It’s really hard to paint the perfect picture of a poker room and have everyone grasp exactly what you’re trying to say. One night a young man approached me and asked if he swore at me if I would write about him here. It’s funny in the sense that I feel he really didn’t have a clue as to what I’m actually writing about. If I have to explain that to everyone, then no one has a clue.
I get enough fan mail through the Internet though that I know most of you really do get the picture. That’s what makes it all worthwhile to me…knowing that a lot of you relate and see the same personalities and events where you play poker that I spend my working hours with here in Vegas.
I get bashed every now and then because someone thinks I hate players…that is the most untrue statement I’ve ever heard. Players remind me of me and I certainly don’t hate myself…the human element is the meat of the whole picture…so here’s the picture.
Ho, one of our long time players, from the days of the Mirage, had a stroke some years ago and is paralyzed down most of the right side of his body. He’s never mean but sometimes ‘pokes’ at me because I dealt him off or I haven’t given him a winner or some such nonsense. He likes to play and sometimes he can jam it up faster and harder than a 10 year old kid trying to light the most firecrackers under the bleachers on the 4th of July. He plays only $15-$30 or $30-$60 Holdem now but used to play 7 Card Stud.
Tonight I started on first break. I wheeled out of the room on my way to the Help’s Hall when I heard, “Linda!”
I looked but didn’t see anyone. Then as I started to move off, “Linda!!!” and I saw Ho sitting at one of the poker machines. I went back.
He wanted me to roll up the sleeves of his jean jacket. I did and also buttoned them. He wasn’t sure about the buttoning because he didn’t think he could get them off when he got home…I told him if he wanted, later in the night, I’d unbutton them. I checked with him a few hours later and the cuffs were all cool…then about midnight, I dealt to him in a $15-$30 Holdem game.
During my down, his name was finally called for $30-$60. He told me was going home, since 6:30, he motioned to his sleeves, he’d been waiting for a seat in $30-$60 and now it was too late. I couldn’t help but laugh and wish him a goodnight.
*****
I called Doug, the Card Room Manager, today and spoke with him about my Mike D. incident last week. Doug sent a memo to all the supervisors. Suzie was my supervisor tonight.
She knew, before I went to tell her, that I would be dealing the game that Mike was playing in within an hour. She had already spoken to him about my dealing through the game.
Honestly, for the first time in my entire career of dealing to Mike, he never flipped a card, folded out of turn, glared or pitched, or flipped his bring-in up into the air. It was heaven.
The down was totally calm and quiet…just the way I like it…I deal, you play.
*****
I hit the $600-$1200 mixed game late in the night on table 1. Shaun – 1s, David B. – 2s, Eli E. – 3s, Ralph – 4s, Jim – 5s, Jennifer, 6s, Jim G. – 7s, Emir – 8s. I know a lot of dealers hate to deal this game but this is sometimes where I have the most fun.
The outgoing dealer was leaving the box and had her butt up out of the chair. Shaun set a green bird ($25 chip) by the rack and asked for change and she either didn’t hear him or didn’t want to stop. She was moving away from the table, I’m sitting down and Shaun reached into the rack and took out five, $5 chips, cleared his hand to show that was all he took, and I made a motion at slapping his hand and asked, “Are you trying to get me fired?”
He is extremely easy to get along with and we have HISTORY, even away from the poker room…no, nothing erotic or wild so don’t get your hopes up. He laughed and handed one of the $5 chips to the outgoing dealer.
Eli said he would like to get me fired.
I innocently looked at him and asked, “Me?”
He said, “Yes!” Hey…he was kidding.
I said, “Then buy the place and fire me.”
Emir asked Ely, “You can do that…buy the place?”
Eli and his wife were both chuckling.
David cashed out shortly after I sat down. Jennifer played a few hands and exchanged phone #’s with Emir…someone said something about swearing and she said, “I never say things like that except when I’m calling this dealer names.”
Me, “Me? You never call me names.”
She gave me the bratty girl look and said, “I know I don’t, I like you too much.” See, I do have friends in high places.
She left the game shortly after that and Shaun teased her about taking all of her ‘society’ chips and getting the hell out of there.
Emir got a phone call and he was going to have to leave. He’s a Dr. and somewhere in the city a woman was having a baby…probably more than one but this one he would attend to the birth.
Shaun and Emir had been jamming, along with Ralph and Eli in intermittent bursts, but mostly Ralph, Shaun, and Eli.
Shaun was on a rusher and picked up several huge pots back to back. Ralph snipped the cards so hard I almost didn’t catch them with my right elbow but the block was in effect and I stopped them. The next hand he snipped them at me again and I had to field one of them with my stomach. I said, “Slow them down, Ralph.”
He mumbled something like, ‘don’t talk to me.’ He looked like the Grim Reaper had been hunting him for days and rest and food were out of the question. In other words, he looked stuck and he got stucker when Shaun went on the rush in Deuce to 7 Triple Draw Low.
Emir left. The game was down to five players when Shaun counted up and said a, “Holy shit!” type of thing. He’d been down around $45,000 and he was even.
To me he said, “I don’t think anyone here realizes the bond you and I have.”
I couldn’t help but agree. He was $400 winner and he gave it to me. Don’t think I didn’t do a few YIPPEES, WOO HOOS, JUMP UP AND DOWN WHILE I’M DEALING…I did.
Jimmy G. made the comment to Shaun that he was overly generous. Shaun replied with, “She’s my girl.”
Shaun looked at one last hand and left. Jimmy asked Shaun where he could fill out an application.
I dealt a few more hands and got pushed. What a bonus for me…Shaun not only made my night, he made my week.
*****
My next game was $30-$60 Holdem and it was a lot of fun. Young was in the game. He’s a story all by himself but I’m bushed. Another time.