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You're referring to the casino owner who (in a clever, non-violent way) solves the problem of cheating players, right?
Yeah, more or less. And while they are cheating, it's not in any way he can detect (River's using her psychic powers, which are largely unknown in Firefly), so he just assumes they're getting extremely lucky. And the crowd's loving it, and it's actually encouraging others to bet (under the logic of "if she's this lucky, no reason I can't be a little lucky too), so he's not actually losing money. But the setup for such thing frequently involves, and Wash is explicitly afraid of, a casino owner who deals with hot streaks through the combination of thugs, crowbars, and kneecaps. That this guy just pays them what they won and politely (but very firmly) asks them to leave and not come back stands out.
Violence Is Not an Option; maybe the casino-owner has a No-Harm Requirement?
Hm, close. He does make a reference, when Wash is begging they don't get hurt, that that's not the way he does things. And his inner monologue implies he prides himself on being more gentlemanly and fair than some of the other rich folk on the planet, other business owners who might resort to violence. Maybe something like Everyone Has Standards?
For the novel Firefly: Carnival.
The crew needs to make some money quick, so River, Jayne, and Wash head to a casino, where River uses her Psychic Powers to read a futuristic roulette wheel and maintain a winning streak, starting with one platinum, doubling it every win, and soon equalling that casino's record take. She chose the casino well, though, and because others keep betting with her and losing, the house isn't actually losing money. So the casino owner slides up, tells then to stay at this table, spreads around champagne, and when River hits the record, takes them up to his office, pays them, gives them more champagne, summons a car to take them back to Serenity, and politely asks them to leave and never come back.
The guy isn't a villain, he's actually one of the more decent characters in the book, but Downplayed Pragmatic Villainy seems the best fit for this to me. Is there a better one?
Edited by ErikModi