All Bets Down

Michael MacKensie and Sarah Wilinski travel from Atlantic City to Cape May to the Bahamas and back again trying to take themselves seriously and to make their world real through work and love. Through MacKensie's position as advisor to an Atlantic City investor, and through his own turn at the blackjack tables, this philosophical, touching, and sensual narrative lends perspective to the place of gaming in the world. Set in the years of Atlantic City's dominance, just before the proliferation of casinos on the East Coast, All Bets Down is first and foremost a thoughtful and provocative love story.

Ron Gaskill was born in Atlantic City and lives with his wife Susan in Northfield, New Jersey. He was educated at Penn State University and at San Francisco State University. Mr. Gaskill is the author of "At School and Other Poems" and "The Wisdom of Christopher Murphy," and he is editor of Jerseyworks, an online journal of the arts.