Justice League of America #35

Issue Details

Synopsis

"Royal Pain!, Chapter One: Luck of the Draw!" The Royal Flush Gang attacks the Startopia Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, and after taking out the casino's security force, they hold the occupants hostage. Firestorm and Vixen are on the Watchtower when the news report of the siege comes through. They send out a call to the remaining members of the League and head to Vegas, where they are joined by Dr. Light, Red Tornado and Plastic Man. After a minor tiff between Dr. Light and Plastic Man, the Royal Flush Gang finally reveals their demands: Unless every casino on the strip pays them twenty-five million dollars, they will start killing hostages. The League storms in and the battle begins; at one point the Red Tornado flies too close to a giant pile of money that was on display for a poker tournament, causing the bills to fly apart, and the Gang manages to escape in the chaos. Afterward, the League discusses the next course of action; at the same time, one of the hostages, a young woman meets with King. She delivers the proprietary nanotech the casino had been using on their slots and other machines to increase the odds of small wins while decreasing the chance of big wins, which had been the true purpose of the so-called hostage situation. King tells the young woman that Wild Card, their boss, will be pleased, and that she has received a promotion from a Five to a Six; King then relays the successful theft to Wild Card, who is revealed to be Professor Amos Fortune, while the latter playing a game with Roulette. Roulette is upset with the cards she has been dealt, as her side in the fracas was the Justice League, but Amos dismisses her concerns and suggests that they let their little game truly begin.