Chapter 266.2 |
[Oh, there have been real cases where people earned vast sums in casinos using similar methods.]
[Of course, in those cases, they were reading printing defects in the card back patterns!]
Right. In a real casino, they would likely use new cards every day to prevent this sort of thing.
But in this ghost story, where ‘oldness’ is a defining trait, such a method works.
“Current coin count… 924.”
“…Okay.”
Everything proceeded smoothly.
I sat beside Agent Choi as he played, watching as if I were simply enjoying the spectacle of the stakes growing larger.
‘Just one more round, carefully, like this.’
“We’ve got momentum, so let’s keep going like this…”
“Dear guest.”
……
I turned my stiff neck.
“You’re using an interesting method, aren’t you?”
The face of Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae was peering down at us as she approached the table.
Staring straight at us.
She smiled faintly.
“It’s the method I used back when I was also a guest.”
“……!”
“Remembering the flaws on the backs of the cards to figure out their numbers and suits, right?”
With an unfamiliar hand formed from the ring finger and middle finger of different people, the dealer traced over the backs of the cards.
A chill ran down my spine.
“And once a trick is figured out, it can’t be used to gain profit again.”
Damn it.
[Come to think of it, I recall the unfortunate aftermath of that anecdote as well.]
[That professional gambler was sued and had every last bit of 16 billion seized. Oh, the cunning of casinos.]
“…I don’t quite understand what you mean. Do you have evidence?”
“Took the words right out of my mouth, Grapes-ie! This casino is really scary. You win a bit of money and suddenly they accuse you of using tricks. How is anyone supposed to play without fear? My back’s all sweaty now, seriously.”
“……”
“But there’s no evidence, right?”
The dealer lifted her hand away from the backs of the cards.
“It’s exactly as you say.”
But I couldn’t relax at all. Because.
“Then, shall we continue the game?”
The dealer wearing Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae’s head pushed aside the dealer who had been at our table and took his place.
As the one running the game.
“You’re not going to run away, are you? That’d look suspicious.”
“……”
“Very well. Then from here on, I’ll continue assisting you as the dealer.”
And from her chest, she took out a new deck of playing cards.
Old, but an entirely different set from before.
“Now then…”
The smiling face spoke.
“Please place your bets.”
We’re screwed.
“I’ll do it.”
“Oh.”
“Grapes-ie.”
“It’s public funds. Luck usually spreads out to an average, so it’d be better for the one who’s been winning a lot to stop here, and for me to take over.”
I said this while looking at Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae’s remaining eye.
“That’s fine, right?”
“Of course.”
Then I whispered to Agent Choi.
“This time, I want to experience the fun of betting too. Just a moment.”
“……”
“I’ve got a feeling I’ll win.”
Agent Choi’s gaze was heavy, but in the end, he let go.
And I, for a brief moment…
……
[Oh, that’s not difficult at all, Friend.]
“Dear guest?”
“Ah.”
I lifted my head.
“Would it be possible to move to the table you usually use, Ms. Dealer? This one feels like I’ve already used up all our luck.”
“Of course, that’s finee!”
The dealer wearing Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae’s head readily guided me to her own table. I gathered all the coins and hurried over to Lee Seonghae’s table, where I was asked again.
“Then how much will you be betting?”
I held out the coins I had brought.
All 924 of them.
“…!!”
“Are you sure you wish to bet 924 coins?”
“……Yes.”
“Confirmed. Then…”
Assistant Manager Lee Seonghae spread the cards on the table again. I reached out to choose my card…
“Wait.”
My hand was caught.
“Dear guest, you shouldn’t touch the card you’ve chosen, right?”
“……”
“You were trying to leave a fingerprint on the back to remember the card, weren’t you?”
“No. And there’s a misunderstanding.”
“Oh?”
“I’ve put in everything I own. If I don’t win this round, there won’t be a next game. So what use would it be to remember this round’s card? I’d already have lost.”
……
“Oh.”
The dealer relaxed her grip.
“That’s true. Then we’ll proceed.”
“Yes.”
I chose the card I had originally intended to pick.
Drip.
Cold sweat fell onto the table.
“Now.”
……
“Which suit or which number would you like to bet on?”
I barely managed to lift my eyes.
“…Hearts.”
This one.
“I won with hearts on my first bet, so I’m going to wager on that again this time.”
“……”
The dealer, who had been looking at the cards, suddenly turned her head.
She checked the people and objects around the table, but there was no one reading the dealer’s cards and giving signals, nor anything like a suddenly placed mirror.
At most, Section Chief Lee Jaheon was leaning casually against the back wall nearby, but that was all.
No dealer intervened.
Meaning he had not done anything that could be considered ‘suspicious’.
“……”
“Ms. Dealer?”
The dealer flipped the card.
“Congratulations.”
Four of hearts.
“The payout is 2,772 coins.”
An enormous quantity of coins began pouring onto the table.
“…!!”
That did it.
‘It worked.’
Under the table, I clenched my fist tight, then released it.
Cold sweat had pooled, leaving everything damp.
“That’s insane, hahahaha!! Wow, it’s a coin downpour!”
Agent Choi slapped my back excitedly like a gambler who’d hit it big, but his gaze was sunken.
Because he had no idea how I had managed to guess this correctly.
‘Right.’
That made sense. Because…
I hadn’t used a trick. I had outright cheated.
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