“Noisy. Quiet places are the noisiest.”

“Every action has a reaction,everything we do or say has an effect.”

“He wondered if this, more than guilt, was what had been holding him back. It wasn't that he was punishing himself as much as it was that he didn't really want anything anymore. But was that true? Did he really not want anything? What did he want to do? What did he want, period?”

“I can win anytime. Kevin's going to go back to Burbank and tell everybody in his cubicle how he won at the Golden Nugget. Sometimes the pot isn't the money.”

“Always concentrate on how far you have come, rather than how far you have left to go. The difference in how easy it seems will amaze you.”

“But girls . . . girls, mishandled, are a menace.”

“That's it, he rasped. Hump me. Are you a dog? Are you a dog in heat? You my dog? He slapped me again. Speak, puppy.”