deardealer

.jpg’>In this country of convenience and instant gratification, we have just about everything AND we have it quickly and easily. We have power at our fingertips with the Internet and most things are easy come easy go. We can throw away our dishes and disposable diapers and cameras. The things that were free now come with a price tag. We now pay for water to drink and good TV. isn’t available without a cable payment. We have fought the good fight for so many things in this country. We value our freedom and the rights we have just because we are Americans and we were born here. We are now finding out that it is not the advantage that it used to be. People in other countries are coming here taking advantage of every loop hole and free meal on the backs of the taxpayers that is YOU & ME. That is if you’re lucky enough to still be employed. In this age of the new millennium so many things are still in the dark ages. There is still much predjudice and discrimination of all types. Of course this is illeagal BUT you know that people have lost their jobs for all sorts of illeagal reasons, race, age,gender,color and everything in between.
Just as poker is just like life, it is no different here. What club is not going to prefer a beautiful young girl who can do the job and doubles as eye candy, over an old man with over 3 decades of experience. The answer is: not too many. The truth is we are all disposable Americans. Now what is the country to do with this discarded group of people whose population is growing day by day. The other question is “What will these people be doing to/for our world?”

Over twenty years have passed since I encountered the physco at Lake Elsinore. I took a job dealing in San Diego and told the crazy story to a couple of dealers. One dealer tells me “Oh I know him, that was Bill. He was a killer and a woman hater. He used to play here. Last I heard, he was back in prison”. Whoa I’m so glad he wasn’t in prison for killing me!
My best friend was murdered in Las Vegas and was a beautiful girl who was only 29 years old. I went on a week-end trip and when I returned home, I saw her story in the local newspaper. This was Vegas so the real details were not given. I was her roommate and was never even questioned. Her boyfriend went to the police and got the gory details. He found out that her body was covered in cigarette burns as she was obviously tortured. I still cry if I think about it too much. There was no mention of her $10,000 ring that was missing. Many years later I ran in to a card player, Fred “Horseface” Stanton,who told me that he knew who did it. If it really was the two guys he fingered, then I say thank God they are both dead now!

I was dealing Lo-Ball @ The Sahara Dunes in Lake Elsinore, California, during my entire pregnancy. On about the eighth month I get a crazy lunatic in my game. The man is 5 ft. at best with a long scar across his entire face. He is about 60 yrs. old with long grey hair and beard. He looked like he could be related to Charles Manson. So this little mutt is cursing at a whisper and to the players on either side of him. I could see one of our regular customers becoming annoyed and worried. The first mf word to come out of his mouth that I could distinguish got him a warning from me. I told him that I didn’t know where he played before but you cannot speak that way in this club. He gave me the stink eye and tried to put a curse on me! I said “If you pipe up again, I’ll have to call the floorman over, buddy”. I figured that I needed a little male back up at that point. He quieted down a little But the next evening he was there again. Same senario only this time I gave the shift boss a heads up on the “Grim Reaper”. The security waited behind him to escort him out but stood by idley while he threatened me. He told me that he was going home to get his shotgun and come back to blow my head off. Turns out he had murdered a woman in San Diego and was just released from prison. Win some lose some.

Yes, you read it right, I said killers! I have dealt to 5 killers during my dealing history and that is only what I am aware of. I mean murders that were comitted by intention and premeditation, not a drug overdose. The Hustlers, etc., are what people think of when they think of card rooms. I mean card rooms NOT casino’s. When people gamble often or above their means they sometimes get desperate. When desperation sets in, anything can happen! This means that someone is looking for money and will do things that are normally against their grain or moral fiber. I see a somewhat desperate time for Americans and the same applies in life as in the poker game. Crime happens when the need for money arises and it comes in many forms…even murder. During the next several blogs I plan to share with you the circumstances of these horrific crimes. A book was passed around the casino about a murder. When I asked about it they put me on the list to read. This story was of a man we dealt to every weekend and tells every detail in his murder investigation and how it was botched. Another was a roommate of mine, who was only 29 years old. Card rooms have been looked down upon by the public since the beggining. Some of these attitudes are pertinent. Working in it every week tends to make me look beyond the sickness. Now that t.v. has glorified the world of playing cards, i see alot of desperation in our futures and this includes you. You will be affected by this somewhere in your future. The younger generation thinks that it is all fun and games. After all it is on t.v. and it is a game Heck, you can even play on-line for free. What harm could that cause? Right? Teach your children well.