Private games and public scandals

Railway managers, property speculators, professional gamblers and political intermediaries meet in private rooms above ordinary businesses.

The 1884 Right-of-Way Game becomes notorious after a survey option changes hands and a proposed depot moves several streets.

The legal transfer is signed afterward. The cards provide leverage, rather than replacing the need for a deed.

Complaints about stacked decks produce a small trade in independent inspections, witnessed settlements and guarantees of fair dealing.

Some proprietors return money obtained through demonstrable cheating, even when the victim cannot safely go to the police.

Those arrangements also produce useful information about missing patrons, suspicious winnings and people spending money they should not have.

Supernatural communities disagree about gambling. A vampire who wagers access to a feeding ground can expose others. A Garou who stakes a fetish or neglects a watch can betray a responsibility.

Fae may admire an audacious wager while condemning someone who cannot stop playing at the expense of hospitality or dependents.

The flaw is often described as the inability to leave the table, rather than the willingness to sit at it.