A WHISPER OF ETERNIT

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She bought a bag of assorted dark chocolates.

"Some for now," she said, popping one into her mouth."And some for later."

Tracycouldn't help staring when they entered the casino. There was an impressive gold statue of a man she assumed was Caesar sitting on a horse. Lightsflashed, bells and whistles and the sound of music and laughter filled the air. There were Roman statues and columns and rows and rows of slot machines, from regular slots to video Poker, Keno, and Twenty-one. And there were people everywhere clad in everything from jeans and T-shirts to floor-length gowns and tuxedos.

Tracystopped in front of an unoccupied slot machine. "Do you have a quarter?" "I think so," Dominic replied dryly, and fished a quarter out of his pocket.

Filled with excitement,Tracy dropped the quarter in the slot and pulled the handle. Bars and sevens flashed in front of her eyes as the wheels spun and when they finally stopped, there were three sevens in a row.

Several quarters dropped into the tray. "I won!"

"Beginner's luck," Dominic said.

"You think so?" Scooping a quarter from the tray, she fed it into the machine and pulled the handle.
And lost.

"Come on," Dominic said.

Tracyscooped her winnings up and dropped them in a plastic cup she found beside the machine. "Where are we going?"

He led her to an unoccupied machine that was third from the aisle near the entrance to the casino.
Tracylooked up at him. "Why here?"

"It's a busy aisle near a busy entrance. It's been my experience that most of the so-called loose machines are up front." He called an attendant and got fifty dollars worth of quarters. "Here you go." He tapped the machine. "Always play the maximum number of coins."

With a nod, she put five quarters in the machine. And won again.

She spent the next hour playing the machine, winning more than she lost.
Dominic stood behind her, amused by her excitement, content to simply watch her. After an hour, she was thirty dollars ahead and ready to try something else. Going to the cashier, she