“I own you”
Michelle’s freedom is in jeopardy as she gambles with her life.
Casino bar dancer Michelle (Carmel Fisher) has been bitter and filled with hatred for head of security Pieter (Louis Minnaar) ever since he murdered her dad Rafik (Kevin Smith) in season 1 in 2013. While he’s been protected by the powerful King family, she’s been living from paycheque to paycheque. Now the allure of illegal gambling is about to prove too great on Tuesday 15 December…
POKER FACE
Carmel says that Michelle takes poker lessons from Ernest (Saint Seseli) on Wednesday 9 December because she is in desperate need of cash. “He convinces her that she can make a ton of money. She sees this as a way out of her doom and gloom… she may have the same addictive gambling gene as her dad.” But what Michelle doesn’t know is that Ernest is recruiting her for The Stack Sharks, an underground gambling ring… and once you’re in their debt, you owe them for the rest of your life. Pieter tells Michelle not to trust Ernest but she brushes him off. Louis adds that the two don’t have a great relationship because of what he did to her dad, “but Pieter would never wish a life of gambling on anyone – even her.” Ready for action, she takes a bag of cash from Ernest later on Wednesday 9 December for her first game of poker. And she loses it all!
IN TOO DEEP
On Tuesday 15 December, Ernest sets up a poker game at rival casino Ace Of Spades when Michelle’s meant to be working. Seeing only dollar signs, she ditches work and with a new bag of money, she gambles. And it pays off when Michelle wins R250 000. She’s overjoyed, says Carmel, adding that “the rush almost takes over but Michelle realises that she must pay Ernest back. But when she tries to pay him, she’s told that he now owns her.”
HIGH STAKES
Desperate, Michelle turns to Pieter on Wednesday 16 December. He has a plan: he’ll challenge Ernest to a poker game… his R10 million reward money from rescuing now-dead King heir Markus (Kiran Prigge) from kidnappers in July against Michelle’s debt. They square off that day in Ernest’s hotel room, and according to Louis, his character is worried. “Poker may be a game of wit, but it’s also one of luck. He may be good at cards, but he also needs to find Ernest’s tell [bluffing tactics]. If not, he’ll lose.”