“What’s he done to you?” Molly asks.
“When we were getting ready for the final round in Las Vegas, he asked me to throw in my interest in the apartment building I own in San Francisco because he thought it could use some changes in design. I was in the zone, and that comment distracted me long enough to knock me out. He beat Viviana for her estate in Hawaii, and I wanted it.”
Tinsley shakes her head. “You guys need to find other people to play with.”
“Nah, this is fun.”
At one o’clock, when we’re finally ready to start, Gillian gathers us together and reminds us of the rules. “I will pull the names from the hat to determine where you will sit,” she says. “Today, the cost per hand is five hundred thousand. We’ll play until we have six players for tomorrow night. And the winner takes all.”
My table includes Walker and Mason, who I see as my biggest competitors, though I know both Mia and Viviana, who fill the other seats, are tough as well.
The play plods along. Everyone is conservative. Everyone wants to win.
Dinner and snacks are served, and we’ve still not lost any players. The sun sets, and spectators come and go. After we’ve been playing for ten hours, Nate goes all in and busts. Finally, we’ve lost the first player.
We continue to hold steady for another couple hours, and then during a bio-break, Gillian pulls me aside.
“Do you want to keep going?” she asks.
I shrug. “What do you think? Everyone is playing it safe.”
“We can pick it up tomorrow earlier than we planned and play through, but my dealers are dead on their feet. I suggest we go another hour at most.”
I nod. We’ve played for twelve hours, and we’re only down to eleven players. “Let’s call it now.”
When she makes the announcement, everyone seems grateful. We agree to reconvene tomorrow.
Since we were a bigger group than usual for day two, we started before lunch. It’s been a long and grueling day, as we’ve now played through dinner, and the sky is black outside. It’s finally down to Walker Clifton and me. Walker is a shrewd player. Rumor has it, he’s going to run for governor in the next election, with eyes on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. He’s from an old San Francisco mining family whose money started with gold and moved into property. They own most of the Nob Hill and Pacific Heights neighborhoods’ retail property and multiple apartment units.
He’s a nice-enough guy. He brought a date this weekend, but she’s more interested in him than he seems to be in her. There’s pressure here to bring someone along, so I get it. You don’t want to be the only one at the dinner table without a date.
We’ve been playing now for twelve hours after playing twelve yesterday. The flop shows several face cards, but it also completes a full house for me—a pair of aces and three sevens. Seven is my lucky number. Two hands can beat me at this point: a straight flush and a four of a kind. I calculate in my head the probability of him having either one. Walker isn’t a mathematician, so I believe I have him beat that way. But he’s a big-time lawyer who’s gone up against some serious criminals, so he’s the master at disguising his emotions.
I shuffle my chips as a way to fight sleep.
I don’t think he can beat me. He has a higher chip count, so I throw in the chalet in Whistler. “I’m all in.”
Everyone is in the barn, and they’re practically breathing as one. They know this is the hand that will crown winner and all the bragging rights.
He calls.
I’m feeling pretty good.
I turn my full house over and watch him carefully. Walker smirks, and immediately I know he has me beat.
He turns over four twos. A four of a kind beats my full house.
“No fucking way!” I laugh and shake my head. He didn’t have it until the flop when the dealer put down the king of diamonds and the two of spades.
The barn erupts.
I can’t believe I just lost with the best hand I had the entire tournament.
Walker stands and shakes my hand. “That was fantastic. You should have beaten me.”
“I know!” But surprisingly, I’m not disappointed. This was a great weekend. Tinsley is standing next to me, and she gives me a giant hug and kiss. I couldn’t be happier.
We all celebrate and pass the torch to Walker for our next gathering in Whistler.
“It’s not big enough for everyone to stay,” I warn, “but it can host a party, and the Four Seasons is close by. Whistler will open for ski season at the end of November, so I suggest early December for our next tournament—if that works for Walker, of course.”
He nods, and everyone is quick to agree.
The planes begin arriving shortly after eleven on Labor Day to shuttle our guests to their next destination. We’re all a bit tired since last night’s marathon game ended so late. A few have made plans for stops on their way home. Mason and Caroline have helicoptered into Yellowstone and are spending a few days at the Lake Yellowstone Hotel and exploring.
Claire catches a ride back with Mia. They’re taking some sort of detour to go shopping. She told me what she was doing, but I wasn’t paying attention.
Jim and his team are beginning to wrap up. He’s going to fly out with our personal team, Tinsley, and me, after I see Dr. Whitefeather
