- A compulsive gambler discovers a way to increase his winnings, but the method proves to be deadly.
- A compulsive gambler gets hold of a set of cursed tattoo needles that give him a winning streak - as long as he uses the needles to kill his victims. The gambler's grandfather seeks to protect the gambler when Micki, Ryan, and Jack come looking for the needles.—Gislef
- In Chinatown, the compulsive gambler Tommy Chen is a loser that owes money everywhere to keep his vicious, including to the dangerous owner of casino, Frankie Wong. After losing a large amount of money to Hai Kwan, Tommy follows the man and learns his secret to win. Kwan uses ancient tattoo needles to tattoo a woman and returns to the table. The tattoo comes to life and kills the woman, and Kwan wins lots of money. When Kwan leaves the casino, Tommy follows him and kills him to rob the case of needles. When his grandfather Lum Chen sees the case with the needles, he calls Jack to get rid of the evil object. But Tommy flees before Jack, Ryan and Micki arrive at his grandfather's home. Now, they need to find Tommy that continues his crime spree to win the game and make money.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- In the Chinatown district of the city, Tommy Chen is playing for high stakes in a restaurant gambling club. Tommy continues to lose, and fellow gambler Hai Kwan comments on how Tommy's luck is poor. Kwan's bodyguard A.J. says that Tommy is a loser, and Kwan chuckles in agreement. Disgusted, Tommy leaves the table, and he sees two men waiting for him. Tommy ducks out and the two men follow him.
The two men catch up Tommy in the kitchen. Tommy insists that his luck is going to change, and the leader Frankie Wong says that his high interest didn't bother Tommy when Tommy borrowed the money. Wong says that he can't keep letting Tommy off, and tells his henchman to cut off Tommy's thumb. Tommy begs for one more week, and the henchman slams the clear down to Tommy's hand. Wong gives Tommy 24 hours to pay off his debts, and Tommy quickly leaves.
Ducking into the basement, Tommy finds a woman tied to an overhead pipe. She's gagged, and Kwan tattoos a tattoo of an insect on the woman's leg with antique tattoo needles. He tells the woman that the needles are magic and let him win. Kwan leaves, and the insect tattoo comes to life.
Kwan returns to the table and wins big.
The insect crawls up beneath the woman's hair and bites her, killing her with its poison. Tommy, seeing it all, goes back up to the restaurant. He sees Kwan winning and leaves, and Kwan leaves a few seconds later with his winnings. Tommy secretly follows him down an alleyway, and when Kwan stops for a smoke, Tommy stabs him in the back and takes the needles from Kwan's pocket. The young man takes the winnings as well and leaves.
Tommy goes to his grandfather Lum Chen's herbal medicine shop, and goes to the apartment above the shop. Lum complains that Tommy is late, and figures that Tommy lost again. Tommy insists that things will change, and says that he'll be just as big as Wong. Lum berates him for running with the low-lifes and gambling every night, Tommy says that he's going to win from now on. As Tommy's sister Linda looks on from the next room, Lum notices Kwan's blood on Tommy's hand. Tommy claims that a girl at the club broke a glass and bled on Tommy, and Tommy goes to clean it off.
Linda steps into the room and tells Lum that Tommy will settle down. Lum doesn't believe it, and says that Tommy is a compulsive gambler like his father. Meanwhile, Tommy goes to the bathroom and washes the blood off of his hands. Lum goes into Tommy's room and sees the tattoo needles on Tommy's bed where Tommy left them. He finds a sticker for Lewis Vendredi Antiques on the bottom of the case,
At Curious Goods, the trio are inventorying the goods. Lum calls and Jack answers. Jack confirms what the store used to be called, and Lum describes the needles to him. Micki and Ryan check the manifest for tattoo needles, and Jack tells Lum that they'd be glad to buy the needles back from him. He gets Lum's address and says that they'll be there, and Tommy overhears Lum talking and breaks the connection.
Tommy demands the needles back from his grandfather, claiming that he bought them on the street. Lum says that the writing on the case says great evil, and he won't allow them in his house. The old man says that he has made arrangements to return them to the people who sold them. Tommy insists that he needs the needles, takes the case, and knocks Lum to the floor. Lum stares at his grandson in shock, and Tommy leaves.
Linda comes to Lum's aid, and he asks what happened to the needles. Meanwhile, Tommy goes to an opium den and finds abducts a woman blissed out from the drug. He tattoos a design on her stomach.
The trio arrive at Lum's apartment and Linda answers the door. Jack sees the injured Lum and introduces himself, and asks what happened to the needles. Lum claims that a robber took them, and Micki and Ryan notice a photo of Linda and Tommy together. Once Linda and Lum go to the next room, Ryan points out that there is no sign of a break-in. He figures Lum is covering up for someone, and the trio leave.
Tommy finishes tattooing a spider on the woman's stomach. He leaves and the woman dozes off. Tommy goes back to the restaurant and joins the game. At the opium den, the spider comes to life and kills the woman. In the game, Tommy wins big once the woman dies. He laughs and eventually leaves with his winnings, and finds Kwan waiting for him near the door. Wong takes Tommy's winnings, and Tommy says that he's on a roll. Wong says that Tommy should have no trouble paying him back the rest of what he owes him, says that he likes Tommy, and gives Tommy ten dollars to use as stake money to win the rest of the money he owes Wong.
The next day, Ryan goes to a shop and learns from the owner about Lum's grandson, Tommy, and how he's a compulsive gambler. Jack has Micki talk to Linda.
Tommy returns to Lum's apartment, and apologizes to Lum for what happened. He shows Lum the money he won, saying it's all for Lum. Lum doesn't want it and tells his nephew to get out of his sight.
That night, the trio return to the store and see Tommy leave. Ryan recognizes him from the photo and follows him. Jack and Micki go to the apartment, while Ryan follows Tommy to the restaurant. A.J. congratulates Tommy, who says that he has tattoo needles that guarantee his luck. He offers to show them to A.J. and leads him off. Ryan follows them to the basement, and watches from the shadows as Tommy tattoos A.J.'s chest with a demon claw. Once he's done, Tommy tells A.J. to wait there until the ink dries, and then A.J. will win big. Tommy goes up to the game, and starts playing.
Micki and Jack have tea with Lum and Linda, and Lum refuses to tell them anything about Tommy. When Jack warns that Tommy may be involved in something dangerous, Lum ushers them out. Linda asks Micki if Tommy is in danger. When Micki says that he is, Linda tells her where the restaurant is.
Ryan continues watching A.J., who hears Ryan, When Ryan finds the first woman's corpse and jumps out in surprise, A.J. figures Ryan killed the woman and attacks him. A.J. grabs a board and prepares to hit Ryan with it, and the claw comes to life and rips out of A.J.'s chest, then chokes him to death.
As A.J. dies, Tommy starts winning.
Micki and Jack leave the apartment, figuring that Tommy hit Lum and Tommy found some way to make the needles pay.
Ryan comes up from the basement, while the restaurant manager accuses Tommy of cheating. Tommy says that there are other games in town and leaves. Wong and his henchman grab Tommy as he leaves, and Tommy says he has just had a temporary setback and Wong will get his money. The mobster warns Tommy that there's not much time left, and leaves with his henchman.
Ryan follows Tommy out but loses him. Micki and Jack pull up in the car, and Ryan explains that the tattoos come to life and Tommy has to kill to win. Jack figures Tommy went looking for another game.
Tommy goes back to the shop and searches for his grandfather's Ming cases. Lum catches him, and Tommy tells his grandfather to stay out of his way. The two men struggle, and the vases shatter on the floor. and Tommy walks out in disgust. He goes to a phone booth and calls around to find a game with his friend, Lee. Lee hangs up on Tommy, and Tommy calls Wong and says that he needs more time because no one will let him play. Wong refuses, demanding his money, and Tommy says that he'll do anything. The mob boss tells Tommy to go home and wait for him to be in touch. He then tells his henchman, Chang, that they have a player and the game is on.
Tommy returns to the shop and sits down to wait. Wong eventually arrives and says that he has a game for Tommy. Tommy readily agrees to play, and Wong says that it's the ultimate game of chance. Wong gives Tommy the address to be at precisely at 11, then leaves. Once Tommy leaves, Linda follows him, having overheard the whole thing.
Outside the trio are waiting and approach Tommy as he comes out. Wong and Chang stop them, Chang holding a gun on them. As the two criminals lead the trio off, Wong asks why they came to Chinatown and says that they're not wanted. The mob boss tells them to leave Tommy to do what he must, then gets in his car and leaves. Meanwhile, Linda follows Tommy.
Wong and Chang take the trio to the basement of an abandoned apartment. Jack warns Wong that it's kidnapping and he's in over his head, and Chang pistol-whips him. Once the criminals lock the trio up, they leave.
Lum finds the discarded piece of paper with the address on the floor of his shop. He calls to his grandchildren but gets no response.
Tommy goes to the address, and Linda secretly follows him.
Ryan looks for a way out of the basement, and finds a box of fireworks. He shows them to Micki and Ryan, and they set the fireworks up blow open the door. They go to Lum's shop and ask Lum where Tommy is. Lum tells them to go, saying that his family is his business. Jack says that Tommy is going to kill someone, and Lum hesitates.
Tommy returns to the restaurant and grabs a bus boy, preparing to tattoo him. Linda comes in and interrupts, and Tommy lets the bus boy go. When Linda asks what her brother is doing, Tommy tells her to go and that she cost him his life. Linda begs Tommy to let her help him, and he grabs her, ties her up, and takes out the tattoo needles.
Lum lets the trio into his apartment, and Jack warns that Linda could die if she's with Tommy. Lum gives them the paper with the address, and says that there's a game there. He gives Jack a needle from a monastery, and it carries the mark of Lum's grandfather: a healer. Jack sends Micki to the address, then bows to Lum and Lum bows back.
Tommy arrives at the game, and the manager tells him that he's on time. The manager explains that they're playing "life", and leads Tommy to a table in front of a crowd. Another man is seated on the other side of the table, a Lazy Susan between them. Tommy sits down, and the manager takes out a revolver and says that they'll be playing Russian Roulette.
Ryan and Jack go to the restaurant and find Linda ties up on a table. Tommy's snake tattoo has come to life and is crawling up Linda's chest.
The manager loads the revolver with one bullet and puts it on the Lazy Susan. He spins it and it comes to Tommy first. Tommy aims the revolver at his head and pulls the trigger, and nothing happens. Tommy's dead-eyed opponent takes the revolver and does the same, and the hammer drops on an empty chamber.
Jack identifies the snake as a coral snake and deadly.
Tommy takes the revolver and is unharmed on the next shot. His opponent fires the gun next and is similarly unharmed.
Jack uses a straw from a nearby glass as an improvised blowgun, and blows Lum's needle into the snake... killing it.
Micki joins the gamblers and watches as Tommy takes the revolver for the fifth shot.
Jack kills the tattoo snake with the needle.
Tommy shoots himself in the head, killing himself.
Linda says that Tommy tried to kill her
As the gamblers pass their bets, Micki takes the needle case from Tommy's corpse and leaves.
The next day back at the shop, Jack locks the needles away in the vault. Lum and Linda come in and Lum thanks them for saving Linda. He gives them the needle in thanks, and says that he believes the trio are very much a part of the old world. Jack says that they haven't lost the values of honor and family, and Lum figures that Jack is a healer. Leading Lum off, Jack says that he's always been interested in the art.
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