Murph's Musings

Preparing for Xmas 1897 Style

2011-12-09T07:23:00.000-08:00

In the little town of Barton, Maryland on Dec 23, 1897, John Mowbray (or his wife, but the account was in his name) purchased from the General Store:
To Gu (?) 30¢
Do 30¢
Calico 77¢
Hdkfs (?) 15¢
Doll Baby 35¢
4 1/2 Gingham 32¢
Skirt 85¢
Fir (?) 25¢
Do 25¢
D0 25¢
Silk Muffler $1.25
Corset 50¢
Socks 45¢
367 Hay $2.75
Corn 50¢
Flour 80¢
Sugar 50¢
Coffee 50¢
Soap 25¢
1/2 Apples 35¢
Corn 25¢
Oranges 25¢
M. Nuts 25¢
9 Cabg. 18¢
Pickles 10¢
Candy 10¢
Bread 25¢
2 3/4 Butter 69¢
C. Oil 5¢
M. Oil 15¢

The store was owned by my grandmother's family (she wasn't born until 1914)and John was also an ancestor. At the end of December 1897 John owed the store $47.95. In 2011 dollars that is about $1298.50.
If you had relatives in Barton in the late 1890s and are interested to see if they had an account and what they may have purchased, shoot me their names and I'll look them up for you.

Seems like forever.

2011-11-07T11:20:00.000-08:00

I just passed the 8 year mark at the Palms. Based on several loose assumptions, I'd estimate somewhere between 2,750,000 and 3,250,000 individual two card hands dealt. Somehow it feels more like 10 billiongazilliontrillionmegamillion.....

10 Years On

2011-09-10T06:34:00.000-07:00

My nephew was born July 3, 2001. A short 70 days later the world changed. At that time I started a journal of sorts. I had hoped that I would be able to convey what I was feeling at the time and that many years later, when I gave it to him, he would be able to read a contemporary account of my mood and to a lesser extent the mood of the country as best I could describe it. That project, like so many others that I have started, languished and was quickly forgotten.

Looking back through the filter of 10 years:

I felt--Shock

I felt Anger

I felt Disbelief

I felt Anger

I felt Hopeless

I felt Anger

I felt Worried

I felt Anger

I felt Dispair

I felt Anger

I felt Numb

I felt Powerless

I felt Anger

I felt Frustration

I felt Anger

I felt Anguish

I felt Anger

I felt Rage

I felt Anger

Do we feel anything now?

Does anything matter anymore?

As we spiral ever downward, can it all be traced back to that day that none of us will ever forget?

Did "they" win?

Did "we" lose?

Was it all really done in the name of religion?

Sanity escapes us.

Happy 10th Birthday David!

2011-07-03T09:19:00.000-07:00

Today my nephew turns 10.

7-3-01 our world changed.

Two short months later THE world changed.

David, I wish you a happy birthday and a bright future.

Uncle Wayne is proud of you.

A Chip Down Memory Lane

2011-06-27T08:34:00.000-07:00

The 19th annual convention of the Casino Chips and Gaming Tokens Collectors Club has come and gone. When I lived back east, I used to time one of my yearly LV visits to coincide with this convention. After moving to LV I attended for several years. For the last 3 years, despite living here, I didn't make it to the convention. So, this year I took a night off of work to accommodate a midday trip to the Southpoint Casino and I spent some time on the bourse floor. If you have any interest at all in chips, casino related ashtrays-china-matchbooks-swizzle sticks-postcards etc etc you would be amazed when 80-90 dealer tables are set up all loaded with casino stuff. For the first few times it can be a little overwhelming. After you convince yourself that you can't, ever, have one of everything, it takes the edge off.

This year I purchased my very first ivory chip. Antique ivory chips are interesting in many ways. Not the least is that in a custom set containing hundreds of "identical" chips, no two are exactly alike. The scrimshaw work was, of course, painstakingly done by humans so minute differences exist. I chose this one because it displayed my initial. Some debate took place, but the consensus was that the letter was a W. I can live with it either as a W or an M since either one is appropriate.

After I bought the chip, Dr. Myers (a legend in chip circles) told a story about a customer who approached his table at the convention and proclaimed that he would never buy an ivory chip because an elephant had to die in order for the chip to be made. Dr. Myers, straight faced, told the customer that he could verify that this particular elephant had died of old age. The customer bought an ivory chip. Maybe you had to be there, or maybe you have to know Doc, but it WAS funny at the time.

My only other purchases were a few chips low on the $$ scale but not in history. One of the chips is from the Royal Nevada. Most probably have never heard of this place which existed on the Las Vegas strip from 1955-1959. If, however, you have ever been in the huge swimming pool (the largest in Nevada when built by the Royal Nevada)that was behind the Stardust you have been in the Royal Nevada pool since the Stardust acquired and later engulfed what was the Royal Nevada. By the way, if you ever happen to find this chip without the drill hole cancellation, congratulations! because it's worth well over $1,000 today.

The Monte Carlo Resort chip is from 1968 when the resort was located in Laughlin, NV. This place closed in 1977. 19 years later the Monte Carlo that you are all familiar with opened on the Las Vegas Strip. The two California Club chips, from the 1960s, were in play at 101 E. Fremont Street and not at the California Hotel of today located at Ogden/Main.
Although very plain in design, I think these chips have character. How I wish I had been here in LV way back when. The stories that these chips could tell.............

The State of Real Estate in Las Vegas

2011-06-20T11:03:00.000-07:00

Zillow, how you make me laugh. It's either laugh or cry, so I am choosing to laugh at the moment. Your latest update puts my condo $57,900. A quick search of identical condos in the same complex shows the first listing as for sale for $49,900 so I'd guess your Zestimate is a little on the high side. I guess the good news is that it only decreased $900 in the last month. Is there a bottom to this madness? Too bad that I paid $177,400 a short 4.5 years ago and that I still owe well over twice your estimate. Aw, good times in Vegas I tell ya.

I read something recently that said over 85% of all homeowners in Las Vegas valley were underwater. I'm not really surprised.

So I have to wonder if the guy who gave me this, ah, thing, as a toke on Saturday night knew that I was SCREWED when it came to my condo or.....

It was the most forward proposition I have ever received while dealing poker.

Take your pick!

I'm still in a laughing mood about it so you can laugh along with me.

Seriously, a condom as a tip.

No, apparently I still haven't seen it all in a poker room.

ROFL

Happy Father's Day, Dad.

2011-06-19T09:17:00.000-07:00

On this your 46th Father's Day, Thanks for everything!

Remember when you could lift me up and put me on your motorcycle?

Love,

Your Favorite Son

Crazy, I say.

2011-06-17T09:28:00.001-07:00

I've never really had any complaints about the insurance provided by my employer. It's rather cheap at $12.75 per week and the co-pays are reasonable. I have no idea how this may change since the ownership structure at the Palms is changing/has changed. I've been told that the Caesar's Entertainment insurance package isn't very good, but that is just second and third hand information at the moment.
What I can say is that the whole world of medical coding and billing doesn't make any sense to me. Back in April I made an appointment for a "yearly" physical. I show up, pay my $14 co-pay and visit with the Dr. I mention a knot under my jaw--a blocked salivary gland as it turns out, and ask him what he thinks about Chantix. He writes me a script for Chantix and sends me for blood work. End of story, right?
Not quite. As I have come to find out, a well visit/physical ceases to be a well visit once you mention ANY concerns. The billing department coded their claim to the insurance in such a way that "tobacco use disorder" became the primary reason for the visit. The insurance doesn't pay for "tobacco use disorder" so the doctor's office bills me for $104.
First of all, I don't have a disorder, I smoke. Who the hell determined that to be a disorder? Secondly, why would the billing office code that as the primary reason for the visit knowing that no insurance company is going to pay for the visit? The nice lady in billing said they will recode and resubmit and that should take care of it......
BTW, I have decided that continuing to smoke poses less of a risk that taking Chantix. I talked to pharmacists and nurses who all said that they would NOT take Chantix. Other options such as the "patch" may be a consideration in the future.
*****
I had an interesting night at work last night.
Except for the time when I dealt a bad-beat, I received my personal best tip for dealing a hand of cards. The way it happened baffled me, so here is the rest of the story:
A player that I recognized but hadn't seen in perhaps a year comes in to play.
I ask him where he has been and remark that it has been a LONG time since he played in the room. He goes on a nice run while I am in the box and he tokes nicely. On my next down at that table, we repeat the run and the nice tokes. The next time I am at that table he loses a monster pot which puts a HUGE dent in his stack. After that hand he gets up to leave......and..... pushes me the remainder of his chips.
The single largest tip I have ever received (ignoring one bad-beat hand) came from the player who LOST the hand!
'Splain that one Lucy.
*****
Brad, Simon, Stephen we miss you at the Palms! WSOP time isn't the same without you.

Wow! Blogger.com is still functional?

2011-06-07T22:46:00.000-07:00

Things change, things stay the same.

Since my last visit here we have a new poker room manager at the Palms--Joe Viator. So far, so good. He's changed some rules and added an "Action Aces" promotion which has been well received. The morning session results in a few games while the evening session packs the room. Monday through Friday 7AM-11AM and 2PM-7PM if you lose with AA you win double the pot up to $200. This approach to aces cracked seems infinitely better that the plain Jane scenario where the players telegraphed their pocket aces, a handfull called and then they checked, checked checked hoping to crack the aces. This version encourages action and the $200 amount has a bearing on even NL play.

The addition of daily tournaments has yet to gain any traction. Maybe that will change now that the two or three people who will read this post will now know about the tournaments.

Diamonds, obviously, aren't forever. After the better part of 9.5 years the diamond flush promotion has ended.

The Pokerati mixed game seems well established and is now likely to go two or three days a week other than the normal Thursday night game.

Other promos are in the works, but not yet official yet so I'll not list them here.

There is a new "sample" felt on table 1. The picture doesn't do it justice. It looks AWESOME. Another trial is the new rail. For those players who hated the "racetrack" around our tables, rejoice. This rail is raised like our old tables with the addition of a bead between the felt and rail that prevents cards from sliding under the rail.

For the next two months we will be running sats for the Annie Duke/Federated tournamant that will be held in, I think, August. (I'm too lazy to look it up right now.)

Business at work has, generally, increased significantly under the new administration. That combined with the WSOP being held across the street should keep us hopping for the next two months. Still, working in a poker room is so unpredictable. Last week I worked overtime three times. This week I worked overtime one day and worked a total of 1 hour on another.

Sigh.

Gold Coast to Close Their Poker Room

2011-01-26T04:04:00.000-08:00

The Gold Coast Poker Room will fold Sunday, January 30th at 11:00PM.

It's never good when more people lose their jobs. I'd imagine that we'll pick up a percentage of their regular players while the balance will move to the Orleans. Those who relocate to the Orleans likely will do so because they prefer to chase badbeats. Those who chose to play across the street at our place will likely do so because it is just that....across the street and geographically convenient.

I played $3-6 LHE with a $4-8 kill there yesterday. By my second hand someone had been tossed out. I don't know the details of the barring, and I guess it doesn't really matter since the room is closing in a few days. I will say that the atmosphere seemed hostile. I played perhaps 2 hours, sucked out on river many times and lost the biggest pot of the day with a flopped set of Qs to a rivered gutshot straight. I cashed out $25 down and I figure I toked about that much.

In order to get rid of their jackpot money before they close, they are giving away $400 per hour (4 $100 drawings) every day from 10AM until midnight.

I can't help but wonder which poker room will be next to throw in the towel.

Attitude Adjustment?

2011-01-24T08:40:00.000-08:00

Why is this crazy lady screaming?

After you've made your list of possible reasons, consider :

I can't tell how much the last player of this machine cashed out, but you can see "paid $xxx" to the left of Bet5. IF this lady is belatedly celebrating that win, wouldn't it make more sense to show her holding a cash out ticket?

If we are to believe that she is celebrating a win, it would probably be a good idea to show a few credits on the machine (it shows ZERO) AND perhaps show a winning hand since a pair of 10s with a king, jack and seven is a big fat LOSING!! hand.

I'm not sure why shit like this bothers me so much. Maybe it's because ~~idiots~~ people get paid good money to create advertising images and the least they could do would be to make it even remotely believable. Another possibility is that I resent said ~~idiots~~ people assuming that no one will notice the inconsistencies. Yet another possibility is that I have a mental/personality disorder that makes me overly critical and defensive.

The last possibilities is somewhat disquieting.

Last week as I was gathering required documents for a financial situation that has arisen it became obvious that I wouldn't be able to print any statements via the Bank of America website. After several days and multiple attempts I called customer support, waited 45 minutes for a human and then spent another 45 minutes before, after escalating several levels, it was determined that at some point in the past the wonderful post office returned a piece of mail addressed to me from BoA as undeliverable. This caused BoA to believe that they had a bad address for me and in turn they stopped all mailings and blocked me from accessing any monthly statements via their website. Never mind that I was still able to execute online transactions, write check, make deposits etc. etc. I just couldn't view, and obviously print, the monthly statments I needed to address the situation. With that situation taken care of for FUTURE months, I still needed hard copies so I visited the local branch office. The nice man told me it could take up to 2 hours for that information to be faxed from a remote location. That didn't bother me. What DID bother me was that he kept suggesting that I had changed the address and I was somehow at fault here. I could feel my BP rising but I couldn't contain it.

This may have been a silly example, but situations like this occur on a daily basis.

I really would rather take the high road. I set out to follow the directions to that high road....

And I invariably end up saying something smartassed that I regret. Not because they didn't deserve it, but because I'd really rather be passive aggressive than outright confrontational.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how one can simply ignore these things and roll with the punches? Self medication? Legal medication with a prescription? Yoga? Meditation? Punch them in the face?

Screw the laws of physics

2010-12-14T11:17:00.001-08:00

I'm sitting here wondering how it's possible for nostalgia to gather mass.

It's built for a few days until the sheer weight of it threatens to make it impossible to take another breath.

How did this come to pass you ask? Freakin' Facebook, that's how. Well that's mostly how. Contact with a few old friends both via Facebook and other means as well as the holidays approaching have me in a remarkable mood........

My old friend, alcohol (we haven't seen much of each other in ages), will hopefully carry me through until sleep takes over. In this case, it's Leinenkugel's Sunset Wheat. It certainly wasn't Leinie's that I was drinking way back when on Dan's Rock, or up Seldom Scene or at Deep Creek. Back then it was more likely Boone's Farm, Old Milwaukee, Miller Ponies or some similar combination. Back then it was REO Speedwagon on the Realistic under-dash 8-track in the 1968 Galaxie 500. Today it's Reo Speedwagon and other 80's wonders on You Tube.

Sigh.

Memories, take me away!

Hurry, don't be late

I can hardly wait

I said to myself when we're old

We'll go dancing in the dark

Walking through the park

And reminiscing

Gastronomical Ecstacy & Renewing a Friendship

2010-12-08T10:27:00.000-08:00

A month or so ago I got an email from and OLD friend. We've been friends since circa 1978 AND he is a month older than I am so I can use the term old with total accuracy.
I had not seen Lee Cuttter for 16 years!
In any case he said he was coming to Las Vegas to run in the marathon and wanted to catch up. We made dinner plans for last night which included he and I as well as his wife Christa and their friend Mary. They said steak sounded good and I knew just where to get incredible steak. N9NE at the Palms it was.
Our waiter was a poker player that I have dealt to on many, many occasions. The tables were turned and he was now taking care of me. He started us off with shrimp and oysters on the half, a cheese/mustard plate and a glass of wine. Not a bad start to what would turn into a great meal.
Other appetizers of our choosing would include crab stuffed mushroom caps, a tomato salad and lobster bisque.
Already full, we anticipated out mains. Steak fries, garlic green beans, George's creamed corn, loaded baked potato. Don't forget the steaks. OH! the steaks. Filets and New York Sirloin all around.
By now we are all stuffed and ready to waive off the dessert menu. Out maneuvered by the devious waiter, comped desserts consisting of delicious creme brulee and an INCREDIBLE bread pudding/bananasFoster/ice cream concoction appeared on the table. Amid cries of protest we shoveled the decadent desserts into our pie holes all the while moaning that we were all full to capacity.
We then headed to the Ghostbar for what is without doubt one of the best views in Las Vegas. A quick stop at Bellagio's conservatory to see the holiday decorations and then I dropped them off at their hotel. They are leaving town today.
I couldn't have asked for a nicer reunion or a more pleasant evening.
Lee, please, let's not let another 16 years pass by without contact.
To paraphrase and old beer commercial......
Here's to good friends, last night was very special.

I voted. Did you?

2010-11-01T04:41:00.000-07:00

I voted. Did you?
My guess is that neither Reid the younger nor Reid the elder would be happy with my vote.

The Family Visit Revisited

2010-09-19T08:19:00.000-07:00

Backing up a bit. While on the harbor cruise in San Diego we were treated to the sight of a Portugese Navy ship leaving port. What was special about this ship was that it was an actual sailing ship. Powered by the wind as in the days of old. It conjured the romance of the seas in an age mostly passed.

What I noticed almost immediately was that this Portugese ship was flying an American flag. I asked passengers nearby why that would be. They had no idea. I asked the captain of the tour boat why. He asked the question via the public address system. No one seemed to have an answer. Was it simply a goodwill gesture since they were in an American port? If you know the answer, please answer via a comment.

The drive back to Las Vegas somehow seemed shorter than the drive west. Upon arriving in Las Vegas we checked into Palms Place. Thanks to my slot play at the Palms the room, for three nights, was "complimentary".

It seems like the time flew by, but we did manage to do a few things while they were here.

Hoover dam (again)

Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay (again)

Palms Buffet (over and over and over and over again lol)

Lied Childrens Discovery Museum (again)

Lions at MGM (again)

Wildlife habitat at Flamingo (again)

Bellagio conservatory and fountains (again)

Nathan Burton Show at Flamingo (again for mom and I, the first time for David and my sister)

Eiffel Tower at Paris (again for me, a first for David. It must be noted that about 5 seconds after exiting on the observation deck David was ready to get his feet back on the ground)

I'm sure there was much more, but that's all I can recall at the moment.

Here's David with 2/3 of his body in Nevada and 1/3 of it in Arizona.

I had a fourth night reserved at Palms Place but David wanted to stay at Uncle Wayne's on the last night. It was just as well as it gave mom and my sister a chance to do some laundry and pack up the ton or so of stuff that had been purchased in the last week. While they were doing that, David and I played tennis and then hit the pool and hot tub.

It was a nice end to a wonderful week.

This makes my head hurt

2010-09-09T07:27:00.000-07:00

Much like snakes and spiders, there are other things in this world that I have little to no use for. Religion comes to mind. I won't say that I struggle with the concept on a daily basis, but when I do stop and think about it a trip to the aspirin bottle can't be too far behind.

Some pastor in Florida dreamed up the International Burn a Koran Day. Predictably, all hell seems to be about to be unleashed.

Religious leaders warned that Muslims overseas would interpret extremists like Jones as reflecting mainstream American attitudes toward Muslims. In Afghanistan on Monday, protesters made a point of wrapping an effigy of Jones in an American flag before burning both the effigy and the flag.

From a LA Times article titled "Pastor takes a defiant stance"
by David Zucchino 9/8/10.

Let me get this straight. When a coordinated group of Muslim extremists hijack a handful of airplanes and fly them into buildings, we are not even supposed to entertain the tiniest thought that their actions might represent any of the values of 1.5 billion peace loving Muslims worldwide. When a pastor of a 50 member church gets a wild hair and decides to have a bonfire of the insanities, burkas worldwide get themselves in a bunch.

Can you have it both ways? Would that be hypocritical? Is there any hope?

Happy Birthday Dad

2010-09-05T07:21:00.000-07:00

The East Coast Family Comes West (Long overdue post)

2010-07-17T09:40:00.000-07:00

My mother, sister and nephew came for a visit over a month ago. Yes, I tend to procrastinate.

Dad stayed in Maryland to spend Father's Day in

peace. lol

This is a picture of David playing a slot machine for the first time. I hope, truly hope, that he takes after his mother and not me when it comes to gambling. To borrow from a Jimmy Buffet song, I've made enough money to buy Miami and pissed it all away in a bunch of effing slot machines. My sister, on the other hand is NOT a gambler. I remember a trip to Atlantic City over 15 years ago where my aunt gave us each some money to gamble with. $20? $50? I can't actually remember the amount but I do remember vividy that once that money was gone, my sister was DONE gambling for that trip. On this trip David was enthusiastically encouraging us all to play MegaBucks. Since we were at the Palms and I'm not supposed to play progressives at work, I took a pass. My mother put in $3 and lost. My sister put in $3 and hit bar, triple bar, 5X for $75. Did she take another spin? Nope. She cashed it out. Later in the trip I think she put $6 in a machine. That was the extent of her trying her luck.

We stayed at my place on the first night. I threw a spare mattress on the living room floor and David and I "camped out" there while my mother and sister slept in my bed. I didn't get much sleep but we were up with the sun in the morning and hit the road for California. One bathroom break and one food stop later we were in San Diego. There is a WHOLE LOT OF NOTHING between here and there.

The USS Midway was our first stop. David is very interested in the military and I knew he would like that tour.

After the Midway tour we took a two hour cuise of both the North and South portions of San Diego Bay. Both sections of the tour gave great views of billions (trillions?) of dollars worth of naval ships and submarines. I had taken this same cruise on my first visit to San Diego a few years ago but it was enjoyable the second time around as well.

We then headed a little north of San Diego to Harrah's Rincon. I was able to get a comped room for two nights there and the "free" room was enough to convince me to stay there. By then, due to the lack of sleep and a ton of driving I was dragging ass. When I went to check in, I was told that there were no two-bed rooms available. Given the choice of sleeping in the car or sleeping on a roll-away or a sofa I chose not to sleep in the car but I did have a little melt down. For that I apologize to my family. That's not a side of me you are used to seeing. Again, sorry.

The next day we headed to LegoLand. When planning this visit I gave David the choice of LegoLand, SeaWorld or DisneyLand. I was a little surprised when he picked LegoLand, but so be it. LegoLand, like all theme parks, was expensive. Interesting,but expensive.

I managed to get extremely sunburnt. My sister a little less so but still red as a beet.

I thought I was in Southern California, but Las Vegas had followed me, aparently. Yep, LegoLand has recreated the "Strip" in Lego blocks.

After a long day at the park we headed west for the last time looking for a beach, any beach. Not being familiar with the area I didn't know exactly where we would end up, but I knew if we kept going west we'd end up running into the ocean at some point. That point turned out to be Oceanside.

We fooled around on the beach for an hour or so and just before departing David decided to lose a tooth. We found the tooth and headed back to Harrah's.

We switched rooms so that we could all sleep in a bed that night and as the rest of the family was settling in (and I was waiting for them to settle so I could go lose an insane amount of money downstairs in the casino) I felt something that didn't seem right. My sister and nephew were on the bed, mom was in the bathroom and I was sitting in a chair. The room started moving and then it stopped. I asked my sister if she had felt it and she said YES SHE HAD. It started moving again. Once it stopped the second time we both said EARTHQUAKE! David was a little freaked-out but I thought it was kind of neat.

Mom, however, claims to have felt nothing. How she didn't feel it I'll never understand. She said she thought she felt the bed shake the night before while the rest of us were asleep and as it turns out there was a smaller quake that night. So the rest of us slept through one and she somehow "missed" the larger one the next night.

The next day we headed back to Las Vegas........

to be continued.

Congratulations Kim and Benton!

2010-05-23T07:44:00.000-07:00

I used to work with both the bride and groom. I'm happy to still call them friends.

They were recently married in the Bahamas.

Married.

On a beach.

In the Bahamas.

In their bare feet!

Gotta love it!

I send my wishes for an enchanted life.

XOXO

Rumor has it.....

2010-05-16T08:56:00.000-07:00

That my sister MIGHT take her Xmas tree down today!

I say to hell with it. It's only a little more than 7 months to the next one. Leave it up!

From way before I was a twinkle in dad's eye.

2010-05-04T05:25:00.000-07:00

I had forgotten that I had this picture.

Lonaconing, Maryland circa 1954?

My father is in the middle of the back row.

I hope my nephew, who's baseball season just started, enjoys seeing this picture of his Pappy.

If I scratch your back, will you stick a knife in mine?

2010-05-04T04:50:00.000-07:00

If you are a movie star who can't bring yourself to throw the dealer a flipping $1 bone every (oh I don't know, say three pots) once in awhile, don't expect me to spend $10 to see your movies, ok?

We got a deal?

Good!

This also applies to other professions. If I ask you what you do for a living after I get a few airballs, chances are it's so that I can try to structure my spending habits in order to avoid lining your pockets.

Other than that one ~~little~~ sticking point, you were pretty cool to deal to.

What Does May Day Mean To You?

2010-05-01T09:41:00.000-07:00

When I was in 1st grade, I remember the May Pole dance. It consisted of a big pole with multi-colored streamers attached to the top of the pole. I THINK it was only the girls who participated in this, but I could be mistaken. First grade was a long time ago and my memory seems to fade a little more each day. In any case, the girls (?) went around and around in different directions while weaving in and out. The result was that the streamers ended up braided in an intricate pattern.

Of course Mrs. O'Rourke never told us that the May Pole represented a giant penis and the whole thing was a Pagan fertility festival.

***

In high school, the May Day program consisted of the band and chorus regaling everyone with music. This was all presided over by the May Queen and Her Court and culminated in the crowning of the May Queen. My senior year I was honored when Mary Frances Crowe, one of the senior class representatives asked me to be her escort. We danced the box step to "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" as the curtain fell at the end of the program.

Not ironically, this tradition could also be linked to the fertility question, although in high school it's more animalistic than Pagan.

The May Queen of my senior class happened to be pregnant when she was crowned May Queen. Twenty one years prior to this, the May Queen of my mother's senior class was ALSO pregnant when she was crowned May Queen.

Oh, the humanity.

***

Today, I celebrate May Day in a different way. It marks one month in which I have not put one single cent into a slot machine. For someone who played machines nearly every day, this is quite an accomplishment for me. It makes quite a difference in the old bank balance, that is for certain. I may play again tomorrow, but I hope not. What I do hope is that after too many years of wasting too much money I have finally come to my senses. I can hear my late grandmother asking me if I didn't work too hard for my money to piss it away in the machines.

Perhaps I do.

One Liners

2010-04-07T09:19:00.000-07:00

Sometimes all I want is a night at work without any drama. That's a lot to ask where I work. If it isn't the threat of a couple players going fist-a-cuffs it's an overserved patron. You know, an over Patroned patron. Ha Ha.
Monday night was one of those nights. Slow, but NO DRAMA. It was almost a pleaure.
One player on Monday night claimed to have done some stand-up. When he folded it was always with a little quip such as...
I'm out like a boner in a pair of sweat pants.
I'm out like your mother in a beauty pageant.
I told him he was out like Ricky Martin.
He said he would add that one to his routine.

Our Government (and me) at Work.

2010-03-31T09:17:00.000-07:00

This doesn't make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside nor inspire confidence, but it is what it is I suppose.
I received TWO pieces of mail informing me that census forms were on their way to me. Then I receive TWO census forms. Then I receive TWO postcards telling me that I should have already received the census form.
Why TWO of each you ask?
Well one is addressed to ...UNIT 322... and one is addressed to ...UT322...
So today I call the friendly help desk at the census bureau (It didn't SOUND like I was talking to someone in India, but I can't be sure of that) to inform them that they have two very similar addresses and that one is in error.
The nice lady (she really was nice about it) told me to destroy one of the forms and return the other one. That sounds reasonable, but..... Now here is the kicker. She said that since there would be an unreturned form, they would SEND A CENSUS WORKER to the address to ascertain why one form was not returned.
SIGH.
I JUST TOLD YOU WHY ONE WOULD NOT BE RETURNED!
Could any reasonable person not understand that UNIT 322 and UT 322 are the same address?
Not good enough I guess.
*****
On the poker front it's feast or famine. That there have been days of feast is amazing in itself. Until Sunday night I was averaging over 8 hours per day during the month of March. In six years and 5 months I have NEVER averaged over 40 hours per week. Eight times this month I have worked OT. That all came to a crashing halt as Sunday night we went dark at 4Am and Monday night we went dark at 3AM.
With the WSOP fast approaching I'd think we should be relatively busy for the duration. Hopefully Poker Stars will again make our place their home-away-from-home during the series although I'm told that it isn't yet a done deal.....

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad

2010-03-06T10:00:00.000-08:00

Believe it or not, 45 years have passed since you said "I Do"

Happy, happy anniversary!

Oh, Crap!

2010-02-25T21:04:00.000-08:00

I really had hoped that this day never came......

Crap!
http://www.lasvegassun.com/blogs/elsewhere/2010/feb/25/harrahs-private-equity-owner-buying-palms-debt/
Crap!
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/d84a0ba0-2184-11df-830e-00144feab49a,dwp_uuid=e8477cc4-c820-11db-b0dc-000b5df10621.html
Crap!
http://nvprogressive.blogspot.com/2010/02/late-breaking-harrahs-owners-start.html
Crap!
http://thestrippodcast.blogspot.com/2010/02/harrahs-buying-palms.html
I'd heard rumblings that we were in trouble but it was rumored that PennNational would be the suitor.
Sigh..........

The Porcelain God Exacts a Tithe

2010-02-18T19:10:00.000-08:00

She was sitting at an unused poker table with her head in her hands. She was more than a little bit drunk... She was sobbing quietly.

Security arrived up and began to get an idea of what, exactly, the situation was.

It seems that her stomach had decided to purge itself of a little excess alcohol. Happens all the time, right? No bid deal. Well, in the act of regurgitation, her dentures had exited her mouth. Still not the end of the world. Unpleasant, but not devastating.

The kicker? The toilet had an automatic flush....and it did....and her dentures were on the way to Lake Mead.

Snow there, 52 degrees here.

2010-02-06T15:18:00.000-08:00

Pictures of the snow back home in Western Maryland. They only got 28 inches with another storm coming in behind this one.....

Sometimes we are reminded that living in the desert has some advantages. Someone remind me of these pictures when it gets to 110 degrees here in a few months....

Me & Herschel Walker

2010-02-03T21:32:00.001-08:00

Taken 2/3/10 at the Culinary Expo at Cashman Center.

2009 Winding down...

2009-12-22T22:09:00.000-08:00

My first impression of Aria was hmm, so this is what $8.5 Billion will buy. Granted, I've not seen the inside of the rest of the City Center project. Aria is nice but, in my opinion, it falls short of WOW! I hope City Center is a raging success and that it helps to pull Las Vegas out of it's current funk but I have my doubts.

Today I visited the Aria Spa . At $30 for a day pass it's priced in the middle tier as far as Las Vegas spa day passes go. The experience, however, failed to crack the top three on my Las Vegas Spas list.

My top three, in no particular order:

Encore

Caesars

Mandalay Bay

A few observations from today's visit.

In the above picture you'll notice a vertical pole attached to a column in the upper left of the picture. That pole had small rods protruding from it. As far as I could see that is the ONLY place in the entire facility where you could hang your robe or towel. Even in the showers there are no hooks or towel bars.

Except for the showers, there is no soap available. If you visit the restroom (which doesn't have sinks in that immediate area) and then head to the vanity area to wash your hands you'll be out of luck.

The corduroy robes are now my favorite in town.

The overhead lighting in the wet area and steam room is very bright. Laying on your back requires a towel placed over your face unless you want to stare at blinding halogen lights.

There is a shower within the steam room which is a plus in my book.

When the steam kicks on in the steam room it is LOUD. I was startled EVERY time it came on. Not the most relaxing thing when you are trying desperately to relax.

As you can see in the picture, there are 4 separate hot tubs. Each is approximately 6' x 6'. They re all the same temperature. My suggestion would be to turn the heater off in one of them and make it a cold plunge and to also vary the temperature of the other three.

For the most part the place looks modern and sterile. I wouldn't even venture a guess as to how many tons of granite was involved in the construction of the spa. One major exception to the sterile vibe is the Salt room. I'm not sure exactly what they call the room but it is BEAUTIFUL. One wall and one column in the room consists of blocks of salt of varying shades from white to tan/yellow to brown. It is backlit and the effect is quite soothing. The theory is that the salt emits negative ions (not eons, Otis) which are rumored to be be good for you.

(for the record, I reluctantly admit to briefly licking the wall to verify that it was indeed made of salt lol)

The sacred Japanese ganbanyoku room is interesting. Basically you lay flat on a heated surface of sacred stones which were "blessed" in Japan. I don't know how much I buy into the holistic approach to wellness, but I don't guess it can do much harm either.

After the salt and stone exposure I returned to the main spa and promptly fell asleep for about 3 hours. The relaxation I was in search of was aparently found.

Overall it wasn't a disagreeable way to spend the day.

*****

Look closely. What the hell is Sanitazing? Does it involve tazering something until the germs give up?

*****

I saw this in the East parking garage at the Palms. What, exactly, would you have to do to someone to piss them off enough to compel them to have bumper stickers made and then paste them around Las Vegas?...and aparently all across the country.

*****

I am dreading the receipt of my 2009 win/loss statements from around town. I will have to acquire and save them since I need to off-set a rather large win from a couple of months ago.

Maybe I will be so embarrassed by how much money I throw away that I will do something about it in 2010. I make too much money to be poor!

*****

Although not really a New Year's resolution I've made a weight loss bet with a freind/coworker. By the end of February the one who has lost the higher percentage of the base line body weight will get a 50 minute massage compliments of the lesser loser. Either way, we both need to lose a few pounds.

*****

Thursday morning I am flying home to Maryland. It's been a year since I've been there. I am very much looking forward to the visit and it looks like they'll have plenty of snow, both old and new for my white Xmas.

*****

I wish everyone health, peace, contentment, prosperity and love in 2010

Today's Pop Quiz

2009-11-16T07:42:00.000-08:00

There once was a creature who had feathers, webbed feet and made a noise that sounded like quack-quack.

Based on this limited information, would you guess the creature to be a(n) :

a) elected politician from Nevada

b) dog

c) cat

d) duck

That was an easy one, right?

OK, on to the next brain twister. I must warn you that this one is just a bit harder.

There once was a guy named Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan.

Some of the things he has allegedly said or done* are listed below:

1)denounced the "war on terror" as a war against Islam

2)said Muslims should attack Americans in retaliation for the war in Iraq

3)defended suicide bombers

4) said he was "happy" when a Muslim murdered a soldier at a military recruiting center in Arkansas earlier this year.

5)shared a "spiritual adviser" with two of the Sept. 11 hijackers

6)delivered an hour-long PowerPoint lecture to an audience of doctors at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, arguing that non-Muslims should be beheaded and have burning oil poured down their throats. (although not necessarily in that order??)

7)tried to contact al-Qaida, and at least one U.S. intelligence official says the Army knew it.

8)entered a medical facility at Fort Hood, prayed briefly, then shouted "Allahu akbar" before he began gunning down American troops

Based on the list above, one should assume that the Maj. is/was:

a) a very good reason to celebrate diversity in the US Military.

b) a very good opportunity to demand that Americans not to "jump to conclusions" -- namely, the obvious conclusion that the attack was an act of Islamic terrorism.

c) a victim of pre-traumatic stress disorder.

d) an Islamic Jihadist or dare one say it, a terrorist.

Please choose your answer carefully.

Related discussion points:

Which presidential administration is responsible for US military personnel on US military posts being forbidden from carrying weapons on said US military post. (Hint--I did NOT have sexual relations.............)

*alleged actions borrowed from Ms. Coulter.

This and that.

2009-11-11T08:03:00.000-08:00

Dawn from my porch a week or so ago.
*****
As I dealt a $1-3 NL game Monday night I (had no choice but to) listened to the players laugh and joke about Darvin Moon and what an inexperienced idiot he was. At the time he, according to up to the second updates, was ahead in the chip count. Finally, as is often the case anymore when I can't take it anymore, I said, "and here we all sit, at the Palms, at a $1-3 game".
I wonder if any of those who were generous in their criticism took pause to wonder at the fact that the two players outlasted thousands of other players who would give anything to be among the last two standing, or as was the case, sitting at the final table on Monday night.
*****
I often ask players, who I know to be dealers around town, how long they have been dealing and how they overcome/avoid utter and complete burnout. I've yet to find the cure for that particular ill. Sigh.
*****
"Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength..."--Eric Hoffer
*****
I occasionally read blogs written by others who work with the public. I just stumbled upon this one recently. Although this particular entry hasn't much if anything to do with "serving" the public, it struck a cord with me. Additionally, the public might be well served to read it.

I worry for our future, although I fear the cause is already lost. W.W.M 11/12/09

"And for the support of this Declaration with a firm reliance on the
protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our
fortunes, and our sacred honor..."--the fifty-six signers of the Declaration of
Independence"

On Independence Day, a few hours ago, they killed my son, Aaron in
Afghanistan"--David M Masters

One of my favorite speeches of all time I discovered just recently was
actually the work of Rush Limbaugh, Jr., the father of the very popular radio
host of the same name. I suppose it is odd to brand something a favorite when it
brings tears to my eyes every time I hear or read it--but this speech is perhaps
the most succinct expression of what actually made this country--the attitudes
and sacrifices and the sheer will--that exists today.A girl I dated several
years ago [who, unfortunately, I realized I was in love with only after she had
moved 2000 miles away and gotten engaged to someone else] had the speech framed
for me. It is a big piece--a little larger than a full-size movie poster--and it
hangs in a prominent place in my home office. To this very day it is difficult
for me to walk past the piece without reading at least a little of what is
printed there.When most of us think of the men who created this country we think
of the fighting kids in the militia that evaded, outlasted, and eventually
outfought the British--and we think of those patriots who had the strongest hand
in guiding our young country once it had been created--Washington, Jefferson,
and Adams. That fighting force and those individuals deserve all the credit
given them and more, but for me personally the men I think most of when I think
of our founding are those other signers, the ones who in many cases lost nearly
everything after affixing their names to the Declaration.Jefferson, Adams, and
Washington [the general, in the field at the time, was not a signer] all risked
their lives and property, but for the most part lucked out for lack of a better
term--their homes, estates, and businesses survived largely untouched. For many
of their brethren however the toll of freedom was high and harsh indeed.The vast
majority of these men were rich and had large families. Most of them committed
to the cause knowing full well that their possessions, families, and lands were,
for the most part, located in areas under the direct control or within the near
reach of the British forces.Francis Lewis of New York lost everything, including
his wife who was captured, raped, and tortured by British soldiers. She died
shortly after being returned to him in a prisoner exchange.William Floyd of New
York saved his family but lost all of his possessions and was forced to live as
a fugitive for seven years.Phillips Livingstone of New York lost all of his
great wealth and his life before ever getting to see the dawn of the new nation
he had given everything for.John Hart of New Jersey was nearly captured trying
to return home to see his dying wife. When he finally snuck back to the ruins of
his property his wife was already dead and his thirteen children gone. He never
found his children and died broke and broken in 1779.Robert Morris of
Pennsylvania spent his vast fortune in support of Washington's army. The effort
destroyed his merchant fleet of nearly 150 ships and reduced him to a
pauper.Abraham Clark of New Jersey was offered the lives of his two captured
sons near the end of the war if he would publicly renounce the Revolution and
endorse the British throne. He refused, and his sons died in captivity.My
favorite of these generally unknown heros however is without a doubt Governor
Thomas Nelson of Virginia. Nelson commanded the Virginia militia throughout the
war and was in command at the epic battle of Yorktown. As American artillery
began to zero in on the British, their General Cornwallis ordered his command
relocated to Nelson's own immense, opulent home. American cannoneers would not
fire on the residence."Why do you spare my home?", demanded the angry
Nelson."Sir, out of respect to you," replied the artillery commander.Nelson
cried, "Give me the cannon!", and went on to demolish his own home in order to
defeat Cornwallis.In total, nine of the signers died during the war, five were
captured, twelve lost their homes, seventeen were completely bankrupted, and two
saw their wives ravaged at the hands of the enemy.I have often wondered if I
could have made any of the sacrifices that these men did, just as I wonder
sometimes whether I would have found myself at a recruitment office on 09.12.01
had I been a younger man.I have lived my life doing things the hard way, because
usually the hard way is the best way. I understand, as apparently fewer people
do each and every day, that in order for something to have real value and
foundation there must be labor expended, sacrifices made, and even sometimes
little blood drawn. I comfortably admit owning a tremendous amount of contempt
for those who have decided that their life path will be the easiest, simplest
one--no matter how many broken promises, cut corners, failures, and
disappointments are left in the wake of that path. I would rather accept
responsibility than pass the buck, would rather break trail than follow meekly,
would rather do battle than dodge the draft.When someone says, "I've heard of
you," I have no worries whatsoever. My word is good, my credit is good, my bills
are paid, my businesses are successful, my reputation is intact, and I sleep
like a baby--if a baby only slept about four hours a day, that is. That is the
only way I know to live my life.Could I have made the sacrifices that many of
those fifty-six signers made? I don't know--I suppose that is a question that
can only be answered just as the deadline looms.The problem, unfortunately, is
that I am much more sure of the answer to another question, namely: "How many of
those in our current government would make the sacrifices that many of those
fifty-six signers made?"The answer to that question is a very low, disgustingly
low number--and I'm speaking about both parties.Ironically, the only name that
hits me right away as a resounding "yes" is a man in such questionable health
that he probably wouldn't last two weeks in such a stressful situation--former
Vice President Dick Cheney. Probably Senator Lieberman, who has shown a
refreshing willingness to speak plainly about important issues regardless of
party line. Probably former President George W. Bush, if he has anything left in
the tank. Maybe the two magnificent senators from Oklahoma--but I don't know
enough about them personally to be sure. Maybe crazy Dennis Kucinich--his idea
of America is diametrically opposed to mine, but he nevertheless seems to go
about his business--his insane business--in a pretty forthright manner.Not only
would our current "leaders" have recanted revolution to save their two sons as
Abraham Clark refused to do--they would have recanted for a 757 ride [private of
course] home to San Francisco, a trip to Paris [excuse me, fact-finding
mission], a post office named after their grandfather, $1.2 trillion for the
union thugs that get them re-elected every two, four, or six years, hair plugs,
custom-made Allen Edmonds loafers, a cheese steak, aluminum collar stays, a can
of aqua net, etc. Not only would they have recanted for the most minor of
trinkets and geegaws, they never would have considered revolution in the first
place unless they could have been exponentially enriched by it--not the other
way around.

My Latest Toy

2009-10-04T07:51:00.000-07:00

My parents were here for 5 nights. I plan to post a few pics and observations about their visit and my playing the Las Vegas tourist soon.

Until then, the pic is of my newest toy. It seems like I have wanted a vintage slot machine for as long as I can remember.

Well, I now have one.

I'll leave you with a parting shot of some of the view that my parents had from their studio suite at Palms Place.

RIP Bob Stupak

2009-09-25T18:52:00.000-07:00

From the Las Vegas Advisor:
September 25, 2009 Bob Stupak Dies: Entrepreneur, gambler, and self-styled
"Polish maverick" Bob Stupak died today at Desert Springs Hospital after a long
fight with leukemia. He was 67.

In my opinion, Bob Stupak was an "interesting" individual.

The only time I ever dealt to Stupak was at the Ultimate Bet Aruba event. Having said that, it was an extended engagement. He had entered a tournament that started in the early evening and he went deep. All the other dealers left to go do their thing. Sipu and I stayed to deal the final table. It was daylight when we finished. Several times throughout the night he and I stepped outside for a cigarette. On one of those smoke breaks he asked me how I got to Aruba. I wasn't sure if he meant how I landed the dealing gig or how I physically got to the island. I made an assumption that he meant physically. Well that left two options since you can't exactly drive to Aruba. I briefly considered whether he had arrived on a cruise ship but I couldn't figure out what he was driving at.

I said that I arrived on an airplane. (?)

He said that he was stranded on the island.

I said I could think of worse places to be stranded.

He paused for a few seconds and then thoughtfully said that he couldn't think of a worse place to be stranded.

No worse place than Aruba??

HUH?

What he was driving at was that the high humidity in Aruba was taking it's toll on his ability to catch his breath. He was nearly desperate to get off of the island but couldn't get an earlier flight.

If I remember correctly, he chopped first and second place money.

RIP Bob. You certainly led a full life.

Photo Dump

2009-08-21T06:00:00.001-07:00

The picture of the most profitable outing is the Wynn picture.
I have been going to the spa at Encore. On Tuesday before I headed upstairs to the spa I entered the free slot tournament and was assigned to the 1:00 PM session. The 11,320 score was good enough to win the session and $500 in free slot play. The session win also entitled me to play in the finals at 5:00PM. I came in second in the finals and that was good for another $750 in free slot play.
Logic told me that it would be best to run the $1250 through a poker machine with a "decent" pay table. At the Encore you aren't going to find any full pay machines......at least I couldn't find any there.
I started out playing a poker machine, but to me a single hand poker machine is BORING and too much like work. I then started bouncing around on penny and nickel machines betting the max. My good fortune continued and by the time I had run the $1250 through a variety of machines I was able to cash out around $1,430.
I went back to the Encore on Thursday hoping to play in the daily tournament again only to be told that you are only allowed to play in it once for the duration of the promotion.
Oh well, the one time was gooooood.
Perhaps the most satisfying thing from my point of view is that after I had played the freeplay through once, I cashed out and left the premises and didn't give any/all of it back (that day at least).

Calling Dr. Freud.

2009-08-04T07:18:00.000-07:00

After three days (I work nights) of insomnia I finally get to sleep at a decent hour only to be awakened by this dream:

I'd apparently quit my current job and returned to my previous one back on the East coast. Many of the employees at my previous workplace were familiar and even one person from three jobs ago worked at my last place of employment.

From the time I walked back into my previous place of employment I totally regretted it. I kept thinking WHY did I do this? Is it too late to undo this?

Every printer in every office was spewing paper with enough velocity to hit the ceiling.

There was a line on the floor that didn't exist when I last worked there. Everytime I stepped over it alarms went off and people would yell at me that I'd stepped into the bakery side of the business and that I couldn't do that.

What the hell?

Does anything really matter?

2009-08-02T18:58:00.000-07:00

In the interest of full disclosure, I have never cast a vote for a Democrat in my life. I'll admit to having come very close to pulling a lever with a D beside it once or twice (really only once) a long time (17ish years)ago.

I'll also publically claim Ronald Reagan, warts and all, as the most inspirational politician of my life time. During the Reagan years I was truly proud to be an American.

I can also state that in some respects and on some issues, my views settle somewhere left, way left, of the middle of the road. Most of those issues have to do with getting the government OUT of our daily lives which seem counterintuitive

Having said that, with each passing year I become more and more disgusted with politicians of all stripes. There really aren't vast differences between one and the next. There are planks of each platform, right and left, that I find to be full of termites and decay.

Some days I wonder why I bother to read the paper (yes, I still read the paper a few times a week. I'm aging and some habits die hard) or surf the 'net for the latest drivel flowing from the talking (or typing) heads. Hell-in-a-hand-basket comes to mind more often than not.

How is it, from a poker perspective, that the Democratic party is perceived as leading the fight for personal freedoms and the evil Republicans are perceived as the party that wants to keep you from your weekly home game? Something is quite wrong with that picture.

The problem, as I see it, is that the vast majority of the population is closer to the middle than the politicians. The right and left have drifted so FAR right and left that they no longer understand the middle.

How is it that we, as a people, continue to send the same people back to Washington over and over again when polls show our displeasure with those same lawmakers? Do we "vote" one way with our ballot and then "vote" another way when participating in a poll?

Is this what was envisioned 230+ years ago?

http://buchanan.org/blog/pjb-socialist-america-sinking-1600

After half a century of fighting encroachments upon freedom in America, journalist Garet Garrett published “The People’s Pottage.” A year later, in 1954, he died. “The People’s Pottage” opens thus:
“There are those who still think they are holding the pass against a revolution that may be coming up the road. But they are gazing in the wrong direction. The revolution is behind them. It went by in the Night of Depression, singing songs to freedom.”
Garrett wrote of a revolution within the form. While outwardly America appeared the same, a revolution within had taken place that was now irreversible. One need only glance at where we were before the New Deal, where we are and where we are headed to see how far we are off the course the Founding Fathers set for our republic.
Taxes drove the American Revolution, for we were a taxaphobic, liberty-loving people. That government is best that governs least is an Americanism. When “Silent Cal” Coolidge went home in 1929, the U.S. government was spending 3 percent of gross domestic product.
And today? Obama’s first budget will consume 28 percent of the entire GDP; state and local governments another 15 percent. While there is some overlap, in 2009, government will consume 40 percent of GDP, approaching the peak of World War II.
The deficit for 2009 is $1.8 trillion, 13 percent of the whole economy. Obama is pushing a cap-and-trade bill to cut carbon emissions that will impose huge costs on energy production, spike consumer prices and drive production offshore to China, which is opting out of Kyoto II. The Chinese are not fools.
Obama plans to repeal the Bush tax cuts and take the income tax rate to near 40 percent. Combined state and local income tax rates can run to 10 percent. For the self-employed, payroll taxes add up to 15.2 percent on the first $106,800 for all wages of all workers. Medicare takes 2.9 percent of all wages above that. Then there are the state sales taxes that can run to 8 percent, property taxes, gas taxes, excise taxes, and “sin taxes” on booze, cigarettes and, soon, hot dogs and soft drinks.
Comes now national health insurance from Nancy Pelosi’s House. A surtax that runs to 5.4 percent of all earnings of the top 1 percent of Americans, who already pay 40 percent of all federal income taxes, has been sent to the Senate. Included also is an 8 percent tax on the entire payroll of small businesses that fail to provide health insurance for employees.
Other ideas on the table include taxing the health benefits that businesses provide their employees.
The D.C.-based Tax Foundation says New Yorkers could face a combined income tax rate of near 60 percent.
In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson called George III a tyrant for having “erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.”
What did George III do with his Stamp Act, Townshend Acts or tea tax to compare with what is being done to this generation of Americans by their own government?
While the hardest working and most productive are bled, a third of all wage-earners pay no U.S. income tax, and Obama plans to free almost half of all wage-earners of all income taxes. Yet, tens of millions get Medicaid, rent supplements, free education, food stamps, welfare and an annual check from Uncle Sam called an Earned Income Tax Credit, though they never paid a nickel in income taxes.
Oh, yes. Obama also promises everybody a college education.
Coming to America to feast on this cornucopia of freebies is the world. One million to 2 million immigrants, legal and illegal, arrive every year. They come with fewer skills and less education than Americans, and consume more tax dollars than they contribute by three to one.
Wise Latina women have more babies north of the border than they do in Mexico and twice as many here as American women.
As almost all immigrants are now Third World people of color, they qualify for ethnic preferences in hiring and promotions and admissions to college over the children of Americans
All of this would have astounded and appalled the Founding Fathers, who after all, created America — as they declared loud and clear in the Constitution — “for ourselves and our posterity.”
China saves, invests and grows at 8 percent. America, awash in debt, has a shrinking economy, a huge trade deficit, a gutted industrial base, an unemployment rate surging toward 10 percent and a money supply that’s swollen to double its size in a year. The 20th century may have been the American Century. The 21st shows another pattern.
“The United States is declining as a nation and a world power with mostly sighs and shrugs to mark this seismic event,” writes Les Gelb, president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations, in CFR’s Foreign Affairs magazine. “Astonishingly, some people do not appear to realize that the situation is all that serious.”
Even the establishment is starting to get the message.

Zombies

2009-07-30T11:36:00.000-07:00

I am continually frustrated by people who cannot think for themselves. If the "computer" tells them something, they accept it as gospel. Any attempt to analyze, or actually use a thought process is lost on them.

Case in point.

Last night I visited the Carl's Jr. at the corner of Spring Mtn. and Decatur. The sign in the window advertised two Western Bacon Cheeseburgers for $4. The sign also said that you could make it a combo for $2 more. Alrighty then.

The guy says $7.13.

Now, I know that the sales tax rate just went up in Nevada. The new 8.1% tax rate isn't as easy to calculate as the sales tax rate of 5% when I lived in Maryland. 5% was a piece of cake to calculate, but I don't think this has any bearing on what happened last night.

Deep breath.

I say to the guy, lets assume that the sales tax rate is 10%. It's NOT, but let's make this rather simple for you. IF the sales tax was 10% we could take the $6 charge for the food and make a simple calculation to determine that the tax would be 60¢ for a total of $6.60.

By this time another guy, who I assumed was the manager had joined the "discussion".

By what you are telling me, the sales tax would have to be near 20% to arrive at $7.13 (actually it would have to be 19% but at this point......nothing was getting through)

The "manager" guy says to me "Sorry, I'm not good at math."

Sigh.

You, sir, are not good at logic either.

And I won't give you a passing score at customer service!

I finally gave up, left the food on the counter and walked out without paying.

Yes, the computer was not programmed to make this transaction automatically. As I learned via a phone call to the on duty manager this morning, the operator had to manually deduct 60¢ to arrive at the advertised price.

I'll NOT be a customer of this restaurant again.

I've already barred myself from the McDonald's closest to my house for a similar incident. In that case, after I tired of "arguing" with the cashier I asked for the manager. She listened to my story, looked at the computerized total and said "That's the total the computer is telling me, that's what I have to charge you."

SIGH!

When did people stop being able to THINK!

This wide spread problem has vast political and social implications, at least in my mind.

If you didn't know it already, we're pretty much doomed to live with stupidity.

Donkeyote

2009-07-15T19:04:00.000-07:00

As I waited to push onto table 2 a few nights ago, I noticed that the 10 seat had a 3-4 inch plastic donkey that he was using for a card protector.

I asked him if the donkey had a name.

He said, "Just donkey, but you can name him if you want".

I said, ok, I name him Don Quixote.

He looked at me very strangely and asked who Donkey Otie was.

Sigh.......

Excalibur to remove automated tables, bring back live dealers.

2009-06-24T22:07:00.000-07:00

The 10 month "experiment" of automatic poker tables at Excalibur will come to an end soon.
This, in my opinion, is a good thing......

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/06/23/state/n111635D19.DTL

(06-23) 11:16 PDT Las Vegas, NV (AP) --
The Excalibur Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas says it is removing touch-screen monitors from its poker room and will return to a traditional setup with live dealers.
Tablemaker PokerTek Inc. and hotel owner MGM Mirage said Tuesday that the tables would be removed July 5.
Players use the touch-screens to control action at the tables, with no chips, cards or dealers.
MGM Mirage officials say they found that players prefer live dealers to automatic tables.

Holiday Wishes

2008-12-25T15:16:00.000-08:00

There are many people that I should call today. Well, not just today, but on a regular basis. Alas, I'm horrible at keeping in touch.

Just because I don't keep in touch doesn't mean that I don't think about family and friends often.

Please accept this as my cheesy good wishes for a wonderful holiday season.

2009 has to be a better year.....right?

A Las Vegas Thanksgiving

2008-11-29T23:55:00.001-08:00

The Thanksgiving ham was on the table.

The turkey was behind it in the form of an old machine from the Castaways Casino.

Thanks to Ms. May and Mr. & Mrs. Wells for once again inviting me into your home to share the day with you.

I appreciate it.

Everything was GREAT....and I have 5 extra pounds to prove it!

Aurora Borealis in Las Vegas?

2008-11-27T10:55:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a rainy and dreary day is Las Vegas.

I spent the day at Drift Spa at Palms Place. I took advantage of a 50% off offer for employees/friends/family and got a massage. It's been a LONG time since I treated myself to a massage. Before the massage I spent an hour in the Palms Place fitness center. I regret not taking any pictures during my work out. You have view that stretches from downtown on your left to well beyond Mandalay Bay on your right. It's an incredible view that almost makes you forget that you have sweat dripping off of your nose.

When I returned home last night it was still dreary and drizzling rain. I took these pictures off of my balcony. If you look closely you can see the top of a portion of NYNY.

The green glow comes from the MGM Grand.

I'm off to a friend's home for Thanksgiving dinner.

I hope everyone takes a few minutes today, in spite of the econony/world outlook, to think about what we all have to be thankful for.

I'll be thinking about the family feast back east while enjoying a suitable substitute here in the desert.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Poker, Playmates and Me

2008-11-08T19:05:00.000-08:00

Gene, my old poker room manager and current special events coordinator at the Palms is out of town on a cruise to the Mexican Riviera. In his absence, I got to TRY to fill his shoes today by coordinating an invitational Poker and Playmates poker tournament.

In addition to Stacy Fuson (Miss February 1999) and Alison Waite (Miss May 2006) there were several dozen Baker's Babes dressed as naughty school girls. They carried rulers (the better to spank you with), played hop-scotch and went up and down and up and down and up and down on a seesaw.

Sometimes life in the desert is pretty damn good.

An explanation of sorts.

2008-09-14T00:28:00.000-07:00

The scans of the tokens, without much/if any explanation don't make much sense to the casual reader. I'd seen a listing on Las Vegas Craig's list for these tokens a week or so ago. I kept meaning to give the pawn shop a call to see if they still had them. When I finally did call them, they indeed had not sold. I have almost no experience with pawn shops with the exception that I have stopped in a bunch of them asking if they had any casino chips. One of my best finds happened in a pawn shop in Winchester, VA 7-8 years ago. Back then I picked up a hand full of chips to include a Silver Slipper $1, a Fremont 50¢ Arodie, two International $1 and an old slot machine token. For those chips I paid a grand sum of about $11. The "book" value on them was near $600. Finds like that are few and far between.

In any case, after a few phone calls I headed out for Bargain Pawn located in the lovely locale of North Las Vegas just a block or so North of Jerry's Nugget.

If you wonder where the homeless of Las Vegas hang out/live take a drive along LV Blvd. north of downtown Las Vegas. You'll marvel at the makeshift camps. Take a blanket, attach it to chain link fence at the top and drape it outwards to form half of a tent shape. These "structures" are prominent along the sidewalks in the area. I'll not make any judgements about what/how/why these people are there, but it's a mental picture to describe where the pawn shop is located.

My first visit was a dry run. Although Brantley was able to locate the binder containing the tokens, he wasn't able to price/haggle them. I left empty handed after leaving my phone number and asking to have someone with the ability to price the damn things give me a call. The next day I received a call and I once again headed North to the picturesque beauty of North Las Vegas.

The in-the-know employee took $95 off of the sticker price and even "paid" the taxes for me.

I'm a sucker for just about any type of casino collectible. Although I never really pursued slot tokens I had managed to accumulate quite a few. This purchase basically doubled my token collection and sent me on a mission to learn more about them.

A fellow collector directed me to this web site .

There is a wealth of information there and I spend quite a few hours cataloging my newly acquired gems. With few exceptions, slot tokens are not collected as widely as chips and the retail values of the tokens reflect the lesser demand. In any case, a large number of my new tokens are from 1965-1967 and the dates pick back up in 1979. These dates, apparently coincide with changes in the law that allowed tokens to be legally minted and the escapades of the Hunt Brothers. A large number of these tokens are in uncirculated condition. Most have a retail value of $4-$10 but there were about 3 that had significantly higher valuations.

If I didn't have enough to do keeping up with the new chip issues in Las Vegas, now I guess I'll set off in pursuit of older tokens to fill the many gaps in my token collection. The (sort of) good news is that almost NO casinos are still issuing slot tokens as the ticket-in-ticket-out technology has made actual tokens practically obsolete. At least when you collect something that is closed ended you have a prayer of acquiring a significant percentage of what is out there. As of now, chips are an open ended proposition. Who knows if that will be the case in 5-10 years. Will the dealer-less tables be commonplace then? Will CHIPS as a whole be obsolete? I'd like to think not, but technology (read greed) marches on.

page 2-11 tokens

2008-09-11T16:26:00.000-07:00

Slot tokens galore

2008-09-11T15:01:00.000-07:00

I recently purchased a large quantity of old slot tokens. The next few posts will simply be pictures of those tokens.

A good read and something to think about.....

2008-09-01T00:37:00.000-07:00

The following appeared in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. I hope every bean-counter in every Nevada casino reads it and takes it to heart.

Here's the link to the story. http://www.lvrj.com/opinion/27714219.html I've copied and pasted it below so you don't need to follow the link........

Aug. 31, 2008 Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal FROM OUR READERS: Interaction, winning give way to gadgets, losing Virtual technologies cater to the self-absorbed, who can already gamble in isolation anywhere By ALFRED RUNTE SPECIAL TO THE REVIEW-JOURNAL

During a stopover in Reno 25 years ago, my wife and I discovered Nevada-style gambling -- and absolutely loved it.
Just as suddenly, on a summer trip to Las Vegas and Laughlin, we admitted the thrill is gone. Since when did the gaming industry rob Nevada of its uniqueness, conspiring to remake its casinos into video arcades?
Most recently, the Excalibur in Las Vegas brags about replacing its live poker room with electronic poker tables. Again, what happened to the state that believed in character -- the state that made gambling real?
In the old days, even when the games were "electronic," at least the money they paid was real. Certainly, if the sound and feel of money were not important, why does every ticket machine go "clink! clink!"
Cutting labor costs would appear to be the hidden agenda, no matter the protests about sanitation and dirty hands. At the Tropicana Express in Laughlin, we were told that players actually prefer a televised dealer to someone live.
If so, Nevada is in serious trouble; a casino anywhere can give us that. Still, the more likely aim is to shrink the payout -- and the payroll -- while attracting new players content to lose. Note the number of casinos filled with younger players just pushing buttons to watch cartoons.
The challenge is convincing my generation -- people over 55 -- that virtual reality is the same as winning. Our generation, still with three-quarters of the nation's discretionary income, remains Nevada's largest and most loyal market. Forget all the nonsense about being diverted with light shows and theme parks. Our notion of being entertained is still to win -- and to hear it when others do.
When playing slots, we listen for the money hitting the pan. In the restaurant, we want to enjoy live keno with our meal. The fact that a slot machine can replace a keno runner is just another reminder that Nevada is replacing us.
For the record, our generation still likes people. To us, a casino without employees is a morgue. Every time the old machines ran out of money, you got to meet the staff. That keno runner did more than work for the casino. She was also an ambassador of good will.
This is also to explain why older players gravitate to progressive jackpots, especially when playing slots. Why play in a casino if it is not a community, each player driving up everyone's chances to win big?
Gradually, banks of progressive machines have been eliminated -- or diluted by offering multiple games. No longer do the people next to you have a stake in your play, or you a stake in theirs.
Truly, one gets the feeling that Nevada has been taken over by hyperactive teenagers with BlackBerrys stuck to their brains. The point again about inventing games that encourage players to be self-absorbed is that gambling in Nevada becomes irrelevant.
Indeed, if ever the industry should implode, too many mindless changes will be the reason. The whole point of returning to a casino in the first place is to find the community of players and workers -- and luck -- you left behind. Constantly changing the floor of the casino and reducing the staff defies every definition of luck and good business sense. Sure, we now get a player's card and an extra comp or two. But that prevents anyone from learning our names.
Those of us living outside Nevada also have to suffer the airlines and the rising price of gasoline. In the past, Nevada stayed competitive -- and kept us coming -- by offering what could not be had anywhere else.
Although the competition has increased, sending home more losers is no business plan. Nevada would still be better advised to preserve its uniqueness against change proposed for the sake of change.
Granted, some changes are inevitable, and no one can win every time. However, forfeiting character for virtual reality is not progressive change. It is the loss of that Nevada, the real Nevada, that now threatens to keep us -- and the nation -- at home.

Alfred Runte, an environmental historian specializing in the American West, lives in Seattle, where in 2005 he ran for mayor. His latest book is "Allies of the Earth: Railroads and the Soul of Preservation" (Truman State University Press).

How can you shut up and deal if you are a machine?

2008-08-08T09:46:00.000-07:00

There have been many rumors about the poker situation at the new Aliante Station. The gossip leaned heavily towards an entirely electronic room. Then there appeared ads announcing real-live poker dealer positions. That's one rumor (dealerless Aliante) that looks to be false.

Then comes this post on The Dealers Lounge from Psand:

On August 18 Excalibur will close its poker room, (employees may transfer to
other MGM-Mirage rooms if there are openings and they are "approved", the rest
will be laid off) I am told that many of these employees are day 1 employees
meaning they have been there since 1990.
On August 21st Excalibur will open a poker room featuring all electronic tables.

Isn't that just swell?

**888888888888888888**

08/08/08

Today is my mother's birthday. Happy Birthday, Mom!

Testing 1 2 3 4

2008-03-13T22:32:00.000-07:00

Surprise!

I'm still alive.

Beeeeeeeeeeep.

This is a test. This is only a test. If this had been a real life you would have been given specific instructions about where to go and what to do.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled boredom.

Chip Quest

2007-10-13T23:16:00.000-07:00

I've climbed out of the rut that I call life long enough to try to put a few words and pictures on this here bloggie thingie.

On Wednesday I headed out on a mission to pick up a few dozen chips (some for myself and some for some crazy guy in England). My journey began at Mandalay Bay. Crazy English Guy wanted 40 $1 chips and 5 $5 chips, preferably uncirculated. Buying chips directly from the casinos is sometimes an adventure and you never know if they will have received a new order recently. If they have, you may get chips that haven't been on the tables for years with rounded edges, gouges, ten layers of snot, spit and other unidentifiable gunk on them. Some casinos even recognize that there are daft people who collect those funny little clay-like disks and actually keep a box or two of uncirculated chips in the cage incase a certifiable person walks up and wants to buy a chip for their collection. Mandalay Bay isn't one of these places! I headed to the poker room and purchased four racks of $1 chips, a rack at a time and commenced to sorting them on a dead table. Speaking of dead tables, there were a lot of them there.

Grand total of poker games at Mandalay Bay(1:30 PM)........ONE.

My next stop was the Luxor. Crazy English Guy hadn't requested any chips from Luxor but I have been on a mission to pick up at least one of the $4 drop chips that they use in their poker room. I've tried at least 4 time to no avail. The fifth time was the charm. I know someone who knows someone and, well, I finally got the chip.

Grand total of poker games at Luxor......One at 2:15ish PM. Three at 3:30 PM.

Next stop MGM Grand. If you park in their parking lot be prepared for a loooong hike. Me? I always park at the Tropicana and walk over. Trust me, it's closer than the MGM garage. If you are really lucky, you can snag one of about 9 spots near the bus parking and avoid the Trop garage. Those parking spots were my little secret. Now you all know about them and I'll never get one again.

In any case the MGM is usually helpful with chip requests....unless you want one of their $3 poker room drop chips. They guard these like gold. Why? Who knows. The MGM is one of the casinos who keep boxes of uncirculated $1 chips for collectors. I grabbed a few stacks of those for the Crazy English Guy. Then I angled for a stack of the $3 chips. The poker room, as usual, wouldn't sell them, but the cage sold me a stack. Go figure.

NOTE TO CASINOS: The chips cost slightly more than $1 to buy from the manufacturer. If I pay $3 for one of them and walk out the door never to return for the purpose of cashing them in......YOU JUST MADE NEARLY $2 PROFIT. Figure it out people.

Grand total of poker games at the MGM at 4:00PM....Twelve.

My next chip stop was to be Bellagio, but wait! I have free slot play at Tuscany and it's (almost) right on the way. Three hours later (damn machines):

Grand total of poker games at Tuscany...One when I got there 4:15ish and one when I left after 7:00PM.

Next stop Bellagio. The only casino in town where you have to open your trunk for inspection in order to enter the parking garage. I've ALWAYS wanted to have someone hide in my trunk for the purposes of scaring the hell our of the attendant when he looks in my trunk. If you want to volunteer for trunk duty, please let me know. We'll also need someone to follow us into the garage and video the whole scene. I KNOW it's been done a few times but I think Halloween night would be a good time to do it again.

I hit the Bellagio poker room in search of uncirculated $10 and $20 chips. HA! The $20 chips are so worn that I don't even buy one. I got a few $10 that aren't in good shape but hopefully nice enough to please the Brit.

Grand total of poker games at Bellagio 7:30ish.........Twenty Four!!

The rest of the town might be dead, but Bellagio chuggs along (even tough 24 games isn't a "busy" night there).

The conservatory is in the Fall mode:

Yes, those are real apples.

Meanwhile, back at the Palms, a $200-400 mixed game broke out on table 10 on Friday. This is highly unusual for us. Unfortunately it played short-handed, mostly heads-up, and broke 30 minutes before I was to deal that table. Although most dealers would rather knaw off their own arm than deal to one of the players, I was looking forward to dealing it if for no other reason than we are all hold 'em all the time and I'd like to deal other games once in awhile.

I guess I should be careful what I wish for.....

Do they think we're all stupid?

2007-09-20T10:07:00.000-07:00

Does it ever matter if a photo is staged? If the activity pictured would never happen in the real world, does it make any difference? Is the general public so ignorant that they never notice? Are "fake" scenes indicitive of the sorry state of affairs in the world?

Case in point.

Can you spot the inconsistencies in this photo?

Breast size/shape aside, there are several issues with this photo which appeared in GamingToday.

There are no bets on the table.

The lid is on the box.

There is a deck spread on the table while another deck is being dealt.

I'm pretty sure the picture was taken inside the Mint and not the Playboy Club.

I don't know why this type of photo drives me crazy,but it does. You see this all the time. Poker advertisements showing players with 5 cards in their hand. Sure, 5 card draw IS a legitimate game but when was the last time you saw it played inside a casino and do you really think modern casinos are marketing to the 5 card draw crowd? There are pictures of crap tables with generic chips on them. Come on, people lets shoot for just a touch of authenticity.

The caption under the bunny picture in Gaming Today Vol 32 NO. 38 states:

DESPITE VARIOUS INDUCEMENTS Nevada poker rooms saw their first year-over-year decline in revenue in July in more than four years.

While I AM interested in this little tidbit, what does that have to do with a Playboy Bunny pretending to deal blackjack? You tell me as I have no idea.

The poker related portion of the article states:

The state's poker rooms are showing signs that the poker crazw has possible peaked as their rake-the amount withheld from poker pots-declined 6.1% to $15.8 million in July.

I can't argue that fact.

Poker Wars

2007-09-15T23:24:00.000-07:00

The Palms poker room is still without a new manager.

That doesn't mean that those with some sort of say in the matter haven't come out swinging.

As of last Wednesday we reduced our maximum rake to $3. $1 on $10, $1 on $20 and $1 on $30 (10%) in our limit games (and, I believe, in $1-2 and $1-3 no limit) and $1 on $20, $1 on $40 and $1 on $60 (5%) in our $2-5 blind no limit.

This comes shortly after Red Rock and Green Valley increased their max rake to $5 and then quickly brought it back to max $4. While those two rooms were at $5 the "joke" among our shared players was that they were overcoming the higher rake by not tipping the dealer. Not funny at all but I'm sure that is how some of the players reacted.

Some of the Harrah's properties have been at $5 for awhile now. I also have it from a reliable source that:

Bally's has been running their higher rake ($5 max) for a few weeks now.

This past Friday, Harrah's & Rio went to $5 max.
Chances are high that the Flamingo will do so at the end of this month.
That would leave Caesars as the only Harrah's property not at $5

The cold-hard-truth of the matter is that there are still way too many poker tables in this town.....

The shake-out may have started. The poker room at the Hilton is scheduled to cease operations on October 17th.

Rumor is that two other very large and high profile rooms are close to pulling the plug.

The next few months should be very interesting.

Alaska II

2007-08-13T23:27:00.000-07:00

I spent the last week aboard the Norwegian Pearl which is the newest ship in the Norwegian fleet. The itinerary was the same as it was last July. Seattle to Skagway to Juneau to Glacier Bay to Ketchikan to Victoria to Seattle. The major differences this year being that I booked a whale watching tour out of Juneau and this year I went as a floorman instead of a dealer.

I've been avoiding floor duty at my regular job for several reasons. I agreed to give it a try on this cruise for one very specific reason. My old boss asked me to do it because he was in need of "someone I can trust". Will I ever do it again? .......Maybe.

Sidetrack:

Speaking of my regular job, we've been without a poker room manager for several weeks. It needed to happen and hopefully the new manager (no word on who that will be) will be able to attach a rudder a ship that has been floating aimlessly for quite awhile now. The room is still painfully slow.

I heard today that Red Rock and Green Valley went back to a $4 max rake. I wouldn't mind if we went back to a $3 rake. My only reservation there is that the type of player who will follow the rake might not be the action type player who makes it fun and profitable to deal. There are many ideas and suggestions floating around but until we have a new leader it's all just speculation.

Speaking of rake, take a look at this!

This sign graced the lone poker table in the casino aboard the Norwegian Pearl. Can you imaging what would happen if a Las Vegas poker room (or any legitimate room for that matter)tried to rape poker players to the tune of $25 PER HAND? Thankfully I never saw a live game being spread on that table for the duration of the cruise. We were 10 yards down the hall raking 10% max $4. A veritable bargain.

Another bargain and an incredible overlay existed in the $150 buy-in no re-buy tournament we spread on the last full day of the cruise. We had a total of 24 players ($3,600) and the prize for 1st place was a $10,000 WPT Foxwoods seat. If you'd like a chance at something similar give Kathy Maura ( ClassicGamingCruises.com ) a call and tell her I sent you 877-736-8516 . There is only one cruise remaining in 2007 but there are at least 5 scheduled for 2008.

The Pearl is a beautiful ship. The food and staff/service, in my opinion, didn't live up to my expectations based on past cruises(this was my 4th cruise). I've come to expect flawless service. On this cruise it wasn't horrible, but it wasn't great either. On the other hand, when I got into my own bed last night my sheets weren't turned down and there wasn't a mint on my pillow.....

I bought a new camera prior to this trip and I haven't quite figured it all out yet. The picture above is a "multi burst" and I guess there is a way for me to remove a single image from the series of 16 but I haven't mastered (or really even tried) that maneuver yet.

By law, boats are required to stay at least 300 feet from the whales as anything closer is considered harassment. At one point we were floating with the engine off at more than the required distance. Aparently no one told the whale that he needed to stay 300 feet away as he surfaced about 30 yards from the boat. It's not an experience that I'll soon forget.

Glacier Bay looks much the same as last year except the glaciers are receding. This glacier twists and turns for 21 miles but it's estimated that within a decade it won't be visible from the bay.

At 41 years I smoked my first Cuban. We purchased the cigars at an incredible Victorian tobacco shop in Victoria, BC. The shop had a lot of beveled, leaded glass as well as an electrolier unlike anything I have seen. Notice the gas jets on either side of the pillar. Unfortunately Health Canada has decided that you can't even light up in a tobacco store.......

For the record, all I brought back into the States was the empty cigar box.

Elton John - Ticking - Live in Sweden 2003

2007-07-12T11:06:00.001-07:00

I can't get the youtube video to load, so here is the link.........

http://www.youtube.com:80/watch?v=4nm7bpbR7RQ

"An extremely quiet child" they called you in your school report

"He's always taken interest in the subjects that he's taught"

So what was it that brought the squad car screaming up your drive

To notify your parents of the manner in which you died

At St. Patricks every Sunday, Father Fletcher heard your sins

"Oh, he's unconcerned with competition he never cares to win"

But blood stained a young hand that never held a gun

And his parents never thought of him as their troubled son

"Now you'll never get to Heaven" Mama said

Remember Mama said

Ticking, ticking

"Grow up straight and true blue

Run along to bed"

Hear it, hear it,

ticking, ticking

They had you holed up in a downtown bar screaming for a priest

Some gook said "His brain's just snapped" then someone called the police

You'd knifed a Negro waiter who had tried to calm you down

Oh you'd pulled a gun and told them all to lay still on the ground

Promising to hurt no one, providing they were still

A young man tried to make a break, with tear-filled eyes you killed

That gun butt felt so smooth and warm cradled in your palm

Oh your childhood cried out in your head "they mean to do you harm"

"Don't ever ride on the devil's knee" Mama said

Remember mama said

Ticking, ticking

"Pay your penance well, my child

Fear where angels tread

"Hear it, hear it,

ticking, ticking

Within an hour the news had reached the media machine

A male caucasian with a gun had gone berserk in Queens

The area had been sealed off, the kids sent home from school

Fourteen people lying dead in a bar they called the Kicking Mule

Oh they pleaded to your sanity for the sake of those inside

"Throw out your gun, walk out slow just keep your hands held high

"But they pumped you full of rifle shells as you stepped out the door

Oh you danced in death like a marionette on the vengeance of the law

"You've slept too long in silence"

Mama said

Remember Mama said

Ticking, ticking

"Crazy boy, you'll only wind up with strange notions in your head

"Hear it, hear it,

ticking, ticking

Alive and.........

2007-07-12T10:28:00.001-07:00

well, well.

I'ts been awhile, but things are basically the same with me. Nothing much changes here.

I spent the latter part of June and the beginning of July in Maryland visiting family. On Saturday we had a reunion of sorts for about 40 people. Sunday was then devoted to a 6th birthday party for my nephew David.

Happy Birthday, buddy!

On Thursday David wanted to take me on a hike. We packed up a few sodas and a Kit Kat or two for him and headed down the old railroad tracks.

Not too far into our journey we came across drainage from an old and abandoned coal mine. Draining at this particular site has been called the worst acid mine drainage in Maryland.

For most of my childhood George's Creek was a questionable mix of raw sewage and mine drainage. I know that this sounds disgusting, but I can remember flushing the toilet and then running down to the "crick" to see what was flushed enter George's Creek. Around 1980 a sanitary sewage treatment plant was built and the good people of Washington, DC were spared from drinking our waste. (George's Creek flows to the Potomac and DC and other places down state pull their drinking water from the Potomac) Most of the mine drainage was also cleaned up and fish and even a few pair of bald eagles returned to the area. All this changed recently when for unknown reasons the McDonald mine began spewing this toxic mix at levels exceeding any in the past.

The state is currently adding limestone to the drainage in an effort to offset the acidity. No one is quite sure what else can be done. Hopes are that the recent surge was caused by the collapse of an old mine shaft and that the flow will eventually slow/stop naturally.

In any case, George's Creek had largely been restored and flowed with clean, clear water until the McDonald mine drainage began flowing in earnest. You can see in the picture below where clean water meets caustic.

For the next four miles, until George's Creek enters the Potomac River, the creek is DEAD. Nothing. No fish, no insects, no larvae under the rocks. Just a sulfer/rust colored path of yuck.

The coal mines in the area have left a toxic legacy.

To David's credit, he told me that he would build a dam just before the acid meets the creek "so the fish could live."

*****

The qualifying period for the River King free roll has ended. 164 players qualified from the Palms. 20-40 players will be coming from other parts of the country. 200 players and a prize pool of $1,020,000.

If I was one of those players I would be angling for a chop.

***

A friend sent a link to a video of Ticking by Elton John. I've been an EJ fan forever but for some reason this song had remained off of my radar. What a powerful song even if I DO own a handgun and don't believe that banning guns if the answer. Maybe if one of those 14 dead in the Kicking Mule had been packing........?

Hit a Royal, Deal a Royal. In that order

2007-05-31T01:09:00.000-07:00

Today100°/72°F
Fri100°/75°F
Sat100°/74°F
Sun101°/75°F
Las Vegas, NV
100°/72°F
Las Vegas, NV
100°/76°F
Yes, folks, it's that time of the year in Las Vegas. Don't even give me the "but it's a dry heat" bullshit. Actually, 100 IS tolerable. It's the 112-115 days that are simply brutal.
****
Been a long time, been a long time, been a long lonely, lonely, lonely time.

***

A lot of people had a fit over this marquee. If you look closely at the bottom you will see the word TRIP. This was a tongue-in-cheek advertisement for a promotion at the new Bistro Buffet inside the Palms. Take a pill, people.

***

On Tuesday I was fortunate enough to deal a diamond royal flush (with both hole cards playing this pays a jackpot in our room). When high hand jackpot is dealt the dealer must count down the deck and surveillence is notified. They view the hand and verify that there wasn't anything unusual about how the hand played out. This verification takes a minute or so. After they give the OK, we can push the pot but it still may take a little bit for the floor to prepare the payout. With a jackpot over $599 it takes a little longer because there is paperwork involved for the dear folks at the IRS. This jackpot happened to be for $860.

After pushing the pot in this instance and before the jackpot money was delivered, the winner pushed me a stack of blue chips from the pot while stating that he "wasn't done". This could mean anything but I was thinking SWEET. When the jackpot money was delivered he pushed me about $60 more in red and asked "Is that appropriate/is it enough". Are you effing kidding me? You were very generous. Come again, please.

Of course this is not a common occurrance and I believe I may have dealt 7-8 royals in 3.5 years. Sometimes you hit a sweet spot and the player makes your day.

Thank you, Sir!

The Not So New Frontier

2007-05-24T22:27:00.000-07:00

Another venerable Las Vegas strip casino has a date with an implosion. It has been announced that the New Frontier will close the doors on July 16, 2007.

I visited the property today for what will likely be the last time. Of course I visited the Westward Ho for the "last" time on three separate occasions and ended up being one of the last patrons to exit the building on it's final day.

Ironically, the last time I was in the New Frontier it was for the purpose of viewing the implosion of the last of the Desert Inn towers.

Although the Frontier/New Frontier/Last Frontier, in one incarnation or the other, has been around since the 40's, most will just shrug when it joins the growing list of landmarks that went BOOM.

Here are some views of The New Frontier.

The site is surrounded by a lot of new construction!
To the North, the old Stardust site is being prepped. Could the demise of Circus Circus be the next big announcement?

Actually situated on the New Frontier property is the new Trump building.

Directly across the strip, Encore rises beside sibling Wynn, LV.

A little to the Southeast, Palazzo races skyward.

Here's to the future.

Running Scared

2007-05-15T11:22:00.001-07:00

From Inside Gaming comes this news:

... Fiesta Rancho, reversing a trend, closed its five-table poker room May 13; it was one of the few poker venues in the valley that still permitted smoking ...

Very, very interesting.

If anyone knows what happened to the poker room staff there please let me know. Were they transferred to other areas within the property or simply terminated?

*****

On the Bellagio poker room:

"I was told that comps are for the higher limit players. One player told me that it was cheaper to just go buy a sandwhich than have to bribe the Floor for a comp."

"I'm told that you can be moved up the list if you are willing to grease their palm. Thanks, but no thanks."

These quotes are from an older trip report on allvegaspoker.com.

Yesterday at a no limit table the chatter turned to this issue at a
famous strip poker room. It seems that a half dozen, give or take a
few, floor people have been terminated for these practices.

****

If you have even been inside the "new" Aladdin, you sure wouldn't recognize the place now. Planet Hollywood is finally up and running and the casino floor (the only part of the casino/hotel that I've seen since the changeover) is very nice. Gone are the gaudy fake jewels adorning every post, nook and cranny. Sleek decor now abounds. Check it out, you won't believe it's the same place.

*****

John L. Smith is intimately familiar with the tactics of Steve Wynn. Mr. Smith is the author of Running Scared, a book that exposes many aspects of Wynn's life that Steve would prefer not be revealed. Wynn sued in an attempt to keep the book from being published. I got published anyway.

Below is John L. Smith's column from May 15th. You can click here to view the column in it's original form.

May. 15, 2007 Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

JOHN L. SMITH: Wynn shoots himself in the foot with bid to redistribute dealers' tips

Steve Wynn once shot off his index finger while playing with a
pistol. You'd think he would have learned his lesson.
Last September, Wynn fooled with the wrong end of another gun when he forced his dealers to share their tokes with floor supervisors.
Bang. That'll show those dealers.

But in no time, it was Wynn who was doing the bleeding.
Not at his lusty bottom line, but in the image department.
Like workers in some gaudy gulag, Wynn Las Vegas dealers were warned not to speak with the press after the change. When they did, some media scolds chided them for being ungrateful.
I've rarely seen such journalistic fretting about what working
people earn. Breathless stories of dealers making up to $100,000 a year -- most of that in tokes, mind you, for their hourly wage is a pittance -- made them appear greedy and ungrateful.
I'll let others measure the depth of the dealers' gratitude. In a business that celebrates greed, one that finds casino operators scoring insane salaries and scooping up gargantuan net profits, how
anyone can criticize the dealers for battling to hang onto their tips is beyond me.
Last, the card pitchers were warned against attempting to
organize. Over the weekend, they voted by an overwhelming majority to do just that, electing to invite the New York-based Transport Workers Union of America to negotiate with management on their behalf. It was a decision that took real courage in the face of Wynn's intimidating influence.From the start, state bureaucrats and Wynn's lawyers warned the dealers they had no legal standing. They were told to save their money and forget about litigation.
They didn't listen.They received only a partial hearing at the peoples' Legislature after an Orwellian afternoon in which they weren't allowed to mention the name of their billionaire boss. And yet they still refused to quit.When they talked about organizing, they were reminded how quickly they could be replaced.
Some, in fact, were replaced.
But as the months passed and Wynn's profits
from his Strip and Macau casinos were reported along with his own $6 million annual salary, the story began to refocus. Legalities and ethics aside, Wynn had robbed Peter the dealer to pay Paul the floor boss, and he looked bad doing it. And looking bad is something Steve Wynn hates to do.
After 40 years in the casino racket, Wynn has made a vast fortune by being a good boss and by reminding people about all the class he brings to the Strip. But in one move the multibillionaire made himself look cheap. He "redistributed" the dealers' tips without their consent, then tried to portray the dumb decision as an innovative business move. It was such a bright idea that not one major casino corporation endorsed it.
When the blue smoke and bullying failed, Wynn tried the direct
approach. Addressing his dealers on the eve of the election, his tough-guy talk was replaced by the measured speech of a contrite father figure, who apologized for his mistake and expressed gratitude for all the dealers have meant to his success. He implored them to vote against the union and said, "I gotta be your guy in order for us to really get great."
It was taped and disseminated on the Internet.
Trouble is, the dealers' guy screwed them out of a piece of
their tips. Wynn should have rescinded his stupid policy before the unionization effort began. It probably would have derailed it.
Instead, he escalated a fight that can only hurt morale at his casino. Not many good-news stories are generated from union contract negotiations.
Wynn is a brilliant guy in many ways, but is there no one in his life who tells him when he's full of baloney and headed in the wrong direction?
Over the years, Wynn has had a great relationship with his workers. Word of a new Wynn property opening sends a buzz
of excitement through the casino worker subculture. People were genuinely thrilled to be part of his operations because they knew they'd be flying first class and making arguably the best tokes in the business.
Steve Wynn has blown his credibility with his people.
Now he'll have to hustle to stanch the bleeding from his self-inflicted wound.
John L. Smith's column appears
Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. E-mail him at Smith@reviewjournal.com or
call 383-0295.
*****
Two pics of the old and one of the new. The construction pic is of City Center as seen from Tropicana just West of the 15 (Near Wild Wild West)

Wynn Succeeds Where Others Have Failed

2007-05-13T08:37:00.000-07:00

As prediced, Steve Wynn has managed to motivate his dealers to organize.

The final tally is 444 FOR the union, 149 against. Nearly 75% voted YES.

Nearly 75%! It's been said that you couldn't get two dealers to agree on pizza toppings, let alone asking for union representation. Congratulations Mr. Wynn. You have cemented your legacy in this town, state and nation.

Do the right thing, Mr. Wynn. Don't contest the vote. Don't drag the negotiations out for months. Your "family" has spoken. They trust a third party more than they trust you and in desperation they have cast what amounts to a no-confidence-in-you vote. Here's you chance to start rebuilding a relationship with your employees.

Wynn dealers, keep the faith during the negotiation process.

The rest of the town is indeed watching closely. Thank you for doing what had to be done.

Amazing Aerial Tornado Damage Photos

2007-05-08T00:17:00.000-07:00

Click: Greensburg, Kansas

As a child I used to have nightmares about tornados. Invariably I would be in the basement looking out of the small windows there. The dream-tornado would always come from the crest of the mountain and roar into the valley.

Mom always reassured me that because we lived in the mountains, tornados weren't a concern.

When I was in my twenties, a cat 4 tornado cut a path through the Frostburg area about 12 miles from where I grew up. The can, and do occur most anywhere.

The best we can do is stand in awe of the power they unleash.

The other serial nightmare of my childhood involved the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker emerging from the silverware drawer in our "old" house. Even after we moved from that house, it was torn down, and a state road was constructed directly over where the house once stood those three devils still made appearances on occasion.

Anyone want to interpret that one?

******

Several people have chided me about not posting more often. Frankly, I wish I had started an annonymous blog. Although I like incorporating family and friends on this virtual page, my daily reality is work related. I desperately want/need to rage against all that is wrong at my workplace.

Apathy and neglect reign supreme..... and we are all adrift.

Today the stone tablets were delivered from the mount. Among MANY other "thou shall nots" is the thou shall not play "on the clock". Given that we are perpetually over-staffed this will only serve to compound that issue.

Why? you ask. It seems that an on-the-clock dealer not only check-raised, but did so on a bluff and then showed said bluff when the other player folded to the check-raise. Showing a check-raise bluff is not always good for the game.

The player went berzerk. Part of me wishes that he would have been told to get over it, it's part of the game. (despite the fact that our handbook forbids check raising while clocked in). A HUGE part of me wishes that, like other similar situations where rules are violated by certain employees, said employees were addressed individually and disciplined. Jerking the rug out from under EVERYONE because of one persons misdeeds is not, in my humble opinion, the best management strategy. ***disclaimer*** that is only MY SUGGESTION of how to better manage and should not necessarily be construed as a direct criticism of management....incase anyone is actually reading this.

Yes, I need an annonymous outlet...and I need it soon!

Sam Angel...Leaving Las Vegas

2007-04-27T22:27:00.000-07:00

Mine Disaster, Barton, Maryland

2007-04-18T21:27:00.000-07:00

My roots run to a very small town on the Eastern edge of the Great Appalachian Coal Fields. These rich coal deposits once dominated the economy of the area. By the mid 1800's large scale mining operations dotted the hillsides. Many men left Ireland, Scotland and Germany at an early age and sailed to America with the prospect of steady work in the George's Creek coal mines. Many areas of the region are still known by the mines that once operated there. Big Vein Hill (referring to a 14' seam or vein of coal) being possibly the most descriptive.
Sometime around WWII deep mines started giving way to strip mining.
After 170 or so years of pulling coal from the land it's amazing to me that there is still huge amounts of coal still waiting to be mined. In my hometown of Barton, MD (pop. approx 400) there are still two mining companies pulling "black diamonds" from the earth. One of these is Tristar Mining, site of a terrible accident on Tuesday. The story has received national coverage.
From my parents back porch you can see, in the distance, the mining operation although you can't see the section that collapsed.
One report said that 6,000,000 pounds of earth--per HOUR--are being removed in an effort to reach the men. Officially it's still a rescue operation...........
Two men are Still Trapped beneath massive amounts of terra firma.
The daughter of one of the men is my sister's next-door-neighbor.
If you believe in miracles root for one in this case.

Mr. Wynn, THIS is your legacy.

2007-04-09T22:45:00.000-07:00

Finally, enough dealers at Wynn Las Vegas have signed cards asking for union representation. The TWU has filed with the NLRB and has requested an election. While it only requires cards be signed by 30% of employees you can rest assured that way more than 50% have signed the cards. Otherwise the union wouldn't bother.

I'd sure like to have been at the dinner table tonight with any of the other casino moguls in town. Perhaps Steve's ears are BURNING. I'd really like to hear some of that conversation.

While it's not yet a "done deal" and an election is rarely simply a formality, perhaps the LV Gaming Union Genie has finally emerged from her bottle. All it took was a little rubbing by Mr. Wynn. After all these years who knew that was all it would take?

Trump Plaza Dealers Go Union

2007-03-30T09:44:00.000-07:00

My friend Katie blew into town last Tuesday. She is a chemistry teacher at Sacramento State and she was enjoying a portion of her spring break in Las Vegas. On Wendesday we decided to have lunch at the Top of the World restaurant in the Stratosphere tower. I had eaten dinner there maybe 8-9 years ago. The view was just as I remembered it except that this time it was daylight.
We both sprung for the Kobe burger.....well done. I like my steak medium at most but when I eat a burger it has to be cooked.
I asked the waitress if the Kobe was domestic. I know that real Kobe is imported from Japan but I also have heard that a lot of places serve domestic "Kobe Style" beef. She assured us that it was indeed real, imported Kobe. The burger was delivered to the table charred on the outside and RED RED RED on the inside.
We both at it anyway. lol
It did have a distinctive taste but I'm not sure if the taste was due to the charred exterior or due to the type of beef. I don't think I'll be ordering any more $16 Kobe burgers any time soon.

Despite that it was a nice way to spend an hour or two as we rotated high above the Las Vegas Valley.

****

The qualifying rules for the River King $1,000,000 free roll have been modified. Starting last Monday you can earn double hours by playing on Monday or Tuesday. I assume that this promotion within a promotion will last until the qualifying period ends.

On Tuesday I decided that I wanted a beer when I finished work. Most of the waitresses would have just brought me a beer but you are really supposed to be actively playing in order to order drinks. Whatever. I sat in a $2-4 limit game and anxiously awaited the opportunity to order a Sunset Wheat. I'm not sure why I mostly drink the bland ol' Miller Lite. Occasionally I like a "real" beer. The Palms had recently stopped serving both Sierra Nevada and Blue Moon beer. Leinenkugel's Sunset Wheat is the replacement. I'm told that the Maloof's recently acquired a large stake in the Miller distributorship here in Las Vegas and since Leinenkugel's is a wholly owned subsidiary of Miller Brewing that explains the introduction of Sunset Wheat.
In any case I really like it. And I really wanted one. Just one.
Honestly, it took me about 70 minutes to get the damned thing.
During the wait I managed to suck out and flop some monsters a few times. One of the suck out winners came in the form of a diamond flush(which gave me an entry and a chance to win $100). After that suck out the loosing player made the comment that he plays there all the time and tips me. I guess a dealer isn't supposed to ever win a hand.
So what? I had to bite my tongue. About an hour earlier I had spent a down on that very table. I had in fact pushed three pots to said player. Said player neglected to toss me a bone all three times.
When the beer finally came I quickly drained it and cashed out a small winner.
The diamond entry was a winner and I picked up the cash on Wednesday.

The dealers at Trump Plaza have joined their neighbors at Caesars Atlantic City by voting for UAW representation. The dealers at Trump Marina have filed a petition asking for their opportunity to vote also. The dominos are falling in Atlantic City. Will the Las Vegas dealers follow suit?

Here is an opinion written by a lady who goes by the name HarrahsHell on the dealers lounge forum. (sorry about the formatting....I copied and pasted and I'm too lazy to fix it right now)

So just as an example, I'm going to explain the two Nevada casino jobs I
had where one was union and one was not and the differences in the two IDENTICAL
positions I had with each.When I sold my bar in Florida and moved to Nevada in
1996 I first moved to Reno (WHAT was I THINKING?!) Reno was NON-UNION!I worked 2
jobs in cocktails. Each paid $5.15 an hour. You NEVER got a raise. There were
bartenders who had been there for 20 years and they were STILL making minimum
wage.From 9-5, daily I worked at the Atlantis Casino serving drinks.My paystub
would show my 40 hours at minimum wage and on each bi-weekly check there was a
deduction of $50+ for health insurance. This was health insurance I never once
used because it was CRAP and the deductable was $5,000 or something. Basically I
had it just in case I ever got hit by a mack truck. It didn't include vision or
dental either. I think the most I ever received on my paychecks there was maybe
$250.We didn't recieve holiday pay. We weren't allowed over-time.And if for some
reason your pay was "accidently" short one period, good luck in ever seeing that
money again.Vacation requests weren't confirmed until about 2 days beforehand so
you couldn't really buy airfare, etc. The boss would always say something like,
"We're kind of short-handed right now so we'll just have to wait and see." Are
you KIDDING ME????Furthermore, the casino owner was so cheap he fired all the
porters and insisted that the cocktail servers carry a nasty-ass rag on their
tray at all times to clean their areas (slot machines) and worst of all, we had
to keep the glass ashtrays beside each machine spotless at all times. That meant
that every time we'd take a round of drink orders we'd come back with about 10
ashtrays on our tray along with empty glassware. As we called our order to the
bartender we would have to wash each ashtray BY HAND using nothing but water and
paper towels. THEN!!!!!!! We had to garnish the drinks we had just served! I
guess the health department was paid to look the other way.I want you to
understand how serious this is because a union, ANY union, would never stand for
any of this.As we would deliver the drinks we'd be picking up more filthy
ashtrays so YOUR Corona might actually be touching filthy ashtrays before I
handed it to you.If there were coin wrappers on the ground (pre-TITO) we had to
set our tray down, bend to our knees and pick up the trash on the floor and then
continue serving drinks.Our uniforms were the exact same as the ones they wear
at Orleans and we were required to wear 2 inch heels. On more than one occasion
a girl's tips were stolen or a drink taken off the tray as she was crawling on
the floor, looking like a slut, picking up trash. What if someone had flung some
date-rape drugs into the drinks when the server was occupied with trash instead
of attending to her customers?My night-time job at the Reno Flamingo was much
nicer because of management but it was STILL non-union so you STILL only got
paid $5.15/hour and you STILL had to wear 2 inch heeled shoes.Four years ago I
moved here and my job at Flamingo LV was union. My starting pay for cocktails
was $10.69 hour so my pay doubled just by moving here.You must average (I THINK,
not sure) 38 hours a week for the first 3 months to begin insurance coverage.
Once you have qualified for insurance you only have to average 28 hours a week
to KEEP your FULLY PAID, GOOD INSURANCE THAT COVERS VISION AND DENTAL!Therefore
my paycheck stubs HERE would look like this:40 hours x 10.69/hour, and on every
OTHER check (once a month) my union dues of $34 would be deducted.The union told
the casinos to shove 2 inch heels up their ass and that we could wear just about
any kind we wanted as long as they were black.The first time I carried ash trays
on my tray here and started to wash them (out of habit, I guess) the girls all
looked at me like I was insane. The first time I bent down to pick up trash,
ditto.So basically with the union I was making more than DOUBLE what I made
non-union PLUS I had an extra $100/month that wasn't being stolen from me for
"health insurance" because I had FREE HEALTH INSURANCE with the union. I got all
of that for $34 a month in union dues.Now do YOU think it's worth
it?????Honestly! Think about this. Isn't it worth $34-$40 a month (that's ONE
dollar a day, people!) to have free health insurance with NO deductables, have
your wages shoot UP from $6.15/hr to God-knows-what, know that if you go to work
and Wynn is in one of his pissy moods and screams, "YOU'RE FIRED!", all you have
to say is, "We'll see about that."Then you contact one of the union employee
reps (there are usually 2 or 3 on duty at any given time of day or night) and
RIGHT THEN the matter is settled.If Wynn STILL acts like an ass the union rep
picks up the phone and NOW some higher-up from the local union office comes
flying into WLV like a bat out of hell to protect you.If worse comes to worse
you might still be sent home for the remainder of your shift but you can bet by
the next day Wynn has been hammered to death by the union and their lawyers and
unless you've killed some one or stolen money you've still got your job,
including the pay you were forced to give up when you clocked out the night
before.The union is NOT going to stand for tokes being counted without SOMEONE
from your department witnessing the amount. And it is CERTAINLY not going to
stand for the hostile work environment that you all are working in right now.I
have seen MANAGERS fired if something inappropriate was said to a union
employee. The employee still held his job afterwards.Tonight is Saturday. The
way it's currently set up in the count room each of you could EASILY be shorted
$40 tonight ALONE on your tokes. That's your month's "dues" right there!You've
probably already paid a year's worth of dues since this whole thing began- you
just have no way of knowing.I'd pay the $40 a month just for the piece of mind
in being able to walk into work knowing you won't be harrassed by any
managers!And no, I'm not working for nor have ANY intention of ever working for
a union.I just think you should realize how different your lives would be than
they are right now.Now there IS one con but thank God the union has procedures
in place if this should happen to you.Union "shop stewards" are basically Wynn
employees who have agreed to represent the union while they are at work.There is
usually one from each department on each shift.If Wynn or his management blows
up and hauls you into the office the "shop steward" is the person who has taken
courses and been given direction by the union on how to handle circumstances and
will be the one called off the floor to accompany you to the office so you'll
have a witness to back you.Like any people, some of these shop stewards can be
idiots and not know how to handle the situation.BUT!!!!!! If that happens then
all you do is go ahead and clock out and go to the union's main office the next
day and file a grievance and then THEY handle it. You still won't have lost your
job, it just might take a day longer to get it back.The situation at Wynn CAN
get worse! He can get even crazier than he is now and act like that nut I worked
for in Reno. For God's sake, get a UNION in there so you don't have to go
through the kind of crap I went through.
HH

Sam Angel, Dead at 86

2007-03-24T11:25:00.000-07:00

Linda writes of Sam's passing.

Back in January I wrote about it also.

The article from the Las Vegas Sun.

And on a completely unrelated note, as of 6:00AM today the rake in limit games at the Palms has increased to max. $4.

The Winds of Change

2007-03-18T22:18:00.000-07:00

Is it the flapping of butterfly wings?
Is it the fury of a hurricane?

Could the former in Atlantic City cause the latter in Las Vegas?

Either way it does appear that there have been not so sublte atmospheric changes in the world of casino dealers.

From the East Coast comes word that the dealers at Caesars Atlantic City have overwhelmingly voted for Union representation. With a vote of 572-128 the dealers have sent the message to Harrah's (or whomever it is that owns the gigantic company now) that they aren't going to take it lying down anymore. Of course Harrah's plans to file an objection to the vote.
The next scheduled vote is at Trump Plaza on March 31st. Will the dealers there follow suit? It's highly likely.

It remains to be seen if Las Vegas dealers, a continent away, will finally demand at least a little respect by being able to keep what has been given to them (their own tips) or in a best case scenario a larger piece of the multi-billion dollar pie. The casinos post record profits year after year but the front line dealers get a raise only because the law requires it via a minimum wage increase.

If this sea change does move the Las Vegas dealers to organize it will be because of actions such as the Wynn power play.

The tangled web gets more tangled at every turn. While the Labor Commissioner is presumably tasked with protecting the LABORER, ours may or may NOT be up to that task.

At least one politician in Nevada has the (balls) backbone to stand up to the (tyrant) casino mogul.

It's reported that Assemblyman Bob Beers stated:
"WHAT STEVE WYNN IS DOING IS ILLEGAL." Bob Beers

Mr. Beers has submitted draft request 1166 which attempts to clarify a law that should already be crystal clear.

EVERY dealer in town needs to support this draft by contacting the appropriate politicians.

This isn't simply about Wynn dealers. It's about all of us. The sooner every dealer in town realizes this the better.

*****It amazes me how my views on labor and organization have changed in three+ short years. After a lifetime of anti-union beliefs (and the bulk of my working life as "management")followed by a few years working "in the trenches" I'm certainly more receptive to the possibility that Unions have a place in the 21st century.*****

Pearl @ The Palms

2007-03-13T10:04:00.001-07:00

Pearl @ ThePalms

On Monday night I got my first look at the new concert venue at the Palms. It was employee play day which was basically a test run or soft opening. The 2,500 seat venue is simply named Pearl. I'm no expert on concert venues but I think this one is pretty damn nice. I tried to walk around to different areas of the arena and it looks like there isn't a bad seat in the house. There are multiple levels most of which are below casino level.

I guess I'm not the target demographic because the concert line-up that has been announced includes a name or two that I have never even heard of. Carlos Mencia? Alejandra Sanz? Maybe I'm just too old...or un-hip. Whatever.

From www.vegaspopular.com :

I've learned that one of the reasons that the biggest names in the business are falling over themselves to play the Pearl at the Palms is because the rockers can literally use the new Palms recording studio in the same building, and simply go right from their luxurious fantasy suites directly to the stage of the Pearl. "It's the most user-friendly setup for music superstars, they love it. It's the ultimate luxurious setup for rock stars- and beats anyplace else in America in terms of state of the art facilities. Acoustics are 100% perfect and there's total privacy and security every step of the way,"

No matter who plays there it will drive casino traffic. Do Carlos Mencia fans play poker? Are they good tippers? Time will tell.

Stardust Fireworks/Implosion

2007-03-13T10:04:00.000-07:00

Click Here: Boom

When in Doubt, Whip it (them) Out

2007-03-10T00:19:00.000-08:00

There really hasn't been much to write about lately.

One day blends into the next. Deal the cards, deal the cards, deal the cards.

Oh well, that's what I do.

Today on table 2 there was a grumpy old man in seat 7. Within two hands of my down his cards were coming in fast and landing in the box. As I wasn't in the argumentative mood I simply ignored it. The next hand the cards again came in fast and he said something like "Murph your dealing really sucks", or something to that effect. Of course he was talking about the cards he was getting not my mechanics. I honestly don't remember exactly what he said. My reply was a jovial "Yeah, I've been told that before".

He just grunted and I kept on keeping on.

A few hands later Mr. Happy actually won a pot. As I was gathering up the cards and moving on to the next hand he throws me $1 and says "That one's for the pot". He then threw me $2 and said "those are because you said the right thing when I was complaining before". He continued with something about that "comment" would have had the last dealer red-faced and in a huff. Really? Perhaps.

That day the nits had no power over me. That's the way it should be. Let them stew in the slop that is their discontent. I'll stay out of that quagmire, thank you very much.

*****

The past few days have found me golfing and swimming in 70-80 degree temperatures. Back East in Maryland it's cold and they had about a foot of snow a few days ago. My mother and nephew took advantage of the white stuff and built a snowman. I wonder how many years it's been since I built a frosty. many many years for sure.

By all accounts my little buddy is doing great in kindergarten . Here is his interim progress report.

I'll be planning a trip home in July to celebrate his 6th birthday.

*****

Linda has posted several updates on the progress of MGMMirage City Center. You can check out her pictures here.

The scale of the project is impressive as is the price tag. The announced budget for City Center is $7 Billion.

The first residential units to be offered for sale are in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel and the sales figures are staggering.

The Las Vegas Advisor Question of the Day addressed City Center and reported:

The Mandarin Oriental Hotel, the most expensive of the hotel-condos, will have a 400-room tower and 227 condos; units start at $1.5 million for a 600-square-foot studio and top out at $12 million for a 4,100-square-foot penthouse; the Residences at the Harmon will have roughly the same number of units. The Vdara will be a 1,543-unit condo-hotel, while the Veer Towers are a pair of 37-story condominiums with more than 2,000 condos and no hotel rooms. MGM Mirage is now selling the units at the Mandarin and Vdara. The Mandarin went on sale first; MGM

Mirage has announced the first-month sales results for Mandarin.
* 200 units sold out of 227 (90%)
* $613,000,000 in sales from Mandarin residences
* $1,584 average-square-foot price

WOW

*****

An incident happened on a $2-5 blind NL game the other day. The 1s went all in for about $440 into $400ish pot. The 5s called. I ran the cards out. The 1s tabled his hand and I started to push up the board cards to indicate his hand. In the mean time the 5s tabled his hand. The 1s had the best hand. For unknown reasons the 1s reached out and turned his cards face down and pushed them a few inches toward me before I killed the 5s hand. The 1s misread his hand and thought he lost. In a split second the 1s grabbed his cards back and turned them face up again. The 5s had a fit and started yelling that the 1s mucked his hand. I started to tell him that once the cards were tabled I was obligated to read the hands and push the pot to the winning hand. It didn't make any difference what happened to the cards AFTER they were tabled and read my me(and the camera for posterity).

He was having none of it so I called the floor. Of course the floor told him the same thing I did. He was pissed but really didn't have an argument. The cards had been tabled and as they say "Cards Speak".

The 5s lost another $500 or so on the next hand and then racked up and left in a huff.

When in doubt, table your hand!

*****

I've needed something for my walls since moving in here. I couldn't find anything that I liked. Fate to the rescue.

Gary and Marie recently acquired a second condo unit at Casablanca just East of center strip. (I'd put their view of the strip up against any other mid-rise view in town.....what a view) It was fully furnished but not to their liking so they are in the process of cleaning out/gutting it and starting over. Consequently they have been making a lot of trips to Goodwill. Their need to get rid of stuff converged with my need for wall art.

Goodwill's loss was my gain. Thanks Gary and Marie!

Voila.

Remembering the Stardust

2007-03-05T01:11:00.000-08:00

In a week it will all be gone.

To follow the progress of the demolition click here. There are some GREAT pictures and videos.

This picture is "borrowed" from the leavinglv.net site that is linked above.

For some reason I find it both ironic and poignant. In a city that discards the past like yesterday's newspaper maybe there is a message here for all of us. A final "flipping of the bird" from a grand ol' lady who will soon slip (not so) quietly into the night.

As we head into the future with a reckless abandon take a minute to look back and remember what once was.

It just keeps getting better and better

2007-03-04T20:28:00.000-08:00

By now I would hope that everyone in the gaming industry knows about the toke "sharing" policy at Wynn Las Vegas. That situation is ongoing with law suits and union organization drives. How it plays out is still in question.

Part of the new policy was that actual dealers (toke committee members made up of elected dealers) would no longer count "their" money. In and of itself this is VERY shady. The story goes that the dealers could request to view the counting process via video tape. Why? It certainly doesn't instill confidence that all is kosher at Wynn LV.

Recently the bacarrat crew had a pretty good day. It's reported that the crew dropped $90,000 in yellow chips as tokes. When the tally sheets were made public there was no notation of the $1,000 chips. HUH? It gets better! Now it's reported that the tally sheet from that day has gone among the missing.

This, coupled with the recent "house cleaning", successfully fans the flames of unrest at Wynn. By housecleaning I mean wholesale terminations.

How much more uncertainty must the Wynn dealers suffer?

*****

I call BULLSHIT!

If the postal carrier was really concerned about MY convenience he would have delivered the package to MY door instead of leaving it with the HOA office.

I get my mail at a centralized mailroom within my condo complex. I live about 100 yards from said mailroom. Me thinks it was the carrier's convenience (and laziness) that was taken into consideration, not mine.

*****

From 9:00 AM January 1 when our freeroll qualifying began until the end of February there were 1,407 hours. One of our players amassed over 500 hours played during that time period. I know he keeps detailed records. I'd very much like to see his win/loss for those 500 hours. At least he earned $500 comp dollars.

*****

Bourbon Street

2007-02-20T10:49:00.000-08:00

Aren't you sorry that you missed Paris Hilton's Birthday Party?

Does she really need to rent billboards to get people to come to her party?

*******

The game is $2-5 no limit. It gets down to heads-up and they both get all in. She has around $1,700. He has about $1,300.
She wins the hand. He isn't happy and doesn't make a move to push his chips.

He: Count her down.
She: What are you talking about? I have you covered.
He: I have a right to have your chips counted.
She: Be a man.
He: When's the last time you even saw a man?
She: Never at a poker table.
He: You are the biggest scumbag I've ever played with.

It all went south from there.

*******

The past few days have been interesting. Not good and not horrible, just interesting.

There were plenty of NBA players in and around the room. After all, the Palms was the host hotel. There were also a lot of wanna be gangsters/thugs hanging around too. Some were generous but most weren't. It wasn't too much different from the norm from my perspective although I'd have to say it was a little on the not too generous side for me personally.

There were also a few shootings.

The crowds were certainly over the top. All Palms employees were forced to park off site. (I got no sympathy on that front from Linda who informed me that Bellagio employees parked off-site for EIGHT years lol) The shuttle was a little unpredictable, but I'm always early anyway so it didn't really impact me in a negative way.

I talked to one of the Palm's pit dealers who visited out of town friends at the MGM on Friday night. He parked on the 5th floor of the MGM parking garage. So far so good. When he tried to leave it took him four and a half hours to get out of the garage. I heard someone else say it took them three hours to get out of the Aladdin garage.

The general consensus is that this event was great for the hotels and not so great for the employees. I don't think there is much casino employee support for bringing an NBA team here.

The crowds aren't going away any time soon (barring a major disaster of 9/11 proportions).

The Review Journal reports that the current building boom in Las Vegas will create 113,000+ new jobs. City Center, Echelon Place, Encore, Palazzo etc. Even with 7,000 or so people moving here each month between now and when all of these projects are complete there will be a labor shortage. New resorts open with workers lured from other properties. It's a vicious cycle and highly competitive.

The George Wallace sign is covering the old Bourbon Street Casino Sign. The Bourbon Street building itself was demolished months ago but the sign stood as a lone reminder of what once was. Hopefully the Bourbon Street sign will find a final resting place in the neon boneyard. Until then I guess Harrah's Entertainment will use it for advertising.

Bourbon Street discontinued table games a few years before they closed for good. This chip is from a time when they offered table games there.

Don't ask me, I don't know how this happened.

2007-02-15T10:38:00.000-08:00

I'm dealing a $2-5 NL game on table 7.
After I deal all 10 players their two hole cards I notice my bright yellow cut card laying near the jackpot drop slot. Oh shit. I just casually slid the cut card to the bottom of the deck while wondering what the hell?? Did I even cut the deck?
Then it happened.
The red light on the shuffle master starts to blink. I notice that the message says too few cards-51. I instantly know what I will find above the yellow cut card and below the bottom of the stub. You guessed it. The missing card from the green deck. I had used it as the cut card. I have NO idea how I managed that. I also have to wonder how/why not one player even noticed.

Cashing Out?

2007-02-14T21:34:00.000-08:00

I'm cleaning the kitchen in preparation of hosting a gathering. Why I have a casino chip in the kitchen is anyone's guess. Disorganized and unmotivated to alter the disorganization the chips, literally, fall where they may.

In any case it was a timely discovery.

A chip simply facilitates a gamble. Could we simply use cash for all gambling transaction? Sure we could. Would it be convenient? Not at all. Let me tell you that it isn't the easiest thing in the world to try to count a stack of $100 bill with one hand while a deck is firmly grasped in the other. A stack of $100 chips? No problem at all. We cut them out in two seconds. If people used cash they may even stop for a second to contemplate what that $100 bill would buy or which utility bill they could pay with it. A chip is just a little clay/composite disk. It's not of much use in the real world and you certainly can't mail one to Cingular and expect that your cell phone bill is no longer due. If I had a dollar for every time I've seen a player toss their case chips into the pot with little or no expectation of getting that pot pushed to them. I'm going home they say. It's as if they don't know that they could cash in those few chips for actual folding money. What difference does a few dollars make? Hell if I know.

I wonder when & how some lives take on the less-than-real quality of a casino chip.

It's always worth face value but only if you cash it in.

And if you truly cash it in, nothing else matters at all.

I don't have any real feelings about the life and death of Ms. Smith. Part of me wants to pity what passed as her life. Contempt creeps up to the door but it doesn't come in. What was real and what wasn't?

Did she ever handle this chip while visiting the Seminole Hard Rock? If so, did she gamble it away or did she cash it in?

Are you cashing it in?

The Rest of the Story

2007-02-13T09:47:00.000-08:00

The last post ended with a player giving me a sincere compliment. When he did this my reply was more than a simple thank you. I told him that I appreciated it but in this town there were so many mediocre (or worse) dealers that a dealer who really tried to follow the rules stood out like beacon in the night. Don't read too much into this. I certainly don't feel like I am a beacon or the poker gods gift to players.....I'm NOT.

There was some wierd and crazy shit this week.

I'm dealing a $2-5 no limit game. After all of the cards were delivered and the pre-flop action was half way around the table the 3s stopped the action and told me that his first card must have been boxed. (a boxed card is a card that is face UP in the deck. sometimes this is the dealers fault and sometimes the shufflemaster does crazy things) He had his cards directly on top of each other but the bottom card was face up. Anything is possible but I don't believe for one second that I dealt the card to him face up. I believe that I would have seen it or another player would have seen it coming off of the deck face up. If for some reason no one noticed it as the first card was delivered that card would have had to have sat there face up for a few more seconds as everyone received their second card. Since I'm aiming the second card to come to rest in the same position as the first card it just seems unlikely that the first card was boxed.

When card is truly boxed the procedure is to replace the card immediately with the next card on the top of the deck. Since I had completed the deal this was not possible. Consequently the ruling by the floor was that I was to replace the card. (this option assumes that I flipped the card over as I dealt it which makes it even MORE unlikely that I didn't notice this happening)

My assumption is that the player somehow flipped it himself but that is irrelevant.

Of course the exposed card was the Ace of Spades. Of course the player involved threw a fit.

****

Sometime mid week I'm dealing $2-5 no limit on table 10. It's an unusually LOUD table. On the turn the 4s bets $40. The 7s sets out $40. They were heads-up. I brought in the bets. I tapped the table. I burned and turned. ONLY then did the 7s yell that he had SAID $140. My response would have been sorry about your luck, pal. Of course, with the oversight of the floor, I brought the river card back and began shuffling it into the stub as the $100 raise stood. The 4s mucked. The 7s had a fit. The first river card was a 10 which gave the 4s three tens. The 7s claimed that the river gave him queens full of tens.

The 7s has a reputation among the dealers for verbally but very quietly stating his raises while physically only setting out the amount of the call. Speculation is that he waits to see the action of a few players behind him before loudly stating that he said raise or if the action is not to his liking he just remains quiet. Knowing this I should be more diligent monitoring his actions. He also should be subjected to some type of torture......

****
In another $2-5 no limit game I bobbled the first card to the big blind. It wasn't blatent, but it fluttered enough that I could tell it was a black card. No biggie really. I just stopped dealing and retrieved the two cards that had been dealt and reshuffled. (in our room it is only a misdeal if the first card to either blind is exposed--otherwise we just replace the exposed card after completing the rest of the deal). The player made a point to thank me for doing the right thing. He said that most dealers would have kept dealing while hoping that no one noticed. Really?

*****

Sunday night a local celebrity of sorts was in the 1s of a $4-8 limit game. He was about 8 drinks beyond drunk. The game was totally out of control. It just doesn't work when there are 5 or 6 table captains and 3 or 4 of them are drunk. I though I had the game reasonably calmed down when the 1s started to running his fingers wildly through my hair while making strange noises. Perhaps I should have been upset but all I could do was laugh.

The 1s and 5s (who claimed to be friends earlier) were escorted out by security about an hour later after a physical confrontation.

*****

I've mentioned before that the limit side of our room will be closed on Thursday evening and open sometime late on Friday night. I've taken that opportunity and arranged not to work. I'll be hosting the roving pan game at my place. I look forward to it.

****

Last Thursday I won a few dollars at the Tuscany. I hit two solid six spots within 5 spins. I decided to treat myself to a massage. I hadn't done that in months. I visited the Spa at the Orleans as I had never been there before. Everything was fine, but it isn't anything special. It is a little bit cheaper there than at a spa on the strip though.

*****

Anna Nicole Smith

For the last 5 years you could have purchased this chip for around $7. It's funny how society is fascinated by the death of a celebrity. This chip has recently sold for as much as $132 on Ebay.

You can have this one for only $100.

Just kidding (I think)

Maybe I'll just keep it in my collection.

Give Me Strength

2007-02-09T10:00:00.000-08:00

Was there a full moon? I don't know.

Last week started on a high note when I dealt a heart royal to a player within my first hour of dealing. Within the first thirty minutes of that day I also dealt a four of a kind. I've been dealing three years, three months and 7 days (but who's counting) and I believe this to be only the sixth or seventh royal that I have ever dealt. In this case it paid a $1,098 high hand bonus to the player. He was extremely excited and extremely generous. Thanks T*****!

Somewhere buried in last week was the Super Bowl. Would someone please remind me to take that day off next year? It's near impossible to run a game when everyone is watching the football game and not paying the least bit of attention to the poker game that they are supposedly involved in. If I said "The action is on you" once I said it 300 times that day. Brutal.

As the week progressed I became less and less able to laugh at the problem children. Why can't some people just play cards and for that matter why can't some dealers just deal them while simultaneously keeping a neat and orderly box and running the game? I sure as hell don't have the answer to either of those questions.

I know that I have my quirks, but work with me here, alright?

Stacks of 18,19 or 21 chips? Higher demonination chips in the outside tubes? No lammers at all? Games totally out of control? Players discussing and showing cards while the hand is in progress. Players "checking out"? Players throwing cards and cussing the dealer? This list is endless.

I stood at the podium with a veteran dealer (not from our house) and watched another dealer deal a hand. The veteran dealer turned to me and said... the dealer only rolled the deck 20 times during that hand. TWENTY TIMES.

Give me the strength to dig a hole in the sand just large enough to fit my head into it. Give me strength to just do my job and ignore the circus that rages around me on a daily basis. Give me strength to just keep my damn mouth shut.

I've nearly given up on improving my surroundings. Just let me focus on me. Let me run my games the best way I know how and let everyone else wallow in their own apathy.

By (my) Friday I was fried.
Toward the end of my day I was on table 6 and there was an unknown in the 10 seat. During my second hand the 10 seat got all in only to be drawn out on. A gut-shot straight no less. He tossed out something like "you're fuc%$&* terrible" directed toward the lady who drew out on him. I discretely leaned toward the 10 seat and whispered "I understand the frustration, but please don't berate our players." He stated that he really wasn't directing it at one player, they all were terrible. I then said, alright then, don't use the F word. He took it pretty good and I thought that I handled it in an acceptable manner.
I don't know what the 8s thought I said to the 10s but obviously he perceived it as my consoling the 10s because he got drawn out on (give me a break).
Then the 8s started saying something that I didn't quite understand but I instinctively knew, based on said players history, was a swipe at me I stopped the game. I asked him to say what was on his mind. He stuttered through something that basically said I had no integrity I simply yelled FLOOR and let her deal with his ramblings.
The 8s claimed that a "few weeks ago" I had pushed into the box of a no limit game and proceded to tell the 1s that I was going to put him on a rush and that he would get all the chips. Are you kidding me? I've NEVER in my life said that to a player. First of all it would be unbelievably unprofessional. Secondly, I don't have those kind of powers thank you very much.
He then tried to tell the floor that he was trying to give me a compliment on how I handled seat 10. Sorry, you can't wiggle out of this one 8s. You just didn't think I would call the floor on you. I'm just supposed to sit there and let you question my integrity. Isn't that what you expected? Ah, sorry, NO. Not that day and not tomorrow either.

On my last table of the day and week I did receive a sincere compliment from a stranger in the 10s of a no limit game.
Six simple words.
"Murph, you run a good game".
Thank you, thank you very much.

Bookend the week with high notes.

Today starts another week in the box. I can't wait to find out what's in store for me this time around.

Give me strength.

Gaming Chips/Markers

2007-02-01T21:24:00.000-08:00

I have been collecting casino chips for 20 years.
If you say that really fast it won't make me feel quite so old.
I love the mystique associated with the older ones. Today I acquired the Boulder Club chip shown below. It's not a particularly expensive chip (around $20) but I think it is a classic example of an Old Vegas chip. The design is simple yet classy. Todays chips with multi colored graphics don't hold a candle to this beauty.

Imagine Fremont Street 58 years ago when this chip was in play...........

Boulder Club

118 E. Fremont Street

Las Vegas, NV

Circa 1949

Through the years gaming markers/chips have been made from various materials. The two shown below are some type of animal bone which was stained with pigment and then hand etched. The off-white color being natural bone. Most bone chips were produced during the 19th century

Perhaps the most beautiful markers ever made are mother-of-pearl counters.

Dale Seymour, in his book titled Antique Gambling Chips says:

Easily the most beautiful of game counters are those intricately carved from
mother-of-pearl in China in the early 1800's. These counters were made in
various shapes such as ovals, rectangles, circles, squares and fish
shapes. Many of the sets of chips are incredible works of art in
miniature. A set of 140 chips must have required hundreds of person-hours
of work. Often a set of chips was custom-made for a European customer,
depicting the customer's initials or even a coat of arms.
The quality of the engraving varies, but most chips show scenes of Chinese
gardens. The details on some of the finer chips can only be appreciated
when viewed through a 25X magnifying glass. In some sets, every
carving on the 100 plus chips shows a different scene of two to three
characters. There is speculation that a set of chips may have depicted a
story in the carver's imagination.
Some elaborate borders appear to have been cut out with a fret saw.
Most of these chips were probably made to be sold in Europe for use in the games
of Pope Joan, loo, ombre and quadrille.
It has just been in recent years that the full value of these chips has been
realized. The more elaborately carved, thicker chips sell for
$50-$90. This is especially true of chips that contain an identifiable
coat of arms. Mother-of-pearl game counters are frequently sold mounted as
necklaces at the finer antique shows.
Most of the sets of carved mother-of-pearl counters purchages around 1835
were bought by wealthy European families. This material was probably
chosed for its beauty. However, later in the 19th century and early into
the 20th century, some high-class private casinos probably chose mother-of-pearl
because it is extremely difficult to counterfeit.
The three counters shown below (front and back of the same three)are from my
collection. Since these were hand engraved no two are exactly alike. You
will
have to trust me when I tell you that a scan doesn't do justice to
their true
beauty.

If you have any interest in collecting gaming chips or perhaps joining the Casino Chips and Gaming Tokens Collectors Club please send me an email. I'll be more than happy to provide any information that I can.

Gaming in Barton Maryland 1926

2007-01-30T22:51:00.000-08:00

I recently acquired an old book detailing the town ordinances of Barton, Maryland circa 1926.

I read with fascination the restrictions pertaining to the location of outhouses, the butchering of animals and where you could or could not tie your horse/buggy.

Being the gambler that I am I was particularly interesting the section that addressed Gaming. First of all it is noteworthy that it was referred to as Gaming and not Gambling. Some would assume that the Gaming terminology was rather recent and a product of Nevada attempting to reclassify the practice into recreation for the ordinary citizen. A de-demonizing of sorts. Obviously not so.

If Linda ever finishes Roll the Bones I'll try to find references in it relating to the Gaming/Gambling debate.

Additionally, cock fighting is not included in the gaming ordinances. Most certainly cock fights included a large amount of gambling. I never had the "pleasure" of witnessing a cock fight but I've heard many tales of them in and around my hometown. My dad recently admitted to being the culprit in the demise of one or two of these fighting birds .... but that's a story for another day.

I have been witness to a few pigeon shoots/matches. To call these barbaric would be too kind. Incidentally, quite a bit of money changes hands during one of these matches.

I would be willing to wager that many of the ordinances of 1926 are still "on the books". When I next visit home I'll try to locate a copy of the current town ordinances for comparison.

Another Las Vegas Legend is Nearing the End

2007-01-28T22:46:00.000-08:00

It looks as if I'll not likely be called a "fuc&$ng prick" by Sam Angel ever again. You can read about the time he did call me that here.

For those of you who have never made Sam's acquiantance, you may have missed your opportunity. At 86 he's fighting for life in the hospital.

Photo Courtest of Linda at PokerWorks.com

You can read what Linda has to say about Sam here.

Would you like this engraved on your head stone?

"Sam's a discredit to the community, and we all love him."

That about sums it up.

Peace to you Mr. Angel.

Read the entire article here

Golf, Direct Marketing and Irritating Loud Mouth

2007-01-28T00:35:00.000-08:00

The whole golfing thing is turning into a weekly ritual.

This week it was just Andy and I on a chilly Thursday morning that turned into a very pleasant afternoon with the temperature in the mid 60 degree range.

Before the afternoon sun worked it's magic, there was a considerable amount of ice around the course. This was the first time that I ever putted from the ice as about one third of this green was frozen solid.

I finished 13 strokes better than my last outing so I have to take some encouragement there.

******

Also encouraging is the fact that I've dropped 12.5 pounds so far this year. I've swam and hit the sauna every day this month. I've seemed to have hit some sort of plateau though. I'd like to think the lull can be attributed to muscle weighing more than fat. Another possible factor could be the Hilton Buffet on Thursday evening or the bag of Hershey Kissables that I ate on Wednesday. Toss a coin!

In any case, the last time my scales said this:

It was 1984.

Ronald Reagan is president of the US
On a Challenger mission, two astronauts become the first humans to fly free of a spacecraft
An Union Carbide insecticide plant in Bhopal, India seeps toxic gas killing over 2,000
Penthouse magazine publishes nude photographs of Miss America Vanessa Williams
The Soviet Union boycotts the Los Angeles Summer
Where's the Beef?" commercial campaign for Wendy's airs for the first time
The Apple Macintosh, the first consumer computer to use a computer mouse and GUI interface, is introduced by Apple
Ethiopian famine begins
Mandy Moore and Avril Lavigne are born
Detroit Tigers win the World Series
Los Angeles Raiders win Superbowl XVIII
Edmonton Oilers win the Stanley Cup
Ghost Busters, Beverly Hills Cop, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Gremlins, and The Karate Kid are top grossing films
"When Doves Cry" by Prince and the Revolution spends the most time at the top of US charts
Michael Jackson's hair catches fire during the filming of a Pepsi commercial
The Cosby Show, Punky Brewster, and Who's the Boss? premiere

*****

For those of you who don't have a slot machine addiction, allow me to give you a glance into what ONE day's worth of mail can bring:

Casa Blanca/Virgin River/Oasis: $40 food credit (birthday month), invite to
$10,000 slot tournament, $30 cash, 3 free room nights, $15 dining coupon,
$80
golf/spa/salon credit.
Palms: $30 food credit (birthday month).
Tuscany: 4 free baking dishes, one per week during February, $40 free slot
play each week in February.
Hilton: Free Mikasa bridal jewel box, free surprise gift, free Big Game
party, invite to $30,000 Reel Love slot tournament, $20 cash each week in
February, 2 free buffets, free Pizza Hut Pizza, free ice cream and a free
spa
entry.
Harrah's Rincon: $20 cash, two free room nights, $50 spa credit, $25 food
credit.
Any Harrah's property(Caesars/Paris/Rio/Bally's/ Harrah's/Flamingo) 2 free
room nights in March, 2 free room nights in April and 2 free room nights in May.
*****

Some people are simply incapable of shutting their mouths.

Seriously, the other day I dealt a game that included an obviously rookie. He bought into the $2-5 no limit game at least 4 times. A regular in the 10s was constantly critical of the rookie's play. The 10s even went so far as to ask another regular how he slept at night and "how could you possibly take that kid's money?"

Shut up. Just SHUT UP!

Every player at that table should have punched the 10s twice.

*****

In an interesting twist, the Palms will be closing their limit room for 21 hours in order to create a staging area for the NBA All Star Media Event. The tables and the podium will be removed. This will take place on a Friday night. Interesting indeed.........

Fore

2007-01-18T11:12:00.000-08:00

Way back when while living in Hagerstown, MD I had a membership to the municipal course there. As I recall that cost about $120 a year and the course was open 364 days. Let's just say that it was money well spent and I golfed several times a week for 3 or 4 years.

When I moved to Virginia I still golfed a few times a month.

Then I moved to Las Vegas and didn't golf for over 3 years.

In the last month I have managed to play 36 holes at Craig Ranch Golf Course. It's your bare bones kind of course but it's CHEAP. $19 if you walk, $30 to ride. The ground is rock hard (frozen) and most of the grass is dead. Hey, it IS January.

I'd forgotten how relaxing it is just to be out in the open air AWAY from the noise and temptation of the casinos. Even if your game is terrible, you are still out on the golf course. Not a bad way to spend 4 hours.

From the Craig Ranch course you can see beautiful mountain vistas and there is plenty of fighter jet traffic overhead from the Nellis Air Base nearby.

Did I mention it's been cold in the desert? Cold enough for this pond to have ice thick enough to stop a golf ball........If you click on the picture it's easier to see all the golf balls stuck in the ice.

I saw this shirt at McCarran on my way to Florida a month and a half ago. My only response would be that occasionally I'd really like to say Shut the %$&* up and PLAY!

Just when you think you have seen it all.....
I noticed this slot machine with a television imbedded in it at Palace Station. Someone has since told me that the Rio has has similar machines for years although I've never seen them. There was a basketball game on the TV that night but I managed to get a picture of a commercial....

On Tuesday I was talking with Ray, a player that I have been dealing to by entire dealing career (3 years, 2 months and 16 days but who's counting). We went back in the memory bank about three years to the first night that the Palms spread a No Limit game. I happened to be dealing that night and he was in the game. No Limit hadn't hit with a fury yet. There had been a few No Limits spread around town, but they were hit and miss.

That game ran for 72 hours before breaking.

The rest is poker history.

Ray was a pit dealer at Monte Carlo. On Tuesday I found out that he is now a poker dealer there. I pitched the idea of the Pan Group hitting Monte Carlo to Linda. It's a go and we'll meet there on Friday night.

If you want to join us, email me or Linda or just stop by and introduce yourself.

I've been delinquent.....

2007-01-17T00:09:00.000-08:00

Jan 18th and this is only the second post of the year. Shame on me........but I've been busy or at least that is the excuse I'm using.

First of all let me wish my little sister Debbie a belated birthday. I'm only three years older than her now.....for 33 more days.

The visit from the parents went off without any real hitches. After finding out that Ka was on hiatus and missing out on seeing it for free I got a call from Mary on Wednesday morning asking if we'd be interested in free tickets to Howie Mandell. Yes, but no. We had tickets to O for the same night. Sorry Howie but O took precedence.

O was indeed very good. The only problem is that we had already seen Mystere. We all agreed that we liked Mystere a lot more. Honestly we expected O to be along the same lines as Mystere, but you really can't compare the two on equal terms. They are vastly different shows. We all decided that another viewing of Mystere is on the agenda for their next trip.

On Thursday night we dined at N9NE Steak House at the Palms. Once again this place didn't disappoint. The steak there is absolutely delicious. If money was no object I'd eat there 7 nights a week.

On Friday I got a call asking if I would like a free ticket to see Art Garfunkel at the Hilton. I think it would have been a great show and judging by the review in the local paper it was just that. There was only one ticket available and besides, we had a dinner date with Linda that night. That dinner was a leisurely pleasure. Thanks Linda.

It's interesting to note that at the beginning of the visit we ran the air conditioner in the car a few times. By the Saturday of their departure it was damn cold. We even had snow flurries on Friday. Here is something you don't often see in Las Vegas. These are of the fountains in front of the Tuscany Casino on Flamingo just East of the strip and were taken on Saturday morning.

*****

The rules of the River King Free Roll have indeed been officially changed. 300 hours of play now assures you of a seat but with only 2,500 chips. 500 hours get you 5,000 chips and various hours in between 300 and 500 give you incrementally more chips. Additionally, the qualifying period is now 6 months instead of 5.

*****

This is a picture of the pit toke collection cart at the Palms. The sign stating DEALERS TOKES was recently added. My GUESS is that this is in response to the ongoing WYNN/Dealers war. I've heard that the Palms has no intention of following suit and if so, this sign makes sense. Who knows.

*****
Sometime last month I hit (and blew past) 400,000 points at the Palms. I then put a huge dent in my point total by taking mom and dad to N9NE, the Palms 24/7 coffee shop and to the buffet twice.

Note to mom and dad. A useless trivia tidbit is that you may have eaten in the Palms Buffet on the last day of it's existence. When I got to work on Sunday the buffet was GONE. Today I heard it is supposed to reopen in 3 months but you never know.

The Parental Visit

2007-01-10T00:32:00.000-08:00

So far the visit with the folks is going great.

The only slight disappointment so far is that Ka is dark until January 21. I had access to free tickets, but the cast didn't cooperate. I guess they deserve a vacation. That and the fact that the Xmas decoration are gone from Bellagio and the Chinese New Year decorations are not yet complete. I will say that it is interesting to see the conservatory nearly empty. We stopped by there today to pick up the O tickets. We'll note the progress Wednesday night when we return for the O performance.

For the life of me I can't remember what we did on Saturday night. I know that we went directly from the airport to Ellis Island for their never ending steak special. It was good as usual and for $4.95 I think it's the best steak special in town.

Sunday found us heading to the Palms Buffet before I had to work (4 hours and out, baby). I hadn't eaten there for at least a year because I didn't think it was too appetizing. As it turns out there has been a drastic improvement and their Sunday Brunch was very good.

Monday we again headed to the Palms a few hours before I was to work and this time we hit the coffee shop. The steak and eggs were passable and mom claims her turkey sandwhich was good. I checked in with Mary the shift supervisor. Only three games spread. Ah, an opportunity for a "no-time". I took it.

With an unexpected free afternoon we headed to Red Rock Canyon. Mom and Dad had never been there and I'd almost forgotten how spectacular the scenery is.
Here they are:

And here are some Red Rock Vistas:

Today we headed back to Ellis Island for more steak. Hey, it's not N9ne, but for $5........
N9ne comes later in the week.

We then headed north to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It's not someplace I would have ever gone by myself and it's actually sort of interesting.

We then hit the Wax Museum at the Venetian. Again, something I had never done before. I'd say that 90% of the statues are excellent and the eyes have a strange way of following you around the rooms. Check it out the next time you are in town.

So far it's been quite a relaxing visit. With a whole week we're not rushing to cram everying into a few days which is nice.

I'm not sure I can ever again entice mom away from her grandson for and extended period of time. He's so damn cute I can understand why.

Out With The Old

2006-12-31T11:22:00.000-08:00

Not much to write lately.
I started this one on 12/31 way back in 2006.

From December 2005:

My resolutions were:
1) No Slots 2006
2) Drop 20 pounds
3) See at least six shows in 2006. O, Elton, etc.

In retrospect:
1) Failed miserably.
2) Dropped 13 pounds.
3) Fell considerably short.

For 2007 I only have one:
1) Drop 20 pounds

2006 was a monumental year for me if for no other reason than I now have a mortgage payment. For the vast majority you this is old hat. Not so much for me. I'm not at all sorry but it took me some time to convince myself that I didn't make a huge mistake.............

I visited Alaska and Aruba (again) with a Maryland and Florida trip thrown in for good measure. All in all it's was a good year.

********

I gathered my parents from the airport today. They'll be here for 7 nights. This is the longest that they have ever stayed in Las Vegas. There isn't a whole lot on the agenda except for Cirque du Soleil's O and Ka. I have high hopes that they will enjoy them as much as they did Mystere last year. (and if I duplicated my 6 show resolution for 2007 I'd have knocked off 33% of that in two days)

*********

I don't know what to say about Linda's NYE report except that YES, I was hammered. The Dom gave me a bastard of a headache the next day and I had to work. It took me about 4 downs to start to feel normal again.

*********
Well it only took ONE day for the free roll rules to change.

Can you even effing believe it?
Granted, the rule change is beneficial to the player, but come on.

You spend MONTHS nuturing this thing to fruition and in only one day you decide that the rules need amended?

Unbelievable.

Said rule change:
Once 10 players accumulate 500 hours they will be given 7 days notice to participate in a preliminary shootout.
Each "shootout" table will advance TWO players to the semi-finals instead of only one.

*****
On January 1st we changed to full blinds in our $4-8 limit game. In the few days that this has been in effect I've noticed a huge increase in "action". That's hard to believe since our $4-8 have a reputation of looseness....but with the full blinds it's been crazy.

Hold on to your hats, folks.
Word is that a small handfull of players have complained about the increased blinds. In any case, I was told that "we may change back to half-blinds".

All I can do is sigh the mother of all sighs.

And in case I've not mentioned it, I don't like it at all when rules are changed, changed back, changed again and then possibly changed again. Yes, sometimes change is quite necessary. However, think it through, make sure the change is sound, change it and move on.
This flip flopping is not good for anyone involved.

******

Lost Turtle !
Lynn came in without Murphy.
I inquired about my namesake.
It's LOST.
More likely stolen by an unsavory poker player...........

I may offer a reward for his safe return.

*********

It looks like the Foxwoods protest was a huge failure.

*********

The Wynn War continues in a big way.

The NLRB threw their hat into the ring by filing a complaint again Wynn LV.

And then Mr. Wynn sues the two dealers who originally filed suit.

Vindictive?

Spiteful?

Decide for yourself. I've already made up my mind.

Happy New Year Steve.

The River King $1,000,000 Free Roll

2006-12-30T10:35:00.000-08:00

Don't ask me what/who the River King is because I don't know.

Read the rules for yourself. I've read them several times and I still have many questions. Don't worry, the players have questions too. It's too bad I can't answer most of them.

For those of you who plan to jump start your hours by playing on January 1, keep in mind that this whole thing starts at 9:00AM on the 1st.

I am sure that this whole promotion will be interesting. I just hope that it doesn't become infamous.

Fa la la la la la la

2006-12-24T08:53:00.000-08:00

It is difficult to explain how I feel about my job.

Certainly I have a tendency to bitch and moan about the fleas and table captains. I also appreciate the players who come simply to play and have a good time. Their good time is not contingent on making anyone else miserable. To those players I say thank you. You make it bearable.

I honestly take my job seriously. While a poker game is not usually a life or death situation, it is a situation involving other people's money. Few things in life ignite tempers like money. It's just easier to do your job right and leave the money changing to the winds of fate and randomness.

On Saturday I worked the full 8 hours. During my last down I encountered a situation that left me with a very sour taste in my mouth.

I was dealing a hand of $2-5 blind no limit. I KNOW that as I dealt the first card to the 10 players there was no straddle. As I completed the second round of cards I saw, out of the corner of my eye, two red chips being tossed into the pot from the UTG player.

(We're pretty relaxed in our room. As long as the player hasn't looked at his cards he can straddle. In reality the straddle should be "put on" before any cards are dealt. It is possible that a player could watch a few players look at their first card and gather some information and then straddle. Whatever, we've always allowed it as long as we were sure the player hadn't already looked at his cards)

I announced "raise to $10 total". There were a few callers.

As I am putting out the flop the player who "raised" says "Murph, you are going to cost me this pot. I straddled and should have been able to raise."

WTF?

Did the cat have your tongue when I announced raise? Had you stopped me (and the action) at that point we could have determined that it was indeed supposed to be a straddle.

The action on the flop saw the "raiser" betting out and another player going all-in. The "raiser" called the $150ish all-in. Everyone else folded.

The player who went all-in had pocket 2s and there was a 2 on the flop. The "raiser" had AA and lost with them.

Obviously he would have raised his straddle...had it actually been a straddle.

My guess is that he did hear me announce raise and didn't think it was too big of a deal.....until there were a few callers and he finally looks at his cards to discover the aces.

It amazing that you can deal 200 or so hands without incident and then have one questionable hand screw up your whole day.

***

Today I would have rather been ANYWHERE besides where I was. (like home for the holidays)

We weren't overly busy but we weren't dead either.

When I hit the poker room I overheard a conversation between the two shift supervisors. It seems the MOD (Casino Manager on Duty) made a visit to the poker room and declared that players couldn't even bring in food from McDonald's or anywhere else. A week or so ago it was decided that room service would be discontinued. The official reason is the new Nevada smoking ban. I still don't think that excuse holds water because as I understood it casinos were exempt. Even if casinos weren't exempt, there is a temporary restraining order preventing the law from going into effect in Clark County.

It's some sort of political mind screw that's way above my circle of influence.

In any case, the no-food-at-all-period-end-of-story decree lasted about an hour. You can now, once again, enjoy your big mac along with your bad beats.

You wonder what pisses off customers? I'll tell you one thing. Changing the rules willy nilly and then changing them back......for one.

As I pushed onto my first game I tried to clarify where the button was and where the blinds should be. There was a gap in there somewhere that wasn't correct. I finally determined that the gap belonged to a new player who had yet to play a hand. No big deal except that it would have been nice had the exiting dealer relayed that information, not left me to discover it for myself.

apparently my tone of voice was a little harsh when I stated...

"Forgive me father for I have just sat down and I didn't know".

Jeff in the 1s asked me what was up my ass. I asked him if it was that obvious. Yes, it must have been.

It was all down hill from there.

A few hands later I dealt a Royal. 1.5% toke. Merry Effing Xmas. (I'm laughing as I type that)

The rest of my EO shortened day was like some episode from the Twilight zone.

No one knew when the action was on them.

Strangers kept asking how much they could bet in the limit games. Honestly, if you can't figure out the betting structure in a limit game with 2-3 rounds of the table maybe you shouldn't be playing poker.

During my first hand on table 6 ($4-8 limit) the guy in the 9s bet $2 on the river. Excuse me. Are you on drugs or are you really that stupid? Or both?

I told him that he had to bet $8. No more, no less.

"I don't want to bet $8"

Sir, you have to bet $8.

"I don't want to."

Sir, you can put out $8 or abandon the $2 you already put out.

He did. Abandon it, that is.

Two hands later he was asking me if a straight beat a flush. I said yes, but only on Tuesdays and today is Sunday. I then asked Ashley to go in the back and bring out a hand ranking card for the guy. At that point I couldn't suffer the fools any longer.

Mercifully, my day ended early and I headed out into the Nevada night.

It looked like any other night. The fact that it is Xmas eve was basically lost.

Inside the Palms there was no xmas music. Decorations are few and far between. Unlike years past there wasn't a single decoration in the poker room. Yes, the cocktail waitresses are clad in the Ms. Santa uniforms but that's about the extent of the decking of the halls.

I'd like to ignore the date as well because this year...........

I'll be home for Christmas
You can count on me
Please have snow
and mistletoe
and presents on the tree
Christmas Eve will find me
Where the love light gleams
I'll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams

Merry Xmas

And the Turtle was Named Murphy

2006-12-21T15:21:00.000-08:00

The river card has already been placed.
It's 4 way action with the 2s and 3s being strangers while the 7s and 9s are regulars who play nearly every day. The 2s and 3s check. The 7s bets $4. The 9s calls the $4. While I am waiting on the 2s to act I notice that the 7s and 9s are showing each other their cards. I loudly tell them that they can't do that! The 7s says that he already put his money in the pot, so why not? I reply "what if the 2s or 3s raise? Well did anyone raise asks the 7s. Sigh.

I can almost tolerate major breaches of etiquette from novice players. At least with the newbies I have a small chance of educating them. It's the players who play every day and still don't respect the game (or me for that matter) that drive me insane.

*****

On Tuesday I was honored in a small way. I've been dealing to Lynn for over three years. On Tuesday she had a new card protector. It was a lavish turtle decorated with brilliant rhinestones. Several people at the table commented on it and asked if they could see and fondle it. It was passed around the table and then found it's way back to Lynn. She lost the next few pots that she was involved in. Lynn stated that the turtle must not like to be handled by so many people and that explained her losing the pots. A few hands later she announced that she was naming the turtle "Murphy". I suppose I'm honored.

****
Table Image....or the Big Bluff?

Chew on this for a little while.

It is taken from the Treaty of Tripoli 1796-97

Keep in mind that this was written while George Washington was still the Potus.

Art. 11. As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquillity, of Mussulmen; and, as the said States never entered into any war, or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties, that no pretext arising from religious opinions, shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.

*****

You can no longer have food delivered to the poker room at the Palms.

The official reason given for the discontinuation of roomservice deliveries to the poker room is that the food would have to be transported through a smoking area. You see, the wise voters of Nevada passed a tough new anti-smoking measure. The problem is that the measure was poorly written. Bars will have to choose between selling food and allowing their patrons to smoke. With the new law you can't have both. There is much debate and there is even a temporary restraining order keeping the measure from being enacted in Clark County.

****

I finally acquired a copy of the rules for the freeroll that starts on January 1. The problem is that I left them in my pants pocket and the rules went through the wash. I'll try to pick up another copy while at work today. I'll post the rules asap.

Speaking of freerolls.....

Scott has reported a freeroll at the Flamingo.

Binions is having a totally free freeroll for the first 600 or so people who show up. I heard this on the radio and I can't remember who is sponsoring it. I think it was for $10,000

I received a post card announcing a freeroll at Monte Carlo. It requires 40 hours of play before February 28th. Total prize pool is $100,000 and it will be held March 2-4, 2007.

Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters

2006-12-17T22:56:00.000-08:00

As I pushed into table 3 it was obvious that the lady in the 4s had been drinking. She was loud and borderline obnoxious. In the real world she would have been way over the obnoxious line but we're talking about a poker room here. The real world is miles away and worlds apart.

I quickly gathered that she had been at it for many hours, all night in fact.

To no one in particular she stated that it was 2 AM. In reality it was 2 PM. Had she really "lost" 12 hours?

As soon as she made the 2AM comment I leaned toward the 1s and whispered.....

For unless they see the sky
But they can't and that is why
They know not if it's dark outside or light

Alex in the 1s looked at me like I had finally lost my last marble.

What? You don't know that song Alex?

He indicated that he didn't.

You need to brush up on your classic Elton, Alex.

While Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters
Sons of bankers, sons of lawyers
Turn around and say good morning to the night
For unless they see the sky
But they can't and that is why
They know not if it's dark outside or light

It took Ms. Inebriated about 4 more hours to cross the "poker room obnoxious" line. The last I saw her she was being escorted out of the room by security and she was none too happy about it.

This poker room's got
It's got a lot of songs to sing
If I knew the tunes I might join in
I'll go my way alone
Grow my own
My own seeds shall be sown in Sin City

You say you want a revolution?

2006-12-16T00:51:00.000-08:00

On the heals of the Wynn fiasco comes the news from Foxwoods.

It looks like it could be a very interesting New Year in the woods of Connecticut.

The Wonder of it All......or is it the Blunder of it All?

Take a few minutes (hours) to read some of what has been posted

Here

and

Here

and judge for yourself.

This and That

2006-12-11T09:31:00.000-08:00

I've seen my share of wild and crazy $2-5 NL games from my perch in the zero seat.

One hand yesterday really had me shaking my head. The 9s put the $10 straddle on. The 10s mucked. The 1 through 4 seat called the $10. The 5s bumped it up to $50 straight. The 6s through the 3s called the $50 (minus the 10s who mucked under the gun). The 4s then goes all in for $409 total. The 5s calls with $261 total. The 6s & 7s muck. The 8s &9s both call the $409. Everyone else mucks. In the event that you don't have a calculator handy, the main pot is now $1,289($1 high hand rake and $4 house rake deducted) and the side pot is $444 for a total of $1733.

The only board card that I can remember was an 8 on the flop. There were no straight and no flush possibilities although there were two spades. The 8 and 9 seat checked all the way. The 4s is calling for a spade on the river. It doesn't come.

The 4s turns over 8-9 spades. He has a lonely pair of 8s.

Then, one by one the other three players start mucking face down.

The eights were good for $1,733.

Amazing.

***

From what I've heard, our $1,000,000 freeroll with $500,000 for first place is set to kick off on January 1st. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to obtain a copy of the rules and regulations. I certainly hope that the "how to qualify" information is released and heavily advertised soon.

***

What is it about a $1-2 NL game that makes it so unappealing from a dealers point of view? We rarely spread it but I have never dealt a $1-2 game that was anywhere close to ideal. On Saturday night I pushed into table 1. The game on that table started as $2-4 limit but the players asked that it be changed to $1-2 NL. All 10 players had blue chips. It was the type of game where none of the players had their chips in neat stacks of 20. Chips were everywhere. Even in the instances where players had some of their chips in a rack, it wasn't likely that there were 20 chips in each tube of the rack. There was a ton of action with "all in" being spouted left and right. Up to 3 side pots were not unusual. Three of four of the players acted like they had never played live poker before. I believe it.

I'm asking (screaming) for red chips for color ups and whenever possible putting chips in racks and making them full racks.

The players were having the time of their life.

Me?

Not so much.

I think I got out 7 hands in 30 minutes.

***

After the $1-2 fiasco I clocked out and headed out into the Las Vegas night in search of Linda.
She and a large herd of bloggers were at Caesars. I headed that way and drove into the parking garage. Twenty five minutes later I am STILL circling different levels of the Caesars garage looking for a space when the phone rings. It's Linda. She patiently listens to me rant and rave about the parking situation. The last time I was in that garage (also on a Saturday night) it took nearly 30 minutes to get out of the damn garage.
Note to self: VALET it you stupid idiot!

In any case the plans have changed and now I'm headed to the IP parking garage. PokerPro has arranged a demonstration of their dealerless table for the blogger crowd and everyone is headed there.
The IP garage(s) is, if possible, worse than the Caesars garage. It's like a maze with no exit point. Even after finding a parking spot it would be advisable to leave a trail of bread crumbs if you ever want to find your car again. Total lunacy. The whole IP complex is likely headed for a date with some explosives in the not so distant future. That's one implosion that I'll shed no tears over........

I approached the dealerless table demonstration expecting to hate it. After all, if PokerPro has it's way all poker dealers will be out of a job.

They had one large table set up tournament style and a small two seat heads-up version in operation.

It would have been nice to have been able to actually play on table, but since it was set up in tournament mode unless you were one of the lucky 10 players you were relegated to the sidelines. I did stand and watch for awhile. During most of my observation there were 4-6 empty seats. Had they had this set up for "live" play more people would have gotten a change to experience it.

One thing I did notice was that the table looked to be about normal size length wise but it was significantly wider than your typical poker table. With the cost of floor space in a casino this may be a concern. Then again, I hope that these tables don't soon make an appearance in a Las Vegas casino. On the other hand if this dealerless revolution grabs a foot hold and ............not even gonna think about it.

Although I didn't get hands-on time, I left, as I expected, not liking it so much.

The State of the Union

2006-12-05T23:54:00.000-08:00

By now I would hope that everyone is aware of the continuing drama at Wynn Las Vegas. For the one or two of you who have been living in a cave for the last few months Wynn has taken a portion of the DEALER'S tips and given them to management in the form of a pay raise.

A friend of mine who I highly respect and who has been in casino management for a long time tells me that this is how it should be and that this should have happened years ago. I beg to differ. I simply cannot grasp how this can be "right" and just.

It's not without precedent. Although the situation at Wynn only affects (for now) pit dealers I've been told that in some poker rooms in California (I believe Oceans Eleven for one) it is mandatory for poker dealers to "toke" management $2.50 per down. That's $5.00 per hour for those of you keeping score. Assuming a dealer deals 12 down per day that adds up to $7800 per year. Multiply that by a goodly number of dealers and the numbers add up quickly.

Most industry veterans expected the furror over this situation to end quickly. With the history of Las Vegas dealers and unions that would be a reasonable expectation. The Wynn dealers were supposed to bitch and moan for a week or so and then roll over and take it. That, my friends, is not how it is playing out.

The Wynn dealers have found a rallying cry that previous generations of dealers did not.

Liz Benston, in a recent column, quotes Mr. Wynn as saying:

"About 5 percent of the dealers, maybe 40 of them, are convinced I picked their
pockets," Wynn said this week of the new tips allocations. "It's an awful hard
case to make that we're abusing anyone. They may be (angry), but they ain't
quitting." Steve Wynn-December 2006

Can this man honestly believe that only 5% of his dealers are convinced that he reached directly into their pocket and grabbed fistfulls of dollars in order to hand it over to his managers? I'll take the over on that one. I'd be surprised if that number isn't closer to 100%!!

In any case I've heard that over 50% of his dealers are in favor of organizing. The Teamsters are actively soliciting support. The dealers have been granted class action status and the legal gears continue to turn. By most accounts the atmosphere is extremely hostile. This is one stink that has not and will not blow over any time soon.

I wonder what competing casino bosses think of Steve's "bold" move. On one hand I can see them licking their chops just waiting to implement this policy in their own houses should it pass legal muster and assuming that the Wynn dealers are unsuccessful in organizing. On the other hand I'd bet more than a few are steaming that this can of worms has been opened. At this point I don't think that the genie can be stuffed back into it's lamp. The damage has been done. If the Teamsters are voted in at Wynn then that and only that becomes his legacy. The golden boy of gaming will be forever remembered as the person who ushered in the era of organized dealers. No small feat.

My own historical opinion of unions is shaped by several things. My father was a union member for 25 years and 9 months. He worked for Kelly Springfield/Goodyear and was a member of the United Rubber Workers. I'd expect that we lived a typical middle class life. While not living lavishly, I don't remember wanting for much. There was always food on the table and two cars sitting out front.

Toward the end of dad's employment it became rather clear that the plant was destined to be shut down. The only question was how long would it remain in operation. In an effort to keep their jobs for as long as possible the rank and file voted give concessions back to the company. I don't know the exact figures, but employees voluntarily took a pay cut in the hopes of keeping their job. That's a pretty bold step born of desperation in my opinion.

It wasn't long before the inevitable happened and the closure date was announced.

My fathers last paycheck from Kelly Springfield had union dues deducted from it.

That fact largely cemented my opinion that unions were nothing but money grubbing entities. We couldn't save your job, but by damn we're getting ours until the very end.

When I graduated college and entered the workforce as a salaried manager I carried this view with me. Twice during my management career I lived through unionization attempts. The first effort was half assed/hearted and never really got off of the gound. The second, with a different employer, was a full fledged campaign that progressed all the way to a vote.
I can tell you that from my perspective the union promised the moon. They could basically promise anything and everything while we couldn't threaten, interrogate, promise or spy. The law was very clear and it seemed heavily in favor of the union.

If you've never lived through a flull blown unionization campaign you'll have to trust me when I say it can and often does get ugly. I don't recall the name of the firm, but the company that I worked for retained the services of a powerful union busting firm out of NYC. For all I know it could be the same person/firm that Steve Wynn has hired to combat the unionization campaign at Wynn LV. These people are very persuasive and very expensive. I don't envy the management staff at Wynn. (although I just might envy the huge pay raise they just got ) I know how quickly it becomes personal. How a vote for the union is a vote against you. I hope that someone sees the light before it comes to a vote, but I don't think he will.

In my situation, I was pleased that the vote was in favor of the company (and by extention me as a member of the management staff) to the tune of 70+ percent. That particular union had seriously misjudged our workforce. They spent a lot of money and effort to no avail. Unbelievably, there were hourly employess who picketed outside our gate AGAINST the union. To this day, 8 years on,that business remains non-union.

Moving back to the situation at Wynn. The numbers that I have seen show that for the few months that this policy has been in place, dealers have lost around 13% of what they historically made. Regardless of your income level would YOU sit idly by and not try to fight a 13% cut in pay? I would hope and think not.

If this doesn't chill every dealer in town, if not the country, right down to the bone then nothing will. If this is allowed to stand then we deserve to make minimum wage and be happy with whatever portion of the tips the powers that be decide we deserve. After all the players aren't really tipping the delaers are they? Surely they want some of their tip going to the management staff.

I just don't get it.

Right now there is a line of people a mile long for every "good" tipped job in town. The prospect of making a decent living via tips is what brings thousands of people to Southern Nevada. It's not too much of a stretch to imagine that influx of tip earners drying up quicker than Lake Mead if the possibility of great tips goes away. Would people really endure living in the desert for $5.85 an hour? What happens when the migration stops?

I wouldn't want to be the golden boy who killed the goose that laid the golden egg.

Too dramatic? Maybe.

Only time will tell.

Tick-Tock-Tick-Tock

Disney 2006

2006-12-04T06:58:00.000-08:00

Walt Disney was either a genius or the devil himself. Either way, I guess he was a genius.

Walt died before "Disney World" became a reality. His brother Roy continued the development and added Walt to the name as a way to remind everyone who the driving force behind the project was.

That was 40 years ago. I wonder if either of the Disney Brothers even dared to imagine what their little project would evolve into. Maybe they did, but I doubt that even the most optimistic could have really envisioned the WDW of today.

The complex of Disney parks and resorts is a sprawling affair. It currently encompasses 38.6 square miles. Imagine 38.6 square miles covered with mouse ears and almost entirely without governmental oversight.

Have you ever heard of the Reedy Creek Improvement District? I didn't think so.
RCID is Disney and Disney is RCID. Read about the political maneuvering that created this "private government" here.

Even the wallpaper in our bathroom not so subtly screamed M I C K E Y.

At first glance it looks like a demented clown's smile. Look again. Can you see the Mickey ears?

I didn't care for the fact that you were required to provide a finger print to enter the park. Ostensibly, the finger print was to prevent someone else from using your "ticket" to enter the park. Your ticket was also your room key. It also served as your meal ticket assuming you purchased meal plans. (we did).
The cynic in me is certain that data mining is rampant here. Once when I made a purchase (with cash) and had it delivered to the front of the park for future pick up I was asked for my home address. The clerk said that it was required. I told him that I was paying cash and asked why the hell he needed my home address. He relented and said that I really didn't have to provide it. I'm sure most people just fill in the blanks without thinking. Marketing wizards at work.

No cigarettes or gum are sold inside the parks. The gum I understand (you can't buy gum inside a Las Vegas casino either) but not selling cigarettes? Smoking is still permitted in designated smoking areas. I felt the need to test the boundaries of the smoking areas. I once walked to a secluded area and lit a cigarette. About two puffs later a "cast member" weilding a broom and dust pan informed me that I wasn't in a designated smoking area.
At Epcot I entered the park with six cigarettes. I seriously considered driving to a convenience store to purchase a pack. I toughed it out and rationed them like it was war time. I mentioned to one "cast member" that it would be a good place to start a black market cigarette selling enterprise. He informed me that you wouldn't get away with it for long....."you wouldn't believe the number of cameras and security personnel dressed as ordinary tourist walking around" he said. I told him that I work in a casino and I am familiar with security cameras.

Before I left for Florida a co-worker said that I was going to a happy place with no gambling. She said that people come to Las Vegas, lose money, and become less than happy. True, BUT, it's sometimes difficult to forget that the fine folks at WDW are also making every effort to get the last penny from your purse. Can they really price a crappy piece of plastic at $70 while keeping a straight face? Yep, you betcha they can and they do. Over and over again.
Having said that I realize that the free market economy is alive and well. No one is forcing you to buy. If the crap didn't sell, they would lower the price. It does, so they don't.

Enough of the dark side. Let's get happy. Sing along with me, ok?
It's a small world after all...............

I tried to see it all through the eyes of a beautiful child.

The reason for this trip was a little boy named David. If he had a good time it was all worth it, right?

Today I head back to the Adult Disney World of my employment. I guess not much has changed in my absence.

Quad City

2006-11-27T09:41:00.000-08:00

On Saturday I started my day by planting my ass in the zero seat on table 8. It was a $5-10 blind NLH game. We don't have a 5-10 NL every day so I was almost looking forward to a slight change of pace. As soon as I sat down the 6s (who aparently had missed his medication that day) informed me that the first dollar of rake was being taken on $40 and not $20. Of course the game plaque didn't jive with what he was telling me. I asked and was informed that non-medicated was correct. I absolutely HATE it when the players are the ones to tell me (correctly) what's up. There weren't many pots that didn't make it to the full $4 rake so it didn't make a whole lot of difference to the bottom line.

Within the first 20 minutes of my down I had dealt THREE high hand jackpots. All were quads. In order to qualify for the instant high hand for quads, you must have a pocket pair with the other two on the board. Two of these hands were back to back.

I don't think that in my three years of dealing I have done this before.

About an hour later while dealing a $2-4 limit game I did it again with quads, but there was only $8 in the pot. We require a minimum of $12 in called bets for the high hand payout so that player was SOL.

*****

I still hold out hope that the Freeroll will happen. Not a whole lot of hope, but there is a chance.
I don't think that we should let this one pass us by, but I don't have a say in the matter.

*****
I'd like to thank Michelle for inviting me into her home for Thanksgiving again this year.
When I first moved to Las Vegas I rented a room in a large home. Michelle was one of the other roommates on the commune. She jokes that she only invites me so that I'll cook. And cook we did. Turkey, Ham and all the trimmings. Good food and good friends made being 3,000 miles from home for Thanksgiving a little better.
Thanks Michelle!!

Cody is married to Michelle's daughter Nikki. When I moved here Cody was in the Marines. In the three years that I have known him he spent two "tours" in Iraq. When you know someone who's in the thick of it you watch the news a little more closely. He lived through it and is now out of the service and living in Las Vegas. Cody, thanks for serving, but I'm glad you're done with it.

I'll soon be heading to Florida to meet the family at Disney. David has never been there so it should be a ton of fun. Although I've been there twice, I know that when I walk down Main Street I'll feel like a little kid again. Ol' Walt did it right. I'm looking forward to it.

******

When I saw the bubble blower I immediately thought of Linda. When she is blowing bubbles, she, too, tends to make you feel young again.
Thanks Linda!

David and Santa. He still believes.

Two Watches and a Wedding

2006-11-20T01:08:00.000-08:00

I swear that I couldn't make up shit that was crazier than the realities witnessed in a poker room.
While I was dealing a $2-4 limit game the man in the 5s (my guess at his age is 60ish)asked me what time it was. Since I am right handed I hold the deck in my left hand. Coincidentally, I wear my watch on my left wrist. This presents a slight problem unless I roll the deck completely over. Even in $2-4 rolling the deck is not something that I do....so.....I briefly transferred the deck to my right hand. This isn't kosher either, but it's a $2-4 game and there probably isn't a player at the table that would even blink an eye at the deck transfer...or understand why it's bad form.
In any case I look at my watch and tell 5s that it is 1:50 PM.
While this whole scene transpired I am staring at HIS wristwatch. I can' just let it go. I asked him if his watch is broken.
His response?

"No, it works, but it is set to New Jersey time and I need to know what time it is in Las Vegas."

Jesus, Joseph, Mary and Several Wisemen couldn't explain to me how some people make it through life. Could they breathe if it wasn't an involuntary function? I'm convinced that it must be preferable to be totally and utterly oblivious. That way I wouldn't have a care in the world and there would always be someone willing to tell me what time it was.

Tell me again why I sit at a keno machine while these clueless idiots litter the poker table with their chips?

Am I the idiot here?

Don't answer that!

*****

Last Thursday I thought that my bedroom furniture hunt was over. Although I had read several unfavorable reports about Walker Furniture here in Las Vegas I ignored them because they had a set that I liked.....and the price was less than similar sets at RC Willey.
Upon purchase we scheduled a delivery date of 11/22. They told me that on that morning the driver would call and advise me of a 4 hour window in which the deliver would occur. This basically forces me to waste an entire day, but what else can be done?
I wake up early and dismantle my old bed and move everything else out of the bedroom clearing the way for the new one.
And I wait.
At 10:30AM I still hadn't received a call so I called them. The driver was still working on the delivery order and I was told I should receive a call shortly. Nearly an hour later I did receive a call telling me that one piece was damaged. They were willing to deliver the dresser and nightstand sometime between 5-9 PM tonight.
No delivery for me today, damnit.
If for any reason I wasn't at home when the delivered there would be an additional $59 charge for redelivery.
My time has no value to them, but that's the way it is.
Wednesday and Thursday are my only "sit around and wait all day" options and since I'll be out of town next week it will be well into December before I can get the delivery. All this assumes that they can get an identical piece to replace the damaged one.
Now I get to reassemble the old bed and move everything else back in temporarily.
Happy happy joy joy.

*****

It looks like round one of the legal battle over the Wynn toke "sharing" policy has gone in favor of the dealers. They have been granted class action status and Wynn's motion to strike has been denied.

******
Rio Reflections

On Wednesday I attended the wedding of Larry and Tiffany at the Rio. Larry deals poker at the Palms. Tiff plays poker at the Palms and works as a host at one of the Gentleman's Clubs.
There were several hours to kill between the wedding ceremony and the reception banquet.
What's a bunch of poker dealers/shift managers to do?
Commandeer a poker table of course.
The management of the Rio poker room was extremely accomodating, basically telling us to play what we wanted, how we wanted. It was for
all practical purposes a private game. (legally there is some debate about whether a game can actually be a private game)
We played a VERY LOOSE-completely insane 13 handed game while we kept the waitress busy carting full trays of shots/drinks. Most of the Rio dealers went with the flow as we made a shambles of poker etiquette, even going so far as to play "Indian" with our hole cards stuck to our heads. Groups of spectators gathered on the rail to watch the circus. It was the most fun I've had at a poker table since the night of the Palms Employee Holiday Party last December.
Not surprisingly, not one of the 13 players was a "winner" in the game. With stacks of chips going to the waitress with every round and handfulls of chips being tossed at the dealers with every pot and occasionally for no reason at all it's no wonder.

Congratulations and best wishes to Larry & Tiffany!

*****

This afternoon I'm headed to Michelle's for a Thanksgiving Feast.
Please take a moment today to think about the things that you are thankful for.

Crash

2006-11-19T10:23:00.001-08:00

On Saturday, as usual, I'm minding my own business as I drive the whole one mile to work. As I'm sitting at a red light at the corner of Arville and Flamingo (Northwest corner of the Palms property) I hear the screaming of brakes. There isn't even time to look in the mirror before I'm slammed into from behind.
I just sat there shaking my head and wondering how bad it was. The guy from the car that hit me walks up to my window, asks if I am alright, and tells me that there isn't any damage to either car. I tell him that there has to be considering how hard she (the driver--thankfully insured) hit me.
I get out and to my surprise there is hardly a visible scratch on my rear bumper. I have no idea if there is any hidden damage but I intend to have it checked out. Physically I'm a little "tight" but the worst of it either hasn't set in or it isn't going to be an issue. Time will tell.

I have to believe that the powers that be at WYNN including it's namesake underestimated the will and determination of their dealers and that of other dealers around this town and the country for that matter.
Although I still talk to dealers who haven't even heard that there is a contentious situation at WYNN I believe that most have, by now, been informed of the details.
Two different unions are now investigating the possibility of unionizing dealers. A formal picket is scheduled for Nov 24. I have mixed feelings toward unions in general and I reserve judgement in this matter for now.

What I DO take issue with is this statement clipped from the wynndealers.com site:
http://www.wynndealers.com/

"How are the poker dealers so different? They get to keep all of their own tips, don't share with supervisors, and get the cash everyday without having WYNN'S people collect it, count it, and wait for a check."

For the record, most of us do share our tips with our supervisors/cashiers

but not because it's mandatory. The degree of sharing is based on how they

do their job. Customers tip us based on how we do our job and we toke out based

on how others do their job.

This arrangement sound like a reasonable situation to me.

Damnit. Yes, the paradigm is changing, but poker dealers have always been a different animal of a different color. I believe that the Wynn fight can be fought on it's own merits without clouding the water with poker dealer issues. And for that matter, if you are dragging everyone into the fray, why stop at poker dealers? Don't waitresses and bartenders and servers and doormen and limo drivers and room attendants keep their own too? The objective of this fight is to REVERSE Wynn's decision, not apply it to everyone else.

Green is such an ugly color sometimes.

Eventually I believe that we (poker dealers) will have locked toke boxes just like everyone else for a variety of reasons. This Wynn fiasco doesn't have to be the issue that drives us over the edge.....but it might be.

Yesterday I push in on table 9. The young man in the 1s tells me that I wrote about him.
(There are times that I wish I had started an annonymous blog. There are players that deserve to have the true and honest truth told about them. It's a fine line that I try not to cross. )
At this point I'm wondering who/what/when. He reminds me of what he had written on his hand way back then. At that point I remembered him and his Patience from 18 months ago.
I asked if he had any issues with it and how he found it. He said that a friend had googled his name and came across the post. He had no issues with it and had even somehow incorporated the post into his press release kit.
Interesting.

Friends and Family

2006-11-17T23:15:00.000-08:00

This post will have little to do with poker.
Instead, friends and family reign supreme.

The mysterious Don't-call-it-a-condo-warming-party was held on Thursday night. I have wanted to host a get together for some time, but I thought it tacky to throw my own party. Consequently, it wasn't a warming in name, but in reality it was very warm.
I am extremely appreciative to those who visited, shared a drink and a few hours and showered me with positive energy and good wishes.

Inevitably, there were gifts. I have never been a gracious receiver of gifts, but I'm working on it......

Greg and Amy brought a very appropriate cacti garden. I do live in the desert after all. Amy assures me that this is extremely low maintenance and that I will have to work hard to kill it.
Linda gifted me with Lucky Bamboo, which as I understand it, is equally low maintenance/tolerant. The attached tag assured good fortune for both the giver and receiver. Sweet! I could use some of that good fortune stuff.
Viv (I'd link her too, but she prefers to keep her infrequently updated blog semi-private) brought card/poker themed snack plates and mugs. Again, very appropriate. I promise to put them to good use during future card parties. Carole and Gordon decided upon Glenfiddich Special Reserve to stock the liquor cabinet.
A card game erupted (Big2) and the blender was put to use.
Thanks to all who attended. If good wishes are enough to make a house a home. I'm home.

My buddy Benton is leaving Las Vegas on Saturday morning. For the last 2 years he's made his living at the poker tables both online and live. He's following his girlfriend Kim to Austin. It will be interesting to see how he adapts to life without live poker....and a greatly reduced selection of online offerings.
We had dinner/drinks on Wednesday night and ended up at South Point for 4 games of bowling.
During dinner Adam Ant's Goody Two Shoes came over the sound system. I mentioned that it was circa 1982 and asked how old Benton was in 1982. He held up ONE finger. I was driving and he was one. Sigh. I held up one finger in response. Yes, it was THAT finger.
I hadn't bowled for about 1.5 years but I was happy with my scores. They werent' quite good enough to beat him, but not bad after such a long absense from the lanes.

My scores: 148,141,125,128.
Benton kicked my ass. Chalk it up to youth I suppose.

Benton, I wish you and Kim the best as you start a new chapter in your lives. Drive safely and let me know when you arrive.

My nephew David started school this fall. He's already received his first report card and his marks were all 3 which is the highest rating. Needless to say I'm just a little bit proud of him.

I'll be joining him and the rest of my family (dad is staying home) at Disney-Orlando at the end of the month. It's David's first trip to see Mickey and should be a great time.

Selling the game

2006-11-08T10:48:00.000-08:00

It was a slow afternoon.

We only had one no limit game running and I had two empty seats. The game was populated with 8 locals. The game was laid back. Everyone knew everyone. There's chit chat about the state of affairs/game conditions in other rooms. Who just bought a house? Oh, where?
Sometimes it seems like we are in a private home playing the weekly game.

A 20-something stranger wanders up and starts watching the game. I look up at him and tell him that I have a seat reserved just for him. As I'm dealing the next hand I inform stranger that it only takes $200 to get into the game. As the action progressed around the table I look up at him again and state "You KNOW you want to play...why don't you join us?"

As he starts to get his wallet out and move toward the podium to buy chips I tell the table "Don't be mad at me when he busts you all." Mike in the 2s tells me that it will be hard NOT to be mad at me since I practically begged the kid to sit down.

I dealt two more hands before being pushed. The kid was down to just $100 in chips.
I went to wash my hands and when I came out of the bathroom the kid was gone.
I asked Mike who got his chips. Mike said that he got them all.

Honestly, I felt slightly guilty. Was I wrong to encourage him to sit down?

On my way home for the night I saw the kid at the roulette table betting stacks of red (value) chips so I know it wasn't his case $200 that he lost at the poker table.

I don't think he would have played poker had I not engaged him.

He'll have a story to tell when he gets back home. I played no limit...just like on TV.

My job here is done. I did a good thing....right?

******

There's still no official word on the Super-Duper-Mondo-Freeroll. Word is starting to spread as we have been getting phone and walk-up questions about it. My only hope is that we advertise it heavily before we roll it out. People will be pissed if they find out about after it's half over.

It would also be nice if the rules and regulations are well thought out and presented very clearly.

Lately we've had a tendency to introduce promotions and then change the rules.

It happened with the Aces Cracked promotion. First it was any aces cracked. Then it was two red or two black aces. Then it disappeared as quickly as it appeared.

The Bad Beat Jackpot was introduced about a month ago. It's been hit four times already and the rules are about to change. In a few days it will require that aces full of tens be beaten by quads or better. A pocket pair will be required for the full houses and quads. Both hole cards will have to play for straight flushes.

It shouldn't have been a surprise that the Bad Beat would hit so often. Math isn't my strong suit but before introducing promotion one has to do the math. Changing the rules mid stream doesn't do much to instill confidence. All it does is keep the players and dealers in a constant state of confusion.

***

On the home front..........

Two projects have been completed.

The first involved running coax through a crawl space above the ceiling. There's not much space up there and I'm not a small person. I'm glad it's done and hope that I'm not required to revisit that space any time soon. If I ever develop claustrophobia I'm sure that it could be traced back to those uncomfortable minutes spent crawling my way along rafters with just inches of clearance.

The second project involved putting up a border in one of the bathrooms. Originally I intended to put the border about halfway between the floor and ceiling. I bought plenty of border for that scenario, but when I started the project I decided that it would look much better at ceiling level. I ran out of border. Several days passed before I made it back to Lowe's. Luckily I was able to find the same lot number. BUT when I tried to finish the job there was a slight difference in the border size. I'll not repeat it here but the neighbors may have heard a few words that begin with M and F.

All's well that ends well and the project is now complete.

This Bob Villa stuff is fun.

It's starting to feel like home.

Happy Anniversary to Me

2006-11-05T20:42:00.000-08:00

I'm almost positive that today was my third anniversary with the Palms. If it isn't today, it's close to it. Close enough to say close enough.

I wish that three years ago I had started a list of the famous/infamous that have sat at my table. Every once in awhile I mentally take an inventory and each time I am sure that I am forgetting as many as I remember. I can't say that I ever become star struck. It's just remarkable that I have gotten myself into a position where the world comes to me. Working at the Palms, you really never know who you may run into.

When you are hired it is stressed that privacy is paramount. We are not allowed to ask for autographs or photos of/with the glitterati that visit us.

I post this with some caution. However, given the fact that the star in question freely admitted that he was taking a celebratory vacation and then subsequently posted a picture of his Steel Wheel I don't think I am revealing any deep dark secrets. The table felts on the Palms poker tables are extremely distinctive and instantly recognizable to anyone who has ever played there.
Having said that, Mr. Navarro paid us a visit.
The hand in the picture is that of our celebrity dealer Bobby.

While on a break I took the opportunity to ask Dave if they planned to host another Rock Star Poker tournament at the Palms. He stated that he didn't know yet but that he hoped that they did it again because it was so much fun. I agree, it was a fun event to deal.

We then made some small talk and Dave stated some of the reasons why he stayed, amost exclusively, at the Palms.
(He mentions in his blog that he likes both the Hard Rock and the Palms)
He told me that the poker room is a draw and that he likes the fact that when he enters the room he sees and recognizes familiar faces and that we recognize him and treat him well.
Sometimes the little things mean a lot I guess.
In any case he is always a gentleman and we are glad that he stays with us.

****

I'm having a GREAT week. On Friday (my Monday) I dealt a Club Royal Flush that paid the lucky player a $1,263 high hand jackpot.
Today I dealt a Bad Beat Jackpot to the tune of nearly $6,000.
Today's hand ($2-5 blind NL)went like this:
6s raised to $30 pre-flop. 8s goes all in. 6 seat calls for a total of $163.
Although we don't require all-in hands to be exposed until the showdown, both players turned over their hands.
6s had pocket queens. 8s had pocket kings.
I flopped two aces. Immediately I (silently) along with half of the table very vocally started calling for an ace. The turn was a blank. I remember looking up at the ceiling and thinking ACE. I burned and turned the third ace.
That's all it takes to hit our Bad Beat.
The jackpot has been hit 4 times in a month.

S.P. over at Life as a Vegas Poker Dealer has posted some pictures of the new poker "table" at O'Shea's. Interesting to say the least. Go take a look.

The majority of poker players nearly have a stroke when a game starts to become short handed. Here they are starting games with a maximum of 7 players. I hope they plan to use 6 different colored decks of cards. I can see it now when the 7 seat of one table and the 1s of the "next" table have a few too many cocktails and start "sharing" their cards. S.P. mentions some of the other concerns that this configuration present, not the least of which is the limited reach of the dealer.
I think I will have to wander over there to see that configuration in action. It should be more than interesting.

On Halloween I only saw one poker player in costume. Kim got in the spirit and came dressed as the ace of spades. She had her face all painted up as well but security told her that she couldn't be in the casino like that. She took off some of the make up and they gave her their blessing.
I told her I would make her famous so here she is in all her glory.

On Saturday night the old Pan Crew under the direction of the one and only Linda headed to the Excalibur to play some poker.
I don't know if I have ever seen worse poker playing.
In one instance, heads up, when I tried to get cute and check raise with two pair the guy just called me when he had the stone cold nuts. I asked him, nicely, why he didn't raise me back. He got a deer in the headlights look and stuttered something about not wanting to. Whatever dude.
The guy to my left had pocket queens two hands in a row and didn't raise either time.
Such is poker in the big city.
In spite of it all I lost $99.75 so who am I to question the play of anyone else?

The Excalibur has moved their poker room three times in the last three years. It is currently in the middle of the casino floor again. I don't care for the location, but no one consulted with me.
The photo of me in action at the Excal is courtesy of Linda/Pokerworks.