They are out there

23 September 2018

By John Grochowski

Casinos attract players from such a broad cross-section of the population that it would be surprising if they didn't also bring a broad sample of quirks.

From time to time, readers tell me about a few of the odd things they've seen at the table. Here are a few for the collection.

MARV: I was playing at a $10 blackjack table — the lowest limit available. There was a trade-off in rules. The dealer hit soft 17 at my table, but at the $25 and up tables, the dealer stood on all 17s. I'm not bankrolled for the better game and I know my limits.

Most of the other players were betting the minimum, though sometimes if they won a few hands they'd go over $25.

The surprise came when someone started peeling $100 bills off this huge roll. He was way dressed up compared to the rest of us. Nice business suit, looked like he probably was in town for a convention. He stood behind his seat and put down two $100 bills. Money plays.

He lost, and he peeled off two more $100s, and lost again. Then five $100s, then five $100s again, and again once more.

He didn't win a single hand, and by my count he lost $1,900. I'd have been dying, but he just grunted and walked away. Barely put a dent in that roll of his. And I kept thinking, if you were going to bet like that, shouldn't you at least have done it at one of the stand on 17 tables?

COLLEEN: I think I saw somebody trying a little gamesmanship. I suppose it could have been a mistake, but I don't think so.

The dealer was getting toward the end of his shift. He obviously was tired and ready to go home. Friendly enough, but maybe a little distracted.

We got one of those hands where lots of low cards were coming out, and people were stringing out long hands against the dealer's 8. There were a lot of cards on the table.

One of the men had 3, 5, 2, 4 and another 3 before standing on 17.

The dealer had a 10 down for 18, but as he's working down the table paying some and taking others, the guy with 17 says, "Damn. A push, anyway."

It almost looked like it was going to work. The dealer started passing him by, but the pit supervisor happened to be along and said, "That's no push." The dealer looked again, gave a little stare to the player and said, "It's certainly not," and collected the bet.

GARY: I once played with a guy whose mission in life seemed to be to make money for the dealer. It was a $5 table and he was only betting $5 a hand, but he also had a $1 bet for the dealer on every hand.

I'm like a lot of players in that I tip when I'm winning and don't tip when I'm losing. This guy was trying to get me to tip more. "Come on," he said. "Joy (the dealer) has to pay the rent whether you win or lose."

He was giving that to all the other players too. He tried to convince us to have an "everybody tips hand." That didn't go over as well as he hoped.

Finally, he gave the "has to pay the rent" line to a guy who'd heard enough. That one said, "So do I," meaning his bills come due win or lose, too, and he added, "Joy, we love you, but I'll tip when you deal me more winners."

Look for John Grochowski on Facebook (http://tinyurl.com/7lzdt44) and Twitter (@GrochowskiJ).