The Odds - Jeff Strand Page 0,2
you to be frank with me. How much money have you lost today?”
Ethan saw no reason to lie. “Ninety-two hundred.”
“And you don’t have that much stuck between the couch cushions, do you? The loss hurts. I see that you’re wearing a wedding band. How will your spouse take the news?”
“Not well.”
“Newlyweds?”
“No. Five years.” It was actually twelve. Ethan wasn’t going to blab details of his personal life to some guy who might be trying to steal his identity.
“Any kids?”
“No.” Two.
Rick nodded. “Let’s call your losses an even ten thousand dollars. What if I told you that I could offer you a 99% chance of winning that money back?”
“I wouldn’t believe you.”
“Fair enough. I wouldn’t believe me either. But that’s exactly what I’m offering. In the first round of this game, you’ll spin a wheel with one hundred numbers on it. If it lands on the numbers one through ninety-nine, I will immediately deposit ten thousand dollars into your bank account or, if you prefer, hand you an envelope full of cash. All of your anguish is erased, just like that. You’ll walk out of here a new man. 99% chance. Forgive my unprofessional language, but those are pretty fucking good odds.”
“And if I land on the wrong number?” Ethan asked.
“We break your arm.”
“Excuse me?”
“We break your arm. Like I said, there’s no financial risk on your part, but yes, if you spin the wheel and it lands on the number zero, we will break your arm.”
Ethan pushed back his chair. “Well, screw that.”
“Really? You won’t risk a 1% chance of a broken arm for ten thousand dollars? Ethan, when I first saw you, you looked like you wanted to slash your wrists. You looked like you wanted to shove the barrel of a revolver into your mouth and blow your brains out. Isn’t a broken arm better than having your brains splattered all over the wall of your hotel room?”
“Do you get paid extra for being so melodramatic?”
“I can’t see into your mind or your heart, so maybe you’re fine with the way things played out for you today. If so, you’re welcome to leave. I hope you enjoy the rest of your time here in Las Vegas.”
Ethan wasn’t quite ready to leave. “How do I know it’s fair?”
Rick stood up. “Let’s go into the game room.”
They left Rick’s office and went into the room next door. It was bigger than the office but not by much. A brightly colored wheel of about three feet in diameter was mounted on the far wall. Next to it was a chair with a strange contraption on the armrest.
“That’s our wheel,” said Rick. “One hundred possible numbers. The one you don’t want is zero, which you can see is dark red on a black background. The designer wanted to add a skull, but we overruled him. You spin the wheel. Anything but zero and you’re instantly ten thousand dollars richer.”
“How do I know the wheel isn’t rigged?” Ethan asked.
“You mean with a magnet or something?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m told that every single player we’ve brought in here has asked that. And the answer is: it’s not, but we can’t prove it, so we can make whatever accommodations you want. You can roll a pair of ten-sided dice. You can write the numbers zero through ninety-nine on slips of paper and draw one out of a hat. Any fair way you can think of to generate a random number, we can work with. We’re not here to con you. I promise you will have a 99% chance of winning the money.”
“Sounds too good to be true. How can you afford to give out that much cash?”
“We’re extremely well-funded.”
“How about this?” asked Ethan. “You write down a number. You fold it up and give it to me. I guess the number. If I’m right, I lose.” He didn’t see how they could manipulate that. Maybe a stage magician could figure out a way to do that trick, but they couldn’t fake him out without any prep time.
“That would add an element of psychology to it,” said Rick. “You wouldn’t just pick a random number; you’d try to figure out what number I wouldn’t write down. But for the first game, I’ll allow it.”
“You’re very easygoing about this.”
“We want you to win. It’s no fun for anybody if you quit after the first round.”
“Makes sense.”
“Before you officially commit, I’ll explain how the chair works. You’ll sit down and place one of your arms—obviously, if you’re right-handed we recommend choosing