My name is Paul and I thank you for taking the time to read one of my first short stories that will be part of a series of crime stories that link into eachother. 

The story will be situated in Las Vegas, city of many faces, many opportunities and temptations. 

My goal is to keep you reading my short stories and if you are willing I would be thrilled if you could provide feedback. 

The little books, part of a feuilleton, are meant to be quick reeds, easy on your way to work (or back), lunch breaks or evening reads. 

Additionally I will update the progress as much as possible (the last page will always say: Progress To Be Expected Soon!

Jason "Jazz" Williams had had a bad day. He'd found out that his contract would not be renewed. To add to insult the bank had rejected his application for a loan. The loan in his view, was a small amount: Only $10.000. His credit history was acceptable. He really didn't like the obsession Americans had with their stupid credit score, but he'd learned to use it to his advantage. He arrived only three years ago on a scholarship. His friends in Sheffield could barely believe that "Jazz" actually qualified for anything except unemployment, much to their surprise their friend turned out to have a rare talent in the field of aquatic engineering. American universities had been fighting over him and offering him impressive scholarship. He himself could barely belief the money and possibilities he was offered. He decided to accept the scholarship offered by LVU also known as Las Vegas University. He arrived a pale, council estate raised lad from Sheffield, UK in the parellel world called Las Vegas, with its bustling neon light, bigger than life hotels, free food, free drinks, hookers, drugs, unlimited booze, scammers and much more. The estate he grew up in was, like many in the of those estates not the best place to be, but also not the worst. Out of his secondary school about three out of ten continued to study, two out of ten got normal jobs and  the rest either became a teenage parent or ended up on the wrong side of the law. Jazz was a normal kid, the occasional joy riding and shoplifting. His parents were the loving kind and raised him with a sense of direction  and emphasized that he'd finish school. Circumstance hadn't always been easy, but the family managed. 

Jazz had big hopes when he landed in Las Vegas, he would finish his study and move to Seattle. For the first year and a half things went exactly as planned. He did well both in the classroom and outside. His peers respected him and included Jazz in their social circles. Life was good and above all sunny. The fact that his was British didn't seem to  bother anybody. Life was smiling him in the face. Until he went to one of the Casino's and discovered a new thrill at the poker tables. His first small tournement he ended up fourth bringing back to his dorm a cheque of  $17,5K. Slowly but surely poker started to dominate his life. Two months later he rented a small apartment of the campus to dedicate more of his time to poker. 

Poker had started to consume his daily routine. His university attendence was dropping to a level that one of his mechanical engineering professor tried to talk with Jazz without any result. His day would start playing online at 05:00am. It was around that time of day that the Asians would be playing in big numbers. Jazz had run a statistics programm on the average bet place per region and typical wagering behaviors and had come to the conclusion that a lot of Asians playing hands between $5 and $10 would make him enough money to lead a comfortable life style. In the afternoons he would spend his time in a gym and visiting one of the casino's on the strip to do some sports betting and keeping tabs on his favorite soccer team Sheffield Wednesday F.C. Jazz regarded sports betting as a leisure activity and didn't spend to much cash on it. In the evenings he would visit various casino's to play blackjack and poker. Especially Friday and Saturday night were money making nights. Alcohol fueled tourists would pore into Vegas with loads of cash to burn. They would represent a major source of his income. Every so often he would enroll in a tournement. He slowly became a known face with casino staff and local mix of gamblers, criminals and loan sharks. His monthly income would roughly be around $5000 after taxes. Jazz had decided to make his poker games a legal business endeavor. He had it all. He enjoyed what he was doing, he got to live a pretty comfortable life style. Seattle could wait.