Degen

There's a slot machine loose on the casino floor, pulling every lever he can reach. They call him Degen, and his favorite machine to gamble on is himself.

He has never won enough to stop and never lost enough to stop.

Degen believes every loss brings him closer to winning.

Three losses in a row. "Good. I'm due."

Four losses. "Even better."

Five losses. "At this point it would be crazy to quit."

Then—JACKPOT!

Gold coins fly everywhere. Degen feeds every last one back into himself.

Gone.

"Round tripped it. Beautiful."

"Why didn't you keep your winnings?" someone asked.

"Then how would I win them back?"

A friend told Degen the house always wins.

"I am the house!" Degen declared, pulling his own arm mid-sentence.

Lost again.

"Maybe you should stop," another friend suggested.

Degen was offended. "I'm not a quitter!"

He wandered off to find another game to play.

"One more spin."