The man next to him
had a name tag on his short sleeved shirt that read, "R. Melnick M.D."
He was pale and sweating lightly. His fingers drummed on a stack of
black $100 chips, twenty at least. He placed four chips on the no pass
line, won, and added to his stack. He left, irritated, as though the
inevitable humiliation was just being postponed.

Oliver bet ten dollars and won. He left his chips on the pass line and
won again. He put one chip back in his pocket and won again. He put two
more chips in his other pocket and lost the rest on the next roll.
Twenty dollars ahead. He kept his original stake in one pocket and his
winnings in the other.

When he lost three times in a row, he went over to the roulette tables
to change his luck. He put one chip on red and lost. He doubled his bet
and won, leaving him one chip ahead. He went back to craps and began
betting larger amounts. He stayed with his system. He was $375 ahead
when he lost three times and headed back to the roulette wheel. He lost
the first three times he bet on red. He doubled his bet again, eight
$10 chips, his largest bet so far. The ball went around and around and
hopped into the double zero slot. Neither red nor black. The house won
all bets. Oliver swallowed. What were the odds that he would lose an
almost even bet, five times in a row? About one out of thirty-two
times. He counted out sixteen chips, $160. The dealer looked at him
with a flicker of interest--one of these guys who would go down with
his system? The ball whined around the rim of the wheel a long time
before it slowed, fell into the center of the wheel, and bounced to a
stop.

Red. Oliver collected his chips, relieved, and put all but one back in
his stake pocket. All that risk on the last spin to win a net total of
one chip. If he had lost, he would have had to bet $320 on the next
spin to have a net win of one chip. And then $640. The dealer had seen
it all before. Sooner or later, the improbable happened, and a run of
losses wiped out the double-or-nothing players.

Oliver put his $100 chip on pass. He lost. He lost twice more and
returned to roulette. This time he won on the second spin. He went back
to craps and lost again. His winnings sunk to $45 and then climbed back
to $120.

"How's your luck tonight?" A young blonde smiled appealingly.

"Not too bad."

"You want to bet a couple for me? You know, have a good time?"

"I'd love to," Oliver said, "but I'm too shot. I'm goin