Narrator: Now he had become the still center of that spinning wheel of misfortune. The world turned 'round him, leaving him miraculously untouched. The croupier had reached his goal: he no longer heard the sound of the ball.

Giles: Let me give you three words of advice, Jack: don't give up. Stick with it. Who persists wins, that's my motto. Write, write, write.
Nar: And Jack had three words for Giles: go fuck yourself.

Nar: It had taken him 45 minutes but Jack now had Mr. Reynolds' number -- the man couldn't count.

Nar: Hang on tightly, let go lightly.

Nar: The usual bunch. They didn't know jack, but he knew them.

Nar: A wave of elation came over him. He was hooked again. Watching people lose.

Jack: I'm not an enigma, just a contradiction.

Bella: How do I look?
Nar: Like trouble, Bella.
Jack: You look fine.

Nar: Jack started to dress for the casino at home, a man in love with his uniform. Like a musician in his tuxedo going to the concert hall on public transport, eager to perform.

Jack: I hate cheats.
Bella: All men are cheats.
Jack: Are they?
Bella: Fools.

Nar: Jack suddenly had the feeling that he was transparent, that Bella could see right through him.

Nar: The hands of a conjurer... or a card sharp.

Nar: He watched their faces as they lost... hour after hour, night after night, relentlessly. He questioned the conventional wisdom that gamblers are self-destructive. He had come to believe that, in reality, they want to destroy everyone else. Their families, loved ones, everyone. Fuck over the whole world.

Marion: Are you ever tempted to gamble?
Jack: Never. Why do you ask?
Marion: Can just imagine, being around so much money all the time.
Jack: Gambling's not about money.
Marion: Really?
Jack: Gambling's about not facing reality. Ignoring the odds.
Marion: I must be a fool. I never think about the odds.

Marion: Why did you take the money?
Jack: I hate public transport.

Nar: It's all numbers, the croupier thought. Spin of the wheel, turn of the card, time of your life, date of your birth, year of your death. In the book of numbers, the Lord said, thou shalt count thy steps.

Det. Ross: You didn't recognize the man who attacked you, did you?
Jack: Of course I fucking recognized him.
Det. Ross: You did?
Jack: I know a cheat when I see one. The man was a cheat.

Nar: The world breaks everyone, and afterwards many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break, it kills. It kills the very good, and the very gentle, and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these, you can be sure it will kill you too, but there will be no special hurry.

Nar: It gave him an exquisite pleasure being an underground man. With all his money, he hadn't even bought a car.

Nar: Now, he had reached the point where he no longer heard the sound of the ball. The spin of the wheel had brought him home to the place where he was born. The croupier's mission was accomplished. He was master of the game. He had acquired the power to make you lose.