Upon further review........

You can not "buy the button" and unless every chip in any/all pots goes to the same person, there is no "kill". Nice to have gotten some clarification on these issues.

Recently I mentioned to a friend/peer that I might be interested in purchasing a gun. Yesterday while I was pushing into a NL game, he asked me if I wanted to "go shooting" on Thursday. I stated that I didn't own a gun. He said he had plently of them....
About 10 minutes later Brian in the 10s doubles up with quad treys. While we were waiting for the high-hand jackpot money to be delivered to the table Brian jokingly throws me a blue ($1) chip and says "here is your toke". Brian had heard the shooting conversation. When he gave me the $1 I immediately asked him if he wanted to go shooting with us.....and if he did, while we were in the wilderness with firearms, he could just call me Dick (Cheney). He "got it" and tossed me 4 red birds. Funny how the mention of filling his ass with some lead brought out the red chips.

Jim (same Jim as the "I'm buying the button") is originally from NY. I don't know how long he has been in LV, but he was a car salesman out here before he retired. He has a habit of being "grouchy" and routinely throws out comments like "Murph, you stink". I roll with the punches and don't give it a whole lot of thought. Yesterday the conversation at a table full of regulars turned to my dealing skills or lack thereof. Jim asked if I went to dealing school. I stated that I had, but only for 6 days. Someone else asked if I had graduated. I blurted out Hell NO and briefly told the story of how I came to deal at the Palms. It's funny how sometimes everyone wants you to just shut up and deal and other times it is like 11 people sitting at a bar and drinking beer and telling stories. Some of these players spend more time in a card room than any other single endeavor. You get to know them and their mannerisms and the mood of the table is evident even before you sit in the box. In any case, the mood was light and Jim mentioned that he thought he might like to deal. I immediately jumped on that and told him that if he did, I would be the first one at his table and would constantly call him stinky. He smiled and said that he liked me as a person, it was just that I dealt him crappy cards. Kind words from gruff ol' Jim. That's a first.

Recently I was dealing a NL game where the 2s was the small blind. Everyone folded around to the SB and the BB asked the SB if he wanted to chop. The SB said no. Everyone at the table knew that this meant that the SB had the possibility of making a high hand and winning a bonus. They checked it down all the way and no quads or straight flush resulted. The 2s and 3s showed each other their hands and both tossed them face down to me. I calmly stated that one of them needed to show me a hand so that I could push the $10 pot to one of them. The 1s nearly yelled just give them the pot, they are gonna chop it anyway. He reached out and started to push the 5 blue chips and one red chip in the direction of the 2 and 3s. I grabbed his wrist, perhaps a little to forcefully, and told him that he should not touch the pot and that although everyone, including ME, knew their intentions, someone still needed to show me a hand.
I never saw either hand but I shoved the chips in their general direction. Part of me knows that my reaction was indignant because they acted like I wasn't even there. The other part just wants to follow some semblance or order and procedure. Sigh.
I figured that the 1s would be furious and pitch a bitch, but he didn't. A little while later he even toked me. I'd like to think that he knows he was in the wrong and that I was just doing my job. Maybe that is exactly the case.


Last night I headed to Caesars to explore the possibility of using comps to purchase and Elton John Ticket. When I got there the Players Club desk was a swarm of activity. I was told that they were switching over from the old Caesars/Bally's Connection Card to the new Harrah's Total Rewards system and that it would be at least 10 minutes. From February 12 until the 14th neither card would work and there was no tracking of slot play. I can only imagine how much money they saved by not issuing any slot comps over a 2 day period. I later wandered back to the desk. Erin, an overly bubbly and sweet lady said that I had no comps. I asked how often they expired because I haven't been without a comp balance for about 3 years. She called a supervisor who located my comps. It wasn't quite enough to pay for an Elton ticket, but it would cover a huge chunk of it. I headed to the box office. They had a ticket available for the date I wanted. Back to the Slot Club booth for a partial comp. Again, (a different rep) said I had no comps. Again, a supervisor "found" them. They were mostly earned at Flamingo. He called Flamingo and had them delete my comps there. He then added my comps to my Caesars account and printed me a comp that clearly said it was for the box office. I toted myself back to the box office. The "nice" lady there said $115 including tax/fees. I handed her the comp and the balance in cash. She looked at me funny and said $115. I pointed to the comp and the cash and said that I gave her $120 total. We can't take the comp. What?? We are a totally separate company from Caesars and can't accept the comp. WTF?? Back to the player's club. They couldn't help me, but they would put the comps back onto my account. I now asked to speak to a host. I was told to go to VIP services near the front dest. I walk to the front desk and explore the surrounding area but I can't find VIP services. At this point I give up. Maybe I will go back today and start over.....and maybe I won't.

Dinner tonight will be the ultra-cheap steak dinner at Ellis Island. I can't remember if it costs $3.95 or $4.45 but in any case it is one of the best deals in town. It is available 24-7 but it is not on the menu--you have to ask for it. If you don't care too much for an upscale atmosphere and want a good meal, give it a try. Tell them Murph sent you.