The ongoing Ellix Powers saga part nine

I picked Ellix up yesterday around 7PM, and we headed for the Rio. He spent the ride over bemoaning the fact that he still hadn’t gotten to play in an event. His theory was “I cant get in because IM not in debt. I see motherfucking Mike Lang out there, and he owes me money, but he’s playing in the events.” I asked him how it was possible that being in debt could help you to enter the tournament, and he explained “You never heard of makeup? Makeup is the way these guys get you. They let you borrow the money, but you gotta pay them 50% of what you win, then give them back what they staked you out of your end. If you don’t win a tournament in your first couple months, they got their hooks in you. Men Ngyeun won three hundred thousand dollars last world series and it all went directly to makeup, motherfucker is still in debt. See they know that if you’re good enough, eventually you’ll win. I entered 3 events last year and I placed in two, but I’m not trying to get in debt. Fucking makeup.”

As we approached the Rio, he let me know that I needed to drop him off out front of the casino instead of around back where the world series was. He explained “I hit on Detroit and the under last night for twenty, I need to swing by the sports book.” I reminded him that san antonio won the game, but he corrected me saying he bet the first half only. His twenty had netted him 52 profit. When I told him he was lucky and should be happy about that, he responded “Shit, I aint happy, I’m mad, mad I didn’t put every penny I had on it.” He had that far away look in his eyes, and I knew he was serious.

I went in and did my thing, losing about 80 bucks in the process, but literally not winning a single hand. In about an hour and a half, I didn’t see one fucking winner, so I was pissed and ready to take off. Ellix’s phone was ringing disconnected, so I headed out with my buddy john but we ran into Ellix on the way. He told me he was ready to go, so john went to his car and Ellix and I talked on the way back to mine. Again, he was talking angrily about not being in any events.

“I may need to call my CO.” I didn’t know what a CO was, thought it might be some sort of parole officer for the homeless, so I asked him. “Naw man, you know, CO, the boss, like in a company, the chief officer. I gotta call Karen. She’s my CO. She controls the money, but I might need to get me some. She’s always such a smart ass when I call, she knows she’s a smart ass, sometimes I gotta tell her ‘who you think your getting smart with’, but she always gives me the money in the end.” I asked if Karen was the FBI agent. “No, she runs about four businesses. She runs this hearts corporation, and she oversees like four school districts.” I asked the origin of the hearts corporation, he said “I don’t know man, I thought the same thing when I first heard it, that it was about love or some shit, but it aint, its about helping people.”

He then started telling me that he was glad we had come out even if it was only for a couple of hours, cause he had to make an appearance. “See, I gotta make an appearance. I don’t have to place in an event this year, but next year I’m gonna have to be up there. See its like the super bowl, you can skip it a couple years as long as you make it back. I’m like San Antonio. See back at home, my place is a dump. I walk around dressed like a bum. Out here I gotta look all nice, I gotta make an appearance.”

I drove him back down town as he directed me through the back roads and told me where I had to be careful of dips. As we were approaching a light at Charleston, I asked him if I was going straight at the next intersection, before I realized that the road deadened there and you had to turn. Ellix looked at me like I was an idiot and said “No, run it straight into a brick wall. Come on now, Come on, talking about going straight, come on.” We made the turn and drove by a 24 hour movie theater at which point Ellix started tapping on the glass. “See that theater there, they let you sleep in there for five bucks. I used to crash there a lot, because it was too damn hot outside or if it was raining.”

The ongoing Ellix Powers saga part nine

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