Thursday, February 3, 2011

The Lucky Shot Casino

Built between 1920-22, The Lucky Shot was one of the new oasis towers that went up with the explosion of the Kayr ad-Din Dueling circuit onto the global scene via the Hermes network. It was funded by the Badlands Caravan Guild, the Forzi and Granis Cartels and Spider Jahmoon.


The Lucky Shot was built with Gear Duellists in mind, the two main vehicle hangars, pointing North and South respectively, immediately split up and down ramps to allow generous access for gears to two gear bays. Continuing straight on ground level one finds a standard vehicle bay for trucks and passenger vehicles.

The upper levels (above ground) are limited to two floors. Immediately above gear Bay 1 is the high-roller V.I.P floor of the Casino. The large circular room hosts a variety of games and sunken semi-private viewing lounges to watch the Duelling tournaments in small groups. The outer circumference of the floor is slightly raised and afford the gamblers at their card tables a panoramic view of KAD. The upper most floor, directly bellow the Main Solar Array, is reserved for the Casino offices and counting rooms and main security station hugging the inner column. The outer periphery is reserved for a number of private apartments and temporary residences. Each is self contained and most have a split level mezzanine and can accommodate 2-3 bedrooms.

The Central Column has a central shaft which provides utilities and freight up and down throughout the complex. There are also three public lifts and one private. Certain floors have limited access. The Two Gear Bays are generous and laid out like a wagon wheel with nooks for each gear. Some of these are rented out, while others are always available for parking. The Guild maintains the majority of its sponsored teams in Gear Bay 1, the rook of which is transparent so the V.I.P lounge can have a birds-eye view of the activity bellow.

The bulk of the oasis tower is the distinctive casino floor. Built on five cascading floors, the enormous room is connected by escalators at 6 points. Sometimes called the Arena Hall, it is built like an arena so that each level has a clear view of the central column. The entire room, spanning an impressive 25m from floor to rafters can view the real-time projection of a duelling event on the largest tri-deo projector in the Badlands. 10m in height and wrapping all around the central column, the tri-deo screen is tied into every major arena in Kayr ad-Din and displays the events with astonishing realism. In addition to the viewing, there are thousands of individual terminals providing access to odds on every match. Arena Hall allows more than gambling, the area is also ideally designed for concert events which the Hermes can broadcast in from around the planet.

Above the tri-deo screen, hanging from the rafters is Flush, one of KAD finest dining establishments. A blend of Northern and Southern dishes with a distinctive Badlands touch make it a favourite detour even for those with no interest in games of chance.

As with all other oasis towers, the Lucky Shot is mostly self contained, with solar energy and a back up generator. It reclaims and recycles 99.8% of its water and air. The lowest floor is restricted and provides the kitchens for the restaurant as well as administrative offices, dorms for staff when necessary, meat lockers, stores and of course the vault.

The entire Casino is designed as an intelligence gathering tool. Every financial transaction is recorded. Scanners capture the images, spending habits and even preferences in food and drink of each customer. Every public section of the casino is wired with bugs to record conversations which are then sifted through by computers and stored by key words for later retrieval. When docked in the Gear Bay alcoves, the gears are scanned for technical data. One final security precaution is a secret egress on the North side leading towards the TNTR tower.

3 comments :

Heavy Josh said...

The tunnel may lead northwards, but not directly to the TNTR tower. That's just way, way too far.

Certain Betrayal said...

As written, towards. It never said it lead into the TNTR.

Heavy Josh said...

Yes, but it's ambiguous.


 
Hermes 72 - Heavy Gear RPG - Most artwork Copyright 2002 Dream Pod 9, Inc.