The R.O.I.

"You usually don't play cash games," a poker dealer said as we passed the poker room entrance Thursday night.

"True," we replied. "But I'm here for something else."

We explained an unusual Thursday night trip to Kansas Star Casino was for a blackjack tournament. It guarantees a $20,000 prize pool with a $10,000 top prize, for a mere $35 buy-in.

Since we've had small gains at times playing blackjack and the buy-in was less than for a casino poker tournament, we decided to try it. Thursday's first night of qualifying had room for 108 players - but apparently not every seat was filled, as the Director invited late entries on the house mic before the third round.

We sat at a table of six in the first round, with a starting stack of $500 in chips. Everyone had 18 hands to build the biggest stack they could, using regular blackjack rules.

When the first count was taken after 12 hands, we had $962.50. That put us second at our table. But with the top 30 players on the evening advancing to the semifinals, would that be good enough?

Not knowing where "the cut" would come (to borrow from golf), we increased our betting in the last six hands. Ups and downs came, but a $250 payoff on the final hand gave us a final count of $912.50. That was second-best at our table, behind a man with $1,275. Two players went for it all on the final hand, and went bust.

We had to wait until 9:30 p.m. for the evening rankings to be revealed - and we were satisfied to place 19th. First place had $3,075, while the 30th-place cut was $640. All 30 of us move on to the semifinals 22 February, but we'll have to do better then. Only the top player at each table will move on to the finals, and only the top six finishers overall will make money.

"This reminds me of Jeopardy," we told a woman next to us at the table - as in how much to wager and when. We started at $25, and increased slowly from there as our stack grew.

But our 82.5% chip gain reminded us of something else. It's a parable of Jesus....

He said: "A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. 'Put this money to work,' he said, 'until I come back.'" - Luke 19:12-13

In this familiar Bible story, most of the servants put their "chip stacks" of one mina each to work. Eventually the king returned to check on them:

The first one came and said, "Sir, your mina has earned ten more." "Well done, my good servant," his master replied. "Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities." - Luke 19:16-17

A big reward for the servant who increased his stack by 1,000%! Another servant had a 500% return on investment, and received a five-city payoff (verses 18-19).

Then another servant came and said, "Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it away in a piece of cloth. I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man...." - Luke 19:20-21

As someone told us at a poker night in Georgia years ago, "Scared money don't win." It didn't win here....

His master replied: "I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant!... Why then didn't you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?" - Luke 19:22-23

Refusing to bet the $500 at the blackjack tournament would not have made the cut. The king wound up removing the mina from the scared servant (verse 24). A parallel report of the parable offers this lesson from it....

For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. - Matthew 25:29

This parable has meaning far outside the casino walls. Jesus went to heaven to become King of Kings, and He'll come back to earth someday....

For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. - Matthew 16:27

Among other things, Jesus will check to see what you've done with the "talents" (to use King James English) that God has given you. It's called the day of judgment:

...The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. - Revelation 20:12

You may think your "chip stack" in life is small. But God has given each of us the breath of life. What are you doing with that, to provide an "ROI" for what the "royal original Immanuel" has provided you?