Super Con

Fifty

The pit boss at the MGM Grand was a rookie, and Billy and Mags found a single-deck blackjack game and went to work. The hotel was hosting a convention, and there was plenty of action inside the casino. As a result, Billy had to distract the dealer only a handful of times.

“Give me some ten-dollar chips,” he said, throwing money on the felt.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” the dealer said politely.

“Why not?”

“The casino doesn’t have ten-dollar chips,” the dealer explained.

“That’s crazy. Every casino has ten-dollar chips. What’s wrong with this place?”

The dealer acted confused. No casino in the world had chips with a denomination of ten dollars. But that hadn’t stopped cheats from posing this question to dim-witted dealers and momentarily distracting them while their partners did the dirty work.

Painting the deck at the MGM went without a hitch. Thirty minutes later, they walked out the front door and down the sidewalk to the intersection of Tropicana and the Strip. Their next stop was the Mandalay Bay, another MGM property. It was two blocks away, and they decided to hike it.

“I want you to explain something to me,” Mags said. “The casinos have equipment that detects luminous paint on the backs of cards. How do you plan to get around that?”

“The equipment at the MGM properties is flawed,” he said.

“It’s flawed at all their casinos?”

“Yup. The parent company switched suppliers, and the new company screwed up.”

“No wonder you want to jump on it. What happens when MGM finds out the equipment isn’t working properly?”

“We’ll be long gone by then.”

“You said that you were using football players as takeoff men. Be careful. I worked a scam in Atlantic City with two guys who played baseball for the Yankees and they were a nightmare. Never again.”

“Why... did they try to hit on you?”

“Guys hit on me all the time. I don’t have an issue with that. The problem is with dumb jocks. Most of them are spoiled rotten brats who never grew up. You tell them to do one thing, and they say yes, then do another thing entirely. I later checked out the baseball players and learned they’d been in trouble their whole lives but were never held accountable. They were a total liability.”

“The football players have been working a poker scam. They’re part-time grifters.”

“Doesn’t matter. They’re still jocks, and used to having things their own way. Mark my words, one of them will go sideways on you. It’s their nature.”

The street entrance to Mandalay Bay resembled a temple and was designed to make visitors feel like royalty. Once inside, Mags headed straight for the Eyecandy Lounge while Billy wanted to check out the blackjack pit. The pit boss was another rookie. Beautiful.

He entered the lounge to find Mags watching a couple practice their moves on the dance floor. “Pit boss isn’t going to be a problem,” he said.

“Then let’s do it.”

Mags started to stand. Billy placed a gentle hand on her sleeve and she sat back down. “Would you reconsider joining my crew? Your chops are incredible. Run with me, and you’ll never get caught again. That’s a promise you can take to the bank.”

“I thought you already had a mechanic. What’s his name? Travis?”

“Travis is out of the picture. I need to find a replacement.”

“Is that what I am, a replacement? Not interested, thanks the same.”

“I’ll make you a partner. You’ll get half.”

“Jesus, Billy, what’s come over you?”

“We were made to work together. I know it, and so do you.”

Normally, he would have never had this conversation while on a job. But he’d decided it was now or never. If Mags didn’t join now, she’d leave town and he’d never see her again, and he didn’t think he could live with that. He wanted another chance to make things right and see what might happen. And he was willing to split the money just to give it a shot.

She rose from the table. “The only thing I know right now is that I need a nice long vacation when this is over. You’re going to have to wait for your answer.”

“Take all the time you need,” he said.

“I will.”

And with that, she entered the casino.