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We met some months after her husband wrapped himself around that huge oak tree on the corner of Fifth and Central. Both he and his green Ferrari were totaled. We were in the elevator going up from the parking basement. We inspected each other carefully and it was she that finally broke the ice. “Feel like coming up to my place and doing a little online gambling?” Did I ever? I’m on the thirty-third floor and she is in the penthouse at level fifty. Great view. Inside she said, “Hi, I’m Carmella. Excuse me while I slip into something a little more comfortable.” What there was of it must have been very comfortable. It didn’t cover much. She took my hand and led me into the den. A computer with a giant sized screen stood on a desk next to an electronically operated bar. When I asked for a whisky, she pressed a button and the bottle of single malt Glen-something appeared from nowhere, followed by a crystal whisky glass and a full ice-bucket. She logged into an online casino, one of the lesser known ones - the Copper Crowbar - and we began to play Roulette. Carmella was a major league gambler. She played single numbers, dropping huge piles of chips on each one she fancied. None of her numbers came up. She moved onto blackjack and played intensely, busting time after time. She gave up in disgust and tried the slot machines, transferring funds into the online casino so she could continue playing. The slots swallowed her bets as fast as she could shovel them into the waiting mouths. Nothing she did helped. She moved into craps, played for a while, lost on every hand and moved out, this time into a classy baccarat room. Here the action was fast and furious and she had to make another fund transfer to the online casino. “Never had a night like this!” she exclaimed. “I’m losing everything in this online gambling.” Posted on: July 5, 2007
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