Prelude to a Crime in Vegas (Story #139)

This is the Solitaire Story I wrote on 7/27/26. In this one, a hapless fellow finds himself a loser in Vegas, despite utilizing what he thought was a elegant and foolproof system for beating the House (at roulette, of all things.) In a desperate attempt to make something of his last few hundred dollars during the last few hours in Sin City that remain to him, he enjoys (and endures) multiple haymaker-caliber swings in fortune. This is kind of a weird one for multiple reasons, but if you like sweaty, hungover protagonist introspection and/or ambiguous endings you'll probably dig it!