Lifes a gamble




setting: tunica, mississippi, hollywood casino, poker table

time: mid 90s, mid afternoon

characters: casino scum, mark, vietnamese tony (from this point on known as vnt)

vnt: i see you all time, you come down here too much, me too.

mark: yea man.

vnt: how you doin today, you lose lots, huh, me too.

mark: bout even

vnt: what your name?

mark: mark, whats yours (shaking hands)

vnt: tony, good to see you.

mark: are you vietnamese?

vnt: yea.

mark: du mamie!

vnt: a ha ha, you vietnam, you vietnam, a ha ha.

mark: 1970 outside of quinhohn for about a year. where did you live?

vnt: saigon, i know quinhon. you fucked up when you come home huh mauwk? fucking crazing, huh mauwk? me too. you want drink?

mark: to early for me, you dinky dow.

vnt: a ha ha. yea me to mauwk. (hey honey, you bring me bloody mary, thanks sweehar) I no can drink either mauwk, to early, a ha ha, me lose again ... wife home wauking and i lose money, a ha ha, fucked up huh mauwk. you married mauwk? look you win mauwk, that good a ha ha.

mark: yea, im married. wife works and i have an 18 year old daughter. you want to see their pictures? (reaches in wallet and shows the photos)

vnt: ah, wife very pretty and daughter beautiful, you have friends killed in vietnam huh mauwk? fuck you up bad, me too.

mark: yea you know man, fuck it.

vnt: a ha ha, yea fuck it, mauwk, you right, fuck it. a ha ha.

mark: i'm going to place one big bet down tony, if i win ill stay, if i lose ill go home.

vnt: look you win. good now you stay and play some more, me too, a ha ha.

mark: what do you do tony?

vnt: oh, work for space program, get laid off, fucked up mauwk, make big money, engineer, mauck, now i drink and gamble, you too huh mauck, what you do?

mark: write

vnt: oh.
(silence for about 20 minutes)

vnt: got to go mauwk, wife be mad, good luck



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