Last week found us dealing to Larry Flynt. To some of you ‘youngies’ that may not mean anything other than the fact that he owns the Hustler Casino in California. To some of us ‘oldies’ it means that the first time we picked up his Hustler magazine some 25 odd years ago, we were shocked by the graphic illustrations and statements he published for the whole world to see.

He’s got quite a history and you can read a little of it here.

You knew he was in the room and in your line-up. Sure enough, you walk up to deal to Chip R., Jennifer, Eric D. (original opener and ex-manager of the Mirage Card Room), Danny R., Larry F. in the Five Seat, Johnny C., Eli, and Doyle.

You sit down in the Dealer’s Chair and try to adjust the height because it’s way too low to even let you get your elbows above the table. It won’t budge and you have no choice but to sit down and deal. While you’re shuffling, with the table in your arm pits, you realize that it’s been raised to accommodate Larry’s chair.

Larry is seated right across from you and has two wood dividers on the table in front of him…they extend like a partition in a roll top desk only they are about an inch and half thick, six inches high and 15 to 16 inches long. They’re dark wood and have an ‘H’ engraved in them. His left arm lays between the two petitions and his right arm lays on the outside of them where his chips are stacked. He’s in a conversation with everyone at the table, or so it seems, and you reach over and touch his hand and wait until he gives you eye contact. When he does, you ask, “Where would you like your cards dealt?”

He taps his left hand on the table and you’re off and running, spread the new deck, announce ‘time pot’ and shuffle up and deal. The game is $2,000-$4,000 7 Card Stud.

Larry wins the first hand and you ask him for $80 in Time. He gives you the $80 plus $5 for you and three players get up to go start a mixed $2,000-$4,000 game. The game only lasts another 15 or 20 minutes. Larry’s tired and the talk is that it will resume on the following day.

Your pretty sure that Eric, Danny, and Johnny were all playing Larry’s money, not that anyone gives a damn one way or the other. The game breaks up, Larry sends you all of his $5 chips and tells you they are for you, followed up with a smile. And you say, “It’s really nice to meet you.”

Hey, did you ever think when you read the Hustler Magazine a million or so years ago that you would ever deal a hand of poker to him? You didn’t even know how to play poker then, let alone think it.

*****
This post is done by Chanzes – during the time period that I took a break from posting in the Diary.