Seven in the morning.

Why did it always have to be seven in the god damn morning? This is when the ritual would begin. 

Coffee? Check.

Nudey Magazine? Check.

Toilet? Check.

Precisely four rolls of toilet paper? Check.

I'll spare you the details of what comes next, but it usually enjoyed very little in the way of fanfare and I'm sure your imagination will do more service than my words. Also, if you couldn't tell, I'm lazy as fuck and this way is funnier. Jeeze. Get over it already, I'll paint you a picture if you want a picture. Give me a second while I fetch my brush... any second now, hold on. Here I am, okay. Ready. Just kidding, I mostly wanted this sentence to run on a bit longer to give Argyle some privacy. Let's continue!

*Ring. Ring. Ring.*

It was the damned phone. The invention was nothing more than a nuisance, but Argyle decided to walk on over and pick it up -- normally this is when he'd get his coveted information and jobs -- it was the new way of things. You adapted, or you didn't. I don't think most people give a fuck, really. Where was I, oh yes. The phone call.

"Is this Norb..."

"ARGYLE. Everyone calls me Argyle, but yes. This is he, the famous and well-respected Argyle. Who are you?", it took a few moments for the man on the other end to respond. Eventually however, they did, because that's the polite thing to do.

"Uh, yeah. I'm here on behalf of Mister House, he would like to meet with you to discuss some things. Apparently you've been seen around the place and he'd, uh, lets just say, like to roll some dice with you. If you wanna, eh, come on down tonight."

How could any man refuse such an offer? Making his way to the establishment, Argyle pushed the door open slightly and thought for a few more moments on whether he wanted to do this or not. He'd heard stories from his family members of how quickly you could lose everything you'd worked for, but he couldn't resist. He wouldn't say no. This was his turn to...

"...annnnd that's another win for the house, baby."

Well, fuck. He'd lost it all. 

THE NEW DAY FOR ARGYLE

(This is when the actual conversation starts for anyone who doesn't enjoy my tantalizing tales.)

Today, my friends and admirers. I come here to let you all know that I, the fabulous and talented Argyle, will be quitting the gambling game for the foreseeable future.  Yes, yes. I know. You've all come to know me as that rather great dice player, and you're probably thinking to yourself "Wow! Argyle?! That dreamboat of a man is quitting dice?! BUT WHY?!" and you know? The answer is rather simple. I suck at it. Truth be told, I've almost always sucked at it. My ancestors sucked at it, and now I too carry the same sucky curse as those who preceded me. 

I've not lost as many as some, but as an exceptional and bright leader, I cannot continue with my rather scandalous dice playing. Which is why I've decided to turn this into a debate of sorts - when is gambling going too far? How much is it acceptable to lose, before you can call yourself a bad person who sucks at dice? Ten million? One hundred million? One hundred trillion billion? 

Is gambling bad? Is it good? Do I look fat right now? I could change, I actually brought a few suits for this occasion just in case. I'll do anything to please. ANYTHING.

Ahem. As I was saying. Dice. Good, bad, do you not care? Explain yourselves, and let us have a rousing discussion. Don't worry about embarrassing yourself, I'm already pre-roused. 

He set up a nice cozy seat and waited for the many people to roll in.

You can't quit gambling, gamble is life!!

A squeaky voice was heard from behind. People made some space for that strange man, ThatGuy who broke the short silence with his clumsy voice.

Ok, well now that I have your attention gentlemen, what is gamble? I will tell you what is gamble, gamble is a god. There is nothing more powerful in this world I've ever met. Only gamble. I have never met any circumstances, or any person or thing that could reveal the Truth, and a person's real character, such as gamble does.

Of course, gamble is not just about power. When we invest in people, it is gamble too. When we make deals with others, it is gamble too. If there is risk, there is gamble. And who doesn't loves taking risks in this prosperous lifestyle we choose!

As for the very respected crew leader Argyle gamble in a casino can be strongly restricted of course. But wherever you go you will still be a true gambler. That look in your eyes, the sweat of adrenaline, the heartbeating, is all yours. I'm sure you will find other ways to challenge yourself, but the true way of the gambler will lead you through it. It is not a curse, it's a blessing. If you manage to control it, then the whole world will be yours!

Strolls in, eyeballs Argyle 's suit.. cringes.. "An Argyle Suit??" She thinks to herself.. "yuck!"

"Ahh.. the gambling bug, it has bit me on more than one occasion, and I still enjoy a toss on the tables now and again, but, I have put a halt to it for the most part. You see, as a crew leader, I feel that using the crew's money, a lot of which was donated by my wonderful members, is wrong." She paused, to collect her thoughts, and to turn her eyes away from the hideous argyle suit for just a moment, before facing the man again.

"If I have a spare million of my own cash laying around, I see no reason not to partake in the festivities of dicing, but, once that 'spare million' is gone, I almost always stop, because robbing the crew coffers would seem exceptionally dastardly." As she steps back from the crowd that is gathering around the argyle covered Argyle, she dabs her eyes, as they had started watering due to the loud suit Mr Argyle is wearing. 

CS had known this man - Argyle - for quite a while now, and she knew about his and his ancestors' gambling addiction. Hearing the news about the end of dicing for him was truly a surprise, yet understandable. CS had never been the big gambler herself - of course there had been some times rougher than others, but mostly she sticked to gambling a little to none. 

"First of all, Argyle , I want to say that you look absolutely fabulous in that suit! I have never seen someone as handsome as you," she admitted and glanced over at BaconSandwich and Original_Falcone . Hopefully, none of them heard what she had said. Behind them she could see Huehuecoyotl grooming Ilene and hoped that he did not hear it, either. Everyone knew that Huehuecoyotl was the least handsome guy in the life of crime, yet he seemed to believe otherwise. 

"Secondly, I could not care less about people and their rituals. If they want to gamble, let them do it - no matter their role in this community. If they want to stay away from it, let them do that as well. It is up to the individual."

She paused and took a bite of her cookie. It tasted as delightful as she remembered, if not even better. 

"Personally, I rarely gamble - especially now that I have a family to take care of. It seems a bit reckless to just throw all the money out the window when they can be used for a trip to The Abusement Park or Torture Island. Hell, why not arrange a huge party while we are at it? Or spend the money on Bruce, the Orange Moose?"

"Basically, there are so many other ways to spend your money when you hold a position like this. Of course that is just my opinion."

With that said, CS felt that recognizable feeling again. I must fight it, she told herself, but it did not sound as convincing as she wanted it to be. Hopefully that urge would disappear within no time... 

BaconSandwich was as usual sitting rather quietly, until he heard his very own CookieSandwich mention someone else to be more handsome, whom it was he didn't care about. The fact that someone else were more handsome than him was terrifying. Bacon did however listen to Argyle making a debate whether gambling is good, bad, or when it can turn from good to bad and so on.

Bacon was and have always been a gambler himself, the thrill of the dice never seemed to fail him, he have had dark days, darker nights. But in the end he did not regret anything. He waited for the conversation to have a natural pause, he coughed three times and said.

"I do not believe gambling in itself is bad at all, it is merely a way for people to get entertained, to feel the thrill of winning, and the sadness of defeat. But most of all, the feeling of being alive. If someone cannot control themselves, and let the gambling become an addiction, then thats not the casinos fault is it? Restraining yourself from gambling the money you owe to your leader is a skill too, and some fail at that, and suffer the consequences. Too much is too much when it hurts other people or impact the gambler very negatively and becomes a burden instead of a way to feel alive. Too much is not a matter of how much money, but more of how the result of defeat will impact the loser. If I have 10 million and lose 1 million then the impact is much less than if someone borrowed 1 million and gambled it all away with no way to pay it back.

It is always about the context, individual contexts, and the surroundings."

Bacon realised he had been blabbering for far too long, he let someone else have a chance to make some input, while he felt about the fact that someone else was home handsome than himself

Its not called gambling, if you cant loose!

DB rubs his greedy paws together, then proceeds to pop a fresh drum into his Tommy Gun. With a homicidal voice he asks, "So... who wants to play Dice!"

Intently he listened, all of the men and women gathering to give their thoughts and ideas on the state of gambling and whether they partake in the seductive sport. Some supported it, and others did not, yet he listened to all of them as closely as possible, his entire attention being on that of the speakers one after another coming around to give their...

"Red 14!"

"DAMN."

Okay, he had snuck to the casino for a few moments, but by the time CookieSandwich had finished with her speech he was back and extremely curious in what everyone had to say. He had a boy there taking notes and everything. Grabbing the kid by the shoulder, Argyle grabbed the piece of paper from his hand and pushed him away with nothing more than a couple cents to show for it, after all, he didn't have anything else to give than that at the moment.

I hear you all, uh...

Staring down to the note he saw that Striphe had spoken in favor of gambling with warnings of the grave losses one can accrue while MissNiki talked of the downfalls of stealing cash from your family to support your addiction, he nodded to all of this before speaking up once more. The people demanded to know more of his heavily important opinion.

Well, as you can see, I'm a very weak man. I've already taken back to gambling, but I will be doing it on a much smaller scale than before, one where I do not interfere with the growth of my family for another quick roll of the dice. I'm not sure what to add that hasn't been said already, but...

That's when he saw it. A couple of men playing dice in an alley a few feet from where the discussion was taking place, drastically running over to the boy who had still not left the premises, Argyle wrenched the money from his tiny hands and ran over to the men; throwing down the cash and playing along for a few moments before again walking away in sadness.

I quit, again. No longer will I ever gam... ooooh, do I hear slots somewhere?

Oh well, one day he'll learn. One day.

Two in the morning, the damp alley is dark and cold. DB rolls his dice... *BOOM* another win. A long night of rolling and hes up twenty million. He could easily call it a night, and sleep well counting his rich's in his dreams.

"Its time to quit, your ahead. My system works, this is so easy. I will never have to work for money again! Just one more streak, one more million and I will call it a night."

*BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM*

Three bad rolls in a row. This is the time to start upping the bet. Double it. Another loss. Double it again! Another loss. DOUBLE IT! "How long can this loosing streak last, surely I have enough bank to fight the odds!" Seven in a row, all losses... eight... nine... "Shit I cant double my bet, don't have enough left. Bet what I can, need to come back!"

"Going to bed broke is the worst," thought DB. "Always have the morning!"

First thing in the morning. "Do a few crimes, talk to my CA's scrape together some funds and get back to my system!" DB slowly builds his bank back up to two million. "Untouchable, a long day of dicing and I will be on top again!" About two hours later, DB pulls out his pocket to find a ball of lint.

Fucking dice, she can be a cruel bitch with a loaded gun!