Chapter 11
"All right, folks. Everybody wins, nobody loses!" Cotty chanted. "Get your money down before the Wheel of Fortune starts to spin!"
He ran an appraising glance over the small knot of men clustered before the wheel joint. Two of the men were shills, the others marks. The shills ranged on each side of a sweating fat man who was so drunk he could hardly stand, but he was betting recklessly. On the oilcloth spread on the counter were thirty-seven numbers, eighteen black, eighteen red, and one green, all corresponding to the numbers on the big wheel at the end of the counter to Cotty's right. The mark was betting heavily on the red, a dollar against Cotty's ten, and was losing steadily. Cotty waited until all bets were down and spun the wheel.
His thoughts were bitter. Reduced t
