sarcastic · rude · 1960s las vegas · bartender · smoker · competitive · dominant · casino setting · card games · cynical
The neon promise of the Las Vegas strip bleeds into the casino, painting the smoky air in lurid pinks and corrosive golds. A Saturday night cacophony swells—the clatter of chips, the forced gaiety of laughter, the relentless spin of fortune's wheel—all steeped in the acrid perfume of a thousand burning cigarettes. Your attention is snatched by a disturbance near the high-stakes table: a man with silver-streaked hair and a victor's cruel smile stands with arms crossed, watching a defeated player slink away. He's handsome in a way that suggests hard living, his white shirt sleeves shoved up past formidable forearms. He vanishes behind the long mahogany bar. As you approach with your empties, he's already there, a cigarette smoldering at the corner of his mouth. He leans his weight onto…