"Danny Savino, the floor manager at the Sapphire Lady Casino in Atlantic City was found dead in his office this morning." Hotch says.
"Blunt force trauma to the head. An empty wallet and money clip left next to the body." Rossi says.
"Mug shot. This guy's got a record." Derek says.
"Savino was a member of the Agnoli crime family." Rossi says.
"Sorry. Sorry." Penelope apologizes as she walks in late. She takes a seat.
"They're active in the Atlantic City area." Rossi says.
"It looks like a robbery gone bad." Emily says. Bedelia watches Derek wave to get Penelope's attention but she diverts her gaze from him.
"Why was the BAU called in?" Bedelia asks.
"8 one dollar bills surrounding an 8 card. That's highly ritualistic." Spencer says.
"And because Savino has ties to organized crime, agents in New Jersey are worried about things escalating." Hotch says.
"Well, it doesn't take much to ignite a mob war." Derek says.
"And collateral damage means nothing to these guys." Rossi says. "If we don't get a handle on this soon, innocent people are gonna die."
+++
"No question, Godfather II, hands down." Emily says.
"No, no, gotta be Scarface." Derek argues.
"For me, The Untouchables." JJ says. "Spence?"
"Mm. Probably Le Cercle Rouge, the 1970s French classic. But Den Tredje Vaagan is definitely a close second." He says.
"Yeah, that was my runner up, too." Emily says, smiling in amusement at the others.
"What about you, Rossi? Best ever gangster flick." JJ says.
"I've had too much of the real thing to be a fan of mob movies." Rossi says.
"Garcia, did we get the crime scene surveillance video yet?" Hotch asks.
"No, sir, because there wasn't any." She says.
"That's not possible. Every inch of the casino is surveilled every minute of every day." Spencer says.
"Yeah. Apparently the footage was tampered with, so..." Penelope says.
"All right, Reid and Prentiss, go to the crime scene. Dave, you and JJ find out if Savino was involved in anything the local authorities don't know about. Morgan, Davis, and I will contact the local FBI office and arrange a ceasefire with the families." Hotch instructs.
+++
"We appreciate your cooperation." Hotch says before leading the two men out. "Agent Goslin." He greets as she walks in, followed by Emily and Spencer.
"Any luck with our mob bosses?" She asks.
"Well, I think we bought some time." Derek says.
"What about the crime scene?" Hotch asks.
"Savino purposely bypassed the standard casino security." Emily says.
"And I think we know why." Rossi says as he and JJ walk in.
"Danny Savino supplemented his income by loaning money to casino patrons." JJ says.
"It explains why he changed the camera in his office. He didn't want his bosses to know he was freelancing." Spencer says.
"So we're looking for a gambler." Hotch says.
"A gambler in Atlantic City." Emily says.
"Should be super easy, right?" Bedelia remarks.
+++
"$88. The unsub's getting generous." Spencer says.
"There's less rage than the others." Emily notes. "And undoing. There's evidence of remorse. Shot in the back so he wouldn't have to face his victim."
"No robbery this time, either. Wallet's intact, except for anything to ID him." Spencer says.
"Is this even the same killer?" Goslin asks.
"The ritual's too similar to discount it." Hotch says.
"The change in M.O. makes sense if the unsub is still refining his system. Maybe killing the cashier at the gas station didn't work, so he's back to the drawing board." Emily says.
"Two 8s instead of one could also be significant. I know in China the number 8 symbolizes prosperity. The more 8s the better. As a matter of fact, in Chungdu a telephone number consisting of all 8s recently sold for over a quarter million dollars." Spencer informs.
"So why would he be doubling up on his luck out here, away from all the casinos?" Emily asks.
"There's been another killing. A guest in his room at the Sapphire Lady." Goslin says.
"Same ritual?" Hotch asks.
"No. His neck was broken. And he was robbed of 50,000. But the strange thing is the killer left nearly 20,000 behind with the body." Goslin says.
"Garcia, is there a casino in the neighborhood of Penrose and Morningside Avenue?" Hotch asks.
"Uh... no casinos per se, but there's a private gambling establishment right around the corner." Penelope says.
"Is it legal?" Spencer asks.
"Yeah. But it's ultra exclusive. They have a monthly high stakes poker tournament, today being the day for the month, coincidentally enough." Penelope says.
"Or no coincidence at all." Emily says.
"What's the buy in?" Hotch asks.
"Um... yikies. $50,000. But it's a million dollar guarantee if you win." Penelope says.
"What time does it start?"
"Later this afternoon." She says.
"Thanks." Hotch hangs up.
+++
"Forensics got a fingerprint on the last victim." Goslin says, walking in. "Eddie Langdon. We're looking into him."
"Hey, any luck?" Emily asks Hotch.
"No. They don't want to allocate agency funds for the buy-in." Hotch says. "I'm still working on it." He walks out.
"Well, I can't imagine why not. We're only asking for 50,000 bucks of taxpayer money so that FBI agents can play Texas Hold 'Em." Rossi remarks.
"Hey, what about you?" Emily asks.
"What about me what?" Rossi asks.
"You could stake us the buy-in." Emily says.
"Yeah, you're a best selling author." Spencer says, sitting down.
"No." Rossi answers.
"Why not?" Bedelia asks.
"One, it's against regulations, and I'd like to hold on to this job for a little while longer." Rossi says.
"It's a minor administrative violation." JJ says.
"And two, I prefer to spend my money on actual things, like single malt scotch, a fine cigar, beautiful artwork." Rossi says.
"Poker chips are things." Emily reasons.
"Maybe just think of it as like a new experience. I mean, at your age, how often does that happen?" Spencer asks. Bedelia snorts.
"At my what?" Rossi asks.
"Rossi, this may be our only chance to get this guy." JJ says.
"All right. Fine." He relents. "I'm a decent poker player. But I can't promise that I can stay in the game long enough to--"
"Well, Rossi, I-I'm sure you're great, but... I vote we send in Spencer." Bedelia says.
"Seconded." Emily nods.
"I am banned from casinos in Las Vegas, Laughlin, and Parump because of my card counting ability." Spencer says.
"See? Exactly. Let's make this the fourth city." Bedelia smiles.
"Look, I know I'm not a genius like the boy wonder here, but poker is not blackjack. It's about bluffing, reading human nature, head games. It's not math." Rossi says.
"That's not entirely accurate." Spencer argues, getting up and going to the board. "There actually is a mathematical equation for knowing when to raise and when to fold. If P represents the size of the pot at the time of the play, then P times N minus one, with N representing the estimated number of players in the final round of betting--"
"Okay, fine. I surrender. Just try not to lose all of my money." Rossi says. Spencer snaps his fingers and gives him a thumbs up.
+++
They finished the case and are back home.
"Wanna get pizza?" Spencer asks, standing by Bedelia's desk.
"Uh... yeah. Yeah, sure." She nods. "Only if we get ice cream, too."
"Deal." Spencer agrees. "Why ice cream?"
"It's, uh... that certain time of the month. Ice cream sounds super delightful." Bedelia states.
"Right. Yeah, okay." Spencer nods, the two starting to leave. "Are you cramping? Does anything hurt?"
"I'm good, Spence. I just want pizza and ice cream." Bedelia says.
"Okay." Spencer nods, relaxing a little.