When the Winner Lost

By Anthony M. Rud

A broke, disgraced pilot is recruited by a discreet handler who outfits him in money, clothes, and access-then gives one rule: from now on, he must be a consistent loser. His job is to look rich, careless, and irresistibly exploitable, shedding cash in public games until the right observers decide he fits a certain profile.

Chicago's backrooms and club floors reward performance as much as luck. Crooked dice, staged etiquette, and polite conversation mask a system built to sort victims from threats. The more convincingly he plays the fool, the more he feels unseen eyes measuring his instincts and his nerve. When a private invitation finally comes, it isn't a compliment-it's a doorway into a higher game where walking away is not guaranteed.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 166766509X
• ISBN13: 9781667665092
• Release Date: February 2026
• Publisher: Wildside Press
• Length: 118 Pages
• Weight: 0.34 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"