Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 145803 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145803 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
The dealer burned a card and turned over three cards: the queen of spades, the three of hearts and the ten of spades. That gave Vienna four spades. She would need to pull the jack of spades on the turn or the river in order to get her royal straight flush. One more spade, any spade, would give her a flush.
Leo looked the table over, looked at the cards and at each of them carefully. Two spades showing on the table was definitely a possible flush if someone held two spades in the pocket. He made his quarter-million-dollar bet. Jameson folded. Park stayed. Vienna raised, willing Park to stop preening to his fans and pay attention when the bet came round to him again. Leo remained silent for a few moments, looking at her face. In the end, he pushed his chips in to call her. Park did the same.
The turn was a four of hearts. Leo pushed his chips out in front of him, making his bet, a half-million dollars. Vienna raised the bet to a solid million. Park looked sober but answered. Leo studied her face again, and then once more met her chips with his.
The dealer burned a card and then turned a card over. The jack of spades. She knew that card was going to be there, but it was still a thrill and difficult to keep her expression blank. As it was, her stomach did a somersault. She had a royal flush. That was unbeatable.
Leo bet a million and she raised. Park pushed all in. Leo answered without hesitation, certain he had the winning hand. The spectators had gone silent, the atmosphere tense with anticipation as the betting went around the table. Art and Jameson leaned in close as if they could see through the cards.
Leo and Park both called her. Park had two pair. Leo had a queen, jack, ten, nine and eight of spades—a straight flush—a hand most poker players never lose with. He’d had the nine and eight of spades in the pocket. There was a murmur of excitement as Vienna turned over her ace and king, revealing she had a royal flush.
Leo stared down at her cards as if he couldn’t believe them. “My God, woman, Art wasn’t joking when he said the river favored you.”
Park stood up, giving them his famous grin. “I’ll leave you to it.” He shook hands with both of them, saluted his adoring audience and sauntered out.
“She was bluffing up to that point,” Art said.
“She was playing the odds,” Jameson disagreed.
“Nothing seems to faze that guy,” Leo said, watching Park leave. “Did he come here to make money?”
“No one sits at a gambling table like this for any other reason,” Art said. “I think half the shit he says and does is for show. I checked into him. He’s the real deal in modeling. Makes so much money it’s ridiculous.”
“He makes it gambling too,” Vienna said. “He gambles online and wins the big money.”
“Why do you think he was really here?” Jameson asked. “Because I don’t think it was just to play cards.”
Vienna thought that over as she stood up and stretched, grateful she could escape to her room for the rest of the evening. She was an active person, and sitting for hours was difficult. Once her body got over the strange lethargy that gripped her after long hours of cards, she intended to go running. She needed to be outdoors, where she could breathe.
“You think he was here for another reason?” Art asked.
They were down to four players. The hotel had really managed to get the hype they wanted from the tournament and more. The tournament had been heavily advertised, particularly once Art, Leo and Jameson made the final table. They were huge names in the poker world, and each had their own following. Charles was a controversial player and often had eruptions at the table. Spectators watched just to see what he would do. Benny was the wild card of poker. He could be erratic, playing as if he’d thrown out the rule book, or extremely professional, following every rule. With Theodore came the drama of would he finally make his win? The hotel knew exactly how to build that kind of suspense.
Park was a famous model. The hotel took advantage of his making the final table by creating many opportunities for photo shoots of him with his legion of fanatical fans. Park had been more than happy to cooperate with the hotel, generating even more advertising for them.
Vienna knew she was beautiful. She couldn’t look in the mirror and not see what others found attractive in her. She had classical bone structure, exceptional green eyes and a generous mouth. Her hair was thick and naturally platinum, unusual for her age. She was tall and had a figure, but never seemed to gain weight, mostly, she knew, because she was so active outdoors. Her mind was too restless to allow her to stay still for too long.