A man should never gamble...

I will not get out before July 4th 2023.It is not so bad now knowing that half my debt is paid; I think I have maintained most of my sanity.  I have asked Philippe to write and publish this story.  My name is Lester Franks and the best hand of poker I ever had got me in the most trouble.

I started playing craps in the back room of my uncle’s barbershop when I was 8.  By high school I was part of their regular poker game every Thursday afternoon and I would win.  I was the best poker player at the largestuniversity in the country.  I paid for most of my education playing poker in Vegas.  My family hated that I was a gambler, telling me it would only cause trouble.  I was very good atpoker  and I loved it, the thinking, the strategy, the adrenaline and the thrill of victory mixed with the agony of defeat.  As it turned out my parents were right.

I graduated with honors from Arizona State in business, the first class of graduates in the new milennia.  Tempe Az. was under five hours in the car from Vegas.  We could leave on Friday after class and be at the tables by 8.  I always made enough to pay gas and room.  I would only drink when I was not playing and I would play for hours.  The people, the energy, the money being played by people who should have stayed home.  I wanted to get in with the big players, the whales but all my winnings went to tuition and living, I was the only one I knew who did not have loans.

On one really good night I walked away from the table with a full year’s tuition, room and board, most courtesy of a young prince from the UAE, Rashid.   It was my best night ever and he did not even flinch when I hit the river card for the full house.  I had played him, and the hand, perfectly and he knew it.  He invited me to a late dinner, his treat.  He had just graduated from The University of Arizona and was on his way back to Dubai.  He offered me a warm welcome anytime and would tell his father that I was just a better player.  His father loved to play Hold-em. 

I knew I could play with the best.  I wanted to quit and just play poker but I had also realized there wereups and downs in cards and to play right I needed a roll behind me.  I thought I could work for a while, build up a real stake and move to Vegas.  The goal was a million in the bank to live and play like I wanted.  I was building it little by little.  Too little by little.  I hated the working world.

It was on a business trip in Dubai, a strange combination of Middle East meets west, that I got my chance to play for some real money, bankrolled by Rashid’s father.  A very modern city with roots deep in the past, gambling was illegal, against the moral codes, in Dubai.  Itwas all done very discreetly. 

I had not stopped playing cards but it was tough with my work schedule.  I had not expected to get a game when I called Rashid, I needed an inside connection for business and I thought it might work.  To my surprise he was almost excited to hear from me.  The next day was the Dubai Classic, their biggest sporting event of the year.  He invited me to come as his guest. 

My business would be done that afternoon and he sent a car for me that night.  My luck was good, there was a game planned and they wanted one more player, someone who knew how to play and Rashid vouched for me.  I pointed out that I lacked the cash to get in a game like that but his father wanted the game to go on and was willing to bank me for half of the profits.

The Sheikh did not want to play but had guest that did and as a good host he was willing to pay for my play.  He was worth billions, $50k was nothing, but it was a serious game with some very rich and powerful men. 

I was treated royally.  Dinner was delicious and the surroundings were luxurious.   And the cards were falling for me.  10 of us started the game and by midnight it was down to just three of us, all good players.  An hour later I was all in with a hand I knew would win. I paid back my stake and half the winnings and my share was still $5 million.  Five million dollars, I was intoxicated.  I was gracious in victory as they were in defeat.  Allhad just lost a million dollar buy in.  I wanted to play again.

It was difficult to sleep that night and awoke to all the pleasures of the truly rich entertaining the rich for the weekend.  The focus was on the horse race and its pageantry.  It was a great day and were doing it in a style few ever see.  Beautiful women, alcohol if I wanted, served hand and foot.  My host horse won his race; I hit a trifecta that was my second best pay day after last night.  I was on a hot streak.

As we were leaving I was invited to a game the next night with the Sheikh’s brother.  Rashid told me it was a great honor, his uncle rarely played and was one of the most powerful men in the country.  I was ready to play.

His uncle’s estate was a four hour drive.  Connections with people like Rashid’s uncle Kazim would make me very popular back in New York.  With $5 mil in the bank and my inroads to the inner circles, I felt powerful and unbeatable.  This one weekend had given me everything I needed to live my life.

An absolutely stunning woman met me at the door.  Giselle was beautiful in every respect and greeted me in perfect English with a hint of French.She introduced me to the other guest and a small meal ensued.  I noticed that all of the servants and house staff, like Giselle, wore silver collars with a small charm hanging in front.  And all the staff seemed to be foreign born.

After several very pleasant hours I was approached by a large, powerfully built man, also wearing a collar, not jewelry like Giselle’s, it was much larger and had a small green light on it. I did not ask, I knew there was something unpleasant about it.  He left me with a curious bit of advice “he will always go double to nothing if you ask. Do yourself a favor, don’t ask.”

“Mr. Franks, please come in.”  Kazim was a very pleasant man in appearance, demeanor and perfect English and 0in very good physical condition.  His clothes were perfectly tailored and his hair and beard were trim.  I estimated he was in his late 40’s.“Can I get anything for you?”

“No sir, everyone has been very kind.  You staff is very thoughtful and I am sure they reflect their master. 

“Thank you.  Please call me Kazim.  You are very kind.You have noticed their collars my staff wearsthen?”

“My friends call me Les.  Actually, I was curious about that, a sort of uniform perhaps?”

“Certainly of a sort Les.  In fact their collars reflect each of theirs valuation of time and money and behavior.  They are all like you and me Les, gamblers.  Technically they are all my employees.  I pay their health and retirement, their room and board, they all work for me.  Think what your western history refers to as indentured servitude with a retirement program as they pay off their debt.  As a reminder of their situation they wear collars permanently affixeduntil the debt is repaid.  The tag you see hanging from the collar is their release date, stamped on the day they were collared.  The collars are a very effective reminder of their situation. “

“Money has no more interest for me when I gamble.  I am sure every man gets his own enjoyment out of his vices, but the acquisition of money was once my vice.  Now, as I age, I see time as a more valuable thing, often more so than material things.  I know men and women will bet money and material things, often assets they do not have,  but will they bet their freedom, bet years of their lives doing others bidding, be marked as the property of another, with a gamblers chance to win a fortune?”

“I understand you like to play poker and you are very good at it.  Please do not deny this.  There were some talented players in the game the other night and you cleaned them easily.  Yet they respected the way you played and now respect you.”

“I do like the game sir, as to my talent you will have to decide for yourself.  I will say that I find the lessons of poker have helped me in the business world.”

“I know your company and how you come here today.  You are very effective in your job but you find you need more adrenaline.   It is not the money with you; it is the game, feeding off of others emotions as they are risking what they love dearly.  You love that energy don’t you Mr. Franks. You like the clean dealings of the table, at the end of every game there is a winner, and everyone else has been vanquished. You have the energy and motivation to make real time decisions for real stakes.  Isn’t that it?  It is for me.”

“I am sure much of that is true sir, but I do not have your assets.  Removing my financial worries would enable me to focus on one thing, poker.”

“I have done well in business so playing for more money is boring; there is no emotion in it for me.  Like you I like to see instant results, instant gratification for playing the hand right, reading the player right,and raking in the chips or cash; the joy of taking a player’s stake whatever it is. 

“Or the intense feeling of loss as you extended a losing hand one bid too far, a regret that lingers long after the hand is over.  Betting all that you have, and some you might not, on the turn of a card.  Business, politics, sports and especially gambling have given me a certain pleasure because I always played them on the edge. I achieved success but was perilously close to failure more than you can imagine.  I am considered ruthless not because I am evil. Rather because I will take a chance on my instincts and will take my losses like a man.As I have said, I have done well.”

There were only Kazmir, his body guard and myself in the room.   “I cannot be known to gamble, but I love the stimulation it provides.  I offer you this wager.”He opened a box with two antique looking cubes, basically dice but each facet of the cube had writing on it.  Another box had two sets of chips, 125 chips per set.

“I am a big believer in fate, and men using it properly.  Allah might deal the cards but men must play them.  This first cube is for the length of the wager; the second cube is how you will occupy that time.  These cubes are original and go back many centuries.  At no time will I compel you to do anything other than, should you lose, pay your debt.  We can part as friends at any time as long as we do not owe either anything.  And you can always concede the game and pay what you owe at that point.  I want you to gamble on your own volition, unforced by anything other than your desire and integrity.”

The first cube had in Arabic the words for seconds/minutes/hours on one side.  Another side had minutes/hours/days; then days/weeks/months; week/months/years.  The final two sides were for ‘leave now’ and ‘life’. 

“If you roll the cubes you and I are committed to the results.  If you win the game, you will live as my guest, with an allowance of $10 million US dollars a year or your earned portion.  You would have use of any of my estates, houses apartments, cars, jets, yachts and more importantly my contacts, influence and inside information.  At the end of the wager you get to keep what I have allowed and anything else you might have acquired.  If you lose we follow thecubes.”

The second cube had six inscriptions:  house servant; estate servant; business servant; best possible position; wager satisfied;timar-hane.

“The first three are as they say; you would serve me in the position indicated, at my will.  There will never be any physical abuse and at no time will you be asked to do anything illegal or immoral.  But if you were assigned as a doorman you would do so without hesitation or dispute.  You have seen my staff, they are well cared for.”

“The best possible, certainly in your case, would include fitting you into my business management team, including any additional education.  Wager satisfied is just that, all is forgiven and you resume your life.”

“At this point you probably think the gains outweigh the risk.  A man should never gamble more than he can stand to lose.  But we all disregard that as gambler’s, don’t we?  T he thought of timar-hane should be a sobering one to you.  Timar-haneis an expression for an ancient asylum where the unfortunates were kept.  If you lose and timar-hane is your fate you will be held for the length of the wager in unpleasant circumstances.  Our cell is ancient itself and has survived a thousand years of invasions, fires and fierce storms.  You will be collared, fed table scraps; it can be unbearably hot in the summers and bone chilling cold on winter nights.  No women companions, letters from home, electricity, books, beds or flushing toilets.   No release for any reason, if you get sick you will be tended in there.  Currently there are other occupants who would share your misery, some are there for life.  There will be no special mercy and no visitors or appeals to ambassadors or courts.  Some have gone mad before their release, but they stayed until their debt was paid.”

“If we play hold-em, as an example, let’s say you roll minutes/hours/days.  All the chips used would be in the center of the table.  Your wagering would be on the chips I will take.  The more you bet and win, the more I would take.”

If you lose a hand you will accumulate chips.  You must bet them first.  If you win, they go back to the center of the table.  We go on that way until you go all in from the center position.  At the end of the game the chips are valued.  In this example if you won I would have chips valued at 60 minute chips, 60 hour chips and five day chips.  I would owe you seven days and 13 hours.  You would get roughly $250k and the use of all my hospitality and prosperity.  If you lost you would owe me that week in labor, or suffer the tiamar-hane.”

“If you estimate that you are the better player, you should win the majority of the hands.  Over time you should give me all the chips.  But let us say we are even players and I have a 50% chance of winning.  You have a 17% chance of that 50% of any one option.  My point is at the beginning of the game you have at worst a 50% chance of being very wealthy but an 8% of entering the cell.  My question is would you like to roll the cubes?”

I knew I would never see a chance like this again.  If I won, at any level I was either richer or well-connected in the emirates.  But if I lost it was a wager I could not pay off and walk away, I could be a servant for years, or worse.  I was a much better player than anyone I had met here and was on a streak; it was time to go all in.

“I will roll the cubes.”

I rolled the first cube and had to have the result translated from Arabic.  We would be playing for weeks, months and years.  Since we had agreed to only use one rack of chips.  That meant I was playing for control of the next 11 or so years of my life, either as a rich man or an indentured servant.  For the first time since I came to Dubai my roll of the second cube scared me, timar-hane.

I lost four of the first five hands and had accumulated a stack of the chips.  We were both playing conservatively and as the game progressed I was able to give them all back to the middle and Kazmir now had a stack. An hour later all the chips were in the center, Kazim was a talented player.

Then the hand you look for in hold-em, pocket aces.  I bet lightly not wanting to tip my cards.  The flop gave me the other two aces and the 4 of clubs.  I went all in on the four aces.  This would be the last hand.

Kazmir turned over his cards, the six and two of clubs.  The turn was the five of clubs.  He now had a possible straight flush.  Still, four aces controlled the board, 40 cards helped me and only one could hurt,and the odds were heavily in my favor, I would be rich.  The river froze my heart.  The three of clubs.  Straight flush, I lost.  I fell heavily into my chair.

“Indeed, a cruel fate.  Such a magnificent hand felled by the three of clubs.  You now owe the timar-haneyour next eleven years and two months.”

I stared blankly at the cards, trying to figure what my options were.  “Please Mr. Franks, can we conclude our business?  Your luck has soured Lester, I am afraid to say you must now go to the cell.  That is the agony of gambling is it not?  Moments ago you had four aces and victory all but in your hand.  Now you must face the timar-hane.”

“My parents… work.  I need to make some arrangements.”  I was looking for a way out of here.

“Arrangements have already been made.  You will be reported as kidnapped by Al Queda or some such group.  And then there will be no contact.  Soon people will forget you.  And eleven years from now you will reappear as a shell shocked victim.  Until then you will be collared in the cell.  Please, this way.”

“Double or nothing.”

“You are already in my debt for an unpleasant decade, are you sure you wish to double that debt?  Please, take what fate has decreed.  We will dine upon your release.  I like you Les and I do not say that often.  But if you insist, I will do you this one favor, I will cut and show you my card, then you can decide.  But it took you at least 22 years and four months to get here today.  Could you take that long again confined in timar-hane?  Please consider this carefully.”  He could not have been nicer or more honest.  I think he actually wanted me to walk away free.  But the bet would be paid.

He cut the 4 of diamonds.  Surely I could beat that.  Once again the odds were heavily in my favor.  A loss would be devastating but 44 cards would free me. After a minute of contemplation I reached out and cut the deck.

“Truly you have offended Allah.  Never have I the weakest cards in the deck cause so much devastation.  The three of clubs again.”  Two more servants appeared to grab my arms.  Not to force me, but to prevent my collapse.  I had been frequently warned of the stakes and now I had to pay.  “I know you feel ill at the moment, but the faster this is done the easier it will be.”Kazim motioned to a servant “make it ready.”  The servant left the room.

“You are about to see a part of history few have seen Les.  It was my ancestor the Great Seljuq, Alp Arslan bin Çaðrý, the Warrior Lion, known to us as Muhammad bin Da'udChaghri when he embraced the prophet,who built a fortress here almost a thousand years ago.  As he reclaimed our lands he placed iron collars around the necks of the infidels as a sign of their shame.  Those prisoners of consequence stayed here until their ransoms were paid, chained just as you will be.  War, fires and the sands have taken much above but the foundation, your cell, has not changed in a thousand years, not even the collars.”

Each time I started to interrupt he held up his hand to silence me.

“I see the concern on your face Les, please just relax and let it happen.  You have a long journey in front of you.  Some do not survive it physically.  I will make sure you get first pick of the table scraps, fresh water and your sanitary needs seen to daily.”

“Some don’t survive the inner terror and lose themselves in a world far from here, sadly, never to come back.  Others have returned to the world outside changed men.  In your case I will invest and see to your recent winnings.  You will be a very rich man when your debt is paid.”

A servant offered me a glass of whiskey.  I drank it in one gulp.  Still Kazim signaled me to silence.  “You will have years to respond should you choose to.   I believe we are ready now.”   We walked out a back door and down a winding set of steps.  A large set of wooden doors led to another set of stairs. 

“To eliminate petty quarrels Alp Arslan developed the cubes.  Whether the wager was on the best fighter in the tribe or between tribes, or the fastest horse, a turn of the cards, the loser or his tribe had to live by the outcome.  Whole households have worn some form of collar by a wager with the cubes.  Remember during your stay that there is a thousand years of history with you.  We are just passing through but the timar-hane will remain in another thousand years.  Think of that Les as you wait out the decades, they are only a tiny part of history and the years pass faster than any of us think they do.  Remember that Les.”

We ended up at a very secure looking steel door which was bolted shut.  The scraping sound metal on stonesent me into a panic.  I tried backing up but the sevants were there.  Then the sound of a man screaming as we entered had my knees shaking.  What had I done?

The cell was a large room with a vaulted ceiling;two rows of columns broke the room into large sections.  Natural light lit the room from narrow windows set high on the wall.  The light was failing as the sun set.  On the back wall were a row of small cubicles.  When my eyes adjusted I could see who was making all the noise.  And I could see why. 

He had an iron collar around his neck with a bar on each side with a cuff on each bar for his hands, holding them both ear high.  It was a one piece device with ashort chain from eachcuff to each wall.  He could lie down and stand up, but could not use his hands or turn around.  His legs were chained such that they could move backwards but could not move past him standing up straight.  He would be facing forward for a long time.  His collar was locked with a padlock and a key dangled from it.  His metal tag said ‘Life’.

He was sobbing uncontrollably.  “Please your excellency, I am sorry, I have learned my lesson and am ready to serve you however I can, but please release me from this.  Please I cannot take this any….”  He   was pulling against his irons, frantic in his intensity.

“Shut up you nameless pig.  To come into my house dealing seconds.  You will live your life on that chain.  The only other place you will ever be is your grave.  Cheating me as a guest in my own house.  In years past I could have had your hands cut off for such insolence.  Now they will be kept where all can see them.  The key for your release is right under your nose.  All your thieving hands have to do is grab it and free yourself.   You can see the key, can’t you dog.  If only you could use your hands, or even your feet you could free yourself.  The key is only inches from your fingers and it will never let you free.   So close to freedom yet you remain chained.  You deserve to live like the dog you are.”

Kazim seemed genuinely upset at the man.  “This dog was caught on high speed tape dealing seconds.  Once we found this we got a dealer.  It seems he cannot win without his manipulation.  The cubes offered him life and now he has his reward. I hope he leads a very long life of misery down here.”

The man was on his knees sobbing uncontrollably.  “Please pleaseplease release me.   Please I can’t take this anymore.  I can’t can’t I can’t do this. Please I have to get out of here.  Get  this off me please get this off me I can’t feel my hands anymore.  Please if you have any mercy, unchain me.”

“It has not even been a monthand you cry like a child.  You are 34 years old.  Ask me for mercy in 40 years and the answer will be the same.  Timar-hane is your destiny, your home.  Learn to love it or go insane, I do not care.  You will never leave your spot.  You will be buried where you kneel, still in your collar, chained to the wall. You can either kneel or lie prostrate before Allah. That will be your life.   Reflect on your treachery.”

Kazim looked at my horror stricken face.  “Les, this is not for you.  You played with honor unlike this cur.  You will have a collar, in a light and quieter spot.  Your hands will be your own.  This animal will stop crying one of these years and give you some peace.  You will be next to Sanje.  He has learned meditation in his 16 years with us.  I am sure he will teach you if you ask, he is an honorable man.  I will leave you close to him if you need physical contact.  I am sure all will understand intimacy among men who are deprived of women for decades at a time.”

I heard chains rattling in a dark corner. A man with matted hair and a long, long beard stared at us.  “That is Mr. Li.  He also bet for life and lost.  He has not spoken in 12 years.   Next to him is Mr. Oktoba, he will be with you for the next twelve years.”  He gave us a blank stare and rolled over in his straw.

Here is your collar Mr. Franks.  There was a staple three feet off the ground with a heavy eight foot chain leading to an iron collar on the ground.  “Is his tag ready.  I see that it is.”   A shiny plate was on the collar reading ‘July 4, 2023’.  “Are you ready Mr. Franks?”

“No sir I am not.  There has to be a better way for me to pay you.  Really, let’s think about this.”  I started to back away, unable to take my eyes off of the collar and chain, then the others chained by their necks.  “There has to be some way we can work this out….”

“Sadly not.  I regret this more than you will believe.  If I die before the debt is paid you will be released.  But honor demands you pay the wager.  I am so sorry.”

Two servants, both on the large size, grabbed my arms forcing me to my knees.  A third man took the collar and placed it around my neck.  My neck was placed next to a large stone block protruding from the base of the column. A rivet was forced into the clasp and 4 swings of a hammer sealed my fate.

“I am sure we will see each other again.  I do hope you maintain your health and sanity.  Meditation and contemplation will help you to pass the time.  It really was the best hand of cards I ever played, thank you so much.”

And with that he was gone.  Instinctively I started to follow until the chain grabbed me.  I yanked on the chain but itwas unrelenting.  I was not going to get off it by pulling. “Come back, please, we can find a deal.Come back.”  The steel door clanged shut.

I could hear the rattling of chains and the card sharp crying.And I started crying with him.  Asking to no one in particular I cried “What the hell am I going to do.”

A new voice answered from the next pillar.  Sanje turned towards me with his with his long hair and beard in elaborate braids.  He had been patiently waiting.  “There is nothing to do until your hair grows.  Then you can braid.  Don’t worry, the early time is the worst.”

“Have you ever tried meditation?  I learned it from a man named Marteen who had been here 30 years when he died, and he died sane and content.  He learned it from Khallid, who learned it from Ito who learned it from Allain.  It is claimed the practice of meditation here goes back to an Indian mystic in 1579 who became enamored of dice and wine.  He had 60 years to sober up down here and it has been handed down from man to man, both the oral histories of each man and the guide to sanity through inner thought.  I will teach you their stories and the way.”

I would meet Phillipeten years after I met Sanje that night.  He was only with us for less than two years, barely enough time to tell him my story.  Mr.  Li awoke from his stupor and talked with us for some time before he stopped sleeping.  He died a short while later.  Mr. Oktoba died a just beforePhilippe’s  release,  We do not think he ever regained his mind.  He was only one year away from freedom.

I cannot see the cardsharp from here, Sanje can see an arm if he tries.  But we can always hear him move.  He rarely speaks to us, some days his ramblimgs almost seems sane, but Sanje thinks he is lost, he has started having conversations with others not in the cell, and seems to be getting answers.  That and he is moves less and less each year.  Soon he would stop eating and will die, not knowing peace at any time during his stay.

I have not seen Kazim in two years but little has changed. He shows up for collarings, unchainings and funerals.The cubes have been kind since I lost; only Philippe has joined us down here.  Sanje lost playing with both stacks, and lost a double or nothing, he will be here until September 2029 he is already in his sixties.  His mind is good so far, but he will be 78 when his debt is paid in sixteen more years.  He had no stake and will be broke but I’ll make sure he is housed, fed and clothed when he is released or I promised him a grave by the ocean.

I will be free from this collar in ten more years.  I believe I can make it.  I am at peace with the chain most of the time fighting to keep my mind focused forward.  I have come to realize one thing for certain, I no longer have the desire to gamble.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

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