Drunkenly, he made his way from one table to another in the casino looking to cause some trouble. The security already knew that he was all bark and no bite so they didn’t bother to stop him. In fact, everyone at the casino seemed to like him. From the waitresses to the security guards, they all perked up when he walked in. How couldn’t they when Ben spent his last penny gambling and tipping the staff generously?
He never missed a day without going to the casino. For the past five years, it had been his second home. At times, he would sleep at the casino for several days without going back to his lavish Kilimani apartment.
“It’s lonely there.” He said when the waitress would remind him to go home.
After a brief argument, they would let him sleep at the casino and continue gambling all night. Many of the staff didn’t go home either. On some nights, the crowds were too riled up to close the casino. On other nights, they just felt like staying there and keeping each other company.
“You are the luckiest people in the world,” Ben said drunkenly.
“Why do you say that?” One of the waitresses asked.
“You get to do this for a living and get paid. For me, I have to pay you to have this much fun.” He said then pulled her to his lap.
She laughed as Ben admired the young beauty before she got up and left. He watched her swing her hips as she walked away before another patron alerted him.
“It’s your turn, boss.”
“Oh, sorry. I was a bit distracted.”
The 68-year-old wasn’t always a gambling addict. In fact, he was one of the most respected men in the banking industry and had a successful career as an accountant which made it more ironic that he, of all people, would be so careless with his money. After retirement, he had big plans of establishing a restaurant since he was also passionate about good food. His son was a professional chef and they agreed to start the business together.
However, things weren’t as easy as Ben thought. He gave his son nearly 10 million shillings to rent a space and furnish it. Trusting that his son would handle the task, he sat back and waited for the launch day.
“We’ve had a few setbacks but it’s coming together very well.” Ben’s son updated him.
Excited about the good news, Ben started bragging to his peers about how he would have the hottest restaurant in town. He even had a name for it “Maryland Restaurant” which was named after his late wife.
Everyone was quite excited about the restaurant and promised to support him when it opened. However, it never opened and after a few months of taking him in circles, his son switched off his phone and never contacted his father again.
Ben finally decided to visit the address that his son had given him hoping to find him. He had been there before when his son showed it to him and sold him the dream of opening a restaurant there. However, he hadn’t returned in months. The building was fully furnished and occupied but it wasn’t the restaurant that he and his son had been working on. Instead, it was a mini supermarket.
“Who owns this place?” He asked the security guard.
“I don’t know, sir. I was just hired to check people’s bags.”
He then went to the customer care desk to check whether his son had anything to do with the supermarket.
“Is there a man called Daniel Kisila who works here?”
“No, sir.” The customer care attendant promptly answered.
Confused and frustrated, he returned to his home and tried to make sense of what just happened. Deep down, he knew that his son had run away with the 10 million shillings but he didn’t want to accept it.
He spent the next few days trying to contact him but he never got an answer.
******
Daniel was the only child of Ben and his wife, Mary. They had tried hard to get another child but it didn’t work out. Nonetheless, they adored their son and doted on him. He got anything he wanted but his father still tried to instil the spirit of hard work in him.
“Why do I have to work? You’re rich. I can just ask you for money.”
“That’s my money. You have to work for yours.”
Despite his attitude, Daniel was actually a bright young man. He didn’t top his class but he was always in the top 10 and everyone knew that if he put in the effort, he would be a straight-A student. He didn’t though and after finishing high school, he refused to go to the university.
“Do you know how many people would kill to have this opportunity?”
“Educate them, then. I have other plans.”
Daniel spent a good chunk of his 20s partying and gambling with his friends. His parents hardly saw him but when he needed more money he would come back and sweet-talk them. They even rented an apartment and bought him a car just so they would know where he was.
Miraculously, he found his passion in cooking. This passion saved his life and returned him home. He also cut off his toxic friends and stopped gambling. Around the same time, they found out that his mother had cancer and she only had a few years to live. For the two years that she was with them, the family was happier than they ever were. Daniel took a short culinary course and would spoil them with sumptuous meals.
Ben also retire early from his prestigious job to take care of his wife and spend more time with her. She passed away in the hospital and Daniel lost his way again. He got back with his old friends who introduced him to drugs to numb his pain. From then, his relationship with his father remained strained.
“Your father is rich, right?” One of his friends asked even though they knew the answer.
Daniel nodded yes.
“Then why are you living like this? You should be living the high life in Dubai.” His friend said.
According to Daniel, his friend was right. He didn’t live like a rich man’s son and the small two-bedroom apartment they had bought him was nothing. This instantly sparked an idea in his mind. He decided to scam his father so he could get a lot of money from him to live in Dubai as his friend suggested.
******
10 million shillings was gone. However, this wasn’t Ben’s concern. He had almost ten times more of that amount in his account. He was more worried about his son. This was the only family member he had left and he couldn’t believe that he would betray him like that. He had heard rumours that he had been seen in different casinos gambling with the money so Ben decided to go and see it for himself.
Sure enough, after tracking him down, he found him at a casino surrounded by women and dozens of champagne bottles. When he saw his father, he wasn’t shocked or ashamed. It must have been the drugs and alcohol. Instead, he kept to his feet and went to hug him.
“My old man!” He shouted as he stretched his hand.
Ben swatted it away from him and gave him a deathly stare.
“You want to fight me? You want to fight your only son?” He asked drunkenly.
“Where’s my money, you thief.”
“Calm down, pops. What’s 10 million to you? Consider it my early inheritance.” He said and laughed.
“I want my money now!” Ben yelled.
“Okay, I’ll give it to you. Just play one round with me and whoever wins keeps the money.”
Ben had never played a casino game in his life. In fact, he hated gambling and anytime his friends invited him to a casino, he would decline. However, his son was persuasive and he didn’t have anything to lose. If he won the game, he would get his money back, if he didn’t he would have his son arrested for stealing from him. Win-win, or so he thought.
Daniel chose a classic game of poker. After walking the two men through the rules, the house dealer placed the cards in front of each player.
“Gambling is all about luck and may the odds forever be in my favour.” He said with a cheeky smirk on his face.
The game came to an end almost as soon as it started and Daniel won. He let out a loud laugh followed by chest-thumping.
“You can’t beat me, old man. This is my house.” He said arrogantly.
Ben asked to play another round, and another and another. However, he kept losing which only humiliated him more. After a series of defeats, he finally gave up.
“I still want my money.” He insisted.
“Forget about it. Come back when you’re ready to lose more money.”
Despite losing horribly, Ben enjoyed gambling. He loved the adrenaline and the energy of the crowd every time someone made a move. It was nothing like he had ever felt in his life and for a brief moment, he forgot about everything and everyone.
He didn’t go back to play with his son. In fact, he had him arrested and then replaced him as the king of gambling. Unlike his son, Ben wasn’t good at gambling and he didn’t get any better but he had money and that’s all the casino cared about. In fact, they loved him more than they loved Daniel. The same waitresses that would flirt with Daniel now flirted with Ben.
He felt like he finally got payback for everything his son had done. From refusing to go to university to stealing from him, he was now sitting on his throne. However, Ben didn’t expect that he would become addicted to gambling. According to him, only weak-minded people spent all their money on gambling. He wasn’t a weak-minded person. He was one of the best accountants in the country.
Nonetheless, he found himself in a hole that he couldn’t get out of. The casino had him in a chokehold that he couldn’t escape no matter how hard he tried. To make it worse, no one could save him either. Ben had isolated himself from all his close friends and relatives after his wife’s death and no one knew what he was up to.
The casino employees were his family now and at times, they would have to take him to their home after the owners complain about him.
His bank account depleted quickly and in a month he would spend over 3 million shillings on gambling and women. Within a few months, his fat account was now looking thin. His account manager started restricting his transactions in an attempt to stop his gambling addiction. However, Ben was already in too deep.
The last straw was when he withdrew all the remaining money in his bank account – around 30 million shillings – claiming that he was going to invest it in real estate. The reality was he was going to pay his gambling debts and spend the rest in the casino.
His son was still in prison since he refused to pay back the 10 million he took from his father. However, after wasting all his savings on gambling, he finally remembered his son.
Dishevelled and depressed, he went to visit him in prison to make one request.
“I’m sorry, my son. I shouldn’t have judged you.” He said nearly in tears.
“What happened to you?” He asked.
“I lost all my money gambling.”
“All of it?”
“Yes, I need your help.”
“What do you need?”
“I’ll drop this stupid case. I just need you to get some of the money back.”
After a brief silence, Daniel agreed to help his father. He was released from prison the following day and the pair returned to their family home.
“I haven’t been here in months,” Ben said as he looked at the family pictures hanging on the wall.
They both embraced as if welcoming each other back.
The following day, Daniel wore a nice black suit and well-polished shoes. He took his father’s Range Rover Sport and went to the casino early in the morning.
“I’m back!” He shouted in his usual flamboyant manner.
“Daniel… Long time.” One of the waitresses said and welcomed him.
He sat at the poker table where there was a game already going on. After it ended, he joined in. He won every game he played that day and left the casino with nearly 6 million shillings.
“I’ll be back.”
He won a couple of times and made enough to start a business. This time around, the pair actually invested their money into the restaurant business they always wanted. They both went to rehab to deal with their addictions. Working in the restaurant also helped them to rebuild their relationship and catch up on lost time. They became inseparable and it was hard to believe that at one point Daniel stole money from his father who had him arrested.
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This story first appeared on this blog as He Wasted All His Savings On Gambling After Losing A Bet To His Son Part 1 and He Wasted All His Savings On Gambling After Losing A Bet To His Son Part 2
