The Quotable Captain: Class or classless?

18 December 2018

By Frank Scoblete

The Quotable Captain: Class

(The late Captain was my mentor in gambling. I’ve written six books about him. This series contains some of his quotes, ideas and advice. This particular article concerns how the Captain decides which players are classy and which are classless.)

The Captain: “How you treat the workers serving you is a true indication of your character.” — Interview for Chance and Circumstance.

The Captain had a real animosity for players who publicly showed disdain for the employees of the casinos and the casino hotels.

“I think treating workers poorly is a disgrace. They are there to offer a service, be it dealing, serving cocktails, waiting on tables in restaurants, cleaning, taking care of your room, parking your car and just opening the doors for you. They deserve to be treated cordially and with respect.”

The Captain was right, of course. I’ve seen angry players blame the dealers for their losing sessions. I saw a surgeon in Las Vegas at the Golden Nugget push over the blackjack table and throw his drink into the face of a female dealer. What caused this eruption? He was having an unlucky day. The dealer was not responsible for this. The actual blackjack table had nothing to do with his losing streaks. He was his own cause of his own defeat; nothing and no one else caused such defeat to happen. I hoped he didn’t lose his cool when he was cutting someone up.

Those of you who play craps have seen the whining, moaning type of player, who keeps making nasty comments to the dealers and the other players when things aren’t going well for him. I listened to one creepy guy tell a cocktail server, “I’m not giving you a tip until I win some money. So blame the dealers, lady.” He grabbed the drink away from her and then turned his back on her. I called her over to me. She was upset. “Forget that jerk,” I said and gave her a tip.

Even at the best gourmet restaurants there are fully comped, high-rolling players who think they should order the most expensive items and wines on the menu – even if they don’t finish them because they have ordered too much food and too many bottles. These gluttons are often sarcastic. One guy was making fun of waiters having to do such “menial” work. They were losers, according to him. This guy was a bloated, red-faced lump of a man. He was also an expert at snickering.

I’ve seen players stiff valet parkers, and even some who do not leave tips for the men and women who clean their rooms and make their beds. My Lord, these people clean your toilet! They live on tips. Stiffing them is a complete lack of class.

The Captain distinguished people by calling some “classy” and some classless. “There are too many people who lack class,” he would often say. “When you are ordering comped food, order what you would normally eat. Treat the other service people as if they are beloved friends or relatives. Think of yourself doing the job. How would you want to be treated by you!”

Those are words we should ingrain in our consciousness. The classless are with us, and often they can ruin a fun time. And that stinks.


Visit Frank’s website at www.frankscoblete.com . Frank’s latest books are Confessions of a Wayward Catholic; I Am a Dice Controller: Inside the World of Advantage-Play Craps, and I Am a Card Counter: Inside the World of Advantage-Play Blackjack. Available from Amazon.com, Kindle, Barnes and Noble, and at bookstores.