushing. I've heard there is a 1/3 at Winstar. If you play there, please let me know if they have the same buyin setup.
First night, I get there, they just opened a new table, and I was able to sit down with people who also just arrived. I asked about the straddle situation. I do enjoy the button straddle element to the game, but rarely use it. They said if the table agrees, we can do a straddle/button straddle. We agreed. They put a small sign next to the dealer that indicates straddles are allowed. For those who don't know, a button straddle is where the button can double the big blind and take over as last to act pre. Once a button straddle is on, the small blind is now UTG and first to act. This table ended up being the best table I've played with probably ever. Most were drinking. There was a decent amount of action. Table talk was fun. I was immediately surprised how comfortable these players were that sat down. They all seemed to play very regularly and seemed like they would be good. Spoiler, they weren't. The players were limp/calling pre and very passive post for the most part. I get the feeling most would describe their game as TAG or LAG, but nearly all were completely Loose-Passive and Holdem Manager would label over half the table as fish. In online terms, I'd say this was a 45VPIP/10PFR table, which for my nitty game usually means cha-ching! I was right. By the end of it, I was in for $400 at 7:45pm and out at 11:30pm for $918. The free drinks were great and I got a bit drunky, which is mostly why I got up. I'm usually the worst drunk poker player ever, but managed to stick with the strategy this time. I didn't play a flashy game. I was nervous and had shaky hands for the first hour. I just played super tight, fold or raise pre(only limping blinds and rarely), big squeezes with premiums, and take it down on the flop or turn. I would have liked to have made smaller value bets to keep players in, but I was pretty determined to post a win and was quick to take them down. That way I can talk my wife into letting me play live more. I haven't played live at a casino in 2 and a half years and that makes me sad. Profit: $518 over 3.75 hours Stack: https://i.imgur.com/c2341xO.jpg My stack next to my buddy's absurd stack. He's a genuine LAG and much better than I am. https://i.imgur.com/6TDlVCh.jpg You can also see the button straddle sign in red next to the dealer
It was a guys' trip and we don't all play poker, so I didn't want to spend all my time at the table. I continued the drinky, including celebratory shots, and went to bed at 1am. Sadly, the dad in me woke up at 7am anyway. Two of my friends wake up at 8:30 despite staying up til 5am. We all get ready and watch Tiger play at the hotel until the only place we could find that has TV opens up, Hooters.
At 12:30, I'm back at the table. I'm pretty sure most of the players came from a dwindled 2/5 game because I look around and see some mega stacks from multiple OMCs. At least 3 have black chips($100) and I see a lot of green chips($25) out there. I think the big stack had about $2.5k. This table was a lot tighter preflop overall. I'd say this was about a 30VPIP/15PFR table. I play my same game waiting for cards. I end up about $150 up after an hour. I picked up queens and had a good flop. Took down $100. I did the same with an AK hand. Then I ran into a couple of OMCs that were not havin' it. I squeezed to $22 in position with AQo. OMC pops it to $225 after having limped originally. I let it go. Another hand, the King OMCs raises to $10. I raise to $25 with AJs. King OMC calls and the flop is AT3 with a flush draw possibility. I have top pair and no flush draw. Yay! I lead out for $25, which now I think I'd rather have checked. OMC pops it to $65. I think this is an easy call and see what happens, but this man has made zero plays so far. I mean, he has just sat there and I'm at times genuinely concerned he might be dead. Not this time. He woke up and I just folded. I had a weird feeling and let it go. Not long after that hand, and I shit you not, another OMC walks up to his king and at some point I hear the words "I wish they could hook this straight up to my veins." King OMC laughs in approval. I am not making this up. About this time, I'm ready to leave. I was super hung over, my hands were shaking even when I wasn't in a hand, and I had one of those back of the eyeball headaches. And let's face it, this table is not a great one for my game. In for $600 at 12:30 and out for $634 at 2:30. Profit: $34 over 2 hours (Did not take picture of my $34 profit stack)
I go back to my shithole room at Diamond Jacks and take a nap while my buddies hit up the pool. When I say shithole, I mean the tv is an old tube that cuts off the far right and left of every channel. Nice Jacuzzi tub, though. I can't complain too much. The room was only $250 for Friday and Saturday nights, which means I only paid $125 since we split the room. The TV: https://i.imgur.com/IeDtjtD.jpg https://i.imgur.com/EYaNrXJ.jpg Not bad Jacuzzi tub: https://i.imgur.com/5hKcyv5.jpg
After the nap, we eat and I'm back at the tables at 7:30. I'm super groggy this time. The table is great for action, but full of shady individuals who don't talk. I watched one guy pick up his big blind after the dealer forgot to scoop it in the pot. A few of us noticed, but didn't say anything. I later found out the guy he screwed out of $3 was his own brother. I have a few good hands. I had queens again that won me $40 preflop when I squeezed to $80. I picked up another $60 when I get AsJs and 5 $12 callers. I flopped two spades and bet $35 to take it down. Headache is gone, so that's a plus. Good news. After almost 2 hours, I'm up nearly $200. I decide to go ahead and pack it up. The trip has paid for itself, I'm too exhausted to concentrate, and time to get drunk one last night before it's back to reality. In for $400 at 7:30, out for $598 at 9:15. Profit: $198 over 1.75 hrs Stack: https://i.imgur.com/VwBOWbJ.jpg Again, my buddy's stack on the last night. He ended up winning all 3 sessions with over $2k profit for the weekend: https://i.imgur.com/hAoSVYP.jpg
Total of $748 over 7.5 hours ~$100/hr Yay!
TL;DR Went to Shreveport for a guys' trip. Had a great time. Found the 1/3 game is big and players are generally passive. Won some money and my friend won a lot more. I highly recommend it for those internet grinders who want to leave their basements every once in a while and try out live poker.

Hi everyone, I’m Maria Ho: Professional Poker Player, TV host/commentator and world traveler.
I’m a dual citizen of Taiwan and the U.S. - born in Taipei, Taiwan and raised in Los Angeles, CA. I started playing poker in college at U.C.S.D. when I showed up, uninvited, to my guy friend’s home game. With a couple six packs of beer in hand I talked my way into the game, eventually started beating the boys, and worked my way up in stakes at the local Indian casino before embarking on my first WSOP in 2005.
I’ve made over 2.6 million dollars in poker earnings, which includes 32 WSOP cashes, 3 WSOP final tables, 4 WPT cashes, and 6 other final tables on the pro circuit. In 2011 I played heads-up for a World Series of Poker bracelet and finished 2nd for $540,020 - breaking the record for the largest cash by a woman at the WSOP. At the 2012 and 2014 WSOPs I was the Most-Cashing female player (with 6 and 8 individual tournament cashes). And I’m the first and only player to be the WSOP Main Event “Last Woman Standing” three times over.
Outside of poker playing I’ve dabbled in a variety of TV shows and competitions. I was on season 3 of American Idol, competed as the only all-female team on the Emmy-winning The Amazing Race, been a panelist on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360, and have been invited to compete on PokerStars Shark Cage for the last two seasons. As a strategic commentator and TV host my work includes the HPT, ESPN 360, and Poker Night In America: The Tour.
...And if all that doesn’t keep me busy enough I’m the celebrity spokesperson for the WinStar World Casino and I host Poker Central Live with Maria Ho weekly on Twitch from wherever I find myself in the world: Sydney, Monte Carlo, Dubai, London, Vancouver, Maui, Cancun… and sometimes from my own bed in California! http://www.twitch.tv/pokercentral
Currently I'm in Malta where I'll soon be hosting Europe’s largest stand-alone poker tournament, Battle of Malta, November 4th-9th! http://www.pokerlistings.com/battle-of-malta
Proof: https://twitter.com/MariaHo/status/659774481171398656
........
Thank y'all so much for all the interesting and unique questions! I really enjoyed answering them! Hope my answers were helpful/insightful! This AMA is now closed. 😊

Those were the first words Donald Fagen spoke to the crowd after Black Cow, Aja and Hey 19 started off the show at the WinStar Casino in Thackerville, OK last night. I've been to numerous SD shows over the years but last night, as you would suspect, was very very different. The band played for nearly two hours and the setlist was very similar to the 2016 "The Dan Who Knew Too Much" tour. Book of Liars, from Walter Beckers 11 Tracks of Whack album was performed with a touching video tribute along side it. Kid Charlemagne closed out the show and I had a few thoughts afterwards. This might be the last time I get to see the band, the fantastic musicians, the great Dannettes. I was lucky enough to score 5th row center seats and the performance was pristine. It was as good as any SD show I've been to. Secondly, while there are musical acts with some common elements, nothing really replicates what this band can do live. The fact that the horn section, rhythm and singers have largely remained they same for the 17+ is no small feat. Lastly, I miss Walter Becker being up there. The bluesy noodling through songs, being goofy during Hey 19, introducing the band. It just wasn't the same without him.
Lastly, I'll end with a question for the subreddit. Multiple people in my section kept yelling 'Hey Herington, step on it!' to Jon Herington. Is this a tradition I was unaware of or perhaps some strange Oklahoma ritual I shouldn't ask about?

Rank 1 NA
I just wanted to show that it is possible to make it to legendary without having all the legendary cards at your disposal. I started out with druid and having 2 legendary cards (Pagle and Cairne) and I would buy a new pack every time I got 100 gold from playing. I eventually saved up enough gold for a tinkmaster. The Druid deck was able to get to legendary, but the Shaman deck was the deck that actually got to rank 1 and it only has one legendary card (Pagle) with could easily be replace by another Manatide totem. There are legendary cards that would make these decks more optimal, but the are not absolutely necessary. If you want to learn anymore about the decks or ask me any questions feel free to visit my stream or just hit me up on twitter. <3
Bio: My primary hobby for the past 15 years was Magic the Gathering where I wore TMNT shirts and was known as "T Webb" so that is where my name comes from. I played on the Magic Pro Tour on and off and was a gravy train pro for 2 years during college. I fell off the pro tour during my Senior year when I was focusing on school. I attended college at UNT in Denton and dealt black jack at Winstar world casino. While in Denton I lived in an apartment with Kitkatz and we played a lot of Magic the gathering online. Over the past couple years magic has changed and I have liked it less and less so I recently started playing Hearthstone. Six days after I ventured into constructed I got to rank 1 on NA with one legendary in my shaman deck.
The decks that I used. Very few legendary cards: Shaman Decklist Druid Decklist
My Stream and Twitter: TMNTWEBB's Stream TMNTWEBB's Twitter

I've had a serious revelation these last two days after playing poker in Oklahoma - Fuck moving to Las Vegas / LA.
I am a twenty seven year old working professional and I've been throwing around the idea of turning pro for quite awhile. After a lot of thought and a lot of time at the tables, I finally decided I was ready to start the process. This was roughly one month ago. I've started to save my money and will continue to do so for the next year. This will leave me with a very comfortable bankroll to start grinding for a living. My initial thought process would have led me towards living in Vegas or Los Angeles, as I have always done pretty well there overall. This all changed in the last two days.
I am renting a house in Oklahoma with the sole purpose of grinding at the WinstaChoctaw casinos and I don't want to do this alone. I'd like to find two or three other like minded individuals who are interested in pushing their chips forward and making the leap. I see a lot of talk on these poker forums about people wanting to become professional players, people who dream of doing what they want, when they want. Now is our time to give this a proper shot.
Before I go on, please understand, I am not into pipe dreams. I know when to fold a bad hand. Regardless of how the action is, I am fully aware that this probably won't work out for the long term and I am lucky to have a job that I will be able to return to if things don't work out as planned. Please, don't look at this as a get rich quick scheme. As a group, we will all need to have faith in each others abilities to make +EV decisions, on and off the table and that should include a backup plan. I'm in this for the experience and the freedom, while I'm still young.
I'm looking for people free of ties, with good mindsets and proper tools for learning and growth. This will be a team effort. I realize that Reddit is probably not the best place to find the people I'm looking for, but I still posted this here because I'd like to start a discussion of ideas, concerns and critics. What do you guys think?

The World Series of Poker and European Poker Tour are two of the series that routinely make millionaires, but regular tournaments rarely have first prizes exceeding $1 million. During this time of the year, players have fewer options, at least if they plan on winning big in land-based casinos. The 2014 WinStar River Poker Series Main Event was one of the competitions that had the potential of making at least one millionaire, which explains why 1323 players decided to tag along. The first prize was a very round $1 million award and nine players made the final table, with decent chances at claiming the trophy. Jason Helder was one of the better placed ones, as he had a decent stack and loads of experience, a powerful combination in the final stages of major tournaments. The competition was pretty strong and the best players made three handed play, with Jason being pit against Travis Rice and Kevin Eyster. These three players were guaranteed an amount exceeding $200,000, but the difference between the amount claimed by the winner and the third place was staggering. This explains why all the survivors shifted into a less aggressive gear, waiting on opponents to commit a mistake. Kevin was the one to be sent to the rail first, with Jason Helder having a significant advantage over Travis when heads-up began. There was very little that Rice could do to offset the handicap and eventually he had to settle for the second prize and $340,000. The winner took almost 3 times more and will have plenty of time on his hands to decide how he will be spending his newfound fortune. This is how the final table shaped up and the amount collected by each player: 1 Jason Helder $1,000,0002 Travis Rice $340,4033 Kevin Eyster $219,0884 Chris Drake $134,0965 Khoa Nguyen $110,6636 Jonathan Gaviao $90,8817 Kong Li $72,6808 Rodeen Talebi $56,7249 Rhett Trusler $42,891 The European Poker Tour will resume shortly in Europe, but those who can't afford to shift back and forth from Europe to the United States are probably going to stick to online tournaments. Betfair Poker has announced a brand-new series of tournaments, in addition to the thousands of cash games that are available on a daily basis. Highrollers will not be disappointed by the nosebleed limit tables that await them over the Internet, which should represent an excellent substitute for the big payouts of live events.
from
via Casinoreviews

I got back from the Winstar Memorial Day Mini River series late Monday night and wanted to give you guys a trip report.
I've had some great live results over the past few months with the highlights being excellent cash sessions, two second place finishes in a row at CPPT Choctaw, and another instance of run good which occurred at Winstar.
Friday, May 15 - Leave San Antonio around 4 PM. Check in at Comfort Suites Gainesville. I get a three bedroom suite to myself because my buddies couldn't make it. I booked it through HotWire for $100/night which is a decent deal around that area. Hotels around Winstar jack the up the prices due to their proximity to the "Biggest Casino in the World".
I make a quick trip to the nearby Wal-Mart to buy some healthy snacks (Fuji Apples and a small veggie tray) then I head to the casino, meet up with my buddy, AJ Yowler, and we both grinded some 1/2 and 1/3. I lost a little (~$50) after a card dead session and decided to call it a night.
Saturday, May 16 - I wake up at around 1045, meditate a bit, and eat some carrots, broccoli, snap peas, and celery from my veggie tray, then head to the casino at around 1120 to register for the Memorial Day Mini River Event #1 Deepstack ($500). Get registered for the tourney at 1145 and lo and behold, my boy AJ is at the same starting table (good thing he's to my right). It was a pretty sweet table draw as I was only worried about AJ and a seemingly solid young grinder named Austin. However, I was super card dead.
A couple levels into the tourney I overplayed AJo on an A high board. I open raised 3x pre, bet half pot on Axx flop, villain (Austin) in position calls, I fired a second bullet villain calls again, and I check river and of course he throws out a 1/3 pot sized bet at the time. I tank a bit, but end up calling and he tables AQo. How could I have played that hand better? Should I have checked the turn?
After more levels of run bad and with about 10 BB remaining, I 3 bet shove AKo against an OMC with a surprisingly wide opening range. He instacalls and has KK. Good game.
I grind some 1/3 cash for the rest of the night and profit around $100 or so. It would have been around $600 in profit if villains didn't hit two outers, but all is good. During that session, I won a decently sized pot when I 4 bet shipped $240 with AA pre against KK. After I won that hand, I had about $380 which was clearly wrong as 240 x 2 = 480. I didn't really notice until a hand or two afterward. At that point I think to myself, "Damn, is it too late?" About 15 minutes into the next dealers down I have him call the floor over and I discuss what happened and provided him with a time frame on when the hand occurred so they could analyze the video. After about 30 minutes, the floor calls villain and v proceeds to the ATM. Shortly after, he pulls me aside and tells me, "We looked at the video, and yes, the dealer did short you $100. Fortunately the gentleman that was in the hand with you agreed to pay you." He said the $100 he was giving me would be in play and that next time I need to speak up right away. I hooked him up with a red bird for his troubles. Props to the Winstar floor for making the right decision, even if I did take too damn long to say something.
Sunday, May 17th - I wake up at around 1045 refreshed and ready to play in Event 2 ($300). I eat some veggies in my room and scarf down an apple on my drive to the casino. AJ is at my table again! Geez. Justin Kruger came to the table but he was super card dead so I didn't have to worry too much. Krissi McFarland was also there but she busted after about 10 hands. I ran so pure at that table. I was hitting every single board that I played and got all kinds of straights, flushes, sets, boats. I felt unstoppable! After the table breaks, I move to a new table full of OMCs and a Dallas PD officer to my left who turned out to be a pretty cool dude. I took down a couple pots there and they broke us after 45 minutes or so. I was used to being a huge stack at my other tables, so when I saw other big stacks at my third table, I initially worried, but told myself, "It's all good. Just feel these guys out". I picked my spots well and next thing I know, we're at dinner break with ~24 players left. 13 will cash with $9K up top.
At the beginning of the dinner break Joe Bui gave me some intel on some other players at the table. It was definitely valuable as all of his reads were true. For example, a drunk reg to my left was the supreme chip leader at the time. Joe said he would donk it all away. Lo and behold, the villain most definitely spewed it all away. I truly appreciated his advice. I got a DQ mini blizzard for dinner because I wasn't too hungry at the time. After the break, I came back motivated and ready to continue my deep run. I steal a few pots pre and double up a few times as well and eventually we are at the 10 handed final table.
I'm in the worst position as the chip-leading OMC is to my left. After the 10th place player busted. We observed how shallow our stacks were and started discussing a chop. the chop value at the time was around $3000, which was just about the equivalent of 3rd place money. It went something like 9.8K to first, 6.9K to second and 3.XK to third (Those might not be exact, but I'm sure I'm close). Everyone was down for some choppage except the chip leading OMC. Even after two more eliminations he STILL didn't want to chop for around $4K.
A couple more eliminations occur and we became five handed. It's me, OMC McNoChoppy, Joe, OMC who opens 8x pre with Kx and Ax/and loves to 3 bet shove even in 50 BB deep, and a solid grinder named Jay. At the 5000/10000 leve with about 240K in chips I look down at AQo on the button. I open for 25K and OMC Mc8xPre 3 bet shoves for about $200K. I instacall and he has KJ. Flop bricks, Turn bricks, and he spikes a K to become the new chip leader. Variance FTW. I actually get my 40K up to around 120K by winning some pots pre flop and winning an AIPF pot against Joe when my KQ beat his KT.
A few hands later I'm sitting at 128K, I'm on the button, and look down at AJo I raise to 20K. Joe 3 bet shoves all in for 123K. I tank for about 30 seconds and call. He has AKo. I don't improve and now I'm down to 5K in chips. Sorry folks, this sadly is not a "chip and a chair story". I get knocked out next hand and finish 5th place for $2442. I believe I played very well in that tournament and AJ vs AK five handed is a huge cooler. On another note, OMC McNoChop ended up getting 3rd place, lol.
In true degen fashion, I decide to play some 1/2 right after my 12 hour tournament session. It ended up being pretty awesome as I turned $200 into $865. What a great day results-wise. I barely missed a table share of the BBJ during that session. Villain McRunBad opens for $17. Cally McStation calls. Solid Cajun Grinder dude 3 bets to $45. V McRunBad folds and Cally calls. Board is AAJ. Turn is a brick and river is a J. Cally and Cajun both get their stacks in and Cajun has quad aces. V McRunBad says, "I had JJ!" and the whole table moaned in frustration. V McRunBad would have pocketed $25K, Cajun would have got $12.5K and the table shared would have been around $1.8K. So close, but yet so far. I leave the casino at around 4 AM to get some rest before the 11 AM checkout.
Monday, May 19th. - I pack my things, check out of the hotel and decide to play one last cash session. 1/2 and 1/3 were full, but I was on an emotional high and took a shot at 2/5. Good thing the table was just starting. I hate buying in for $500 when there are massive stacks at the table. I ended up cashing out about $823. After that, I hit I35 South and headed back to San Antonio with my head held high, knowing that I played some damn good poker this past weekend.
I can't wait for WPT in July!

Quangholio@poker: Thoughts on my poker blog and comments for topics; AMA
https://www.reddit.com/pokecomments/6z0nln/thoughts_on_my_poker_blog_and_comments_for_topics/ Hi poker players - I was a losing and recreational player starting from the PartyPoker boom until the end of 2008. In January 2009, I found $500 I had left laying around in my Pokerstars account, decided to see what I can do with it at 5/10. I ran the $500 up to $5000, and decidedly to take poker seriously, and have never looked back.
I am a former 2x Pokerstars Supernova Elite (only 209 of us in 2009). I have played over 5million hands of online poker (multi-tabling up to 24 tables at a time). I currently play live casino games mainly at Winstar Casino and underground Dallas games, ranging from 2/5 up to 10/25 in both NL with a recent transition to PLO, and have played over 8000hrs of Live Poker since BF.
When I started playing poker seriously in 2009, I invested over $20,000 in poker coaching from various online pros the 1st two years, including mental game coaching from Jared Tendler. My mental game is what gives me an edge over other players of my skill level at the table.
I've recently started a blog focusing on the mental side of poker to share my knowledge and thoughts, and its carryover into real life. Please comment and give inputs. If you have questions or topics you want me to write about, please let me know. Thanks!
https://invariance.pokeblogs/life-poker https://redd.it/6z0nln
Comment link: /pokecomments/6z0nln/thoughts_on_my_poker_blog_and_comments_for_topics/dmrmt9y

• RealizedEquity: Lame.
  
• Heiners_Liet: Why?
  
• causeWhyNotMate: why not, mate?
  

This is confusing and long and isn't that good (not really used to writing epic poems), but hey, it's something. Anyway, we had to write an epic poem and this is what I came up with. Tell me what you think.
EDIT: Nevermind, formatting fixed itself. Doesn't really matter either way.

Getting Out Stakes

The Driver
The girl on the radio drawled on about her muse while the knightish gargoyles cloaked my car in darkness as I drove out of the cheap, gated neighborhood where I was temporarily living. Where thirty minutes ago I shot Cassidy White with one of my own antiques, I’m proud to say- a 32 caliber by Smith and Wessen. Great gun, lots of firepower, easily concealed... Great gun, really...
“Beginning GPS waypoint tracking on account 02...Holden, Tennessee.”
The woman on the radio kept talking about some Madre casino, just down the road, too... as if I need my gambling addiction to get even worse. Already spent all my money and lost it. Speaking of, did you know that spending your money and losing it are two different things? You should, it’s a fact. Proven, by yours truly. Over two thousand times at a slot machine.
“Fifty-five minutes to destination.”
See, when you spend money, you get something in return. Goods of some kind, or a service, like my cleaning lady who used to come by every Tuesday. But when you lose money, it doesn’t go anywhere. Well, at least not back in your pocket. It goes on a pipeline, directly to the House- that’s a gamber’s term. Means that the casino gets the money, not you. Yeah, that’s right. All those bright lights and neon signs? Winstar? Cherokee? The gargantuan waste of electricity that is Vegas? It’s all paid for... by the losers.
The House always wins, they say. That’s why Cassidy was at mine- debt. Ten thousand dollars, all spent in a drunken romp, in some casino whose name escapes me down South. He’d been looking for me for a while. And I’d say that’s the long story short, but, heh- a gambling addiction and the aftermath.... it’s never a long story, really.
“Thirty minutes to destination.”
Always ends with some poor sap getting corked with something, perhaps a little higher of a caliber than what I used on Cassidy. I could tell you a lie, tell you some people make it, tell you not everybody dies in this business.
Including me.
But then, of course, I’d be lying. No, the only people who beat the game are the ones who don’t play. One or two trips every three years or so,win some money, maybe the jackpot, and then go home. The addicts aren’t the ones who don’t go home, though. They’re the ones who live in the goddamn casino.
“Fifteen minutes to destination.”
And as for me and Cassidy...believe me, it wasn’t an easy decision to make. Or an easy thing to pull off, for that matter. Still, though, I had to do it. You have to understand, he was going to keep coming. I couldn’t run f-
The car jolted to a halt and the GPS stopped yammering as I hit the brakes hard, the tires screeching painfully against the cracked and broken road as I slowed down fast. The empty, vertical dropoff in front of me where Elmer Bridge used to be and the headlights behind me told me that my story just got a lot shorter.
The Attendant
I’ll make this brief. My name is John Mercer and I’m almost retired. I’ve worked as a security guard at the Dinero Muerto for almost decade now, and, after doing some wetwork jobs for the higher-ups, I guess they liked me enough to promote me to Vault Attendant. That means I guard the Vault. Crazy, huh? Y’know, the big one that the suckers at the craps tables don’t get to see? Every last dime made at the DM is stored there in some form or another. Usually, that means massive piles of money scattered around the room. No, that isn’t an exaggeration- seen it myself. Mountains of cash just thrown around the room in the most haphazard way possible, almost like Sal himself said, “You know what, I think that whoever can break into that Vault deserves some kinda reward before Johnny kills ‘em. So next time just kinda leave the money out in the open, hah?”
The guy talks like he’s a real mobster. Well, he is a real mobster, but most mobsters don’t actually talk like that. I think.Don’t tell him I said that, though. As much as I’ve done for him, I’m still disposable. But not for much longer. After today, he’s not gonna have anything to dispose of. I said I was retiring? Yeah, well, you don’t retire. Not from Sal’s employment. If you get old enough, he just kills you himself so he doesn’t have to keep on paying a fossil who can’t compete with the newbies anymore. In this job, you either die by his stupid fat fists or by some goon during a raid. So how am I getting out? Simple. If he thinks I’m dead, he can’t really do much about it, can he? Nope. Not a single thing. Not a single damn thing.
My pager buzzed twice with the words WHITE DEAD, REPORT as the Vault alarm echoed through the casino.
The Nightowls
I don’t really remember when we got lost. We didn’t really mean to go too far from the house, but, I don’t know. After you drink a lot, things kinda become a big blur. And lots and lots of drinking equals a really, really big blur. My memory is not great right now. At least there weren’t any drugs at this party- I think. Not like last time, otherwise we’d have never gotten outta there. But oh, getting lost. Yeah, I dunno how that happened. I mean, how do you get lost? What’s lost when you’re not trying to get anywhere? Can you even be lost then? Define lost... ...How can you define something?
....Maybe there were drugs at that party.
But, hey, the cops are nowhere to be seen! That’s great. Like, really, really great. Sam looks like he’s doin’ alright. Victoria is doing really great, as usual. They’re as good as they can be, considering the circumstances. After all... Man, there were a lotta cops. Now we’re in the woods somewhere. Better than back at the house, at least. And hey, were people gambling there? I think somebody mighta been. “God, why are we in the woods?”
Now a sound’s ringing in my ears. A short whine, only for a second, then it stops. Victoria thinks she knows where it’s coming from, so I’m following. Suits me fine. Better than being lost, heh. Elmer Bridge is over that way, too, I think.
The Janitors
“Gunshot, but you knew that. .32 caliber, probably from over there...” My partner pointed at a raggedy armchair at the other end of the room. “...a clean shot to the chest.” He picked up the spent casing with his tweezers and put it in his bag. We had arrived maybe forty minutes ago at the guy’s last known location. Some junky-looking, walled-off apartment complex by a gas station. Almost missed the damn thing. It doesn’t really stand out, if you know what I mean. There are five other almost identical apartment complexes like it within a few hundred feet, all of which are listed under the same address for some reason. And it doesn’t help that the guy we’re tracking isn’t a moron, either. Rented the room with false credentials, used cash. Cash from the casino, mind you, so tracing it doesn’t do us any good. Just takes us back to the place where we fucking work. Big help, asshole.
“Hey Mark, whaddaya want with these?” Don had finished searching the body and now held up two charred toothpicks that looked like they’d been thrown in a fire.
“What are they, fags?”
“Looks like it. Really burnt, though.” He stood up from his crouch, delicately brushing off his suit.
“I don’t see a fireplace.”
“Yup.”
“So how did they get burnt?”
“..What?”
“I said, how did they get burnt? Nobody’s stupid enough to use a lighter on the entire freaking cigarette.” Instinctively, I reached in my pocket for the Lucky’s I always carry.
He was one step ahead of me, smoke already billowing from his stick. “Oh. ...Dunno. Maybe they lit a fire.” He took a long drag, closing his eyes for a second.
I caught up with him, tar filling my lungs as I put the fag to my mouth, inhaling. Cigarettes always helped me calm down, think more straightly. Straight. Straightly? Think...more....straightly...or straight? Fuck. Maybe I shouldn’t have accepted that kid’s offer. God, I think that pill I took was drug. Great. There were drugs at that party.
“You okay ?” Don looked at me with some concern showing on his normally blank face.
“Yeah, yea-ah...f-fine. Look, is..is that all? The evidence and all that, I mean.” I was getting nervous. The more I stayed in that room the more tempted I was to look at White’s sprawled-out corpse in the second armchair next to me.
He scratched his head worryingly and did a three-sixty, scanning the room. “Well...I think so.”
“You think so? We’re goddamn Cleaners, Don. Leave no trace and all that sphiel. You sure we got everything?”
He looked about the floor nervously, chewing on the end of his cig.
“Well?” I knew what he was doing. He’d been trying to not look at the ceiling for the past few minutes. I gestured at him, made a noise. He got the message and looked back at the floor, worriedly.
“I-I’m just looking....” He stared at one spot for second. “.....wait.”
He bent down and tried to pick up something I couldn’t see, pinching his fingers together unsuccessfully a few times. He managed to grab it on the third try and held it up to the light.
Clenched tight between his fingers was a short, dark brown hair.
I moved closer to get a better look. “Holy shit.”
Don spit his cig on the floor and absent-mindedly ground it out with his heel, then looked at the hair again, confused. “What?”
“Cassidy was a redhead, right?”
The Boss
The cigar jutted out from his reddened lips like an iceberg that had sunk too many ships and was now worn down because of it. Smoke blew not only from it, but also from his entire mouth, toward the fan at the far end of the room, which in turn gave the entire place a hazy, fog-like visual effect.
The door opened shortly after Sal’s sixteenth puff. The V.A. stumbled inside, gasping for breath, gun drawn. The smoke choked out whatever words he had prepared and he started coughing violently. Sal turned around in his chair, looking away from the monitors for a moment.
He spoke with great difficulty as a mouthful of fumes erupted from what the Attendant could only assume was the general region of his face. If Sal hadn’t been serious, the sight might’ve been amusing.
“Mercer, good. How’s our vault doing?”
John paused, opening the office door the catch his breath for a minute. He returned to the room at Sal’s silent insistence (he had a way of telling you something without saying it, and that something was usually hurry) and spoke, barely.
“Sir...the vault is...well...”
“Speak up.”
“I..”
Sal pulled out what looked like a .44 revolver from his suit and pointed it at Mercer’s forehead.
“Speak up.”
“EMPTY. IT’S EMPTY, SIR.” He braced himself.
Sal thought for a moment and then started laughing- a hollow, deep chuckle that was muffled slightly by his trying to keep the cigar between his lips.
“...Empty? Empty? You’re telling me that the most secure cash depository within a hundred miles of this city has been broken into, all the contents stolen, and the culprit left without a trace? And under your supervision, no less?” The answer Sal wanted was not the answer Mercer or anyone else had.
The Attendant was trying to choose his words carefully. “Well, almost, sir...you see, although the vault was secure, and although it was broken into-”
Sal tightened his grip on the gun and cocked it with his free hand, slowly.
“-not everything was stolen, though! Not everything was stolen! And there is a trace! We know who did it, we know, sir!” His teeth were gritted and his eyes were closed. He opened one temporarily too see what Sal was doing.
He relaxed his grip on the gun slightly and scowled. “How much was stolen, Mercer? I need an exact amount.”
The Attendant made a quick glance at the computer screens on the wall in front of Sal. They showed various feeds from around the casino, a few body cameras from the guards. Twitching, he looked toward the lowest left monitor. The screen was filled with an image of two men in dirty suits standing around a corpse, talking. A ceiling view. Four other suits were now crowding around them, lifting the dead one by his limbs and starting to carry him out of the apartment. The two immobile suits handed them plastic bags as they left.
They just stood there, smoking.
C’mon.
“Mercer...”
C’mon..
“Do you want me to shoot you, Mercer? Because you’re getting really, really fucking close.” Sal sneered as his teeth clenched, crushing the cigar.
They’re still fucking standing there.
“MERCER!” Sal peered down the ironsights from where he sat, finger quivering.
Suit number two spit out his cigarette and stamped on it as Sal fired two shots at the chest of the nervous figure standing at the entryway to the office. Mercer turned toward the door as the bullets carved their way through the smokescreen and smashed into his side. They hit their mark and he crumpled against the door, gun still in hand.
Sal stood up, throwing the gun down, fuming.
Suit number two dropped his bent Lucky’s package and bent down to retrieve it as the casino alarms sounded and the crumpled figure shot Sal Foreman in the temple mid-stride.
His bulk crashed to the ground, eyes rolling back. The two suits were now barricading the apartment door with two old armchairs and a desk while John Mercer was dying. He sent a message through his pager and passed out as guards flooded the office.
The Plan
The van outside blew up violently as four bricks of C4 were detonated remotely under it. The four Cleaners carrying the deceased were incinerated, along with all evidence of Cassidy’s murder. The firelight penetrated the walls of the apartment that Mark
I haven't finished the rest. Any feedback or comments are welcome, I'd like this to be good for when I turn it in.