Lady Luck favors the bold?

It is a bizarre occurrence that happens not infrequently when kindred society gathers, drops prior grudges, and cooperates. This past evening was one of those nights. We did not hold court, there was no kindred politics, and the external forces constantly battering at our collective's metaphorical gates just seemed to pause. One might say that the Requiem itself came to a screeching halt, all for the sake of a poker game.

On the game:

Master Santiago provided hospitality as well as the premise: gambling. Individuals were asked to buy into the game with a minor boon. This seemed rather benign, so I decided to participate regardless of my poor history with the game. Sitting down at the table, I understood that it was highly probably I would walk away one boon in the "red", which made the game all the more entertaining. Sure enough, the acolytes began to take a decisive lead early on but as in all games of chance, luck is fickle. It seems as though some karmic retribution or perhaps unchecked recklessness took Master Santiago out of the game before anyone else. Miss Clarissa, one of the newer acolytes, came in like a lion but exited Second. The game began to drag onward when only Mr. Sunshine, "Thomas," and I were left. The chips would flow in, and out, and just as soon as Mr. Thomas looked as though he was out for good, he began an amazing streak of victories. In an effort to take him out of the equation, or myself for that matter, I decided to go "all in" on a blind. One would consider this an unfavorable move, but the game grew stagnant and uninteresting with the pattern it was falling into. The cards were turned and shortly I was out of the game. C'est la vie.

The two victors from the other table joined ours and the game continued. Father Cade came into the game with a decisive lead, but it seemed that Sister Morgan would have none of it. She practically took all of the chips from Mr. Sunshine, and Mr. Thomas by herself. When the chips were counted, Father Cade had a marginal 10 pt lead. Morgan would loose chips and then in a bold move, doubled her pool. Again she began to loose, the anti at an all time high, and so the duo decided to go all in on the final hand. Two pair a piece, with the higher pair in the hands of Father Cade. Father Cade had won the tournament. I look forward to seeing what machinations are in store for the court as a result of this victory.

On the individuals:

It becomes difficult to trust Master Santiago, regardless of appearances, when boons are on the line. He is a slave to the very nature of his blood, and so he must be treated like a poisonous toad. The toads intentions may not be to kill the stork, but his nature is volatile nonetheless.
To see him go so soon in the game was good, though his mirth spoke volumes.

During the first few rounds, I was approached by Miss Narcissa. She was a bit off throughout the evening. She was aloof, and acted as though she wanted to speak to me, yet couldn't bring herself to breech whatever was dominating her mind. She gave me a letter to give to Alder Vertith Mereni during our upcoming gathering. I agreed to this. Then peculiarly she asked me if I was going to kill him. I've never given her the faintest impression I had any intent to do so, so it lends credibility to the rumors that he is a diablerist. I could not bring myself to give her the answer she wanted, so I instead offered her the answer I could; "It will depend on him." She nodded, and I returned to my hand.

I must say, that I was pleasantly surprised by the level of depth to the other indivuduals at the table, most notably Miss Clarissa. She has a level of sophistication and wit I found unexpected, especially for a member of the Ventrue clan. She was clever both in conversation and in her skill with cards.
Mr. Thomas had a great deal of mirth and was generally very pleasant. I have as of yet to understand what covenant he belongs to, but the repeated references from Miss Clarissa pegged him as a member of the Gangrel clan.
Mr. Sunshine was in high spirits up until a visitng member of the Carthian Movement became our dealer. He was mildly irate at the man, but gradually warmed up to his expertise in gambling. Las Vegas has its peculiar perks.
Once Sister Morgan cleaned out the Acolytes, I leaned in and jested to her "It seems as though you have my money." She smiled in amusement.
I could see a light in her eyes die when the final hand was dealt. The smug look on Father Cade's face cut deep into her mischievous facade. It will certainly be interesting to see how exactly Father Cade will make use of his boons.