Unlucky Saturday the 14th

'You feelin' lucky?' I friendly drawled, watching the young, gangly looking fellow in a cream shirt haul his chair in next to me.
'Not yet' he replied, meekly.
I stroked the pile of chips in front of me as the dealer spread cards across the felt. I was chasing perfect pairs, hoping for something I could split. The stack of chips I had on the table was big but the collection by my hands was bigger. The newcomer placed a single chip down before the dealer's hand swept across the surface and bets were closed.
He sat on 18, I sat on 20. The dealer went bust. I beamed as I dragged another handful of chips into my arms. I witnessed a wry smile, shackled by shyness, next to me as his one chip became two.

The next rounds forged through and as I collected more chips and sipped on my third Piña Colada for the evening. He quickly lost his fifty and like a flicker he was gone again. As my cards turned out another blackjack I heard his parting comments to his comrade who had watched the whole attempt in silence.
'It had to happen; I knew I would have bad luck today.'
I didn't smirk, just looked at my steadily growing winnings. I knew you make your own luck.

Eventually you tire of taking casino's money and I walked down the well lit streets of the CBD to meet friends and beer for a celebratory happy hour at the Falcon Claw. It wasn't the ritziest of establishments but the beers are cheap. It's my belief that the secret to winning big is to always act like you don't. As I waited for a fresh pint to recover from its flowing head I watched the doors of the gaming room swing open saloon style as cream shirt and his mate strolled out. He had a smile on his face still, though it was one of humoured acceptance rather than victory.
'Hurry up and finish that drink' he told his friend. 'This place isn't lucky either.'
I smiled, half in knowing of the self-fulfilling prophecy that comes attached to a statement like that, and half because I'd just caught the eye of a shy looking blonde girl who'd been watching me from the corner. As the night air swept in behind me she quickly averted her gaze. Then, slowly... she looked back.

Jaunty rock spilled from the open first story windows and onto the sidewalk as we walked along the streets towards the next bar. Strolling with me was a girl with blue hair, which was a first for me but I was attempting all the charm I could given the alcohol diminished resources I had left. Post passing the entrance to the contemporary jazz place I was startled by heavy slaps and turned around to monitor a cream shirt leap out from the entryway and bobble off at pace into the dark. It was all over in a few seconds but it was the most committed I'd seen him do anything all night.

At this stage I was curious as to why I kept crossing paths with him. Back upstairs a girl stood watching a band, bewildered.

It wasn't long later when I could be found sat waiting in the taxi rank, waiting for a ride to...
'Cassandra...?' I estimated.
Her brown eyes turned and looked up at me as my words ended a brief silence. I had to thank my slightly soberer self of the past who had most likely chosen this brunette not just on the strength of her looks but also because her name sounded like 'casino' which was becoming an easy to remember theme. Unaware of my lucky guess she smiled at me as she snuck closer to my shoulder, her white skin hinting at the moonlight above in contrast to my dark shirt.

Behind my other shoulder the sprinter and his friend were racing again, this time down the stairs behind the taxi queue that led to the railway station. The last train of the night was about to leave and although the night was still young it was obvious he had decided to cut his losses with a cheap ticket home. Finally a Statesman taxi rolled up to the curb and I stroked my wallet through my pants as we loaded into the backseat. Casino lived far away from here but I wouldn't hide from an expense. Whatever it cost I could always come back tomorrow night and win it back, of that I knew. The secret to winning big is to always act like you will.