by Dan Kelly
“Instead of trying to catch this person by determining what Red might have done and who it might have affected, instead of looking for clues in video tapes, lets work with what we know. Let’s use this person’s anger and determination to ruin Red to our advantage. Let’s come up with something that will tempt this guy to take even greater risks than he’s taken to date, something that will allow us to set the ideal trap.”
Suddenly, everybody is re-energized. Joe Amato suggests, “Red could put on a one day gaming table tournament from noon to midnight with a participant entry fee of $25,000. The prize money would be paid in cash with the winner getting a million dollars; second place would pay $500,000 and third place $250,000. The minimum number of players required to begin the tournament would be 100. The fees from the first 70 players would cover the prize money and the fees from the other thirty would cover promotional expenses, food and drink for the participants and put some profit in the Palladian Palace’s bank account to boot. If more than a hundred sign up, the additional profit can be split between the other casino managers to cover the expenses they’ll incur in providing additional resources to help Red catch this thief and maybe put some profit in their casinos’ bank accounts as well.
“We could have our advertising people launch a publicity campaign that utilizes all of the media for maximum exposure, one that would not only attract players, a gallery and the attention of the curious for miles around, but also entice this joker to try to do something to put the tournament in a bad light and discredit Red in the process because of the audience he could reach. We’re convinced that money is not this guy’s primary motive. Character assassination is what this guy is trying to accomplish. Let’s give him what he’ll consider to be an extraordinary opportunity to get what he wants.”
Red responds with, “This guy knows our operation very well. He knows we’ll have extra security people all over the place to handle the crowds and be on the lookout for trouble makers. This kind of tournament, however, could be the right catalyst to get this guy to overreach himself, take risks he wouldn’t normally take and hopefully make some serious mistakes that could lead to his downfall. Okay. I like this idea. Now what kind of trap could we set and how inescapable can we make it?”
Bill holds up his hands and says, “Let’s back up a minute. If this guy is not interested in money per se and won’t be willing to attempt another robbery because of the increased security that will be in place, do you really think an opportunity to discredit Red would be a strong enough reason to tempt him to show up in the midst of all that security?”
Joe replies with a resounding, “Yes! The tournament would provide an excellent opportunity for this person to do something that would put the Palladian Palace in a bad light and greatly embarrass Red. Haven’t we concluded that all of this cheating and perhaps the robbery are for this purpose? If we widely publicize this tournament, the degree of damage that could be done to the casino’s reputation and to Red’s in particular would be astronomical.”
Red adds, “We know that this individual is no dummy. Whatever he comes up with will be ingenious. The phony chips and roulette balls he’s using are so good that they’re impossible to detect during play and, since he’s a master of disguise, we have no reliable description to work with. Devising a plan that relies on our being effectively reactive to whatever ploy this guy uses, trying to anticipate what those ploys might be, playing the guessing game, all of these things have a very slim chance of working. We can greatly improve our chances of cornering this guy if we can influence his behavior, come up with something that will cause him to take a particular course of action. I’ve got some ideas about how we can do this.
“First, let’s remove some of the tools he’s been using from the playing field, namely the counterfeit chips and the roulette balls. I’ll announce at the beginning of the tournament that to commemorate the occasion we will be using special equipment, gold $100 chips and green roulette balls, since both colors are frequently associated with money. The chips will have unique art work that pertains to the tournament.
“In addition to this, I have been reading about a marvelous new piece of equipment that has just come on the market which can detect any tampering done to a die and will arrange to have this equipment installed at all of our crap tables. Before every toss, the stickman pushes the dice into a small opening on one side of the device; they are scanned and then ejected out of the other side. If anything is wrong, a red light will flash.
“Doing these things will level the playing field and force our unwanted guest to take another course of action. Since he can’t cheat and is highly unlikely to try robbery because of the increased security, there is only one option left to him that will allow him to keep his anonymity; lying, starting a rumor that would reflect badly on how the tournament is being run.
“For example, the rumor could be something about unscrupulous employees working the gaming tables who are under orders to keep anyone from running away with the tournament by controlling how much any one player wins until the last hour of play. This will keep people in the casino and hopefully gambling. Whatever the rumor might be, he will have to improvise quickly because the tournament will be over in twelve hours.
“Now for the iffy part of my scheme. With all of the publicity, the media will probably send reporters over to cover the event. We can set up a section just off the gaming floor where live broadcasts can take place and the reporters can interview participants and observers. With time being of the essence, there would be no better way for our bad guy to do his dirty deed.
“We can keep the section under observation with hidden miniature cameras and microphones. If this guy takes the bait, he will probably appear in disguise, say his piece and quickly split. I don’t want to have the cuffs put on him for starting a vicious rumor. The punishment for that is nowhere near what he deserves. I want to put this guy under surveillance to find out where he lives and who he is. When we know that, we can continue to monitor his activities until we can catch him in the act of cheating or doing something worse. Bill, do you think you can talk your brother in-law into having a surveillance team put together to help us catch this guy?”
“I’ll get right on it. I’m pretty sure Chuck will go along with us.”
“Okay! Well, folks, I think we should call it a day. We’ve gotten a lot accomplished and I want to thank each and every one of you for your contribution. In the interest of time, I will co-ordinate security arrangements and establish a dialogue with all of you via e-mail regarding the development of an appropriate publicity campaign. Dinner’s on the Palladian Palace if any of you want to stick around.”
With that said, the room emptied and Red and Bill returned to Red’s office to review what had taken place in the meeting and to discuss how Bill should handle tomorrow’s conversation with the Commissioner.
As they sat down in the remarkably comfortable chairs that Red has in front of his desk Bill says, “How about giving me some of those smart pills you must be taking. This game plan you came up with is terrific.”
“To remain a member in good standing of the Mensa crowd, I occasionally have to demonstrate that I’m not a complete moron. They think I must have cheated my way in because no intelligent person would ever settle for a job as a casino manager. Come to think of it, they might be right. Nobody in his right mind would want to deal with situations like the one we’re facing now.”
Bill smiles, knowing that Red is indeed a member of Mensa, something that he keeps to himself because he gets no satisfaction from someone thinking he should be treated any differently because of his IQ. Bill found out accidentally when a letter to Red from the Mensa organization wound up on his desk in error.
“I think your plan has a real good chance of working. I’ll call Chuck the first thing tomorrow morning to get the ball rolling on surveillance before I place my return call to the Commissioner.”
Red says, “Speaking of the Commissioner, I think the best way to resp
ond to Crowley’s inquiry is to tell him the truth, but as little as possible. In other words, don’t volunteer any information. Just answer his question as succinctly as possible without appearing to be covering something up. After you talk with him, get back to me and let me know how it went.”
“Will do.” After a brief review of the meeting and setting up a tentative agenda for implementing Red’s plan, they head for home.
Chapter 5
It takes a couple of weeks to get the word out and everything in place. During that time, the cheating continues, the losses from it are growing as is Red’s exasperation and the Palladian Palace remains the only casino being hit.
The tournament is going to be held on the Fourth of July which will add to the festive atmosphere created by the tournament, attracting even more people to the event and thus making it an even more tempting spectacle, one that will pull this cheater to it like nails to a magnet. Red can’t keep from relishing the idea of sending this guy to the hoosegow for a long, long time despite the uneasy feeling he has in the pit of his stomach that this guy’s cleverness might enable him to avoid capture.
If Red’s plan doesn’t work, if the rumor this guy starts is bad enough and news of the cheating leading up to the tournament reaches the general public, Red will be in deep trouble with his boss and could wind up losing his job.
When he found out that Commissioner Crowley had been hearing rumors about security issues at the Palladian Palace, he knew he was going to have to call Wayne Worthington, his boss and CEO of the casino, and let him know what was going on. He did so the day after the meeting with the other casino managers. Worthington definitely was not a happy camper when Red finished with his briefing.
He didn’t like Red’s plan because it was exposing the casino to a lot of negative public reaction, some of which might remain even when the truth of the situation came to light. “Some people will believe the truth when they hear it, others won’t. The degree to which the truth will mitigate the residual effects of what transpires might not be enough to allow the casino’s operation to get back to normal.” he barked.
Nevertheless, he didn’t tell Red to back off because he didn’t have a better idea and the losses from the cheating were getting worse.
The big day arrives and everything happens as planned, almost. 250 people sign up for the tournament and 15 reporters and their entourages from the local TV and radio stations and newspapers show up.
Bill is banking on these reporters’ professionalism to keep them from broadcasting and printing any fascinating rumor that might come their way without first being able to verify it with another source or two. He had relayed this to Wayne Worthington during the briefing, but Wayne still remained unconvinced that the risk of negative publicity could be contained.
About 7 p.m. in the evening, prime time of course, the man makes his move. Red, Bill, Chuck and two undercover detectives are monitoring the reporters’ section from a concealed observation booth behind the high casino ceiling. There are also two techs that are operating the sound and video equipment.
The publicity has worked to perfection and there are people everywhere, perhaps too many. Red is becoming concerned that they might not be able to sight this guy because of the large crowd. He needn’t have worried. The quiet in the booth was broken by the video tech announcing, “We’ve got something.” He zoomed in on a guy that was standing in front of one of the long tables set up for the reporters. He was the only one standing still in the area and was just opening his cell phone. This guy fits the general description they have of him as to height and build, but he has blonde hair that is worn in a crew cut, a bushy mustache and is wearing tinted wire rimmed glasses. The audio tech is fiddling with some knobs on his equipment and suddenly this guy’s voice comes through loud and clear.
“Hi, Jim. Yeah, it’s me. I’m over at the Palladian Palace watching the gaming tournament, but I’m getting ready to leave. I just heard something that’s taken all of the fun out of it. You won’t believe it. I’m having some trouble believing it and you know what a cynic I am. I was talking with my cousin Bernie, you know the one that’s a Black Jack dealer here, and boy did he give me an earful.
“He said that this tournament is fixed. Some of the dealers and the manager of the casino, a guy named Borman, are in cahoots with several of the players to take all three winning places and split the winnings when the tournament is over. Bernie wouldn’t tell me this if it wasn’t so. He’s on the inside and his sources are usually very good, so I’m bailing. How about going over to Ned’s for a fish fry and a few beers? Great! See you in thirty.”
The guy turns and heads for the gaming floor, presumably to exit the casino from there. Chuck and the two detectives head for the casino floor with Chuck shouting instructions to his surveillance team through his hands free communicator. Red and Bill are glued to the video screen, taking in what is going on at the reporters’ table.
Apparently these reporters aren’t as professional as Red had hoped because as soon as the guy disappears onto the gaming floor, phones are hastily being picked up and red lights start beaming from the TV cameras. The doo doo has hit the fan.
Red and Bill are dumbfounded and for a minute are frozen in their seats. Red recovers first. “Bill, we’re in for it now. Let’s hope and pray that this guy doesn’t pick up on the tails and shake them.”
Bill holds his finger to his lips, signaling Red to be quiet as he listens to something coming over the hands free communicator that Chuck has lent him so that the two of them can keep each other abreast of what is happening wherever they might be located.
Red manages to be quiet for about ten seconds before he asks, “What’s he saying?”
“Bad news. Chucks surveillance people were locked onto our guy from the moment he left the reporters’ area and walked onto the gaming floor, but they lost him in the crowd. Chuck says his people are covering all the exits and no one fitting the description of the guy who made the phone call came by them. Chuck thinks he’s probably managed to change his disguise somehow without being seen and is either still in the casino or has simply walked past the surveillance and out the door. It’s only been four or five minutes since this guy walked out onto the gaming floor, so there’s a good possibility he’s still in the casino.”
“I wouldn’t bet my life on that if I were you. My gut is telling me that our guy has already flown the coop.”
Red’s gut proves to be right on because no trace is found of their quarry after an exhaustive three hour search of the premises nor is any unusual escape route uncovered. Everybody is assuming he just walked out the door in a different disguise. “Ah, nut, nuts, nuts! How in blue blazes did he do it? The descriptive ‘Chameleon’ definitely fits this guy. He’s not only a master of disguise. He’s also got to be a quick change artist.”
The tournament continues through all of this and concludes at the designated time. When play is over, Red gathers all of the players into one of the banquet rooms and fills them in on the rumor they might have already heard about or would soon hear about when they left the casino. He assures them that everything is on the up and up and declares and pays off the winners. He tells them that most assuredly the powers that be will conduct an investigation into the rumor, but that the investigation will show that there is no truth to it. He apologizes to the winners for the stares and glares they will be receiving from the people who will believe the rumor and hopes that this will be a short lived experience and that the person behind this lie will soon be brought to justice.
The players react to the news very calmly. A lot of the players have known Red or about Red for quite awhile. They know of his unblemished reputation and desire to provide the very best facility for a fair and fun filled experience for all of his customers and many come over to him afterwards and tell him that he has their support and will keep their eyes and ears open for him.