Short Fiction · Chapter
The Spinning Wheel explained
The narrator, a roulette dealer, recounts the story of Jess Dorsey, a fellow dealer who falls for a beautiful young woman named Amy Bennett.
What happens
The narrator, a roulette dealer, recounts the story of Jess Dorsey, a fellow dealer who falls for a beautiful young woman named Amy Bennett. Amy loses small amounts nightly but wins big when Jess picks her numbers, leading her to bring her 'brother' to the casino. The brother, revealed to be her husband, uses a system to win a large sum, and Jess is devastated when he realizes he was manipulated. The chapter also includes a story about a banker named Macomber who tries to use a doubling system at roulette and loses, accusing the casino of fleecing him.
Themes in this chapter
Class and Aspiration
The chapter contrasts the wealthy banker Macomber, who believes his intelligence can beat the game, with the working-class dealers who see through his pretensions.
Disillusionment and Failure
Jess Dorsey's romantic hopes are shattered when he realizes Amy Bennett used him, leading to his emotional breakdown and departure from the casino.
Alcohol and Escapism
The casino setting and the characters' pursuit of gambling and romance serve as forms of escapism from their mundane lives, though ultimately leading to disappointment.
Characters to notice
- Jess Dorsey
A roulette dealer who falls in love with Amy Bennett and is manipulated into helping her and her 'brother' win money, leading to his downfall.
- Amy Bennett
A beautiful young woman who plays at Jess's table, wins with his help, and later reveals she has a husband, using Jess's feelings to her advantage.
- Joe
Another roulette dealer who handles the Macomber incident and later tells the boss about Macomber's accusation.
- Macomber
A bank director who tries a doubling system at roulette, loses heavily, and accuses the casino of cheating.
Key passages
“He was lucky to escape without a bust in the jaw. Probably not having no jaw was what saved him.”
He was fortunate to avoid getting punched, likely because he didn't have a jaw to hit.
The narrator jokes about the banker's lack of a jaw, mocking his appearance and intelligence.
“I guess it was Columbus that played this system first and that's why he didn't have money enough to pay his own way over here.”
I suppose Columbus was the first to try this betting system, which is why he couldn't afford his own voyage.
The narrator sarcastically compares the banker's flawed system to Columbus's failed financial planning.
“In the town in Georgia where I come from, they's just as many white people as they is colored people. But lots of times I've walked two and three blocks and met nothing but dinges.”
In my hometown in Georgia, there are equal numbers of white and black people, but sometimes I'd walk several blocks and only see black people.
Joe uses a racial analogy to explain that equal probabilities don't guarantee alternating outcomes, a crude but effective rebuttal to Macomber's system.