Gambling Forever

“You did it, Lucky!” Rollnaldo’s digital avatar did an emote where he popped a confetti popper.

“I guess it pays off to be the unluckiest person in the univer-.” As I was about to celebrate, I was interrupted by a high pitched buzzing noise.

Mecha Rollnaldo, the Kasino King, his slotomaton mech, and I became encased in a bright light once again. One moment we were hovering over the capital, the next we were teleported back to the Kasino King’s throne room. Rollnaldo shrunk back down to his original form, while my outfit had returned to normal. Behind the Kasino King’s throne, his mech fell apart into a pile of hundreds of broken slot machines, while the Kasino King was back sitting on his neon throne.

The Kasino King stared at his hands with a surprised look on his face. “I actually lost.” After sitting motionless for a few seconds, his shocked expression turned to an excited grin. “So this is what losing feels like. I never thought I’d see the day.”

“Looks like I win, Kasino King.” I assuredly pointed at him. “Time to pay up.”

“I suppose you’re right.” Snapping his fingers, three boxes appeared in front of him. “As the first person to ever defeat me, I’ll honor your requests.” Reaching into the first box, he pulled a burlap sack.

“Jacky likes apples!” Jacky excitedly trotted over.

“A sack of apples for…” The Kasino King curiously stared at Jacky, as he handed him over the bag. “...Whatever kind of animal this thing is supposed to be.”

Taking the sack in his mouth, Jacky immediately dropped it to the ground and shoved his head into it. Loud chewing noises echoed through the throneroom as he chowed down.

Out from the next box, the Kasino King pulled a pen and paper. “For the dice man, who is apparently now my son-in-law, I have these for you to write down whatever it is you desire.”

“You're probably going to want to come back to me. This is going to take a minute.” Eagerly taking the pen and paper, Rollnaldo began scribbling down his demands.

“And finally for you-.”

“Wait a second there, dad!” Eight interjected just as he was about to reach into the last box. “You guys were just kidding earlier about me not getting anything, right?”

“No, I was completely seriou-.” I stopped mid-sentence as Eight’s foot slammed up into my crotch.

“What the muck was that, Recruit Number Twenty?” She shot me a glare.

“You demoted me all the way down to twenty?” The pitch of my voice went higher, as tears streamed down my eyes. “Just give her a sack of bombs to appease her.” I pleaded, giving into her ‘persuasive’ tactics.

The Kasino King let out a sigh as he snapped his fingers, followed by a sack falling from the ceiling. “If you’re going to blow something up again, could you at least make sure it's not my property?”

Eight laughed in response. “Can’t make any promises… and don’t think this will be the last time my super secret domestic terrorist organization tries to overthrow you.”

The Kasino King just rolled his eyes then turned his attention back to the final box. He reached his hand into it. “For your prize…” He suddenly looked back over to me and raised an eyebrow. “You know something? I never bothered getting your name.”

“Its Lucky, Luck Diamond.” I confidently nodded my head.

“Well Lucky, the first gamblord to ever defeat me, as per your request he's your way back home.” From the final box, he pulled out my reward…

I stared at it blankly. “A pair of shoes are going to send me back to my world?”

In his hands, he held a pair of ruby red high top basketball shoes. “These aren't just normal shoes.” He tossed the pair to me. “If you put these on and chant the words, ‘what happens in the Kasino Kingdom stays in the Kasino Kingdom’, you'll get transported back home.”

Taking off the crappy pair of shoes I won off those kids, I skeptically put on this new pair. “You're not messing with me are you?”

“No, I'm dead serious. Once you do the chant and tap your heels together you'll be sent back and will never be able to return.” He reassured me.

“Alright I have my requests.” Rollnaldo held up his piece of paper. “First, I want the ownership and all licensing rights for Matthew the World's Largest Twine Ball™ transferred to me. Second, I want two thousand tons of loose twine… And finally, I want to form the Matthew the World's Largest Twine Ball Corporation and be made its CEO.”

“That's all oddly specific, but it's already done.” Snapping his fingers again, Rollnaldo's paper vanished from his hand in a puff of smoke. Falling from the ceiling above him was a giant pile of twine, which landed beside us. In his hands appeared a certified stack of papers.

“What’s your plan for all this, Rollnaldo?” I wondered.

“Its all part of my diabolical plan to get back at my cousin and ex-wife.” He shook the stack of papers. “Now that I own Matthew, I'll be using this pile of twine here to ensure he surpasses Marcus in size. Then with my newly formed corporation, I'll work to put Betssi out of business and become the largest and most influential business in the Kasino Kingdom.”

“I know you'll do it.” I patted him on the shoulder. “Well, I guess this is where we part ways.”

“Are you sure you have to leave? There's a V.P. position at my corporation with your name on it.” As Rollnaldo spoke, there was a tinge of sadness in his voice.

“And there's still a lot of work my super secret domestic terrorist organization needs you for. If you mucking leave, you're going to get demoted at least ten more ranks.” Eight added, also looking a bit down.

“Jacky likes apples.” Jacky came up from behind me, placing a half eaten apple in my hand as a parting gift.

Warmly smiling, I looked back at the three of them standing before me, as I reflected on our journey together. “Thank you guys for everything. I promise I'll never forget you.”

“Wait a second.” The Kasino King chimed in. “For the sake of the gambling spirit, are you really sure you want to cash out so soon?”

“What are you getting at?”

“What if you were to let it ride and stay here a while longer. I could knight you as an official gamble knight of my court, which comes with a fair amount of status and perks.”

Feeling conflicted, I stood quietly as I contemplated. On one hand, If I went home now, I'd be going back to my friends and family, but I'd still have to own up to basically bankrupting myself in Las Vegas and dropping out of college. On the other hand I could stay here in this strange world and get roped into both Eight and Rollndo's crazy antics on a daily basis.

After some deep consideration, I came to a decision… “I guess it can't hurt to stay a little longer.” Removing the ruby red high tops, I handed them back to the Kasino King.

He nodded. “If that's what you want, then I knight you a gamble knight.”

Suddenly, from my pocket, my player’s card projected my details. My gambling rank had changed from ‘rookie’ to ‘gamble knight’.

“Don't get a swollen head just because you have a fancy title, Recruit Number Twenty. You still are a lackey to me.” Eight jokingly punched my shoulder.

“So does this mean you're accepting that V.P. position?” Rollnaldo shot me a joyful grin.

I held out my hand. “As long as you're alright with the unluckiest person in the universe working with you.”

“Of pipping course I am!” With utter excitement, he reciprocated with his hand and the two of us shook on our newly founded corporation.

With the help of a little dice man, a wannabe domestic terrorist, and a strange apple-obsessed talking horse, it seemed like I finally managed to live up to my name, Lucky, in my own way in this weird gambling world. At the end of the day maybe it doesn't matter if you have fortune or misfortune, but rather the friends you made along the way.

♠️♦️🎰The End🎲♥️♣️