Participants:
| Scene Title | Winner, Winner In The City Of Sinners |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Kendall does something no one expected him to do. He cheats in Vegas. |
| Date | May 5, 2010 |
Corinthian Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas
Casino lights, casino sounds, women circling with trays and serving drinks to people at various slot machines. Somewhere in the distance a slot machine screams wildly letting the people around them know that someone hit a big amount, and quarters pour forth into the galvanized steel lip. Cards are being flipped onto table, dealers stoicly carrying out their duties and providing a good time for all who play, winner or loser.
Abigail and Melissa are wandering, taking in the Corinthian again after she's gone and reserved a room for later in the week for herself when the others head home. Blonde and blonde, stopping here and there to play some slots, and Abigail's of a mind to brave a couple hands of 21 later.
But Kendall has other plans, unbeknownst to his two companions who thought he went off elsewhere to be a teenager adrift in sin city.
See, Sin City isn't just a name. Eventually, it encourages all KINDS of mischief. Kendall was feeling left out, because he's the only underage among them, and he doesn't know anyone else. He has spent a little time at the amusement park in Circus Circus, then decided to go to where Melissa and Abby said they were going. He walked through a few times, trying to spot them, then started getting bored.
Thoughtfully, he heads for the bathroom. Now's a good a time as ever to see if he could disguise himself! If this works, no way anyone'd be able to find him so long as he has pencil and paper! Which, of course, he does, in his pocket; a mechanical pencil, and a small pad of paper. A quick sketch, making sure to also draw himself holding a fake ID saying he's 24 years old with a different name, and an older looking Kendall comes out of the bathroom after making sure no one was around who might have noticed a kid going in and an adult coming out. He strolls casually towards the line demarcating the walking lanes for kids and the gambling area, waiting to be stopped.
No one stops him. He looks old enough, thanks to his ability. No men in suits strolling up to demand ID, no clear earpieced individuals descending en mass to grab him by the shoulders and haul him out. Through the red sea that is gamblers, Kendall finds it easy to walk and not be disturbed, no one giving him a second glance at all.
Awesome! Kendall's breaking the law and no one cares! He hides his glee behind a stoic expression, and passes slot machines, looking them over. Hmm… eh. Those things are too… game-y for him, he could play these games in his pokemon games! The card games draw his gaze next, and he moves to where 21 is being played. He watches a few rounds, then pays the minimum wager, joining in. He pays close attention to the cards, loses a few times. Hmm, so that's how it is. The next game he plays, he wins.
Twenty One is an easy enough game to understand or to at least get the basics. There's a finess to it, and there ar epeople who are really good at this game. Kendall's not that great at first. Over on the first, and dealer beat on the second hand, money lost to the house, as is the standard. A blonde at the table leaves after offering a wink to the illusion teenager as she gathers up her chips and goes.
The winning hand though, A king and a king, the dealer unable to beat and the other two people at the table have unhappy looks as they too loose to the dealer.
Kendall was winked at by a lady! Hehe. He smiles back at her, then looks back at the cards. He needs to concentrate, sorry! He doesn't overtly stare at the cards, often glancing away while still keeping mental tabs on what was layed out, and when. At the end of the next hand, he lays out his choice and waits to see results.
Most folks who do what Kendall is doing, work in pairs, teams, have signals and have been working the tables for a bit. Cards are slid out from the deck, turned over and revealed for all, deft hands and glances to the players by the dealer, up turns another and another and dealer goes bust and Kendall wins again. Not a bad little pot that he's starting to rack up.
And nothing so far, seems to be wrong. No one suspects a thing, that there's someone using illusion in the card pits. If they do, normally it's to alter the cards not themselves.
Altering the cards? Now that'd just be silly. If he put the illusion of a card that someone else is holding on the table, his gig would be up! Kendall already considered that and abandoned the idea. Kendall's collecting quite a few of those little chips, and eventually he decides to git while the going's good and go to a different table. He can't just keep winning all the time at one, that'd be suspicious!
Different able, different dealer, different odds. No one stops him from moving, nor from playing. This table not much more different than the other, a few people playing, but room enough for him to come on in. One hand played, won, another hand, lost, lost, another win. The air vibrating with the emotions of the people playing and coming, going, money lost and won
Kendall is getting addicted more to the atmosphere than the gambling itself. Man, this is like a charge that keeps building up! He wins enough to keep in the positive, and loses enough to not be seen as cheating. After every hand won or lost, he considers leaving and just taking what he's got, but each time he feels like staying. Therefore, he continues to play. After all, what could possibly go wrong?
The two men in suits who are coming up behind him might have something to think otherwise. The dealer glances over, pit boss coming up to murmur something discreetly in his ear. There's a polite cough from the two security men though who have settled to either side of Kendall. "Sir, could we see some identification please?" It's enough to make the others at the table look over and one of the others leave.
Kendall was expecting his ID to be asked for at least once today, so he pulls out the illusory one he made sure to draw. It declares that he's Michael Smith, 24 years old. That's a pretty common name, there's about a thousand of them in the state alone. "Any problems?" he asks, and even his voice sounds more mature. He was very thorough with his illusion.
"Just checking on something sir" One turns around to converse with a third person who has come out onto the floor, a manager, who's looking very unhappy. "Mister Smith" The man offers a smile and peers at Kendall. "How are you today? Could I have you step to the side please? We need to check on something. Derek, change the deck please, gentleman, ladies, please, carry on playing. This way Mister Smith" Off to the side, with the escort to at least somewhere not right at that table.
Uh oh. Kendall has a bad feeling about this. Nevertheless, he agrees and follows, not revealing that he's getting scared. He gonna get busted! They'll throw him in jail! Melissa's going to kill him!
"Sir, are you aware that it's illegal for individuals under the age of twenty one to gamble?" Someones taken care to count and take care of his chips, always within sight of Kendall. "How old are you Mister Smith? How old are you really?" All this taking place as they walk towards the cashiers cage and beside it, heading off towards where they take people who they need to have a chat with.
Aw crap. Well, now's the time for a bluff. "I'm aware of that. Is there a problem with my ID?" well, it's certainly not one that's been tampered with, as it doesn't actually exist. It's a New York license, since Kendall doesn't really know what others look like.
Out of the guys pocket comes an iphone, thumbs flipping over the screen till he finds what he wants. Through a door they go until they're inside secure halls. "Stand there for a moment please?" In just a tone that might instill panic in some as he lifts a hand. Only he's not going to physically assault Kendall but instead just holds the iphone up. Eyes go from the phone, to Kendall, then back to the phone. There's a motion for one of the others to take a look.
"Are you an evolved Mister Smith?"
