1587: "Sky Masterson"

0:00In the gambling world, Damon Runyon wrote about men lived by odds. Dice rolled in back rooms, wagers moved across tables, and reputations were built on who was willing to risk the most. In that world, one gambler stood above the rest. His name was Sky Masterson. Sky first appeared in Damon Runyon's 1933 short story, The Idol of Miss Sarah Brown. Like many of Runyon's characters, he moved through broadways underworld of floating crap games and light night wagers. But Sky Masterson was not just another gambler. He was the man other gamblers watched. The one who never seemed worried about the next role. When the musical Guys and Dolls opened on Broadway in 1950, Sky became the smooth operator at the center of the story. A gambler who walked into any room, already looking as though he understood how the bet would end.

1:04Then one night a wager appeared that seemed impossible. Another gambler named Nathan Detroit offered $1,000. The bet was simple. Sky had to convince a straight-lays Salvation Army missionary named Sarah Brown to join him for dinner in Havana, Cuba. For most gamblers, the answer was obvious. No chance. But Sky Masterson built his reputation on wagers. Nobody else would take. So he accepted. What followed became one of Broadway's most famous stories. The gambler who trusted probability more than people suddenly faced something that could not be calculated. Honesty. Sarah Brown refused to play his game. She was not impressed by money, reputation, or smooth talk. Slowly the man who bet on everything began to discover something that gamblers rarely trust. People. Sky Masterson remains one of Broadway's most

2:04recognizable gamblers, not because he always wins, but because he learns the lesson gamblers least expect. Sometimes the biggest gamble is believing someone might actually mean what they say. These are interesting things with J.C.