three years, two months. march
she went back to south africa.
we all played the field.
i want a job, giles.
i was thinking perhaps i could be a reader. you employ readers, don't you?
interesting, giles. i will think about it.
dad, i'm here.
great.
no.
that's not what i want to do, dad.
it's not that.
all right, i'll think about it.
all right, dad. yes, i'll call him.
so how are you doing, dad?
yes, i know that.
i won't. goodbye, dad.
jack.
has he?
no.
i was at beadles.
do you have a salon prive?
i have to assume the serial numbers on the bowl and cylinder correspond.
why four? and not three or five?
stacks of 20. rows of 5.
25 pounds or 25 pence in fours.
you use two alternating, don't you?
where's the magnet?
no more bets.
i'm sorry, sir, i've called no more bets.
23 red. odd.
i don't think so.
what happens if i want to sneeze?
five.
five.
it's a rule. always stand by your first count. the odds are you're right.
you want me to check?
what for?
i don't gamble.
i don't gamble, mr reynolds.
we had the same rule at sun city, but it was impossible to check.
does know? or does report? what would happen if i knew something like that and didn't report it?
how?
yes.
no.
very impressive.
fine.
fine.
i just want the job.
yes. what's the salary?
what's the blue book price?
how about fifteen hundred?
what?!
is that your idea of arithmetic?
eight-fifty.
you mean i won't resist them.
you want me drunk?
you really are a beautiful woman.
turn around.
you're all i desire.
i. sold the car.
i owe you for the rent. it's only a car. i can get another.
come on, marion. let's face the truth. nobody's going to publish it.
i'm not much of a bet.
i've got something to tell you.
i've got a job.
in a casino. as a croupier. a dealer.
it came my way. 450 a week.
i had training. in the republic.
i start monday week.
there's no third thing. don't be superstitious.
are you trying to read my palm?
i'm an undertaker.
my office is in shanghai.
i'm an arms dealer.
jack manfred.
is it that bad?
good evening, ladies and gentlemen.
he doesn't work here any more.
last bets, please.
thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. i'm going to hand you over now to my colleague. goodnight.
all right, mr reynolds.
does he win?
over the river.
thanks.
nice car.
how long have you worked at the casino?
you've done pretty well.
no thanks, matt. i need my eight hours.
some other time.
i don't know.
fine.
tension. it'll go.
it's only hair. i haven't changed.
i'll see you in my dreams.
place your bets.
i'm sorry, sir, that's a late bet.
you've won with the two chips you placed earlier, but the third chip was a late bet.
i'm afraid that's not so, sir.
it was a late bet. this gentleman has been following the lady's numbers and.
i'm sorry, madam, we don't accept gratuities in the uk. it's different in south africa.
i've lived there.
place your bets.
look matt, there's something i have to say to you. i saw you cheating.
that greek guy who won at the end. you paid him out in 25s not 20s.
i'm not going to report it.
if i see you do it again, i'll report it.
because if a supervisor knew i'd seen you and i hadn't reported it, i'd lose my job as well. and i can't afford that.
you're talking about complicity.
who are these guys?
and the girls?
vodka. straight. on the rocks.
does bella come here?
no thanks.
i don't gamble.
sometimes.
i'm off. i need to sleep.
"the world breaks everyone, and afterwards many are strong in the broken places." ernest hemingway.
don't play the cop with me, marion.
i take it back. you're not a cop any more. you're a store detective.
probably.
do you have to swear all the time?
marion, stop this.
you're my conscience.
what about a drink on the way home?
i'm on at nine.
oh hello.
it's against the rules. dealers are forbidden to talk to punters.
impossible to calculate.
there's a casino in this hotel.
so why did you come to my casino?
first visit to london?
i was born in the transkei, on the wild coast.
in the casino.
your father?
the debts.
and superstitious too. it's like witchcraft.
we all came from africa, supposedly.
absolutely not. but then, i'm a gemini and geminis don't believe in astrology.
absolutely not.
i don't gamble.
would you mind being more careful, sir.
this gentleman accidentally coughed onto these chips. i don't think it would be hygienic to stack them.
don't worry.
no. thanks.
maybe another time.
goodnight.
wait a minute. you got yourself barred.
now i'm going to kill you.
he won't cheat again.
it's the tension.
i hate cheats.
why did you quit?
i can imagine.
you called the casino a cesspit.
i despise the job.
the indian rope-trick.
not like matt, you mean.
ouch.
rough day?
what happened to bella?
she was re-assigned.
good evening.
good night.
hello.
fine. i took the job.
i tried to call you, dad, but they said your line was disconnected.
i'm getting there.
goodbye dad.
why not?
he was a loser. this guy's a croupier. he can't lose. people have shat on him all his life. now he's in control. he's a winner.
-- it's because of the sex, isn't it? you don't like the sex in it.
marion. it's a book.
it's the truth.
now wait a minute. what's so hopeful about your job? spending the day catching poor people stealing. you said yourself the organised gangs get away with it. at least in the casino everybody gets caught. rich or poor, the odds are the same. it's all relative.
you're just like all those other dummies out there. fourteen and a half million to one! is that your idea of hope?
leave it.
what are you talking about?
i don't know anything about it.
look bella, i don't know anything about this. you should talk to matt.
bella!
he's paying out in stacks of 25.
a pleasure. pity about bella.
i'm working on that soccer story.
habib?
i'll try and make it.
i don't know how you can drive at night with those glasses.
how did you hurt your hand?
turn left ahead.
jani, there's something i want to say. before we get there. i don't know what the sleeping arrangements are. giles probably expects us to share a room.
south african women are very sporty.
i found her in bed with someone.
she.
i don't play anything.
i don't gamble.
it's nothing to do with money. i don't gamble.
i'll watch.
i'll deal, but i won't play.
last hand.
42,300,000 to 1.
get what? are you accusing me of cheating?
remember the guy who cheated at the table?
you choose.
it can only work with amateurs, a pro would have spotted it.
then you're not a pro.
what kind of trouble?
was that why you did the two grand? i couldn't help you.
i don't have any money. switches on the light. jani is looking distressed.
you don't mean that.
who's they?
forget it, jani. it'll never work.
and i thought you were a bright woman.
robbery's not criminal?
you're serious.
and i thought you were only after my body.
what'll you do when it all goes wrong?
but if it does.
what ten thousand pounds?
reynolds? you've done your research.
what about my neck?
i can't do it, jani.
wait a minute.
what about your father? can he help?
why don't you just go back to south africa?
how much do you owe?
did they tell you to sleep with me?
what for?
not particularly.
she had to leave early. she asked me to thank you.
not entirely.
you said it was going to be social, giles. no business.
it's beautiful. thank you.
it will.
that girl, she works at the casino --
you're entitled to your opinion.
i'll leave the casino soon. i promise.
within a month. believe me, i'm going to quit!
what?
not talking. writing.
i want to speak to jani de villiers.  jani.  it's jack.  i'll come over now.
yes.
it doesn't seem fair. you're offering me ten grand in cash but you can't afford a decent place.
it's all relative. i need the money too.
yes.
that bruise has cleared up nicely.
i've still got mine.
and your hand too.
no thank you.
i don't think we should meet again.
no more bets.
never. why do you ask?
gambling's not about money.
gambling's about not facing reality. ignoring the odds.
what colour chips?
sir, i can't accept that bet.
how did you know i was here?
did you go to the casino?
there was a message, wasn't there?
marion! what did you tell the police?
then what?
leave me alone, marion.
all right. i don't want to lose you. i'll quit. i swear to you.
i hate public transport.
i want to buy a car.
bruised.
what's this?
yes.
no. she wasn't.
she was visiting her mother. her mother. who are you?
who.
who did it? tell me!
of course i recognised him!
i know a cheat when i see one. the man was a cheat.
do you gamble?
but you were there matt.
i'd like to buy you a drink.
have i?
and what do you do, lucy?
are you going to put a spell on me?
nice car. how much did you pay for it?
turn left at the lights.
hello.
jani! where are you?
how are you?
did you solve your problems?
dad!
as a matter of fact i did. but i won.
to you. to both of you.
a couple i know are getting married.