I used to gamble. Hell, I was one of the best, even making it to the final table of the World Series of Poker once. Every year, my buddies and I would hit Vegas, it would only be for a week or so, but we only saw the inside of a casino. I was usually found at the poker or blackjack tables, spending a few thousand per hand. The last time I paid for anything in Vegas was the first time we went. Since then, everything has been comped. Oh, I'm not a sucker. I knew that my gambling losses would essentially pay for everything. About two or three days in, I would mindlessly give one of my buddies a couple grand to lay on some basketball game. So, yeah, you could say gambling was my life.
As much as I loved to gamble, I would never let it control my life. My bills were always paid, and my family always had food. I just gambled for the same reason people drink or play video games. The thrill just relaxed me. Friday nights were always poker night, nothing big, just four guys and bourbon. Saturdays would find me on the computer playing online poker. Again, usually, nothing big, unless I'm feeling saucy. I was well-known on a few of the poker sites, and most everyone I met was friendly, but you'd get a few assholes now and then. Usually, it's a drunk or some guy who shouldn't play anyways. Thanks to my good nature, most people liked me and would invite me to events, some high stakes. I'd usually go to some of the higher-profile ones, hell, I was hoping to make poker my career. It would beat pushing the pencils in my accounting job, that's for sure.
It was a Sunday, probably about eleven in the morning. I just finished a nice breakfast, and a cup of coffee, when my phone buzzed. It wasn't a number I recognized, but the text was intriguing, "skip Vegas this year, I have something better. Check mail tmrw." I texted back asking who it was, but I never received an answer. The next day, the job was a blur, and I kept thinking about what the text could mean. I raced home, my mind in fifty million directions. My wife met me at the door, I gave her the usual kiss and the typical day greeting. She handed me an envelope, slightly larger than normal.
"Dear sir,
We have been watching you for a long time and are impressed with your poker-playing prowess. We would like to invite you to the ultimate poker cruise. We will leave port on a Sunday and return the next week. All expenses paid. This invitation will get you and your friends on the cruise. We'll be expecting you."
I wasn't a fan of the weird tone, but hell, an all-expenses-paid cruise? I'm there. We canceled our plans for Vegas, and instead packed for the cruise. I kissed my wife and headed for the airport. Our excitement made the flight to Orlando extremely short. After a quick Uber to the ship, we boarded. "Oh, Mr. Morris, please have your party follow me." We walked into a room that would rival most presidential suites. Anything you could imagine was in this room, exotic food, women, and even a hot tub. "If you need anything else, sir, please don't hesitate."
The first night, we could walk the ship, and just relax. I inquired about gambling, but I was told that because of state laws, gambling wasn't allowed until we arrived in international waters. Seeing as this was my first gambling cruise, I just accepted it. After a night of hedonism, we fell asleep. The next morning, after breakfast, I was informed that the recipients of the invitations were wanted in the main poker room. After being seated, the stakes were explained. "Gentlemen, it's simple, you're the best poker players in the world. You are in the top fifteen. As stated, the winner gets all fifteen million. Everyone else will just be out of luck. You're probably wondering why you were not asked to bring cash. I think it's obvious, I'm giving all of you a million dollars. Once you go bust, you're out. However, 'all in' has a new meaning here. Once you've reached that point, it will be explained. Now, shuffle up and deal."
I was focused, this was fifteen million dollars. Nothing else mattered, not even my friends. I'm sure they were completely lost in the debauchery that was our room anyways. I lost all sense of time, but I think it was maybe three hours in when the first person went bust. Then, we learned what "all in" meant. We all stopped because we wanted to know what happened. It was at that point, we noticed one of the player's friends was paraded in, blindfolded. The player was given a choice, kill one of his friends, which was a fifty thousand dollar buy-in or go bust. A sense of dread started to wash over me, I was slowly realizing that if you went bust, you weren't leaving the ship, alive. The friend was forced to his knees, but he didn't put up a fight. He was almost sedated. "Holy shit," I just kept thinking. "Are my friends like this, too?" The player was then handed a large knife, or maybe a small machete. "Slit his throat, stay in the game," the dealer said, "if you don't, I don't think I need to tell you what happens next."
