The room sits like a discardedmistress that once preenedunder her lover’s gaze and opened her lips and arms awaiting a passionate embrace. Yet hidden beneath the blanket of quiet and overtones of abandonment, there were two full $100-200 LH games running, two $10-20 NLH games, a $60-120 Mixed, and a variety of $30-60, 15-30, 4-8 LH, and the usual $2-5 and $5-10 NLH games.

My first game was the Main $100-200 LH game. I knew about half of the players – one of them had been absent for at least two years and appeared to be back to stay. The conversation took off about the internet, having money in accounts with the poker sites, and someone stated they knew someone that had over $700,000 in his account. The 8s claimed he would never keep any money in any poker account because the feds would confiscate it. Controversy! Several players jumped into the conversation and stated that it was completely safe because it was held in offshore accounts *what they said* and the 8s exclaimed that if ‘they’ could put a man on the moon, no one’s money was safe anywhere. The 5s went on to state that he had played quite a bit online and when you play higher limits, you have to have that much money available because of the swings.

All in all, the conversation was interesting, the game was lively, and the only guy with bad aim was in the 2s – with a mountain of chips. I can’t recall ever dealing to him or seeing him before. Twice he picked his cards up and threw them into a helicopter spin – not at me but at the middle of the table. I turned them up once because I was sure they flashed. Another time he lost a pot and threw his cards at the rack, I had my arms up to move chips to the pot, and one of the cards skipped off onto the floor. The 9s picked it up – he was also stacking the pot – and I just went on with the game.

Another bad toss came when he won a big pot and threw me a $1 chip – airborne. It lit right on top of my hand. I know my expression changed because the edge of the chip hit first. He did a ‘sorry…’ type of thing.

I rapped the chip and said, “Thank you,” without looking at him.

He kept watching me, “Hey…don’t be that way. Did it hurt?”

I looked at him as I dealt the hand, “Almost, it caught a slight edge.”

What do I need to explain here? STOP THROWING THINGS!

$10-20 NLH came next. I wasrunning so good, coming back from such a long leave away from dealing, and then I sat down and threw the ball right into the gutter when I only needed onemore strike for a perfect game. Kee-rist!

Most of the faces were unknowns. A youngster in the 4s had filled a seat in a $2-5 NLH game I dealt earlier in the week. He may have been playing at Bellagio for the last two to three months but I didn’t know him or recognize him. Walter was in the 1s, long time player from the Mirage days, started in the $30-60 Stud and now plays only high limit. The 9s is an intermittent player (he may play a lot on weekends but I rarely see him) and he plays mainly NLH to my knowledge.

The game was kind of humdrum, boring, not a lot of action, one player quit for the night -a new one took his seat, someone raised, everyone folded…

Five minutes before the end of my down, the 9s raised it pre-flop…possibly $200 or a little higher. I can’t even remember if more than one player called the raise but definitely the 4s called and that gave him the Button. The flop brought Q-J-9, two clubs, one spade. The 9s bet $200, the 4s called. The Turn brought the 8s. The 9s bet $200, the 2s raised it to $600. I pulled in the $200 from each player’s bet, leaving the four $100 bills in front of the 4s. The 9s stared at the board and the 4s and after about a minute, asked me how much. I told him the raise was $400 more.

The 9s looked at the 4s a moment longer and then asked the 4s how much more the 4s had (and I believe he said, ‘in bills.’ but I wouldn’t swear to it right now). The 4s counted down his bills and I heard him say $2,600.

BOOM! The 9s lofted three $1,000 chips out on the felt.

The 4s had some chips too. He pushed everything he had in front of him, out into the war zone.

*Gutterball* I should have stopped everything right there and asked him what he had in play. For some reason it didn’t even register that he would have more than the $3,000. Actually, I thought he had less.

I put both of my hands out in front of me, deck in tact, and asked, “Everything ok?”

The 9s did a small finger wave motion.

Someone said, “Deal.”

And I did.

The 9of Spadeshit the River.

The 9s announced, “If you have a flush it’s good.”

The 4s exclaimed, “You’re first.”

The 9s said, “If you have a 10, it’s good.”

The 4s turned over a black A-10 for a straight, no flush.

I was contemplating change – still not having registered that the 4s had more than $3,000 in front of him. The 4s said, “He owes another $660 to the pot.”

The 9s started auditioning for Let’s Make a Deal and acting like someone was extracting his liver through his nose while the camera and microphones were all pointed at him. He said he had at least $400 coming because he was only betting $2,600. NOT! I knew better than that.

Before anyone could get another word out, I yelled for a Decision. Crap! No one came. They started bickering back and forth. I called again for a decision. Now Walter said he heard the 4s announce that he had $3,600 as he counted himself down. The 9s wanted verification from me that the 4s said $2,600. Ok…that’s what I heard but still his move of all of his chips going into the middle is what will decide the outcome.

Out of the blue, Walter demanded, “Get a decision.”

Really? Do ya think?

I responded that I had been trying. I called again for a decision. Carmen appeared. Although this actually took close to 12 minutes, the short version was that I explained exactly what I had done and what happened.Then the 4s stated that he had counted down and Walter heard him announce $3,600. The the 9s asked if he could talk now. Yeah baby! Talk he did. He went into the long version. We went back over all of the details.

The 9s stood up, picking up his three $1,000 chips, and replacing them on the table, and squawking that he had only been raising to $2,600 because that’s what he heard. Then he tried to lay the heat on me, “I asked the dealer how much he had…”

*Pig shit!* He asked the player how much he had. That happens all the time in these games. Most of the time they don’t want to the dealer to say anything or even get involved in counting the chips, some of them actually bite your head off if you try to do your job.

Carmen toldthe 9s he would be expected to pay the other $660. The 4s said he would split the difference with the 9s. The 9s went back to acting like it was my fault. I stated that I should have counted down the 4s’s chips, but thatI did hesitate and asked before I burned and turned off the last card.

Of course half the room was behind and around the table now, listening to everything that was going on, sharing in the noise and confusion that seemed to be terminal.

Carmenwent through the verbal waltz again as the 9s stood up and told the 4s that karma would get him. That he would pay in the future for not allowing the 9s to skip out without paying the additional $660 and that the 4s was just trying to pull a shot becausethe 4s knew what actually happened there. Adding more than once that the 4s should just be happybecause he won a big pot and not try to pullanything else.

The 4s stood his ground, stating he didn’t do anything wrong, he went all-in and he would still split the difference with the 9s. I got tapped out 10 minutes ago but this was still going on.

Carmenreaffirmed her statement that the 9s owed the 4s $660 more.The 9s stood up, picked up a $5,000 chip and almost threw it at the 4s. Carmen told me she would bring change for it…I snagged it, handed it to her, pushed the three $1,000 chips back to the9s seat as I started pushing the pot.The 9s – still standing – picked up thethree $1,000 chips and blasted them out onto the table again. I picked them and sat them back in front of him.

The 9s was still badgering the 4s about taking a shot…karma…angle shooter…blah, blah, blah, when I pushed the last chip, moved the button, set the deck up andRAN. I was on a break…phew!

I spoke with Pete and Carmen, at length, about this situation. In truth, it’s got to be a dealer error. But at some point, players have to start to assume part of the responsibility if they are going to play for small or large amounts of money. And why would it have been so tough for the 4s tostop everything and ask ifthe 9s knew he was calling a raise? When I hesitated before turning the River card, I gave him plenty of opportunity. And would the 9s have taken the 4s’s total bet ifthe 9shad the best hand? Of course. Get real here! No – I didn’t get into trouble over any of this. I do feel badly because it is my job to do certain things, in a certain order, to protect the integrity of the game, and the players (from themselves if necessary). At the end of my break, the 4s found me and gave me a tip. He told me he did split the difference with the 9s and the 9s was still mad and cashed right after getting his change.

I dealt one more game, $60-120 Mixed. It was very quiet and easy to deal. I signed the E/O and headed out the door as soon as the 9 p.m. dealers came in, knowing that I will never again allow a player to push unless I know exactly what he’s pushing when he’s facing a bet or a call.