From the moment he knew that he could get all the money he wanted by the mere signing of a paper, he ceased to be economical, scorning the former niggardliness that had led him to starve on one day that he might feast the next; now, he feasted every day.

He still kept his room at the Reno House, but instead of taking his meals by any ticket system, he began to affect the restaurants of the Spanish quarter, gorging himself with the hot spiced meals three and four times a day.

He quickly abandoned the bagatelle board for the card-table, gambling furiously with two of the ranchmen.
Almost invariably Vandover lost, and the more he lost the more eager and reckless he became.
In a little time he had sold every one of his bonds and had gambled away all but twenty dollars of the money received from the last one sold.
This sum, this twenty dollars, Vandover decided to husband carefully.

It was all that was left between him and starvation.

He made up his mind that he must stop gambling and find something to do.