Tagline – “A Romance Between A Man
And His Blackjack Dealer”
“30 words or less” – A man gambles
all the money in his joint bank account, and falls for his blackjack dealer,
after finding his wife cheating on him during their honeymoon in Las Vegas
Full Summary:
Daniel Cooper, a non-descript,
average-looking man in his mid-thirties walks through The Cosmopolitan casino
floor in Las Vegas on a mission. Armed
with a fistful of cash on a sleepy Tuesday night, he takes a seat at a quiet
blackjack table in the center of the room.
There he quickly strikes up a
conversation with the attractive blackjack dealer, a woman in her
early-thirties named Debbie McBride. Not
looking like a high-roller, Debbie initially questions Daniel about his intent once
he asks for $50,000 in chips. This rather
harmless question launches them into a two hour conversation interspersed with
many hands of blackjack as they talk about their lives, both past and present, what
they like and what they dislike.
So why is Daniel, a seemingly “ordinary”
man, gambling such a large sum of money?
Because only hours earlier, he discovered his drunken wife having sex
with a random man in the men’s bathroom of a well-known nightclub. And the kicker? Daniel and his wife were on their
honeymoon. This blatant act of adultery and
dishonesty instinctively leads Daniel to go to the nearest branch of his bank
to empty their joint bank account. Since
they’re in Vegas, he decides to gamble away all their money at the casino which
is what brings him to Debbie’s blackjack table.
Daniel finds a sympathetic ear in
Debbie as she listens to his marital woes as she shares her own stories of past
relationship problems. What starts as
ordinary conversation between a player passing time between hands and a cordial
blackjack dealer quickly turns into innocent flirting which then evolves into overt
seduction as the night goes on and the subject matter they discuss becomes more
varied.
The story is focused on the
conversation and how a casual relationship between strangers can quickly blossom
into something more serious. This focus
is seen through the story presentation as virtually all of it takes place in
one setting – a blackjack table – and between only two characters – Daniel, the
player, and Debbie, the dealer.
The three main questions to be
answered by the end of the night: Does Daniel win big or does he lose the $50,000?
Does his wife try to reconcile with him? What happens between Daniel and Debbie after
Daniel finally decides to leave the table?
