My lucky number has always been 37. It seems like a strange number, but for some reason, unbeknown to myself, it just always seems to come in handy. “Give me 5000 on 37 black.” The dealer would spin the wheel to full speed ahead and gracefully drop in the small metallic ball. Watching it spin around that ornate brightly colored wheel was like watching the ballet, you make it seem like you’re completely uninterested and oblivious to what’s going on, but really your heart just beats faster waiting to see what will happen next.

“37 black it is” the dealer says to me as I scrape up my chips in a brief fit of disoriented happiness. I am not surprised that I won however. I just don’t need a couple of burly guys in identical black suits to take me into the back alley and show me what’s up. “Would you like to play another round sir?” he asked with a slight look of disappointment on his face. He knew that I had just taken the house for a ride.

“I think I’ll call it a night.” Ever since I can remember I haven’t lost a bet of any kind to anybody, partly in thanks to my good friend 37 and partly in thanks to the little bit of intuition that I actually have. But, mostly, I believe that my success spawns from one extraordinary run of good old fashioned luck. It’s as simple as that. Being lucky seems to have its disadvantages as well. My friends, colleagues, wife, and even kids don’t even bother to bet with me on anything no matter how small or insignificant it is. But more about that later.

My name is Jon Smith. I am 32 years old and I was born in Reno, Nevada on May 21, 1970. My parents always told me of how I was conceived at Woodstock and of how they traveled the country in their smoke filled Volkswagen Bus for the next eight months, eventually stopping in Vegas, where they proceeded to get married, lose a lot of money, and have me at a local hospital. Instead of doing the sensible thing and leaving Las Vegas to start a family in some quiet suburbs in a little known town they moved right next door, to Reno. I feel as if they are the reason that I have gambled my life away, but who wouldn’t if they never lost? I didn’t discover my talents until the 8th grade, when I predicted the outcome of the 1984 World Series. At the time it seemed as if I had just made some really amazing guesses, but in 9th grade, once I had started betting on the high school basketball games, it became apparent to me and everyone around me that I had been given an extraordinary gift. Little did I know that one day this gift would come back to haunt me.