Cheat Streak
CHEAT STREAK – November 16, 2023 – Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Jared hated trips to Las Vegas. He did not mind the town itself, and he knew regular customer visits were important, but he resented babysitting his brother-in-law, Cody.
Every three months, Jared and Cody were sent to check on the massive pools in the city and make sure the owners were happy with their chemicals and filters. The Vegas hotels were the biggest accounts for the family’s pool supply business. Cody did fine when he was talking about chlorine levels with pool managers, but when not around customers, Las Vegas unleashed his gambling demons. And he was a bad gambler. Not only did he lose money like most other gamblers, he lost his temper and most of his mind.
Bethany, Cody’s wife and Jared’s sister, insisted on boundaries for Cody. Since she was not around to enforce them, she expected Jared to do it. Jared volunteered to let Bethany have his spot on the trip, but unfortunately, she knew almost nothing about pool filters.
Mere seconds after arriving in their shared hotel suite, Jared opened his laptop to answer customer messages and Cody headed for the door to find a casino.
“Bethany says I’m supposed to remind you of your rules,” Jared shouted.
“Yeah, yeah. I know. I can only spend $100.”
“And you’ve only got two hours. Please don’t make me come find you.”
“I won’t. I’ll be back.”
Cody slammed the door and Jared rolled his eyes. After finishing with his messages, he flipped on one of three TVs in the suite and scrolled through the channels. He did not find anything he liked so he stopped at a channel that allowed him to log into his Amazon Prime Video account. When the intro screen appeared, he realized Amazon was broadcasting a Thursday night NFL game between the Bengals and Ravens. Jared tuned in and watched without caring much about the outcome. He was contemplating a trip to the vending machines when his sister called.
“It’s been two hours. He’s not back.”
“How do you know?”
“I’m tracking his phone. He’s still in the casino next to the hotel. You have to get him.”
Jared groaned. “Give him a few more minutes.”
“No, he’s lost track of time.”
Jared continued groaning as he left his room with his sister still on the phone. She ordered him to hurry.
“I hate going into those places,” Jared said to Bethany as he entered the casino. “They all smell like smoke and you can’t hear anything. I’m looking by the slot machines. I don’t see him.”
“He’s on the north side.”
“I’m already turned around. I don’t know which way is north.”
Jared wandered toward the blackjack tables and saw Cody sitting alone and looking dazed. When Jared reached him, Cody blurted out, “I’m up! I’m winning!”
“How much?”
“Twenty bucks. Usually, I’m busted out by now.”
“Well, Bethany says it’s time to stop. C’mon we can go watch the football game.”
“I can’t stop now. I’m on a streak.”
“Then how about you talk to Bethany about it?” Jared held up his phone and Cody’s expression fell as if he was a child caught with his finger in a cake-batter bowl.
“Fine!” Cody yelled. He gathered the twenty dollars’ worth of chips he won plus the one-hundred dollars’ worth he started with.
As Cody followed his brother-in-law out of the casino, they passed a roulette table. Instead of continuing, Cody planted himself there and called, “One more bet! I’ve always wanted to try this. Double or nothing. Red or black.”
“No! C’mon, let’s go back to the hotel.”
“I’ll let you decide.”
“I don’t want to decide. I don’t gamble.”
“Just once. Double or nothing. Say red or black.”
“No. I’m not saying anything.”
“Red or black?”
Jared shook his head in frustration. “Whatever. Red.”
Cody took a deep breath and dropped all his chips onto the red marker. Then he watched the roulette wheel spin. The ball landed on a black space and Cody swore.
“You cost me $120! I was gonna pick black!”
“Then you shoulda picked black!”
Jared turned around and walked toward the exit. Cody soon caught up and continued complaining about the lost money. They reached their hotel suite and Cody pouted as he dropped onto the couch in the common room that divided their bedrooms. He grabbed the TV remote and demanded to know the channel for watching the game.
“It’s on Amazon. You have to log into your Prime account,” Jared explained, while standing near the open door to his bedroom. He had left his bedroom TV on and it still showed football.
Cody grumpily found the correct broadcast and from where he stood, Jared now saw two screens showing the same game. But for some bizarre reason, the feed on his bedroom TV was about seven seconds ahead of the action shown on the shared TV. Looking right, he watched a play unfold and then saw the same play repeated when he looked left. He continued to watch as if the delayed broadcast was instant replay.
“Why are you standing over there? Aren’t you going to sit down and watch this?” Cody demanded.
Jared kind of enjoyed the replay situation so he said to Cody, “I’m staying as far away from you as I can while you’re still casino crazy. I don’t want you taking a swing at me.”
Cody grunted. “Since you dragged me away from the action, we should bet on what’s happening in the game. I’ll give you a chance to win back the money you owe me.”
Jared did not bother arguing that Cody lost his money by himself.
The game was already in the second half with the Ravens leading 21 to 10. The Bengals had the ball and Cody turned to Jared and said, “I’ll bet you $5 they don’t get a first down.”
“Nah, I don’t want to bet.”
“C’mon, don’t be chicken. Just $5. Take a little risk once in a while.”
“No. It’s not my thing.”
“Just try. It’ll make the game more interesting.”
Jared continued to shake his head as Cody harassed him. The bedroom TV showed the Bengals complete a pass for a first down.
“Fine. Five dollars says they get a first down.”
The shared TV showed the play Jared had already watched. Cody pounded the couch cushions in frustration. “I can’t believe that. Okay, we gotta go again. Double or nothing. We’ll bet on if the next play’s a pass or run.”
Jared fought back a smile. “Okay, $10 it’s a run.”
Together they watched the run play Jared had already seen on the bedroom TV.
“Argh!” Cody screamed. “I was sure they were gonna pass.”
Cody was eager to again double down with another bet. Jared realized he could easily rack up thousands of promised dollars Cody owed him, but he did his best to slow down the action. When a situation appeared that seemed like a 50/50 proposition, he let Cody offer the next bet. If the result shown on the bedroom TV worked in his favor, Jared accepted. He won six times in a row.
“No! How are you doing this?” Cody shouted. “This can’t be happening.”
Jared shrugged his shoulders.
Cody shook his fists in frustration. “Now you’re up $160. If we subtract off the $120 you lost me, I still owe you $40.”
“Hey, let’s just call it even.”
“No. We can’t stop now. Give me one more chance.”
“I’d rather quit while I’m ahead.”
“No, one more! I can’t keep losing like this.”
Jared finally smiled. “I’ve got an idea. How about we raise the stakes a little? If you win, you clear your debt with me and I still owe you $120. If I win, you don’t gamble anymore when we come to Vegas.”
Cody chuckled like Jared must be joking. “I don’t know about that.”
“C’mon Mr. Bigshot gambler, I thought you were into taking risks.”
“That’s too big of a risk.”
“You scared?”
Cody scowled before saying, “Okay, you’re on.”
By that point, the game was nearly over. The Bengals trailed 34 to 13 but were on the verge of making one more, last-gasp touchdown with the ball on the two-yard line.
“I say it’s a run. All or nothing,” Cody said. “Are you in?”
Jared glanced over at his bedroom TV and suddenly the broadcast glitched. A screen appeared asking him to log in again. The shared TV continued to show the game. If Jared took the bet, he would suddenly be flipping a fair coin, walking a tightrope without a net, leaving his fate to chance. The Bengals readied for the next play.
“I’m betting a run. Are you in?” Cody demanded.
Jared hesitated. Now he was gambling like all the other suckers who walked into the casinos. Was it worth the risk? He thought of Cody demanding to be paid. He also imagined never babysitting him again. “I’ll take the pass,” Jared firmly announced.
The Bengals quarterback grabbed the ball, faked a handoff, and passed for a touchdown with one minute left in the game.
Cody screamed with agony as Jared concluded with a relieved smile, “That’s it for me. Our gambling days are over.”
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