Originally posted on 07/23/2014:

THE DEALERS
After dealing in casinos & underground games for over 13 years & playing in them for over 23 years, it’s fair to say I can distinguish between a good dealer & a bad dealer. A good dealer generally knows that when his players are winning & having a good time they tip better. A bad dealer will cheer against his player & doesn't care if they are having a good time. Some of the best dealers barely say a word. Some of the worst dealers say too much, to the point where advice quickly turns into criticism.
I've never understood the mentality behind cheering against the player when you are the dealer? Some dealers are just so competitive that they can't stand losing? Even when it benefits them to do so?
I don't buy that. I am an admittedly competitive guy but, when I beat my players I rarely got paid & when my players won I was tipped more often than when they busted. This is a simple premise. So, even if I didn't like a player personally, I still wanted his hands to win more often than lose, to better my chances of being tipped.
When I dealt at underground poker games where I was responsible for taking proper rake, you're damn right I was cheering for the runner who tipped bigger & more consistently! But as a dealer I was no more responsible for his wins than I was for his losses. I was just a dealer. Ripping cards out of a shoe based on what you, the player, tells me to do. That's why I only tip dealers when Im up money but, tip the server no matter how much I'm down. Dealers aren't really doing anything for you. I mean, they're not really doing anything that a machine can't do. Find me the machine in Vegas that can bring me a $22 drink, FOR FREE & smell like heaven as it walks away & its hair almost touches your face but for a moment......whoa whoa WTF? What happened? Where am I?...I check.


Anyway...where was I.....?

Oh yeah, my favorite dealers on this trip were:
Lou at the Casino Royal! When things were going good Lou was running good too. There was a really drunk Latino in seat #2. He was clearly the most twisted at the table. Seats #3 & #4 were buddies from Minnesota one was the joker the other was the drunk who was ready to go home any time now before he passes out. Seat #5 stays empty for a while & I am playing #6 & #7.
In a blink Im up $65 playing $5 a spot & Latino is up over $200 & he's tipping Lou $5 a hand nearly every third or fourth winning hand. I never tip outright but, when things are hot I Toke bet for the dealer so if, I win the dealer wins.
Things were going so well, at one point I think I bet 8 tips straight & win or lose Lou never forgot to thanks me for the tip.
The server was at the table every 15 mins & the table has to take a break for a fill, & I head to the bar to get $1 Michelob s for the table.
When the fill is done a new dealer is coming in to relieve Lou & the drunk Latino, Freddie, who meant well but was so drunk that by this point he was staying on soft 15s & soft 16s says, "Who's this ass hole they got coming in now?"
Lou looks at the relief dealer & rolls his eyes & I hear the relief dealer say to Lou, "Really nice, haven't dealt a card yet and I'm already being called an asshole."
Lou puts his head down & Even over the loud Casino Royal music I could hear him say "yeah well they're tipping well ...seat 2, nickles & these two, singles & especially my man here & he knocked on my betting square.
Lou talked about old time Las Vegas & stuff like meeting hall of famers like Walt Fraiser during old Vegas Summer League games.
I can't remember the relief's name but the late night shift dealer that came in & started my inevitable downfall was Big Bad Charles. Charles Sweat more than Jayvegas & I'm from Canada but, they pack so many people into that place that its hotter than hell. I was more than happy to wait for Chuck the Truck to take out his handkerchief & wipe away the sweat every 4-5 hands , even though he was slowly pushing my shit in with every back door ace he pulled on me!
Between him, the relief & Lou I'd say they went home with $450 in tips just from that table alone.
A good night for the Casino Royal table game dealers!

All the lady dealers at the Monte Carlo
Holly, Deb, & Donna Marie, all the gals in the poker room.
It's my favourite poker room, with my favorite poker dealer Steve the Korean & my favourite sportsbook with my favourite servers. There's this dark haired server which has this angry sexy thing always going on & she Wears that referees Top with the short black skirt & when she walks by...whoa wait ...
What happened? I did it again. OK, I'm back.
Anyway ..Where was I? Oh yeah, my favourite dealer Of the entire trip was Michael at the Wild Wild West. another BJ pit that drained my roll. But I tipped a lot there as well because when things were going good they were going really good & I was tipping Michael just so he'd tell more stories. The good thing about his stories was that they were not long & drawn out they were concise & to the point. The game never slows down for his stories unless he wanted to stop the game to make sure you're listening. He's been in Vegas since he was a teenager & told stories mostly about boxing & boxers. He Met Ken Norton & Trevor Berbick. Told stories of drinking & gambling with his buddy Michael Nunn.
His stories ranged from meeting or dealing to Ann Margret & Bo Derek to Liz Taylor & BB King to Chuck Berry & Frank Sinatra. When he was really young he biked down the street to watch them film Viva Las Vegas the movie. Ironically he doesn't remember ever seeing The King.
He said he was in the cafe at the Flamingo one night & BB King Jammed with Chuck Berry on an amp right in the middle of the cafe. This guy was what old Vegas is all about.
Vegas Tip: If you wanna cash your cheque, cash it at Wild Wild West & spin the wheel !
The restaurant of choice is Chey Denny's. I ordered, ate & paid all in less than a shoe & a half.

Special mention to old David at the Excalibur who never remembers me,even though he’s been dealing to me for 5 years now. Can't blame him, I'm sure he's 80 or 75.



LIMOS, BUSES, CABS & WALKING
If your funds are unlimited, take limos everywhere you go. If you're a millionaire, take cabs everywhere.
If you're grinding it out trying to make $1,000 per week, you need to take the bus . If you show up with $2,7000.00, you're walking everywhere.
Just like the guy who shows up with $2,700.00 has to decide if he wants the $2.70 bus....The Millionaire has to decide whether he wants a $1,000.00 limo or a $100 cab. Its all relative.
I feel like there would be so much of Vegas that I would be missing if i spent 10-12 hours per week in a cab or on a bus. soon will come a day when I won't be able to walk 5-6 miles up & down the strip so, I'll enjoy it while I can.

THE HOMELESS
There was a time when I was a little kid & I remember wanting to be, at one point or another, every character on Sesame St.
Big Bird, cookie monster, The Count....didn't matter. I was 5. I even thought it would be the coolest thing if I could live with Oscar the grouch. He pulled all sorts of cool things out of that garbage can!
And bonus...He got to live in it!
Well, as it turns out when you grow up dumpster diving isn't all you thought it was cracked up to be when you were 5. In fact its quite indignant & sad. A lot of people who believe in Karma, donate to the homeless. I give to the homeless during my travels through Vegas but, it’s not with the expectation that my generosity will be returned in some sort of mystical or spiritual manner. I give purely out of sympathy & pity because, "there but by the grace of God". When I lose a bet in the bottom of the ninth or get chased down by a flush on the river, I don't attribute that loss to the fact that I didn't donate that day. Just like when I hit a 5 team parlay or win $500 at a BJ table, I don't think to myself, " Well, that happened because I gave that lady all those cigarettes on the overpass this morning." I win because I encounter good luck & I lose primarily because of bad luck. I donate to the homeless because as unlikely as it seems, there are people out there who are encountering much worse luck than I.

Another strange thing I noticed about the indigent population in Vegas is that they tend to dress like they are enduring a Canadian winter. Dark tattered pants with heavy long sleeved jackets, while I am in a T-shirt & shorts, feeling like I have reached the body temperature where humans might burst into flames. Why are they so resilient when it comes to the desert heat.
I've never given the homeless money. Generally I give cigarettes & McDonalds instead of cash. This is not because I care what they spend their money on. I just feel, at times, that I need the money as bad as them so, if I'm full I'll give away my McDonalds or if I have a few extra cigarettes, what's the difference to me?