Summertime - Love Sculpture Version

Discovery of this song included:
1. Receiving cordless headphones from Danielle for Christmas
2. Needing something to listen to while fixing dinner
3. Turning to channel 840 (music channel) on Direct TV. It's the "8-track" channel.
4. Hearing a different song by Love Sculpture, who I had never heard before.
5. Going to youtube and doing a Love Sculpture search. The End.

Vegas Myths and Facts: Dealer's Perspective

Just a few misconceptions that I see on a daily basis while dealing. I posted this over at T2V and thought I'd put it here as well.

Myth: You're always being watched by surveillance.

Fact: This is impossible. It is true that you're always being recorded, but very rarely are you constantly being watched by a person upstairs unless you're betting very big or are giving them a reason to keep an eye on you. If you're playing the minimum on a $5 blackjack table, you are NOT being watched!!

Myth: After checking for blackjack, the dealer now knows the hole card.

Fact: If its not blackjack, the dealer has no idea what card is under there. The only exception to this is at casinos that have tables without those little mirrors so the dealer has to manually check the hole card. Otherwise, if using a mirror and it is NOT blackjack, we only see a white, blank space. This is evidenced by looking at the ten-value cards and aces. Look how close the printing on those cards gets to the side of the card itself. Now look at a 5. See how far away all printing is from the side of the card?

Myth: Dealers are experts at the games they deal.

Fact: Some dealers are complete idiots!! I know plenty of dealers that, when asked the basic strategy on a certain play, will just guess at the answer. I don't even have the basic strategy memorized. The difference between me and some other dealers is that I'll admit when I don't know the answer. Also, just because a dealer deals most games in a casino doesn't mean the dealer started with expert knowledge of those games. Dealers will come in knowing a couple core games and will then slowly learn the other games at their own pace. So a dealer who has dealt blackjack and craps for a number of years might still be brand new on roulette.

Myth: The dealer always wants you to win.

Fact: Not always......not even close. If you're a stiff (non-tipper), we definitely don't want you to win. If you are a chain-smoker, drunk douchebag, know-it-all table captain or all of the above, we don't want you to win. If you are a friendly player that will make my day better as I'm trying to make your day better, and a player who knows how to reward good service, then by all means sit down and play. We're happy to see you win!!

Myth: A dealer standing at a dead table is bored.

Fact: NOPE.....at least not entirely. In my case, I am usually in my little happy place while standing dead. This also goes back to the previous myth. Remember, even at the fancy places like Bellagio, dealers make minimum wage plus tips. So if I'm standing at a dead blackjack table watching a TV or people-watching, I'm getting paid EXACTLY THE SAME as dealing to a completely jammed-up $5 blackjack table with nothing but stiffs. Which scenario would you choose? Unfortunately, those guys (they're almost always men) who approach your dead table and say something like, "Wow, you look bored, better give you something to do" will immediately trigger my douchebag radar! These types are almost always stiffs.

Myth: Every casino dealer in Vegas makes 60+ grand a year.

Fact: NO! Believe it or not, there are many players who actually think this is true....I kid you not! The only dealers who consistently make that kind of money are those dealers at high-end places like Wynn, Bellagio, Aria, etc. ALSO, that only pertains to dealers at those places who are full-time. So as you walk through Bellagio, don't assume that each dealer you see makes 70 grand. Most of them are part-timers with zero benefits who've been on the on-call list for 2+ years waiting for a full-time spot to open. This is also true at the lower-end joints where the part-timers are making that much less.

Myth: Since dealers choose to work in casinos, they obviously don't mind smoke.

Fact: The huge majority of dealers hate cigarette/cigar smoke. In fact, the longer I work as a dealer, the more I hate the smoke. I thought I'd get used to it after a while, but that hasn't happened yet. I've heard people mention that since dealers choose to work in this environment, they have no right to complain about smoke. I always respond to that by mentioning that EVERY person reading this or playing at my table has SOMETHING they don't like about their job. I don't think I'm out-of-line in this reasoning. When I accepted the job at the university back in 2001, I knew there were certain aspects that I wasn't crazy about, but I accepted it anyway. Five years later when I resigned, I missed some things about the job, but certainly didn't miss some other BS. The same will hold true when I eventually get out of the gaming business, with smoke being right on top of the list.

Oh, by the way, its my firm belief from several years of dealing experience that overall, smokers are much bigger stiffs than non-smokers!

Myth: Dealers/Floor Sups have total mind control over cocktail waitresses.

Fact: Very rarely. If you're betting $100+ per hand, we might be able to do something for you. If you are tipping the waitress handsomely, she will probably take care of you on her own. If you are playing the minimum on a $5 blackjack table and tipping a buck (or nothing) when you do see her, don't be surprised if she makes herself scarce.

Here's the facts from my casino, which I'm assuming is standard in Vegas. The tables games dealers/supervisors and the cocktail waitresses report to completely different departments (usually Food and Beverage for the waitresses). Also, the waitresses are union employees. These two facts add up to "there's not a god-damned thing we can do to make the waitresses get here any faster!!!" I think I've mentioned here before that when a floor supervisor says he'll call to get the waitress over, many times he's just talking into the phone to nobody. So when the waitress does show up, it actually looks like he did something.

Just some thoughts on a lazy Monday afternoon. I have today and tomorrow off, with little to no discretionary spending money. :-( I'll be working 7 days in a row beginning Wednesday, which cuts right through July 4th weekend. It should be a good few days during this slow summer, but we'll probably work hard for every dollar while missing out on the festivities.

Countdown to September 2nd

This is what I just set as my compter desktop background. I'm hoping it will help pass the time between now and the opening kickoffs for college football. Now that the NHL playoffs are over and the summer doldrums are upon us, its really hard to get a sports fix. I try to follow baseball, but it doesn't do a whole lot for me. I used to be a super NASCAR geek, but I only watch about one out of every four races these days. The summer just kind of sucks all the way around. 110 degree days, not much break from the unending desert heat, no real sports action and nothing much to do aside from hiking. A visit from my parents in August will help. They'll be here for 10 days including a two-day side trip to the Grand Canyon, which my dad has never been to. Money will be pretty tight for the next couple of months as well, so I really can't justify doing a one-night vacation downtown like I like to do every once a while and its really hard to get together with the guys these days with everyone being on different shift schedules. So let the hot summer months begin, and hopefully end sooner than expected. The Buckeye road trip is the first week of October......any chance of snow that week???

Fuck Soccer

That's pretty much all I have to say. Every four years I have to put up with this shit! This time around is 100x worse due to every damn dealer in the joint going ape-shit over this idiotic "sport"! Thank the sporting gods that the Stanley Cup was won in game 6, because there would have been an all-out battle between every other dealer in the casino and myself (with three other dealers who are hockey fans) fighting over the one TV in the breakroom Friday.

Andrew Ladd of the Chicago Blackhawks played in the Stanley Cup finals with a broken shoulder and torn ligaments. Meanwhile, every soccer player that slightly sprains his ankle goes down like he's shot and they have to cart his sorry ass off the field in a stretcher.

Fuck Soccer!

Three out of the first four games on the opening day of the World Cup were ties! Ties!!! This is supposed to be the most elite tournament for the sport, and you're allowing ties!! Play the damn game until someone wins!

Fuck Soccer!

I tried to watch whatever game was on in the breakroom yesterday and only made it about 5 minutes in before having to flee in disgust. It wasn't just the lousy product on the field, apparently the stadium was being invaded by locusts or something because there was this constant noise, a neverending drone, that I guess is supposed to turn-off anyone even remotely interested in the game.

Fuck Soccer Locusts!

I was finally able to watch some Sportscenter at the tail end of one of my breaks today hoping to get up-to-date on what's happening in the college football conference situations. NOPE, more fucking soccer highlights and commentary!

Okay, rant over. Sorry for the language. Please return to your normal internet viewing schedule. Expect another similar rant in approximately four years.

Can't take the heat!

Desperate times call for desperate measures. On Monday I ordered an item online that I didn't think I'd ever buy. As you can see from the picture, its a very weird-ass looking tie thingy that you velcro around your neck after soaking it in water. I guess its got some crazy material in there that acts with the water and keeps it hydrated for a few hours while slowly evaporating the water and cooling down the person wearing it. I got it (I actually bought two) in the mail today, got it wet, and it does seem to keep the water for a pretty long time.

The advertisement from the company selling it states that its "low profile and perfect to wear under uniforms", so I figured it would be perfect. However, I'm thinking that the "uniforms" it was referring to were maybe construction worker uniforms, etc. It seems just a tad too bulky to get under my t-shirt and what's basically a golf-shirt type uniform that I wear to the casino.

I HAD to try something though. This past week has seen temperatures around 110 degrees every damn day and the casino is basically a sauna! The retards who run the place absolutely refuse to close the freakin' doors and the air handling system is old to begin with. It just can't keep up with the heat, and as a matter of fact, actually BLOWS HOT AIR about 1/3 of the time making it AT LEAST as hot as the actual temperature outside. I honestly have no freakin' idea why any tourist would actually play in those conditions. Yet, everyday, they do for some unknown reason.

The daytime high tomorrow is supposed to be 98, so I'm definitely going to give this thing a try. I really don't care how utterly ridiculous it might make me look. When its this hot, work is NOT a way to get tips or earn a wage. Work is merely 8 hours of tolerance before escaping back to the lukewarm, yet cooler condo!

Zion

Feel free to check out some of my Zion pics at my facebook album. The link is:

Zion Pics

Unlike other times when I've posted individual hike reports with pictures and whatnot, I'll just let everyone go to the facebook link and enjoy the pics. It's just taking me WAY too much time to get those pictures uploaded, onto facebook, T2V posting, etc. Since we hiked a total of 6 trails during our 3 days up there, I don't think I have the patience to post an individual blog posting for each and every trail we did. Sorry.

Here's just a few pics to wet your whistle and hopefully encourage you to hit the facebook link above.