Gambler Zombie

The Gambler Zombie is a unique zombie that appears first during Day 2 of the Brain Derby
Serving as more of a Gimmick than a real opponent, the Gambler Zombie is inherently tied with the "Lap" mechanic seen in his homeworld, and will appear first at the back of the lawn in groups of 5 (1 for each lane), setting up a small betting booth, each adorned with the color of one of the horses in the race ; this will happen as the first horse of the previous lap reaches the checkpoint and is sent back to the beginning of the meter.
If one player chooses to bet for one of the horses, he must tap the corresponding Gambler Zombie, which will cause the other zombies of the same to retreat off-screen, their booths falling apart accordingly. Then, as the horses progress on the race off-screen, the Gambler Zombie's reaction will change accordingly, granting variable amounts of Sun and coins if the chosen horse finishes the lap first but getting enraged and jumping out of his booth to charge at the player if the horses finishes in any other positions
==Origins and appearance==
While not inspired by a specific example in general, his appearance in this world refers specifically to the common practice at the time of Gambling in horse races, to which the Kentucky Derby was no exception. Shoddy similar booths as the one used in-game were often set up in a more or less legal fashion sometimes just right outside the game, and men would come rushing after races to gather their gains... or alternatively mourn their now much frailer wallet.
While not an exact match to the archive footage provided of the crowd at the Kentucky Derby, the outfit of the Gambler Zombie is based off examples seen in a similar British derby, no doubt accurate enough for the periodHe sports a trampled black bowler hat, a similarily weathered black suit above a white shirt and has brown shoes. When walking forware, he displays a slight hunchback, and one of his eyes is slightly less opened, giving him a face reminescent to that of the Jack-in-the-box Zombie, switching to the facial expression of the angered Newspaper Zombie after a loss.
His booth is made of hastily nailed wooden planks, sporting a large sign that says "EZY MONEEZ" in poorly painted letters, and once popped down will have him sit inside and energetically rub his hands together while he waits for the player to make his choice. 
==Almanac Entry==
==Overview==
He has 650 health points by himself, making him superior in health to the standard Conehead. After taking 200 damage, he will lose his hat, and after suffering through 450 damage, his left arm will pop off, falling to the floor.
If he is using his sign as a shield, it can take up to 300 additional damage, counted separately from the zombie and seeing a degrade after taking itself at least 150 damage
At first, the Gambler Zombie is entirely impervious to damage, reaching only up to the very 9th tile and starting to build his booth, which should take a few seconds. Once done, he will simply sit idle in it, still impervious to damage and waiting for the player to make his choice ; this will happen just before a lap is completed, and the player can only chose a zombie when it has finished (usually, the timing of the opening coincides with the end of the lap)
Once tapped, the selected zombie will salute the player, and places both of his hands on the table instead of rubbing them togetherThe other zombies that were not selected will simply leave the lawn
If the chosen horse happens to cross the lawn on his way, the Gambler Zombie will cheer for him, though this will not have any impact on his performance. However, once the horse reaches the end of the lap, as indicated by its icon having reached the end of the bar above the lawn, he will react in 2 different ways :
* If the horse arrives first, he will happily wave his hat at the player, dropping 50 to 200 Suns as well as 5-50 coins depending on the difficulty of the level, before pulling out a money-filled briefcase and happily exiting his booth to the left, leaving the shack to fall apart
* If the horse arrives in any other position, he will break down his shack, rip tufts of hairs off his head out of anger ; his face will redden, and he will charge at increased speeds towards the player's home, becoming a much greater threat. No rewards will be obtained if this happens
Alternatively, if the player waits about 15-20 seconds without choosin any zombies, their shacks will disintegrate in the span of 1-3 seconds, causing the sign to fall into their hands. After that, they will proceed forward as basic zombies, only keeping carrying the sign which grants them a bit of extra armor, though several Plants are capable of piercing it.
As one can assume, several Gambler Zombies may spawn during a single level, providing plenty of possibilities for wins as well as losses
==Strategies==
Unlike many other zombied in Plants Vs. Zombies 2, not only is this zombie more akin to a gimmick than a real zombie, his mechanic also entirely relies on luck, forcing player to make risky bets in the hope of getting a reward or at least avoiding the threat of 5 armored zombies walking down their lawn
To fully take advantage of it, it is advised for players to pay great attention to the "Lap" meter that runs above the standard Wave counter, a task that can be difficult in some of the more difficult levels of the Derby. While normally only really used by players to watch out for horse tramplings, the appearance of Gambler Zombies will require one to carefully pay attention to the performance of the selected horses in order to choose the best oneTo increase your chances, you can use the very first lap, where the zombies will NOT appear for balance reasons, to monitor who remains in front and who tends to lag behind. Since it is likely to remain somewhat consistent for the rest of the race, this can be easily used to select the best zombie and even win several bets with the same horse within the same levelHowever, you are not always safe from a horse potentially switching places with another by slowing down, so pay attention to the patterns and react accordingly, even if it means having to bet right at the last moment.
If you happen to lose a bet, prepare for a tougher Newspaper Zombie to raid your defenses, something which can be very difficult with the recent trampling of your defenses by the horses. Instant-kills are perhaps somewhat overkilled but should be kept in store, just in-case. Horseradishes can help stun them easily using its Plant Food effect, though this has somewhat of a cost, and its critical hits can help wipe him out with ease.
If you cannot be bothered to engage with the Gambling mechanic, you can simply wait for them to destroy their shacks and come at you, in which case they will turn into basic armored zombies. Though they are predictable, their armor can make them an annoyance, and once again a Horseradish can greatly help since it will hit both the zombie and his shield, on top of dealing huge damage with critical hits.
==Trivia==
*The zombie's gambling mechanic was originally conceived with ways of influencing the odds of the race, such as ways to speed up your choosen horse and zombies that would try to slow him down, but this was removed for being unnecessarily complex
*This zombie was an entry for the Lawnbowl 2023 contest
*LET'S FUCKING GOOOOOOO DARTEN
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