“Would you care to sit down?” the dealer asked Misty.
“No, but thanks anyway,” Misty said.
An hour later, Billy was down thirty-five grand.
Based upon his calculations, the loss should have been half that amount. Which could mean only one thing. He was being swindled.
Casinos weren’t supposed to swindle their customers, but it happened. Sometimes, a slot machine got put on the floor that didn’t pay out. Or a pit boss tore up several high-valued cards in a blackjack game under the excuse that a drink had spilled on them. This was the proper procedure, so long as the cards were replaced. When the pit boss didn’t, it was cheating.
Billy had a photographic memory, and he replayed each hand that had been dealt to him in an effort to determine when the swindle had taken place. It took a little while, but he found it. The casino was card counting and using the information to alter the game.
Most casinos card counted their blackjack games. Either the pit boss did the counting or a computer in the surveillance room was used. If a player betting five dollars a hand suddenly bet $500, the casino would check the count to determine if the player was a counter.
Carnivale was using the information differently. They were counting the game at Billy’s table and telling the dealer to reshuffle whenever the cards’ composition favored the players. High-valued cards favored the players; low-valued cards favored the house. As a result, Billy wasn’t getting many high-valued cards, nor were the other players. Carnivale was keeping the high-valued cards out of play.
The dealer was doing the dirty work. Billy noticed a flesh-colored plastic earpiece. He’d assumed it was a hearing aid but now wasn’t so sure.
He excused himself from the table to take an imaginary phone call. Walking back to the table, he glanced at the dealers working the other blackjack games.
They were wearing earpieces as well.
He played a few more hands and lost every one. His face burned. Misty began to massage the muscles in his neck, which were as tight as knots.
“You okay?” she whispered in his ear.
“They’re scamming us,” he whispered back.
“So that’s why I’m not seeing any aces. Shall we alert the gaming board?”
“Very funny. Let’s get some lunch.”
He gathered up his remaining chips and rose from the table. He considered not tipping the dealer but decided against it. In Carnivale’s eyes, he was a sucker, and he needed to keep up that impersonation for as long as he could. He tossed five black chips to the dealer.
“Thank you, Mr. C. Come back soon,” the dealer said.
Billy took his time leaving. If Carnivale was cheating their customers at blackjack, there was a strong likelihood management was scamming the craps, roulette, and baccarat games as well, and he and Misty took a long walk around the casino.
“Uh-oh. Looks like trouble,” Misty whispered.
They had stopped to watch a craps game. Casinos that cheated at dice often employed shaved dice that rolled fewer winning combinations than normal. Billy looked up from the game to see a small army of security goons rushing down the aisle toward them.
“Don’t move,” he said.
They held their ground as the goons rushed past.
“What was that about?” Misty asked.
“Beats me. What are you in the mood for?”
“Pizza. I hear the hotel has a great pizzeria.”
“Italian it is.” He took out his cell phone and called DeSantis. “I need the best table at your pizzeria in two minutes. Is that going to be a problem?”
“Not at all, Mr. C. How was your blackjack game?” their host asked.
“I lost. Later.”
They began the long march to the lobby where the hotel’s restaurants were located. Every casino was designed to make their patrons do a strenuous amount of walking, hoping their legs would tire and they’d sit down and play a few hands.
At the end of their walk, they again crossed paths with security. The goons had gotten their man and were dragging Nico Boswell from the casino. The goons had roughed him up; Nico’s shirt was torn, and a sickening stream of blood gushed out of his nose.
Billy’s stomach churned. The goons were going to back-room Nico in a windowless cell where they’d take turns slapping him around and intimidating him. Only after the goons had inflicted more pain and instilled the fear of God in Nico would they turn him over to the police.
As the goons hustled past, Nico looked right at Billy. The poor kid was scared out of his wits, and his eyes begged for help. The goon in charge slapped Nico in the back of the head.
“Keep moving,” the goon said.
Thirty
Carnivale’s pizzeria was named Serious Pie. The hostess escorted them to a corner table away from the other diners and handed them menus.
A waiter took their drink order. Billy ordered mineral water for the table. The waiter left and Billy rubbed his face with his hands.
“You know the guy who just got busted?” Misty asked.
“Was it that obvious?” Billy asked.
“It was to me.”
“How about the goons?”
“They’re too dumb to notice stuff like that. Who is he?”
“His name’s Nico Boswell. His family’s been scamming the casinos for years. Roulette, craps, BJ, they’ve even taken down slot machines. They’re legends.”
“Are they here, too?”
“No. The family left yesterday. Only Nico hung around.”
“What’s going to happen to him?”
Billy looked over the menu. The filet mignon meatballs looked tasty, only his appetite had gone away. The casinos didn’t rough up patrons they suspected of cheating unless they’d gathered enough videotape evidence to put them away. The waiter returned to the table, and Misty ordered a thin crust veggie pizza while Billy went for the house salad.
“You didn’t answer my question,” Misty said. “Is he going down?”
The easiest way to deal with unpleasant subjects was not to think about them. He shrugged as if to say I don’t know. Misty squeezed his arm.
“Why do you care?” he asked.
“Pepper and I talk about it all the time,” she said. “You’ve done a great job of keeping us out of jail, but it might happen someday. Better to hear about it ahead of time.”
“Nico’s going down,” he said. “His family was working a slot-machine scam. The gaming board has technology that detects when the slots are losing too much money, and they found out and nailed him.”
“Will he do time?”
“Three to five if he’s got a good lawyer. Five to seven if his lawyer sucks. They’ll lock him up in Ely, which is where most cheats get put.”
“Why Ely?”
“It’s the worst prison in the state, so the judges throw cheats there to teach them a lesson. The cellblocks are run by gangs, and the gangs run card games. If you’re a cheat, you’re expected to deal the game so your gang wins. It’s no fun if you get caught.”
“What do they do?”
Billy mimed getting his throat slit. Misty let out a little shriek.
“That’s horrible. Can you help this guy?” she asked.
“I already warned his family. Nico didn’t listen.”
“That’s not what I asked you. Can you help him?”
He took a breadstick from the basket and broke off a piece. The cheater’s code required that Billy attempt to help Nico if he could. “I could try, but it would put us in jeopardy. If the casino finds out that I know Nico, they might get the wrong idea.”
“What if he gets scared and gives you up?” Misty said. “He could strike a deal with the district attorney and roll on you. Then we’d be royally screwed.”