shut up and put your money where your mouth is, that's what you get for waking up in vegas!
𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒕 𝒃𝒐𝒚!𝒄𝒐𝒃𝒓𝒂 𝒌𝒂𝒊 𝒂𝒖
𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒃𝒚 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒙 𝒇𝒆𝒎!𝒐𝒄
𝒎𝒊𝒈𝒖𝒆𝒍 𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒛 𝒙 𝒇𝒆𝒎! 𝒐𝒄
𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒓𝒊 𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒙𝒐𝒑𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒙 𝒇...
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Twelve Hours Earlier
Eli.
Eli Moskowitz's downfall happened so quickly that at first, he hadn't even noticed.
Four hands ago, the boy gave up Texas Hold 'Em, and transplanted himself to the bustling Blackjack table. He'd already lost fifty dollars on roulette, so going there was definitive no.
The first four hands had gone so well that Eli thought nothing of calling the two hundred thousand dollar bet. The opponent was so obviously showboating, that Eli expected to go home a rich man, even after paying for Miguel's bail.
So of course, when he realized that his reserve tuition fund was now lining the pockets of the man in front of him, he realized he was screwed.
A royal flush. His opponent had a freaking Royal Flush, and Eli had just lost two hundred thousand dollars on one hand.
If his mother didn't come to Las Vegas and kill him first, he knew that Miguel would.
At least the drinks were free.
And that's where Eli was for most of the remainder of the night. Drinking himself half to sleep.
He was a genius, a scholarship kid. But there had never been any pressure to keep his grades up, because he knew the money for tuition was there for him if he needed it.
And now it was gone. Sucked into the void. Gonzo. He had no savings. Why had he agreed to come to Las Vegas in the first place? The trip had been a right disaster!
Eventually, the bartender had enough, and security practically carried Eli into the elevator, sending him up to the fifth floor after checking the room number assigned to his passkey.
Numbly, Eli swiped the card against the black scanner on the door, at first too quick for the scanner to catch. When the door didn't open, he screamed, kicking at the wooden surface with the edge of his steel-toed boots. Demetri had told him they looked stupid. Eli thought he looked tough.
He tried the key again, slower this time, holding his breath. If it didn;t work, he knew he'd be out on his rear after a noise complaint or three. Thankfully, he could exhale his scream instead of vocalizing it, because the scanner gloed green and the door clicked open.
