Alice in Borderland: New York

An Unexpected Development (1): Six of Diamonds (1)

Teineji saw the casino from several blocks away. It was large and, like the hotel, practically glowed with the amount of light it was emitting. His mind wandered slightly, to the day before. He had showed June around the Tech Center, and she'd clearly been impressed. Peter even stopped by and welcomed her, as well as giving Teineji more supplies. And, as he thought, a new electronic, this one a massive flat screen TV, had activated. Just yesterday, it was completely inert, but after the Seven of Hearts, it worked as if it was brand new. While he hadn't managed to get it to switch to any news channels, the spare generators and Peter's engineering skill had allowed him to properly power the Tech Center and keep the electronics that worked charged, meaning they could watch movies and play games at the Tech Center as well with the right equipment. More promisingly, he'd managed to bring a refrigerator from a nearby appliances store, and power that with one of the same generators.

Teineji, humming slightly, strolled into the casino, looking around at the elaborately decorated walls. At the center of the room was a large wooden table with four chairs, with an ATM machine and a metal box present on each side, as well as four computers latched to the table. Inside was a man with glasses and messy black hair, and a person wearing a suit and looking nervous. Then, another person with brown hair and a leather jacket burst into the room. "Oh, hello!" The man with glasses said cheerfully. "I'm Theodore, but you can call me Teddy." Teddy reached out to the new arrival for a handshake but the man in the jacket moved away, scowling. "What the hell is this? Where am I?" He demanded. "We're in a place called the Borderlands." Teddy responded. "We have to play in death games for our survival. If we don't...we die.""Die? What kind of sick joke is that?!" The man with the leather jacket yelled angrily, and tried to turn around and leave. However, as he turned, the door slammed shut and locked. "Huh? What the...lemme out!" The man started banging on the door angrily. When that failed, he turned around to glare at the others. "What's going on?!" "You're in a game. If you want to live, get over here." Teineji said flatly. "What? What do you mean?" The man in the jacket said.

Before anyone could respond, the speakers activated. "Four players have registered. The game will now begin."

"Game? What?" The man demanded. "Alright, let's get this over with." Teineji said, ignoring him. The televisions screens lit up, displaying a Six of Diamonds card. "Game: Lottery. Difficulty: Six of Diamonds."  Teineji exhaled. "A diamonds...one of my better suits, thanks to Peter." "A card?" the suited man questioned.
The speakers kept talking.

"Rules:
-Every round, a card will be drawn, then removed from the card deck.
Every player starts with 100$, which they can bet one of four ways:

- Betting on if the card will be an even or odd number. If you win, X2 money.
- Betting on the card's suit. If you win, X4 money.
- Betting on the card's number. If you win, X10 money.
- Betting on the exact card. If you win, X50 money.

The money requirement will go up every round, and it may increase in some rounds more than others. If you have less money than the requirement, it's GAME OVER. If you manage to stay alive until the deck is completely finished, it's GAME CLEAR.
Murder is prohibited, as is stealing money from other players."

"So, a game based on luck." Teddy mused. "What the hell?" the man in the jacket, who had reluctantly introduced himself as Jake, said. "The man with the leather jacket is too noisy and angry. He's probably dying." Teineji mused to himself, before the speakers came back to life once more.

"The game has started. Minimum amount: 50. Please begin picking your card." The speaker droned. "50?!" Teddy questioned. "I guess the gamemakers want us to figure things out before the stakes get high." Teineji theorized. "Man, I'm not a really lucky person..." the suited man sighed. Teineji started slipping into his thoughts. "If you think about it...the game never said you would lose money for incorrect guesses, it just said you needed a minimum. With the minimum so low, none of us are likely to die for several rounds anyways. And in that case, there's nothing stopping you from taking a risk to increase your money now before our lives depend on it!" He smiled to himself, and selected his option. "Round one has concluded." The speakers said after a pause. Everyone looked nervous, except for Teineji, who was relaxed. "So, what'd you pick?" Teddy said. "And how are you so calm?" "The trick is to take risks." Teineji said. "You don't lose anything from a wrong guess, you just need to win." "This round's card: the Six of Diamonds." The speaker announced. "WOOHOO!" Teineji and Teddy cheered, as the others cursed or groaned. "Player Teddy, betting 15$ correctly that the card would be an even number, now obtains 15x2, for a total of 30$."

"Player Teineji, betting 100$ correctly that the card would have the number of 6, now obtains 100x10, for a total of 1000$."

Everyone burst into confusion, except Teineji, who was beaming. "Player Jake, who chose Ace of Spades, and player Cody, who chose Seven of Spades, do not obtain any money." The speakers said, as everyone turned to Teineji. "Good job." The suited man, who must've been Cody, complimented. Jake, meanwhile, was less friendly. "How'd you do that?!" He demanded angrily. "Like I said, you just have to identify what the game could consider the most likely cards to be picked, then bet as much money as you can each round until you win it big and survive all the rounds! Compared to my last diamonds game, this is so simple, even an idiot like you could clear it easily with enough time on your side!" Teineji said triumphantly, taking his ten 100$ bills from the ATM and counting them before putting them in the box on his part of the table, slightly irritated by Jake's tone and demeanor. Jake's face turned red, and he muttered something under his breath, but Teineji, too caught up in his euphoria, didn't notice. "Now all you need to do is pick odds or evens or the suit, which give you the best odds, and throw your money into it until-"

Bang!

Teineji was cut off by the sound of a gunshot, and, his eyes widening, looked downward. His shirt was stained with...some kind of red liquid...that was dripping down onto the floor.
Feeling lightheaded, Teineji turned around. As he fell onto the floor, his eyes fell on Jake, who had out a smoking pistol that was aimed right at Teineji's chest.