“You have to admit,” Vargas said, “as nice as Lake Michigan is, Lake Superior is the far better lake.”

“It’s the superior lake,” Jackie said.

“Hell yes,” Vargas said. “Hence the name.”

“It’s so far away though,” Jackie said. “Even Bay Harbor was a stretch. It’s four hours from Detroit.”

“Who needs Detroit?” Vargas said. “Bay Harbor has the airport in Traverse City. We’ve got one right here in the Soo.”

“I guess you could call it an airport,” Bennett said. “Not many flights in and out.”

“Least of our worries,” Vargas said. “Hell, a lot of these guys have private jets.”

“Still,” Bennett said. “It’s a lot different up here. The weather. The way people are. Everything.”

“That’s part of its charm,” Vargas said. “You’ve still got the feeling of wilderness up here. Not to mention the best casino, thanks to Gill here.”

Gill nodded. “Glad to help,” he said. “That’s why I built it single-handedly.”

“You know what I mean,” Vargas said. “You and your people. Those lousy little casinos down by Traverse City, they can’t even compare to the Kewadin. You can really take care of the high rollers up here. And then there’s the international thing. You’ve got something foreign and exotic right across the bridge there.”

“Bennett,” Jackie said, “did they move Hong Kong over there without telling me? Because last time I went over that bridge, I was in Canada.”

“That’s foreign,” Bennett said.

“And exotic,” Gill said.

“You know what I’m talking about,” Vargas said. “It’s different over there. They’ve got clubs over there, for one thing.”

“Oh, so when you say exotic,” Jackie said, “you mean exotic dancing. Why didn’t you say so?”

“Let me ask you something, Alex,” Vargas said. “You live out in Paradise, right? What’s that, about a half-hour drive?”