Two months later, he had reached the point where he could create a thunderstorm in his immediate area that produced a lot of lightning that he could induce to strike where he wanted, sort of. It was all very frustrating compared to some of the other things he was doing! And his parents were making noises about him getting a job, lecturing perhaps, given his academic record. No? Well, what else did he plan to do to earn an income other than losing his money at Vegas? He had visited the local casinos for small cash gains a couple of times since returning from England, enough to keep him comfortably in funds without standing out in the small local places. He hadn’t let on to his folks just how well he was doing financially, but he would probably have to do so fairly soon.
He finally decided he had to sit down with his folks at dinner one night and explain that he was doing well at the gambling. His father still thought he was playing poker, and Jason was careful not to disabuse him of this idea. He explained that his target was to make two thousand dollars a month, after all the expenses of traveling, accommodation, food, and such, which would give him five hundred a week. They looked at each other at this point in the conversation in one of those silent parental communion things before facing him again, so he added.
“So far, I am doing better than that. In fact, I have had a couple of particularly good results along the way, so I have a good cushion in case I have a bad run. But really, I am being very careful and treating it like a job.”
“A job?” His mother said looking, dubious.
“Well, I guess if you are doing that well and being careful, there is not that much we can do about it, is there?” His dad commented, not looking pleased either but clearly resigned to Jason’s left turn career-wise. Jason had always been very careful to pay the nominal rent his parents charged him. However, with his newfound funds, he now started buying groceries and other household stuff on top of his weekly rent to help them with the living expenses, much to his parent’s surprise.
Jason got up and walked around the table to give both of them a hug. “Look, I know you’re worried I will lose all my money, but I truly am being very careful about what I am doing, and I don’t really feel like a gambler. I’m certainly not playing like some of the people I’ve met. Really. I look at it more like trading on the stock market. I put up money based on my judgment of the situation, and yes, sometimes I lose, but I win more often than I lose, and so far, I’ve rarely come home behind. It has happened once or twice, and it will happen again, no doubt, but I am confident I can continue to win more than I lose, and already, I am a long way up. Believe me. I am being very careful!” In fact, he hadn’t actually lost in a single session of play, but that would sound way too suspicious!
