What Happens In Las Pegasus Stays In Las Pegasus

"Do I know you from somewhere?" Diamond asked me. Her beautiful, famous face stared down at me, freezing me to the core. "Well, do I?" Don't leave me waiting!" she said. My words were released, flowing like a logjam that was just un-logjamed, spurting out like the Casino's beautiful fountains.

"it's such an honor to meet you ma'am, I never thought this day would come, that I would get to meet THE Diamond Tiara Rich in the flesh!" I said.

"Well, don't bother me. I will have tons of time to sign autographs and all after my father kicks off this tournament.' she said in a huff, as she went behind a large curtain, blocking a stage at the front of the room.

"What was all that about?" asked Rubber. "How dare you disturb  her? Do you know how famous she is?"

"Well, I just thought she might recognize me from when I lived in Ponyville, just down the road from her house."

"That's no excuse." said Rubber. "That mare is treated like a princess here, considering her "handsome, generous" father owns half the city. Seriously, even the Mayor works for him"

Rubber's rant was silenced when fireworks burst right inside the room. The show was so impressive,I thought it might have been the third coming of Trixie. A tan stallion with a red and black mane stepped into view, his tailored grey suit showing that  he was a pony with both power and great taste."

"Fillies and Gentlecolts, welcome to the 4th annual Party Bros Hold' Em tournament! As manager of this beautiful Party Brothers Hotel and Resort, one of over nine thousand Party Bros locations, I welcome you to this prestigious event. But more importantly, i welcome Party Brothers CEO and founder, the wealthiest pony in all of Equestria, his honor, Mr. Filthy Rich!!"

Dozens of security guards flanked Mr. Rich, a stallion whose extremely  expensive suit and distinguished hair made everypony in the room silent. He stepped forward as one of his guards brought forth a microphone, taking a deep breath.

"Thank you for the lovely introduction Mr. Wheel." he said, in his extremely manly CEO voice. "Although I may be very important, as was very clearly stated by my manager here," Rich said, as he pointed towards a blushing Mr. Wheel. "What is truly the most important to me is the satisfaction of my customers. And although I may be the richest pony in this entire nation, my real inner worth comes from making all of you happy. And so, on that note, let the 4th annual party Brothers Poker tournament begin!"

Everypony cheered as Mr Rich and his guards exited, and the room was in a jovial mood as the ponies went to their respective tables.

"What do ya think of that?" Rubber said. "We got to see the richest pony in the nation, the known world, right in front of us!"

"Well, he just seems like everypony else." I said, as we walked towards our table. "Just a lot wealthier, and with cooler eyebrows."

A crackle of the PA system interrupted our conversation. "All ponies, the dealing may now commence. Round 1 begins in 2 minutes."

Rubber and I seated ourselves at the table, beside a mare with a long, blue mane and a jacket wearing stallion as well as a dealer. His name tag read Upper Hand, in bold black letters beside a Party Bros logo, clipped on next to his bow tie. Mr. Hand gave us 50 chips, 25 white and 25 red.

"The reds are worth 5 bits, and the whites are 2 bits. You will have to put a white chip in at the start of every hand. After that you can bet as much as you want, or fold. Last 2 ponies with chips go onto round two." He said, as he dealt two cards to each of us. I tossed a 2 bit chip into the center, and looked at my cards. A two of spades and a five of hearts stared up at me. I began to sweat as the hooded stallion threw in a red chip. Rubber folded, but the mare stayed in, and, weighing my odds, I decided to throw in 5 bits as well. Mr. Hand turned over three cards on the table. A queen of diamonds, jack of clubs, and a two of hearts were revealed. I did a dance of happiness inside as the fact that I had a pair sunk in. But my mood soon deflated, as the stallion put 3 red chips in the pot.

"How do yall like them odds?" He said in a smug tone, grinning.

The blue maned mare folded, pushing her cards toward the dealer. But I stood strong, knowing somepony had to put this stallion in his place. I timidly put my 15 bits worth of chips in the center of the table. Mr. Hand revealed another card, the jack of hearts. It was my turn for betting, so I just checked, hoping my adversary would do the same. To my relief, the dark pony checked as well, as the final card was turned over. It was the 2 of diamonds! I swiftly put 5 red chips in the pot. My opponent across the table, however, just scowled and matched my bet. I turned over my cards, revealing my 3 of a kind.

"Beat that!" I taunted.

But the stallion kept his cool composure as he turned over a jack of spades and a queen of hearts, my jaw dropping in awe of his full house, and used his hoof to sweep his 103 bit winnings into a messy stack of red and white.

"Better luck next hand!" he said with a cocky grin, as the dealer dealt our next two cards. Play continued like this, untill the blue mare had been knocked out by Mr. Jacket, and I was down to 20 bits, whist he had around 175, similar to Rubber's amount, as he was responsible with his chips, and almost always folded. Similar to the last 10 hands, we tossed in a white chip each, and looked at our cards. Receiving the queen of hearts and 7 of spades, I had slightly better odds than last round. I checked, and so did  else, but then it was Rubber's turn. He shocked everypony at the table, throwing in 150 bits worth of chips in, even before the other cards were shown. I folded, of course, but the other stallion matched his bet, making the total pot 300 bits. Rubber was throwing his bits out the window, with odds like that. Mr. Hand flipped over the queen of diamonds, the queen of clubs, and the ace of hearts as well . On that note, Rubber flipped his remaining 25 bits into the middle. "All In!" He exclaimed. But his opponent just kept his expression straight, and slid the last of his chips into the pot as well. Upper Hand flipped over a 7 of clubs, and all held their breath as the final card was turned. I realized one had to win, and one was knocked out, but that the top 2 at each table advanced. So no matter what, I could plan on being in this room tomorrow, either with a friend, or an enemy. The final card was flipped, and it was the 2 of hearts. The stallion grinned as he revealed his queen of spades, and a 4 of diamonds. But Rubber just laughed, and showed the 6 and 8 of hearts.

"Flush beats three of a kind, pack your bags ya sap!" He said, high hoofing me as the dealer gave us passes to the next round. We walked out of the Casino floor, lights illuminating the lobby at 2 in the morning, sad and elated ponies streaming onto the benches.

"How, and why did you do that?!" I yelled at Rubber. "That last card could have sent you home! But you knew, Didn't you?"

"Ya just gotta have faith Pip." He replied. "Make your decision, and commit to it." But it still seemed to me as if he was hiding something. He was texting on his phone as he walked into the elevator. We stopped on the 6th floor, and Rubber pulled out a room card.

"Well, time to hit the hay, eh Pip?"