Play the Game — Linda Tiernan Kepner

This is a science fiction adventure story set in the future about two friends and the gulf that both separates and unites them. "Archie Chamberlain wanted little more than his teaching certification, and a nice job teaching English Lit anywhere in the Solar System: 'An easy chair, a nice cuppa tea, and a game on the weekend.' The greatest obstacle to this quiet life was his best friend, Gennaro, the single-minded, genetically-modified owner of Gamemaster Inc. and ruler of the futuristic City of West Meg, which covers what used to be the western coast of the United States."