by Bejammin2000
Though Gotham City has its fair share of heroes, it still has crime. The violence of super-villains generally make it on the nightly news. The more mundane criminals show up in the morning newspaper.
But there’s another crime committed in Gotham on a regular basis: gambling. More specifically, the Derby.
Ah, yes, the Derby. It was legend during the time of the Batman. Now? It’s a myth. But this myth is real — very real.
For the past one hundred and twenty-four years, on the first Sunday of every month, the Derby is played. What is the Derby? It’s a high-stakes poker game, high stakes because of the twenty-thousand-dollar entry fee to each round, of which there are twelve.
Where is it played? Any place will do, from the ritziest hotel to a few shacks set up in Slaughter Swamp, just as long as the Derby is played.
Risks? Of course. Financial ruin is one, and probably the biggest. The other is cheating and being caught. People always wondered why the beasties of Slaughter Swamp don’t attack people. They’re too well-fed.
Why, then? Why would anyone play with the risks? The winner at the end of the Derby gets ten million dollars, more than enough for a man to live on.
That’s the Derby, the single longest-running illegal activity in Gotham. And it’s about to get turned on its ear.
Why? ‘Cause I entered it this year.
Who am I? Name’s Bat. But please, call me the Maverick.