Julie hesitated, tapping her polished nails on the table."Oh, what the hell." She finally smiled."It's only the rent money, right?"

"Well, the rent just got raised a little, darlin'," Cowboy said, pushing in another $5,000 in chips.

Nordeshenko looked him in the eye. This asshole was making it very difficult.What could he possibly have? He had watched him chasing cards all night.

"What'syour ticket say, Ivan?" Cowboy fiddled with his chips."You still on this train, or time to get off?"

"Maybe one more station." Nordeshenko shrugged, looking toward Julie.

"All in," she said, flipping her cards and pushing the balance of her chips into the pot.

Four spades. Nordeshenko had been right. He had read her trying to make a flush. He still had high hand. And the Cowboy was bluffing.

The dealer turned over a queen of diamonds. Nordeshenko didn't even flinch. Now he had aces and queens.

Julie winced. She hadn't made her flush.

"Well, what'ya say we just put a little more coal in the burner and see what the river brings?" Cowboy cackled loudly, pushing the rest of his chips into the center-$10,000.

Murmurs went up from the people watching. It was clear this would be the final hand. The winner would take the entire $30,000 buy-in.

Cowboy stared at him, not smiling now."You stickin' around, Ivan, or what?"

"Miraslav," Nordeshenko said.

Cowboy took off his shades."Huh?"

"My name is Miraslav," Nordeshenko said, meeting the bet.

The dealer turned over his last card, the river. A deuce of hearts.

Julie groaned.

Nordeshenko knew his aces and queens should be a winner. He couldn't even imagine what the asshole Cowboy had. He counted out twenty hundred-dollar bills and tossed them outside the pot as a side bet.