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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#180: A Roll of the Dice

Despite all our skill and effort, sometimes life simply comes down to luck. Whether you’re trying to win a game, land a job, or find a significant other, there’s no sure way to know how it’ll work out — or how good your luck will be. A twist of fate could send you catapulting into happiness, or your luck could sour in the blink of an eye. But if you can push through bad luck, you might just find you can change it.

So this week, you’ll want to get your rabbits’ feet and four leaf clovers ready. Are you feeling lucky?

This week's prompts

Write a story that hinges on the outcome of a coin flip.

Adventure – 68 stories

Start your story with someone having a run of bad luck.

Angst – 42 stories

Write about someone losing their lucky charm.

Mystery – 26 stories

Set your story in a casino.

Adults – 34 stories

Write about someone whose luck is running out.

Character – 44 stories

Stories

“The Boiler Room ” by Danielle Thompson

Submitted to Contest #180

Maxim hated being good. He sat quietly at the dinner table, trying to slouch as best he could in the straight-backed hotel restaurant chair. His parents were sipping their wine and droning on about some boring adult conversation related to insurance and the recent rise in taxes. “Taxes are the onus of the people, and yet the government is determined to break our backs!” Maxim’s father said loudly. His mother nodded her agreement and took a long sip of her chardonnay. Maxim looked around, trying to find anything else to occupy his...

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“A Gambler's Hope” by Bobbie DeLong

Submitted to Contest #180

A Gambler’s Hope By Bobbie DeLong I had put myself together that morning, with make-up that now feels like too thick face paint. The blue sweater was perfect when I put it on, but by the time I reach the lawyer’s office, I notice the lint and the fadedness of it, it’s bagginess over the extra weight I still carry from Katie. She is sitting in my lap, chewing on a pacifier. I brought her to the mediation because I had no choice. Your lawyer is a woman. Pretty and thin, wearing a tailored suit and professionally applied make-up. She offers...

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“Heads or Tails? ” by FabWritesStuff -

Submitted to Contest #180

“Alright it's decided. Heads, we stay in for the night or tails, we go out! That sound fair to you?” “Yeah, I guess.” Stella nodded reluctantly as she watched her friend, Lacey, twirl a quarter between her fingers. She really hoped it landed on heads. Staying home and watching Harry Potter movies while eating bowls of popcorn sounded like the perfect way to spend a Friday night, but Lacey didn’t agree. Lacey, one of her oldest friends, was much more extroverted. She loved going out, meeting new people, and visiting new places...

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“Knock Knock..” by Sorelle Fisher

Submitted to Contest #180

BZZZ BZZZ BZZZ B- -one eye closed, Ava Rangiheuea tapped her phone to silence the incessant alarm sounds that blared from it. She took note of the time on her screen - 6:01 - before unceremoniously clunking the device on the wooden side-table. She allowed her head to collapse back onto the flat pillow, her caramel skin warm beneath the light-blue cotton layers. She loved the tranquil energy of the mornings. It was quiet; the usually reliable Auckland traffic having not yet reached its peak hustle. Time ...

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“A Fallen Millionaire” by Lincan Liu

Submitted to Contest #180

Oliver sat by the window, blowing the last cigar and watching tall buildings outside move away from him. Shortly came into his eyes were not glimmers of the metropolis but vast fields lying under the dark sky. The chilly wind roared, beating against the window repeatedly, like a debt collector from hell sent by his father. “I will fulfill my pledge. Take back what I’ve lost,” he whispered, with a few tears creeping down his cheeks. The glories he boosted about, sitting on a luxury yacht, drinking with famous singers, or traveling by pres...

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“Critical Inaccuracy, Chapter 1 of 7 - A Common Goal” by Jared Meeks

Submitted to Contest #180

It was just another typical, boring, completely ordinary, spring morning. Birds were singing, flowers were blooming, yada yada.Only, today was not just a typical morning. For Torrain..."Today's the day.", said Torrain, fresh out of bed, "I've got no time to waste, I've gotta get ready for my interview!".Torrain hopped out of his bed with a child-like excitement, as he stretched, and got himself ready to get himself ready.He took a shower, humming the whole way through, followed by a clean shave.Torrain looked deep into the mirror with a stee...

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“Hand of Fate” by Michelle Perry

Submitted to Contest #180

Fate parked outside the B&B, waiting for Georgia, though he knew he shouldn’t get involved. Even in this supernatural town, the name Noqoìlpi inspired fear. He-Who-Wins-Men. And this beautiful little human was hunting him. Her poker skills were impressive, but just because she’d cleared a table of amateurs at Chonky’s Bar last night didn’t mean she could take down a Navajo gambling god. His orange and black cross fox, Mel, crawled into his lap. Fate scratched behind his ears and cooed, “That one’s trouble. Just like you.” Georgi...

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“When Luck Goes Missing” by Caitlin McDaniel

Submitted to Contest #180

Rabbit’s feet. Horseshoes. Four-leaf clovers. Pennies. These are your common, run of the mill lucky charms. Mine was a five-foot, 80-year-old woman by the name of Estelle. She was a common sight at the craps table and a lover of 80s heavy metal. She was also my grandmother. It might seem odd to have a person as your good luck charm. I don’t think it’s any weirder than walking around with a dead rabbit’s foot in your pocket, though. It first became clear that she was my charm during elementary school. She made a point of comin...

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“Lost Property” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #180

The pretty tune of dread rings out, impossibly loud. So loud in the confined space of the corridor that I cringe in an attempt to make myself smaller, unseen. Those few discordant notes pierce the ominous silence and they announce the beginning of my end. The ripples of those sounds send me reeling and I clutch my neck. I clutch my neck knowing that everything has changed. It has gone. I look down at the metal slats beneath my feet and for a maddening moment, I consider the merits of a futile pursuit of the one thing I had left in ...

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“Atlas” by Sean O

Submitted to Contest #180

March Goodman grinned reassuringly. “You’ve got this.” Cassie wrinkled her nose at him. “Says you. Things have a tendency of working out for you.” She pulled a pair of dice from her jeans pocket, and March couldn’t help but wonder why she’d been carrying them around at all. They glinted red in the sunlight that streamed in through the Venetian blinds and filled up the coffee shop. She held them out to him. “It’ll be a 7.” March cautiously opened his hand, and she dropped the dice into it. He did as told, shaking them about for a moment befor...

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“Hit or Stay” by Ross Brewer

Submitted to Contest #180

The only game I know how to play is blackjack. But knowing how to play is very different than knowing how to win. Gambling isn’t something I get a thrill out of. However, since my somewhat close friend, Keith, is getting married in the Spring, I agreed to spectate as he and his brother test their fates on the tables. Keith and Terry are hypermasculine, the football type, but they are both under six foot and constantly express the regret I should have for not trying out as a six-foot-two introvert with mild haphephobia. The Mills Lodge C...

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“The Poet, the Gambler” by Cassandra Fan

Submitted to Contest #180

It is said that the glitz and glamor of the city casino rivals the shine of the stars themselves and that humanity, like moths to a flame, is too foolish to resist when the dazzling gates open forth. Humans like to pretend they’re better than the creatures that surround our world, but even those at the top of the chain fall for a carefully placed trap and some cheese. This night in question drew a greater crowd, for word had gone far that tonight would be one to remember forever. Within these gilded halls resided a man, a Great Gambler, know...

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“Monte Carlo” by Mark Nero

Submitted to Contest #180

There are many casinos in the world but none that felt as special as ‘le Casino de Monte-Carlo’. The exterior could be described as classically beautiful and palatial, while the interior envelopes you in elegance and sophistication. Being close to the Italian border, it received a fair share of the wealthy patrons from both France and Italia. Not including the international jet-setters or the mega-rich, who moored their sleek yachts in the harbor. Appearing to be part of the scene, I wore an Armani Tuxedo, gold Blancpain watch and, diam...

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“Easy & Slow” by Liam F

Submitted to Contest #180

Jack sat at his bench, as he did each night, and he considered smashing his head through the keys. No. This time, he wished the weight of the piano would be too much for the stained carpeting to bear and the gorgeous 1969 Steinway would fall all the way down to the first floor as a result. That’s where the ugliest, cheapest gamblers played. It would crush a few of them - if he was so lucky. Things were so different, now. Jack didn’t enjoy these recurring violently insipid thoughts and he really didn’t enjoy the pleasure it brought him. But, ...

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“THROW OF DICE” by Vijay Likhite

Submitted to Contest #180

THE THROW OF THE DICE Satish shut down the operating system, closed the notebook, and went for lunch. “Why do you take so much time to come when you are called? After the food is arranged on the table, it gets cold by the time you start eating. What is the use of serving hot food?” mother complained. “Aai, I wanted to complete writing one paragraph of my new story. If I break in between, the link is lost. And then it is very difficult to continue with the flow of the story.” “Oh! Great story writer. How many stories you have written so fa...

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$250

Prize money

214

Contest entries

100

Stories

Ended on 22:59 - Jan 13, 2023 EST

Won by Marilyn Filewood 🏆

Title: Come In Spinner

Submissions must be between 1,000 - 3,000 words and will be approved and published on Reedsy Prompts within 7 days of the contest closing.

Read the full terms & conditions or check out the FAQ if you have any questions!

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