The Princess of Las Vegas

Marisa is interested in cryptocurrency but is surprised Betsy is going to work for Futurium because she isn’t good with numbers and math.

Crissy wonders if she would have still called Congresswoman Schweiker if she knew what would happen. She concludes that she would have still made the phone calls, regardless of the consequences.

Crissy performs her second show of the night and sees Yevgeny in the audience. Earlier, she called Congresswoman Schweiker twice but got no response. She assumes that the congresswoman is having her team look into her. Crissy is distracted and struggles to fully embody Diana for the show.

Yevgeny comes to Crissy’s dressing room after the show and praises her. They discuss the show and discuss their next meeting. When Crissy is distant about making plans, Yevgeny assumes that she won’t want to see him again, which Crissy clarifies isn’t true. They kiss and go back to her room to compare calendars and have sex.

Yevgeny leaves early in the morning, and Crissy spends the morning researching Futurium. She learns they have offices all over the globe, and they are opening an office in Las Vegas because energy is cheaper in Nevada. Crissy remains confused that Betsy is working for Futurium and is now a mother. She looks at her sister’s social media pages and sees pictures of Betsy and Marisa. Marisa is dressed somewhat provocatively, which makes Crissy believe that her sister, a former wild child, is the perfect parent for Marisa. After taking a bath, Crissy texts Yevgeny to ask what he knows about Futurium.

Marisa ruminates on people who get number tattoos, concluding that, if she got a number tattoo, it would be “5, because I love the commercials for that perfume with 5 in the name” (102).

Because Betsy plans to sell her car before moving to Las Vegas, she and Marisa spend their last month in Vermont driving around Betsy’s favorite childhood haunts. They visit her childhood home, where she lived with Crissy, her mother, and her stepfather. When Marisa asks how her stepfather died, Betsy lies and says it was a heart attack.

Marisa asks if Betsy will miss Vermont when they move to Las Vegas, and she says she will only miss it a bit. They discuss their upcoming move and Marisa’s feelings. Marisa says she likes Frankie but is happy he won’t be living with them because she likes being alone with Betsy.

At the end of the summer, Marisa and Betsy go to a county fair. There, Marisa tells a ride worker that her aunt “is the Princess of Las Vegas” (109). Betsy asks Marisa how she knows this, and she reveals that she has been researching Crissy online to try to understand why she is an impersonator. Marisa admits to not having found the answer. Betsy thinks to herself that she has an idea of why her sister spends her days impersonating Diana.

Marisa says that the only thing that came close to the Las Vegas lights were the ones she saw at the county fair, but the comparison doesn’t capture how bright the lights in Las Vegas are to her and Betsy.

Bud McDonald—Buckingham Palace Casino’s head of security—comes to Crissy’s cabana to tell her that Artie is dead. It is believed that he died by suicide, but people are suspicious due to his brother’s similar death. Bud tells Crissy to continue with her show if she feels up to it.

Crissy speaks to Eddie Cantone, who thanks her for trying to speak to Congresswoman Schweiker. He instructs her to tell the police Artie had depression. He mentions that the casino may now be sold, leaving Crissy to consider what will happen to her show. Eddie also tells Crissy to act like she called Schweiker by accident if the congresswoman calls her back. After talking to Yevgeny, he sends her articles about Futurium and other cryptocurrencies. Crissy finds the information confusing. The police visit Crissy in her dressing room, and she repeats what Eddie told her to.

Betsy texts Crissy the next day to set up lunch. Crissy will need to pick Betsy and Marissa up since Betsy sold her car. When Betsy gives Crissy the address, Crissy is upset that her sister lives so close to the casino.

Crissy arrives at Betsy’s apartment and sees her standing with Frankie. Frankie quickly introduces himself and mentions how similar the two sisters look. Marisa comes down to meet Crissy. She tells Crissy she knows she’s had a nose job and experiences bulimia like Diana did, much to Betsy’s embarrassment. Crissy brushes off her niece’s inquiries and makes a joke to ease the tension. Before leaving, a joke Crissy makes seems to anger Frankie, highlighting his temper.

Crissy, Betsy, and Marisa head to a buffet for lunch. At lunch, Marisa tells Crissy about her life before going to live with Betsy. They discuss Frankie, and Betsy asks about the drama at Buckingham Palace Casino following Richie and Artie’s deaths. Betsy appears worried about Crissy, but Crissy assures her she’ll be fine.

Marisa reflects on how similar Betsy and Crissy look, as well as resembling Diana.

Betsy is embarrassed that Crissy chose a buffet far from either of their homes in Las Vegas. She is otherwise pleased and surprised by how kind and attentive Crissy is to Marisa. Betsy encourages Crissy to get into a relationship, but Crissy acts coy.

In general, Marisa adjusts to life in Las Vegas quicker than Betsy. Betsy becomes friends with a neighbor, Ayobami, who is a blackjack dealer at upscale casinos. Marisa repeatedly asks to see Crissy’s show, but Betsy is hesitant.

Frankie tells Betsy he wants to see Crissy’s show. He also reveals that several of his friends and people involved with Futurium are part of the Mastaba, a crime syndicate. Betsy quickly realizes that Frankie has been part of legally ambiguous operations even before joining Futurium, and she worries that she and Marisa are in danger. Frankie assures her she’s not, since his friends are part of the new and more modern Mastaba. Additionally, he tells her that when Congresswoman Schweiker gets elected, she will protect their business interests. Betsy asks Frankie if he loves her and Marisa and makes him promise to help her go back to Vermont if she wants to. He agrees.

Marisa discovers that she loves swimming pools in Las Vegas.

Crissy receives a call from Congresswoman Schweiker. Schweiker is rude to Crissy and tells her that she knows Crissy had an affair with Senator Aldred. She tells Crissy she plans to ruin her life. Crissy tells Schweiker she called her by accident, which Schweiker begrudgingly accepts.

The next day, Crissy calls her agent, Terrance. They discuss her residency’s future, and he promises her she’ll be fine. They discuss Betsy’s new career in cryptocurrency and what Las Vegas and the casinos will look like once cryptocurrency becomes more widespread. During her show, Crissy realizes that Frankie, Marisa, Betsy, and another man are in the audience.

After the show, Betsy wants to come backstage, and Crissy lets her. Frankie introduces her to a man named Tony Lombardo, who also works for Futurium. He asks her if she’d ever consider doing a show for Futurium because their friend, Oliver Davies, loves Diana. Crissy politely declines. Frankie asks her to think about doing it, and she says she will not. Tony, obviously upset, asks Frankie to take Marisa and Betsy home so they can go to a more upscale casino to eat and gamble. Frankie takes Marisa and Betsy home, leaving Crissy feeling unnerved.

Marisa realizes that the Futurium people are “some scary freaks” who love to spend money (156). She also compares Buckingham Palace Casino to Versailles Casino in the context of the latter’s comparative extravagance.

Betsy realizes that Crissy angered Tony Lombardo by refusing to do a private show for Futurium. Frankie assures Betsy that everything will be fine and jokes that Betsy could perform in Crissy’s place instead. Betsy defends her sister, but Frankie continues, suggesting she dye her hair to match Diana’s. When Frankie drops Marisa and Betsy off at their apartment, Marisa notes that Frankie seems to be scared of, and willing to do anything for, Tony Lombardo.

One day at Frankie’s house, Frankie tells Betsy that she can tell him what really happened to her mother and stepfather, but Betsy says he knows everything already. Frankie doesn’t drop the subject, arguing that Betsy knows his family’s trauma from helping his son through her social work, so he can handle hers. He asks her if when she saw her mother’s dead body, she knew she was dead immediately, causing Betsy to snap at him. Frankie begins to list all of the things he regrets doing in life, and Betsy says that he needs to move on.

Betsy and Marisa go to Versailles Casino so Betsy can meet more of the Futurium team. She has lunch with Frankie and Tony, as well as Damon Ionnidis and Rory O’Hara, two Futurium associates. Lara Kozlov, one of Congresswoman Schweiker’s political consultants, is also there. The group discusses business and how they can support Schweiker’s senate run. Damon tells Betsy that she should keep the seed phrase—her password for her cryptocurrency—in a safe place because she’ll never be able to retrieve that money if she loses it. Before they leave, several people show Betsy their guns, and Damon makes an off-the-cuff remark about building “the Mob Two-Point-Oh” in Las Vegas (166), to Betsy’s horror and Frankie’s chagrin.

After lunch, Frankie takes Betsy and Marisa to a salon to get makeovers. Frankie shows the stylist pictures of Diana’s hair color so she can dye and cut her hair a similar color.