Compared to me, casino shills are losing color, They are just suckers whom I easily can beat! Please, send me on a business trip to Monte Carlo, I’ll teach their grifters how to stack and cheat! The local malls or local beauties aren’t my goals, Blackjack and keeno - that’s my job and fun! Casino dealers, licking dust beneath my soles, Will cry for mercy - but I’ll hit and run! My bets on red, my bets on black will all be winners, It’s sleight of hand and you should never call it “theft”, And in the end in their numerous casinos But massive tables, green and empty, will be left! I will enjoy the beach, so colorful and sunny, I’ll drink good wine - they know what to serve! I will return, my suitcase jammed with their money, I’ll hand it straight to our national reserve! It’s not a joke, it’s a real proposition, To death I’m sentenced, but my plan can change my fate - Replace my verdict with this foreign expedition, I will be useful to my dear State!
© George Tokarev. Translation, 2003
Edited by Robert Titterton