X-posted to Great Write Way
He licks his lips and tries not to appear desperate. The place is quiet except for the clink of glass, the murmur of croupiers, the infrequent squeal of a winner. The evening is wrapped in ice and green felt and the white coats of the large men who drift around the edges of the room and occasionally make a determined foray into the crowd, emerging with an oddly silent, white-faced person sagging between them, on his way out.
He licks his lips again and blows on the dice. "Come on," he whispers urgently, "Baby needs a new pair of shoes."