I decide to let gamblers respond to the printed word. I lean toward the Lottery betting stand and place into the two Mass Millions slots and on top of the Lottery's betting slips, seven of my odds notices. And I wait. Five minutes later, a middle-aged guy makes the same move. The machine grinds away.
Passivity clogs the air almost as thickly as the smoke.
To me she is that last red number about to appear on the green Keno screen. The woman studies the odds notice. She eyes the betting slip. Studies the odds notice again. Turns over the betting slip, as if searching its fine print, which admits nothing about odds.