The room was filled with high limit games tonight. Fortunately I missed them. I started in a $30-$60 Holdem game that was held at a 7 Card Stud Table…yes…they were cramped and the game wasn’t even full. They were arguing with the dealer, Marsha, about players being dealt in that had not missed their blind. The Supervisor was called. Long and short of it, I don’t want to get into because I wasn’t there from the beginning, so I started my night in a game of noisy arguing guys…but it worked out. I had them laughing and gambling in just a few minutes and thankfully they were in the mood to do just that.

The tournament was still running out in the pit, three to four tables, a few satellites running for tomorrow’s tournament which is 7 Card Stud, and the room was a screaming mad house of noise, games, players, poker…yipppeee! Let’s hear it for poker.

Johnny World and Gus were playing on table 7 with Jennifer H. and Lyle B. I had to go say “Hi” to them and compliment them on how cool they were in the WPT show on Sunday’s Travel Channel. I gave John a little ribbing about the scene where he had the red bandana tied around his head. He’s fun and always pleasant. Gus had his usual impish grin and a smile that dances across his eyes when he says hello. Sweet!

Layne F. was playing the tournament. Had to give him a hug and ‘Hello’. He’s a high energy, always on the move, ready to dance at any poker table, JAMMER. He must’ve been really dancing because he said he’d just lost $51,000 on a pair of Aces in the tournament. He was in the room when I saw him and that may have been his last hand unless they were on break at that time.

Doyle B. has been playing the last few days. I really wish he’d let me write his life story about poker and his relationship with Chip R. Well…cross my fingers…

So far, from a dealer point of view, the money isn’t as good as when the room’s quiet. Right now we have too many dealers for the games in progress and there’s so much noise and confusion that it’s hard to keep players settled into a game…they’re running out to play satellites and changing games.

Well on to a few tales from the felt:

Last night found me dealing a satellite for today’s tournament. There were 10 stacks of chips at the table and 8 players when I started dealing. The limit was $50-$100. A few of the players were locals but most were tourists. The 8 seat won the 3rd or 4th hand I dealt with A-A. As I pushed the pot to him, he asked, “Do I have to tip you now?”

Everyone sort of tittered and I said, “You never HAVE to tip.”

Someone responded, “You can whenever you want to.”

Soon the absent players showed up and the blinds went up. One player busted out and the 8 seat picked up A-A two more times and won both of them. The third time, he won a big pot that was 3 way action with all the raises pre-flop. It went to heads up on the Turn but he got to raise on each street as his opponent bet into him. As I pushed this pot to him, I said, “Yes! You definitely have to tip me now.”

Everyone laughed except him. He said, “I haven’t won anything yet.”

Me, “Just kidding.”

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Last week a youngster named Ramsey was playing the $4-$8 Holdem Games. The first night I dealt to him, he kept folding his hands in front of his cards and chips and obscuring them from everyone’s view. I asked him to push his cards out a little because he might be passed in the action. He did. But I had to ask him another three to four times before he finally started doing it every time.

The following night I dealt to him again. He did exactly the same thing and hid his cards from the table’s view. I asked him again to please make sure we could see his cards so we knew he was in the action.

He responded with, “Someone else yelled at me last night for doing that.”

I started laughing. “It was me and I did not yell. I asked you.”

He got totally apologetic and went on and on about how he didn’t mean yell. This brings a question to my thoughts to which there is never an answer…why is it that if a woman says something to a man, she’s YELLING at him?

So…a few nights later, dealing again to Ramsey, he brought up the fact that we ‘started on the wrong foot’ and that ‘you are my favorite dealer’. Cute!! We didn’t start on the wrong foot and I doubt that I’m his favorite dealer but come to find out, he’s a singer in a band. The band’s name is ‘Structure’ but he wouldn’t sing one, little, teensy note for us…even though we asked him.

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The other side of the ‘singing’ thing brings us to Jillian. I have asked Suzie to have it made a house rule that Jillian CAN’T sing at the table when she’s playing poker. So far, no response except a chuckle.

Jillian is in her early 20’s, a Meryl Streep look alike in a softer version, tall, shapely, lean, ready to rock and roll her way through the poker world until she leaves for NY for college in the fall. She’s fun, sparky, arrogant, and goes to war when she has a hand. What’s wrong with that? That damn MP3 player and her loud, off key singing, coupled with the twitch and body jerk, leg cross and uncross kick, bounce into the table with the beat, every time something comes on that she likes. That’s what’s wrong with that.

One night when I was playing in a game, she kicked me at least 15 times as she sang, bounced, chair danced, crossed her leg and uncrossed it, until I finally said, “Damn it! Jillian stop kicking me.”

She stopped, looked at me, and said, “Well my legs are long.”

I replied, “Well mine aren’t exactly short and I’m not kicking you.”

She moved her chair over a few inches and still continued to chortle and gyrate with the music. Don’t you just love it?

I did have a little fun with the singing thing though. One night while dealing to her, she left the table for a cigarette break. The 3s asked, “Why does she only play for a few minutes and then leave the table for an hour?”

When she returned to the game, I told her there was a question as to why she left the table for an hour at a time. She asked, “I do?”

I said, “Well apparently yes. But I told the player that you sing at Light and play poker on your breaks. That seemed to make him happy.”

We’ve laughed over that one several times. What’s Light? Bellagio’s classy nightclub.