tampered | [Open Log] Not so very far from here...

When; Around 10 pm on February 13.
Rating; PG-13 I would imagine.
Characters; Meyer Lansky, and anyone who either works at Lucky's or wants to come gamble!
Summary; It's basically just happy fun times at Lucky's. Or unhappy not fun times, if you decide to cheat or break things! Employees, gamblers, random people wanting a drink... all are welcome!
Log; As far as Meyer was concerned, ten at night was the best time to be at Lucky's. Everyone who worked there was there by then, and that meant he could take a break from dealing hands of poker to wander through the small card room and schmooze with the regulars, as well as greet everyone who came through the door.

As he made his rounds, he was solicitous, complimenting one man on how much money he'd won in a lucky game of blackjack, and commiserating with another man on his empty wallet once he'd lost several hands of poker. He was always suggesting people have another drink, stay for a little while longer, see if they couldn't get their luck back. Maybe just one more hand would win them everything.

If you walk through the door, you're likely to see a large crowd, but Meyer will make sure to push his way through it to greet you personally, shake your hand, and suggest that you take a seat. You never know, tonight might be your lucky night...

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Intermittent reinforcement is a psychological concept that Chekov is familiar enough with to be wary of gambling. (It's also an idea that stems from conditioning and conditioning was famously described by a Russian, so of course he would be familiar with it.) Meyer is also very clever; he is undoubtedly going to be watching his profits so he can adjust the odds. Pay out just enough to give customers the illusion that they have a decent chance, but seldom enough to maximize money gained.

It's all quite interesting, statistically and psychologically speaking.

Chekov downs his drink and declines a second. "And you should be flattered. I have also chosen to be here over being with Lucy." He's hesitant to call her his girlfriend due to her fear of commitment, but Meyer should get the point. "What is the expression? Something about absence and the heart. I'm operating upon that principle."

"Even better. Makes me feel like I'm getting something right with the business model, if you'll turn down a date for a drink or two and a card game. Next time, bring her along."

Partially because Meyer is curious to meet everyone in the City, and partially because he thinks that if he meets Lucy, he can probably get her to at least buy a drink, thus getting more money out of the bargain. It would also ensure Chekov as a repeat customer, and repeat customers are what makes this business run.

Meyer has a soft spot in his heart for statistics, mainly because he entirely taught them to himself. His mind is quick and nimble in mathematics, but very few people have ever noticed it. Most of his business partners back home see him as a glorified accountant who occasionally has good strategies. He'd like to break away from that image here.

"I will," he promises with a dramatically despairing sigh, "the next time I am feeling exceptionally rich. My money spends very well."

Chekov adores Lucy and is constitutionally incapable of saying no to her. She's a bit of a party girl; if she wanted to buy the entire bar and it was within Chekov's means, he would buy it for her. She has money of her own, of course, but it would be ungentlemanly for him to allow her to spend it. Regardless, he regrets not bringing her along tonight. He was hoping that a little alone time would make Valentine's Day more rewarding.

It's very sad, being so infatuated with a girl that even a night out alone is full of thinking of her, but it's a decent kind of sad.

Should Meyer ever want to talk statistics, he would have a captive audience. Chekov interests are many and varied and he enjoys discussing them with others who appreciate the subjects and have a solid understanding of them. Meyer has already proven that he can handle numbers. Operating any profitable gambling establishment is proof enough of that and, from what he has seen, this establishment is indeed profiting.

"Most money spends well. It's a shame it doesn't come back quite as well."

Unless one is good with business, of course, and Meyer considers himself to be a budding businessman. Perhaps not at the level he'd like to be at, especially in the City, limited as it is. Back home, although he was under Rothstein's watchful eye, which he chafed against more and more, he had the possibility for expansion. Here, a decently profitable casino was probably all he was ever going to have, and he'd have to make peace with that somehow.

"Did you meet Lucy here in the City, or did you know her back home?"

Chekov smiles and goes with the illusion that he actually understands how this money thing works. He might joke about a lack of money, but, being from a world where currency (and gambling for money, incidentally) is extinct makes it difficult to care about the accumulation of monetary wealth. With the various jobs he has in the City, Chekov has more money than he knows what to do with. It's fortunate that Lucy helps him spend it.

Speaking of Lucy... "I never knew anyone like her at home. I'm cursed; very few women think of me as anything but a sibling who needs to be fussed over, and even fewer are half so beautiful and funny as Lucy is."

"Sounds to me like you've got some serious feelings for her."

As though Meyer would know what serious feelings were if they snuck up and bit him on the ass. He's never even remotely considered the possibility of dating in the City, and even at home, the idea of getting into a relationship with someone struck him as the sort of thing he'd do later, once he'd established himself. He have plenty of time to concentrate on that kind of thing when he was older and had more money.

Still, he could read Chekov's emotional state just fine, and he could tell that Chekov was, as they say, head over heels for this Lucy girl.

"Undeniably," he admits, fairly certain that Meyer understands his feelings for Lucy about as well as Chekov understands his feelings for money.

Perhaps it's their backgrounds. Romance is more-or-less off the table at home for Chekov if he wants to pursue captaincy; he's certainly not going to shy away from it here. Meyer's circumstances in his world may give him time for such things later on.

"Does she have those feelings for you?"

Meyer's question isn't intended to be at all rude, but he wouldn't be offended if Chekov refused to answer it. It's personal, after all, even if it's asked with the best intentions in mind.

"That isn't for me to say."

Rude? Personal? Chekov is always willing to share and very hard to offend. He's also quite sure that his feelings are reciprocated, even if she won't say as much.

"Of course not. I hope she does, though."

He thinks Chekov is a nice kid ("kid" here being ironic, given that they're relatively close in age) and he'd like to see Chekov happy. While romance isn't something that he's inclined towards, he can see where other people might be pleased by it, especially in the City.

[Open Log] Not so very far from here...

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject