Bellagio’s Special Events Tournament started today.

It wasn’t as busy as I thought it should be when my shift started. I started on table 1, $300-$600 mixed games, but when I sat down there were three walkers and Jimmy G. and Eli E. were playing Chinese Poker. The Shuffle Master was down or out to lunch or something was askew and I shuffled and dealt Chinese for 1/2 hour. They gave me $0 for the half hour…the pain! The pain! Jennifer sat down in the game just as I was leaving.

Table 2 was a very lively $60-$120 Omaha 8 or Better with a 1/4 Kill. The chips rocked and rolled and these people threw money into my pocket…Nice! The made up for the previous working dead spread.

I moved on through several Holdem games, $15-$30 and $30-$60, and pushed into $75-$150 7 Card stud on table 7. This is not a common limit for Bellagio although it used to be the ‘big’ game at the Mirage for years and did move over to Bellagio when we opened. It just faded out to be replaced by $80-$160…now the highest Stud game that runs on a daily basis is $40-$80.

The $75-$150 was four handed. By now Sam G. was hanging over table 1, perched and waiting for a backer. Table 1 had filled up and the game was on.

One of the players in my game noticed Sam and said, “Come on, Sam, seat open.”

Irene was in my game and she said, “Yes, but you have to give him money to play on if he gets in here.”

See, I’m not the only one that thinks he’s a railbird.

I dealt to Mark S. in the next game, $60-$120 Holdem, he was in the 4s and he asked if I was the person that had this site. We visited back and forth a bit about Bellagio’s Tournament results being posted the morning following a tournament…he said he was sure it had to be someone that worked at Bellagio. He’s too smart! Sure you know him…he’s on television, a winner of the WPT.

*****

Norm R., plays 7 card stud and has for years, since the early Mirage days and long before I hit town. I find his humor to be startlingly fresh and I can’t help but ‘LOL’ when he pipes up with something at the table.

For instance…a week ago, $15-$30 Stud, a walker returned to the 7s, anteed, looked at me and asked if I played the Power Ball. He went on to state that it was some mega amount up in the quad zillion, trillion amount and how great it would be to win it.

Norm said, “If you dialed the country code for Iraq and any random phone number, the chances the Suddam Hussein would answer the phone are the same as you winning the Power Ball.”

I almost spit I laughed so hard.

A few nights ago I tapped Bill out of the dealer’s box in a $20-$40 Stud game, gave him a mini massage while I waited for him to finish the hand, and Norm told me not to choke the dealer. I put my arm around Bill’s neck, as he pulled the deck together, and asked, “You mean like this?”

Norm replied, “I never went for a dealer or dated one because I don’t date outside my species.”

I’m not sure if anyone else thought it was funny but I roared. Usually when I leave the Dealer’s Box, I always thank Norm for making me laugh.