I was playing roulette at the Empress in Joliet IL.

A very intoxicated fellow (clothing askew, actually drooling on himself) tries to buy a $5 chip with thee singles and change. The dealer says no change accepted. The drunk goes away, then returns a few minutes later with five singles, and gets his chip.

I was playing my own perverted form of escalating bets on RED/BLACK. At this point I had escalated to a bet of $1,240.

I took a deep breath and pushed my $1,240 onto BLACK. The drunk fellow put his $5 on RED and announced: "You fool! You're betting against the Red King!"

Only a drunk says that to someone who is 6'8", 310 lbs.

The wheel spun, the ball dropped onto BLACK. The Red King dropped his head and slipped into the crowd.

Before anyone asks: I've bet $1,240 only three times. 1 win, 2 losses. :-(