Barney Vinson's World

Ever wonder which celebrities that dealers like, and which ones they don't? According to those who have dealt to celebrities, these were the dealers' favorites: Elvis Presley, Tony Curtis, James Woods, Vanna White, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Richard Pryor, John Wayne, Joey Bishop, James Brown, Andrew Dice Clay, Annette Funicello, Clint Eastwood, Drew Carey, Vic Tayback, Jack Klugman, George Peppard, Don Rickles, Magic Johnson, Tommy Hearns, Tim Conway, Dennis Miller, Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise, Don Johnson, Joe Pesci, Jerry Van Dyke, and Julio Iglesias. "Julio kissed my hand when he left the table," one blackjack dealer remembered warmly. (She was a female dealer, by the way.)

The worst? Jerry Lewis, Frank Sinatra, Redd Foxx, Robert De Niro, Kenny Rogers, Jimmy Connors, Don Adams, O. J. Simpson, Rodney Dangerfield, Pete Rose, Larry Flynt, Luke Perry, Brett Butler, Bill Cosby, Milton Berle, Bruce Willis, Paul Anka, former Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards, and every dealer's top choice as worst celebrity -- Diana Ross! "Not only does she never tip," one dealer lamented, "but she also tells the other players not to tip." Another dealer said, "I love the lady's music, especially when she sang with the Supremes, but once she beat me out of $40,000 and never toked me a nickel. Whenever one of her songs comes on the radio, I switch immediately to another station."

Speaking of celebrities, I was working at Caesars Palace one day when a familiar-looking man sat down at a Pai Gow poker table. He had jet-black hair and so many face-lifts that every time he blinked his kneecaps went up and down. I walked over to him and said, "Excuse me, but aren't you Eddie Fisher?"

He smiled forlornly and said, "I used to be."