“What did it land on last?” a new player asked, sounding excited and smelling of booze. Oh, yeah. Zilla had found her people. "25. Red, odd," Zilla replied, incidentally slipping into dealer-talk as she responded to the question. At work, it was important to make everything as clear to the players as possible. When manning the roulette wheels, she was required to lead with the winning number then provide the color and divisibility to help reduce any possible confusion.

[break][break]But she wasn't at work.

[break][break]The Rocket grunt shut her mouth and hardly looked up from the table as she placed a handful of her own chips on both the Odd betting square and the 3rd 12 betting square. She'd been at the table for only about five minutes, but that had been more than enough time to realize that the wheel favored the numbers to the immediate right of zero, which mostly consisted of odd numbers and numbers between 25 and 36.

[break][break]The grunt leaned away from the table after making her bets and downed the rest of her Galaxy. It wasn't the sort of drink she'd normally choose, but it was a new year celebration and she would have been remiss not to partake in the casino's signature beverage. After a couple more rounds at the Roulette table, she'd likely swing by the bar in order to pick up a drink to replace the one she'd just finished.

[break][break]

+ ana fell, sorry for the long wait!
[break]+ Located at Casino Starlight for the NYE Bar Crawl.

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Zilla snorted in amusement and stole a glance at the woman when she asked how to play the game. That was a good one. Not knowing how to play roulette and asking a stranger for guidance. Real funny. But this lady didn't seem to be making a joke. She was serious about it. As if in response to the skeptical look given by the indigo-haired woman, the stranger went on to explain that she'd only seen people play roulette on game shows. "Huh," Zilla hummed before turning back to the board.

[break][break]"It's all about guessing what number the ball will land on. 0 through 36," she started explaining while pointing weakly at the wheel a short distance away. She then moved her hand to point at the table of squares, numbers, and words. "You make your bet here. You got a ton of options. You can bet on a specific number. Let's say you really like 12. You put your chips on number 12. You're risking a lot 'cause that's... like..." her voice trailed off as she tried to do the math in her head, "a two percent chance of the ball landing on your number. But if it does land on 12, you get a massive payout."

[break][break]The dealer placed a hand on the side of the roulette wheel and sent a metal ball spinning, but Zilla didn't stop. She checked to make sure the woman was still there before going on to explain. "Since that's such a huge gamble, people tend to make broad bets. They don't pay as well, but it's arguably the safer choice." She pointed at the options on the sides of the table. "You can bet that the winning number will be odd, even, red, black, the first set of 12, second set of 12, last 12, the first half, or the second half..."

[break][break]Her voice faded again as dealer swiped a hand over the table, silently indicating that he wasn't accepting any more bets for this round. The silver ball continued to spin around the outside of the roulette wheel, though it was beginning to slow. "You can also bet on columns," she motioned to the column containing numbers 10 through 12, "or rows," she swept a hand over the closest row.

[break][break]"Or you can get real fancy with split bets or corner bets, but those are big gambles since you're putting all your money on just a couple numbers. I usually see people do that to cover a bunch of space on the board while maximizing their payout if they do win," she explained before falling silence. The ball on the roulette wheel fell into the 25 position and the nearby players responded with a mix of groans and cheers.

[break][break]Zilla smirked. She'd bet that the winning number would be between 25-36 and that it'd end in an odd number. As such, she would be receiving chips for both bets, though she wouldn't earn as much as those who voted on 25 itself, did a split or corner bet, or voted for the 25-27 column. The dealer got to work handing out the victor's winnings and clearing the board for the next round. As he did, the Rocket grunt turned back to the curious woman and said, "It's all about taking a risk. The more dangerous the bet, the better the reward. You feelin' lucky?"

[break][break]

+ ana fell
[break]+ Located at Casino Starlight for the NYE Bar Crawl.

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

When the woman said that the game was less complicated than she expected, Zilla couldn't help but smile. Even through a tipsy haze brought on by multiple consecutive drinks, she had managed to explain how to play Roulette to a novice. Maybe she hadn't been as thorough or detailed as she might have been when sober-minded and on the job, but the fact remained that she was good enough at teaching the basics. She deserved a mental pat on the back.

[break][break]As players began to put chips on the board in preparation for the next round, the stranger asked if she was able to place two bets. "Yeah," Zilla chimed while placing a stack of chips on the Second Twelve square and another small stack on Red to show the newcomer just how easy it was to bet on each. She went on to explain how these bets weren't as profitable as single, split, or corner bets, but the calculations got lost in the noise of the crowd.

[break][break]"Once your chips are down, you can't move 'em. I think... That's standard protocol, but I guess it's possible Starlight's different," Zilla explained once she'd finished mumbling about the high-risk/high-reward aspect of the game. "But you can keep placing bets until the croupier signals the cut-off. Usually after the ball starts spinning." The employee seated near the wheel wasn't moving, so players still had plenty of time to place their bets.

[break][break]

+ ana fell
[break]+ Located at Casino Starlight for the NYE Bar Crawl.

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

"Yep, that's it," Zilla replied with a nonchalant shrug. "You put yer chips down and wait. That's the game." That was a gross oversimplification of the rules, but as far as the duo were concerned, that was the gist of it. Sure, there was plenty of strategizing required to earn more than you spend, and it required patience and a keen eye for players to observe the wheel over multiple rounds in order to tell if it favored a certain pocket. But if they stripped all that away, roulette was literally just a number-guessing game.

[break][break]"Lots of new players think gambling is more complicated than it really is, so don't be too hard on yourself," the grunt went on to say before motioning at the dealer sitting the head of the table. "Once you've put your chips down, it's all on him." As if on cue, the man placed one hand on the roulette wheel, a silver ball between his fingers. In a matter of seconds, he sent it spinning around the outer edge of the wheel. "He'll send the ball rolling, and you still have time to place bets," Zilla reiterated, "If you want."

[break][break]A handful of other players frantically placed additional chips on the table, hoping to get in some last-minute bets before the croupier ended the round. After a solid five seconds, the dealer waved his hand over the game table, indicating that he was not accepting any more bets this round. "Just like that, our fate's in Lady Luck's hands." The silver ball began to slow on the wheel and fell into the 28 position.

[break][break]A couple people grumbled while others laughed with excitement at their victory. In time with the croupier, Zilla spoke the winning number aloud, "28, red." She turned to face the unnamed woman as the dealer got to work clearing the board and calculating the victors' winnings. Unfortunately, 28 was not covered by the 2nd Twelve square, so both women lost money for that bet; however, the winning number was red, so they would at least win back some of their chips.

[break][break]"And that's game! Once he's finished paying us, the next round'll start and we can bet again. Easy peasy, right?" she asked, her voice trailing off as her dark eyes fell on the empty glass in her hands. Man, she could really use another drink. After a long, somber silence, Zilla turned back to the table and collected her winning chips. She half-heartedly motioned toward the woman's own winnings before saying, "You can pocket 'em and use 'em in another game or you can keep betting here. Up to you."


[break][break]

+ ana fell
[break]+ Located at Casino Starlight for the NYE Bar Crawl.

[attr="class","pokeclass"]