The odds are probably at least seven digits to one, but one evening last week it happened. Nik Gash was dealt a royal flush.

Actually, the cards fell into the hands of Roy, the character Gash plays in Presser Arts Center's production of the Neil Simon comedy The Odd Couple. And there was a problem.

In director Michael Moore's concept, the four actors seated around the table play real poker. Some members of the audience, after all, can see what they hold.

But in some cases the script specifically calls for one of the poker buddies to fold. So Gash -- and Roy -- had to lay down the beat-all hand.

The Odd Couple is presented in Presser's Black Box Theater, an intimate setting where the audience surrounds the actors on all four sides in close proximity.

"It's completely different than the main stage," explained Carl Abbott, who plays Oscar Madison. "It's freeing and intimidating at the same time."

There are just over 100 seats in the Black Box. The cast can see the faces of those watching the play. Audience members may be asked to lift their feet so Felix Ungar can vacuum. The wall that separates players from those in attendance may be broken a few times.

"We've been making sure the experience is unique," said Moore, a veteran actor who takes the director's chair for the first time.

Because of the setting, Moore opted for a touch of both improvisation and reality, while remaining true to Simon's script. So except for when it's necessary to fold, the actors really play poker. The sandwiches are real. There is something resembling whiskey in the bottle. There is no curtain. Action spills out from the set.

"We've blocked it so everybody is going to get a different perspective," Moore explained. "There is no bad seat in the house."

Guests seated near the poker table will be more engaged with the antics of Roy, Murray, Speed and Vinnie. Those near the bar, the famous couch, or the windows looking out of Oscar Madison's 12th floor apartment may latch on to something else.

"No matter where you look there's something going on," Abbott said.

Few Broadway comedies are more beloved than The Odd Couple. It's New York City and the fastidious Felix Ungar -- divorced and kicked out of his home -- has moved in with Oscar, the very definition of slob.

Oscar is also recently divorced and the two friends must struggle with depression and difference in a room where poker buddies grumble and the vibrant neighbors from upstairs -- the Pigeon sisters -- stir the mood.

It's an intricate script. The poker buddies act as a play within a play. Sometimes they connect with action around the stage, other times the game is its own show. It goes on as Felix or Oscar converse on the couch or speak to someone on the phone. It comes back to the main thread as the buddies ask what is going on.

The Odd Couple can be difficult for actors.

"There's a lot of talking at people rather than with people," Abbott said. "That's a challenge -- one line doesn't always lead to another."

Steve Case takes the role of Felix Ungar, Oscar's neurotic, neat freak opposite. Mike Briggs is cast as Murray. Andrew Kristofferson and Marcus Moore join Briggs and Gash at the poker table as Speed and Vinnie. It's a crew not unlike Felix and Oscar in that they all have different personalities.

Haley Bertrand and Shannon Fryer play the Pigeon sisters, Cecily and Gwendolyn.

Moore sets The Odd Couple in 1974, but the play originally opened in 1965 with Walter Matthau as Oscar and Art Carney in the role of Felix. Jack Klugman eventually subbed in for Matthau on stage while Matthau reprised his role in the 1968 Hollywood film, with Jack Lemmon at his side.

The show was adapted for television, running from 1970 to 1975 with Klugman again as Oscar and Tony Randall as Felix. There have been dozens of other combinations in stage runs and remakes of the TV series. Notably, Matthew Perry took on the Oscar role in the 2015 version of the sitcom.

"I'll never be Matthau, Klugman or Perry, but I've taken something from them all," Abbott noted. "Matthau was pretty callous in his interpretation. I didn't get that level of callousness. He was very caring in some regards."