The air was foggy and cold and you had to squint to see as you crossed the road from the bus stop walking towards the flashing lights in the distance. As you get closer you can see the sign on the front pavilion was lit up with a small open sign and a man standing next to it rubbing his hands together to try to stay warm

As you approach he extends his hand and stops you "Hey kid, you here for the gambling? the stories? Or how about the gambling stories?" He asks. 

Sighing deeply you pulled your hands out of your pockets showing the man some pocket lint and a piece of bubble gum.

The man laughs a bit and Gestures up the stairs where everything had been set up, "Looks like you like the thrill, the chase, and the chance to hit it rich.  So time to step up kid, and be with those like you..."

As you climb the stairs to the pavilion that had been set up, you notice some old-school slot machines to your left,  a small poker table sitting next to a podium, and a small table with coffee and some snacks with people wandering around.

An old man walked into the room followed by his entourage of bodyguards and walked up to the podium

"This is a place for us degenerates. Or rather, the risk takers, to get together and tell a few stories of the good runs and the times that the house took our house," he said. "Some of us play poker, blackjack, or like to roll the dice. Some of us like to hit the local slots at the casino and spent every dime of the farm. Personally, I love blackjack and dice, which has led to some stories to tell."

The man gestured to the room 

"So please feel free to take a seat, help yourself to a drink and some free spins on the slots courtesy of the house, and listen while myself and others tell some stories of the wins and woes."

Sylence scanned the crowd of people that were now gathered in the pavilion and mingling around on the public grounds around it. He decided to tell the first story since it was almost the holidays

So yesterday I kind of went on a bender and it started off slowly and safe just like I always plan. I got to the casino at like 7 or 8pm after dinner and I went straight to the dice table. It started off slow and steady with small 100,000$ bets and then quickly moving up to 2.5M and then 5m and 10M tops bets against the house.

Before you know it I was down.... 250M-300M

Sylence laughs a bit and picks up his drink and one of the liquor bottles pouring some of it into his drink and mixing it in circles

Even sent one of my bodyguards down to the VIP bank to get some gold bars from my savings which I had said I would not do.. but you know the old saying "momma didn't raise a quitter" well I did not quit and keep at it quickly placing gold bars against the casino with 50M bets winning multiple in a row and leaving the casino with five duffle bags with 25,000,000 profits

The Don looked out onto the streets from the pavilion, taking a deep breath of the cold air stepping away from the podium inviting others to tell stories of wins and losses or anything gambling

Sylence claps a little bit and lets out a laugh as he watches his friend BulletToothTony stepping down and taking a seat

I definitely understand a lot of what you are saying.. I don't want to take up someone elses turn right now but I also have had my fair share of gambling losses.. with a lot of zeros

Thanks for sharing friend. The entertainment that gambling provides can be a thrill when your on top of the world. Fancy food, fancy clothes and the ability to buy anything... but when you lose it can really be a gut punch if you did not have risk management for sure!

Sylence starts to daydream about slot machines and hitting it big before he snaps back to reality as he waits for the next person to speak up