Casino Wizard

A slot machine changed her life.

Sofia Bonaito, an ordinary full-time housewife.

At first glance, her daily life seemed just as ordinary even now.

“Sweetie, are you going to school? Your Psalm recitation score last time was terrible.”

“I don’t want to study.”

“I see. Alright.”

She packed a simple lunch for her child and sent them off to the church-affiliated school.

“Hey. You call this food?”

“Sorry.”

“Do you ever do anything properly…?”

“No, right? I’ll make sure to toast the cheese less next time. I’ll even write it down in the kitchen so I don’t forget.”

She took her husband’s nagging in stride, bowing her head submissively.

Her husband, puzzled by her unusually compliant attitude, continued grumbling nonetheless.

Normally, Sofia would have struggled to keep a straight face.

After all, no matter how much original sin one carried, being berated morning and night was exhausting.

But today, all she cared about was getting through this routine and sending her husband off to work.

Because once her husband and child were gone—once the house fell into silence—she had something else to do.

“Have a good day, dear.”

“Hey. You.”

“Yes?”

“…Something about you seems… Never mind. You’ve always been like this.”

Clicking his tongue, her husband left for work.

As soon as he was out the door, Sofia swiftly finished the dishes, cleaning, and laundry.

Then, after changing into her most comfortable outfit, she stepped outside.

Her destination? The casino, of course.

But the moment she left the house, she ran into an obstacle.

“Sofia? Where are you off to at this hour?”

“Oh, Jia-da unnie.”

She had bumped into her next-door neighbor.

There was no way she could tell the truth about her destination. Somehow, it felt like she shouldn’t.

“I’m just going for a little walk…”

“Oh? Me too.”

“…Ah.”

She had planned to slip away after telling a small lie.

But oddly enough, she couldn’t.

“We’re heading the same way. Is there a good place to walk around here?”

“Uh… Well? By the way, where are you headed, unnie?”

“Me? Just for a stroll, like you.”

Their paths overlapped.

Neither of them wanted to reveal their true destination, so they awkwardly dodged the topic, giggled behind their hands, and hurried along.

Until, eventually, they both arrived at the same place.

“…So, you too?”

“…Unnie, you too?”

“Pfft. Guess we didn’t have to be so sneaky.”

It was the secondary branch of the casino.

Just like the main branch, the gambling house bore a sign reading Hyden Casino. Not exactly a prime location for a relaxing stroll.

Sophia exchanged glances with her next-door neighbor, a faint, hollow smile on her lips.

Looking back, she couldn’t even understand why she had felt the need to be cautious in the first place.

It was just a cheap pastime. She had finished all her housework and was just taking a moment to breathe—nothing wrong with that.

Still, she felt relieved.

Sophia let out a small chuckle as a sense of ease washed over her.

“Shall we play together?”

“Sh…should we?”

The two women confidently stepped into the casino.

Maybe it was because she had a companion, but today was even more enjoyable than yesterday.

“Unnie, how many pictures do you think this machine has?”

“No idea. But there sure are a lot of cherries and skulls.”

“Skulls, ah!”

“Ugh, skulls are the worst~”

Click.

“Ah! Bell, bell, cherry!”

“You’re getting close, girl. Just a little more practice. You have to stroke the lever gently at first, then pull it down in one swift motion.”

“Did you win by doing that?”

“No.”

Clack.

“By the way, how’s your husband?”

“Skull, skull, bell.”

“…Huh?”

“That’s exactly how we are.”

“Oh.”

Click.

To anyone watching, they looked like two neighbors engaged in a friendly chat.

But even as they spoke, their eyes were glued to the slot machines, fingers loosely gripping the levers.

The chairs were surprisingly comfortable—it felt like they could sit there forever…

“Oh?”

Sophia’s neighbor let out a small gasp.

Could it be? A jackpot?

Sophia’s heart fluttered as she glanced over.

It wasn’t even her own win. It wasn’t like she would get a share of the prize if her neighbor won. But still, she felt a thrill of excitement.

But when she saw the result, it was rather… modest.

“Plum, plum, plum.”

“Oh, well.”

“What do you mean ‘oh, well’? A win’s a win.”

It was the fourth-best combination—below the jackpot 777, the second-place bells, and the third-place grapes.

The prize was a mere pittance. Fruits were always like that.

Two bronze coins. Enough for twenty more spins. And within those twenty spins, maybe a better hand would appear.

“Here are your winnings.”

The casino worker brought over the exact amount displayed on the payout chart.

It wasn’t much. But a win was still a win.

“Next time, I’ll aim for grapes.”

“Yes.”

“It’s all about moving up step by step, right?”

“Exactly. Everything in life is about gradual progress. Cherry, plum, grape… and one day, a bell or even 777 will come.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

Click.

The two housewives started pulling the levers even more fervently.

At first, they exchanged glances and polite smiles, but that didn’t last long.

They kept chatting, but their minds were already consumed by the spinning reels.

“Oh no, I’m out of coins. Excuse me?! Can you exchange these for me?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Oh, and some wine too.”

“Yes!”

Pull. Sip.

Murmuring, “Come on, come on,” as they watched the spinning images.

Sighing in disappointment at a loss.

Then pulling again.

Time slipped away unnoticed, lost in the rhythm of click, clack, click, clack.

By the time Sophia and her neighbor left the casino, five hours had passed.

Another neighbor they met there had joined them, and the larger their group became, the more fun it was.

…

Eventually, the casino became the most important part of Sophia’s daily routine.

As soon as she sent off her husband and child, she rushed out. Lunch was just a quick bite of a bread roll, then straight to the slot machines.

Honestly, her results weren’t great.

Still, there were a few moments that felt close. She had seen 7, 7, and the bell appear three times, after all.

She was getting closer, little by little… but she still couldn’t quite grasp it.

‘Tomorrow, it’ll happen, right? My emergency funds are almost gone.’

Sophia went to bed holding both expectation and anxiety in her heart.

She told herself she had to hurry and arrive right when the casino opened.

She vowed to claim machine #7—the one that had shown those sevens yesterday—and soak up its good luck.

Meanwhile, her hand was pulling an imaginary lever in the air.

Tomorrow would be the day. She was sure of it.

…

But things didn’t go as Sophia had hoped.

Was it bad luck?

No, the problem was that getting inside the casino itself wasn’t easy.

“Please line up! No cutting in line!”

A long queue stretched outside the casino.

Sophia and her neighbors blinked in confusion.

They had arrived right on time for the opening. Sure, there had been a lot of people yesterday and the day before, but at least they had been able to find seats immediately…

Today, there didn’t seem to be a chance. Not at all.

“Did we come all this way for nothing?”

One of Sophia’s companions murmured with a vacant expression.

Sophia was just as taken aback, unable to answer.

Only questions swirled in her mind, without any answers.

Don’t these people have anything else to do? Are they all unemployed?

If we wait for 30 minutes, will seats open up?

What do we do while we wait?

“I really thought today would be the day.”

With a bitter expression, Sophia stared at the people lined up in front of her.

Elderly folks, housewives, fresh-faced youths who looked like academy students, elderly priests who were probably too old to attend mass…

There were too many of them, mixed in all sorts of ways, making it hard to categorize them.

Why do people love slot machines so much?

It’s just a game.

All you do is sit there, staring at spinning images. What’s the point of waiting in line for that?

‘Do I have to come even earlier tomorrow…? Ugh. That’s impossible.’

Sophia was a housewife.

She couldn’t abandon her household chores and spend all her time at the casino.

That would only give her husband an excuse. Even if divorces weren’t easy, neglecting her duties at home might tip the scales.

She couldn’t become a divorcee just because of slot machines.

But she couldn’t give up either.

She had just started getting the hang of it—how could she stop now?

Her friends seemed to be thinking the same thing.

“Should we wait a little?”

“Do you really think that’ll help?”

“You never know. A seat might open up soon.”

Considering how slot machines could easily keep someone seated for two or three hours at a time, it didn’t seem likely.

But Sophia didn’t care.

Even if she went home now, all she’d think about was 777 anyway. It was better to wait here.

Soon, the casino doors opened.

“Move—!!!”

“Customers, please maintain order!”

“Room 1, machine #3! Room 1, machine #3! It’s mine, mine!”

The line started to shrink rapidly.

But it didn’t seem like there would be any seats left for Sophia.

As she grew anxious, nervously clenching her fists—

“Oh? Look over there!”

A gasp of surprise came from the crowd, even though they weren’t in a gaming hall yet.

Now what?

Sophia bit her lip and turned her head, absentmindedly rattling the coins in her hand.

Then, soon enough, a smile spread across her face.

“Slot machines?”

Workers were unloading brand-new slot machines from a carriage.

Twenty of them. Maybe more.

More machines meant more people could play.

Sophia let out a breath, overwhelmed with emotion.

It was just a cheap pastime, so why did she feel so relieved? She didn’t know. But now wasn’t the time to dwell on that.

‘Yes! I can play today too…!’

After a shorter wait than expected, Sophia and her friends entered the gaming hall.

Click, click, click—

Somehow, the spinning images felt livelier than usual.

****

4:00 PM.

I was out checking on the branch’s operations.

There was no need to confirm whether business was thriving.

“Why can’t I play?”

An old man sat in front of the entrance, murmuring with a hollow expression.

Outside the doors, a considerable number of people were still waiting for their turn to enter.

Soon enough, we’d need staff just to control the long queue.

The spread was happening faster than expected.

‘I can move up the schedule a little.’

Several plans had been prepared to solidify and expand the presence of slot machines.

One was introducing a 4-reel game with wild symbols (symbols that could combine with any other) to enhance the excitement of pulling the lever.

Another was adjusting the payout—reducing rewards for lower-tier combinations while increasing the jackpot’s value—by introducing 0.1-bronze exchange chips.

And finally, repurposing the storage room Mario had been using for liquor into a dedicated slot machine corner.

It seemed like I could begin implementing these sooner than planned.

Even now, slot machines were deeply embedding themselves into the lives of the capital’s residents.

People who had never cared for card games like baccarat or blackjack were getting drawn in.

“7! 7! 7! I did it!”

“Oh my, it’s really 777?”

“What in the world, Sophia?!”

Hearing the commotion, I turned to look.

A group of women in their 30s were clapping their hands together in excitement.

A jackpot from the beginner’s 1-bronze corner.

The payout? Just 30 silver.

Not a huge sum, but for the winner, it was a moment of pure euphoria.

Linking arms with her friends, she twirled around in joy, even dancing…

“Hahaha!”

As if she had won the entire world.

Was it contagious?

Other customers started pulling their levers even more fervently. Click, clack, click.

I could hear the sound of revenue rising.