Crapshoot

At the Colosseum Casino in Las Vegas Nevada, a compulsive gambler enters and spends his last silver dollar on a slot machine he has been playing for quite some time. Hoping for a jackpot, the man loses the game and his temper. Pulling a gun he shoots the slot machine sending coins scattering all over the floor. As people scramble to grab the ill-gotten winnings, the man with the gun threatens to shoot another patron if people keep picking up the money. The commotion attracts the attention of the casino's owner, mobster Michael Berengetti. As security surrounds the man and tries to diffuse the situation, Berengetti realizes that things are quickly getting out of control. He warns the man if he doesn't stand down and surrender to the authorities he will have to summon his enforcer, a man known as Mr. Fixit. The mere mention of Mr. Fixit's name is enough to frighten the man enough to drop his gun and surrender. When the police come for the man, Berengetti tells the officers that he never wants to see this man in his casino again.

Returning to his office, Berengetti finds a man named Harry who has come on behalf of his boss, a mobster by the name of Anthony Gold. Michael is unimpressed by this intruder, and even less amused to learn that Gold is coming in from Chicago to take a stake of Las Vegas. Knowing that Gold deals in drugs and tells Harry that he wants nothing to do with that sort of business and orders him out of his office. Michael is then joined by his wife Suzi, who tells him that Mr. Fixit is starting to get grumpy and they decide that perhaps some female attention will put him in better spirits. Suzi calls her friend Mona at her apartment and the two arrange a blind date for Mr. Fixit and Mona's roommate Marlo Chandler. Due to Marlo's larger physique, she finds the idea of dating a man who meets her stature, especially someone as mysterious as Mr. Fixit, to be incredibly enticing and agrees to go on a date with him.

Later that evening, Harry reports back to his boss Anthony Gold, who decides that more extreme measures need to be taken with Michael Berengetti. At that moment, Marlo Chandler is arriving at the Colosseum for her date while Michael and his wife are leaving to hit up the town. The Berengetti's soon find their limo surrounded by cars driven by Gold's minions and they force them to follow a specific route. Suspecting trouble, Berengetti activates a warning beacon built into his walking stick. Back at the Colosseum, Marlo Chandler is instantly shocked at the sight of Mr. Fixit, who tells her to wait for him while he answers the summons from his boss. Meanwhile, Berengetti is taken to a burned out hotel where Anthony Gold plans to set up shop. There, Anthony once again makes his offer to Berengetti, but the rival mobster still isn't interested.

The pair come to blows, but when Berengetti begins gaining the upper hand, Gold's men pull a gun on him and his wife. Before they can be executed, Mr. Fixit arrives, smashing in through the roof. Unknown to all, apparently, Fixit is actually the Hulk. As Fixit moves towards the men attacking his boss they begin to open fire on the Hulk. Their bullets only succeed in ruining the Hulk's tailor made suit. The Hulk makes short work of Gold's men while Gold tries to flee the scene. The Hulk manages to catch him, but Berengetti tells him not to kill Anthony, much to the Hulk's dismay. Instead, he knocks Gold out and leaps off to continue his date. The following morning Marlo Chandler practically floats out of the Colosseum after such a satisfying evening with Mr. Fixit. From his room, the Hulk stands in defiance of the rising sun. He is satisfied that Gorsham's claims that he will remain the Hulk indefinitely turned out to be true. However, he suddenly finds that the sunlight begins to burn his skin and the Hulk suspects that Banner might be responsible. The Hulk then lashes out, angry that even here, where he has it all and a life that suits him, that the Bruce Banner continues to interfere with his life.

While back at the burned out casino, Anthony Gold recovers from the love tap he got from the Hulk. Not willing to give up staking a claim in Las Vegas, he has decided to call in super-powered help by hiring the Absorbing Man to deal with Mr. Fixit.

Recurring Characters

Hulk, Marlo Chandler, Michael Berengetti, Suzi Berengetti, Maggia (Antony Gold), Absorbing Man, Mona

Continuity Notes

• There are a number of casinos that appear in the opening sequence of this story. Of them are the New Frontier, the Dunes and the Stardust. The Dunes was closed in 1993 while the other two casinos were closed in 2007. As such their appearances here should be considered topical references per the Sliding Timescale of Earth-616. Likewise the building that Anthony Gold sets up shop in is said to be damaged in a fire from "a month ago". This is a reference to the PEPCON disaster, an industrial accident that burned 10 square miles of Las Vegas in May of 1988. This should also be considered a topical reference.

• How the Hulk survived the gamma bomb explosion of Incredible Hulk #345 and how he managed to remain the Hulk even after sunrise is revealed in Incredible Hulk #351-352.