Topic of Conversation

So I've been a casino dealer for the better part of two years now, but most of that was spent off-strip being stroked by the same local losers every single day and not really meeting a heck of a lot of people from across the country and beyond. That changed when I got my current job on the Strip. Now I come across people from all walks of life from places both near and far. Obviously, one of the most common conversation starters when dealing to new players at the table is to ask them where they are from. Some answers that people give provide immediate conversation fodder as I have traveled somewhat extensively throughout the country. Others don't help much though. Below I'll give the answers that people say to the question and the usual result/response:

Ohio - This is obviously the most common conversation starter since that is my home state. I almost always develop a good relationship with players from Ohio since we usually have some common experiences. This is made even easier by the fact that my hometown is Sandusky, which boasts one of the best amusement parks in the country in Cedar Point. In fact, that piece of information usually brings about a positive response from just about anyone in the midwest region. The one not-so-bright spot about meeting fellow Ohioans though is a very unfortunate and weird habit for obvious Buckeye fans to become dumb douchebags at the blackjack/craps table. I know that sounds sacrilegious to say, but Mikey and I actually had conversations about this phenomena when I was still working out in Henderson. Now it must be said that Mikey definitely has a somewhat unhealthy bias against Ohio State sports for some reason, but I can justify it just slightly from what I've witnessed at the tables over the past couple of years. For some damn reason, a large percentage of people who come to Vegas with Buckeye shirts, hats, jerseys, etc. are just plain douchebags! I can't explain it. I can walk around the streets of Columbus, the Ohio State campus, etc. and meet plenty of nice and fine Ohioans with no obvious flaws at all. So either something happens to these people on the plane out here, or there's something about Vegas that ONLY draws out the least common denominator from the great state and brings them to my table. I have noticed two commonalities from the annoying Buckeye contingent though. First, if I voice out the familiar "O-H", and I do not get the mandatory "I-O" from them, chances are they have never been to a Buckeye game, have never attended and have no affiliation with the university and just simply wear the Ohio State stuff to make themselves feel important. The second thing that I've noticed is that the MOST annoying Buckeye fans invariably come from Cincinnati or that southwest region of Ohio. Sorry to anyone that's from that area, but I'm just giving you my honest perceptions here. In fact, the Cincinnati effect was pretty much confirmed on my trip to the Ohio State vs. Michigan State game in East Lansing last month. As annoying as some of the Spartan fans got against anyone with scarlet and grey on, the awards for the Biggest Dumb Drunk Douchebag contest went to the group of Cincy idiots who tailgated right next to us the whole damn day!

Anyway, sorry for the tangent, so let's get onto other parts of the world.

Michigan - You might think that I'll have a natural bias against anyone from Michigan, but that simply isn't true. It is true that I normally don't get along well with anyone with a Wolverine shirt on (which doesn't happen much anymore), but most folks from Michigan are pretty cool on my table and we get along just fine. If they are from the Detroit area, I usually talk about getting my casino certificates from the dealer school in Taylor and I can also talk a little Red Wing hockey thanks to Chris, my roommate who is a Red Wing nut!

Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois, etc. - Although I haven't spent much time in these midwestern states, I can usually strike up conversations with them, if not for the simple fact that they almost always recognize Sandusky and Cedar Point.

England - I meet people from England about once a week on average. I always welcome them to the States and ask what part of England they are from. Sometimes I'll work in my obsession with Pink Floyd and it generally results in a positive response, especially for those who "went to school in Cambrigde" and the like. I will say that I don't think I've ever met more polite people than those players from England!

Hawaii, Alaska - I always welcome them to the States. They don't seem to like that for some reason.

Oklahoma, Missouri - Whenever I meet people from either of these two states, I always bring up the horrible ice storm that Chris and I drove through to get to Vegas two years ago. I talk about living off of microwave pizza and Keystone beer in a hotel in Joplin, Missouri for 3 days. EVERY person from these two states remembers the storm and has stories of their own from that time period.

Texas - Texas is such a huge state that most of the time, I really can't find any good conversation topics with people from Texas. If they are anywhere near the southeast portion of the state, I can usually talk about the week I spent in San Antonio. But the fallback I always have with these guys is college football. I've seen a TON of Longhorn gear walk through the casino these past couple of months and its only gotten more prevalent since the National Finals Rodeo has come to town!

Canada, eh - I get a LOT of canucks at my tables every week. They've come out of the woodwork since the Canadian dollar has become competitive with the American dollar, and I almost never have bad experiences with people from the frozen north. I know enough hockey to get by and I'm always shocked at the amount of people from all parts of Canada that have heard of Bowling Green State University and its hockey program! I just have to mention the likes of Nelson Emerson or Rob Blake or the guys from the Miracle on Ice team and that's sometimes enough to get on their good graces and see some tips come my way.

Pennsylvania - I get along with folks from PA, especially on Sundays when I'm allowed to wear my Steelers jersey to work! I always bring up the fact that I was raised in "enemy territory", that my girlfriend is from Pittsburgh and my dad was born in the Scranton area. I do meet WAY more people from Pittsburgh than Philadelphia and the eastern side of the state from some reason.

New York City - New Yorkers aren't the worst bunch of players as a whole, but they do usually have one annoying habit......their propensity to be the "table captain". Once again, they normally don't act real innapropiately, but there is a general self-centerdness about them. If the table is full and there is ONE guy who seems to like the sound of his voice way too much and just won't shut up, its always the New Yorker.

New Orleans - I've met a surprising amount of people from New Orleans. Since I've spent a total of 5 weeks of my life in that city, I usually get along really well with these people. One weird aspect of our conversations is that Katrina is almost NEVER brought up. The conversation usually starts with the fact that I made annual trips there in the late 90's and we just speak of the town as if the biggest natural disaster in American history never happened.

California - Because of Las Vegas' proximity to California, I meet a lot of people from there, especially the LA area. This was especially true at my joint in Henderson. Unfortunately, the conversations I have with these people are probably the most lame as from any other part of the world. I just don't have ANYTHING in common with the majority of Californians that I see. Believe it or not, I've NEVER stepped foot in California, and don't laugh, but I usually ask them if they flew or drove in and talk about the current gas prices. Yuck! Lame, I know, but I'm almost always at a loss for what to talk about when seeing players from the golden state.

If I think of other common areas where players at my casino come from, I might edit this post later. But those are pretty much the most common. One nice thing about working on the Strip is that even if I don't know much about the area where someone is from, there's a good chance that some other player at the table does. For example, if someone says they're from Arkansas, I usually don't have much to say. But if someone else at the table is from Texas, there's usually a topic or two that they talk about amongst themselves, which can turn a boring silent table into a talkative one with very little effort on my part. This, in turn, makes their experience a little more enjoyable and makes it more possible for a tip or two to find its way to me.