TR SNIPPET - UPDATE ON EL CORTEZ DEALERS/PLAYERS

Emilio, a regular player at the old El Cortez poker game, came into the Golden Nugget one night and played at my table.

I had been wondering what happened to all the dealers I knew at that old El Cortez game and he had some information:

Karen who often shared bluegill recipes with me has retired. I hope she is happy.

Albert is dealing at Boulder Station. I meant to get out to see him, but I never managed it. I did hear that the poker room is now smoke free like most other rooms, so I might enjoy playing there.

Nothing is known about Chris. He was always very good to me.

Emilio said that Action Jackson was still around and he had seen him just the past week at Boulder Station.

He also told me a bit about Doug who was close to a professional poker player. He could sit all night long at that little game to build a bankroll. He'd be there when I went to bed and again when I woke up, playing slow and tight and well.

I also met Pauline at the Flamingo who used to be a regular player and perhaps a dealer. I can't quite remember. I forget her name. She was very hard to beat. She also told me that Albert was at Boulder Station.

At a Sam's Town tournament I saw a regular that they called The Judge because he had been a Judge once in his working life.

I sure miss that crowd and that game and Jackie splashing the pot. “One for the money.”

Emilio thought that the poker room had been making money and it was a mistake to close it down and replace it with slots. He also thought it drew in people who made other bets, ate food, and supported the place on a regular basis.

I don't know if he is right.

The trend seems to be to close poker rooms.

The Plaza seems to be attempting to attract some low rollers to their Poker Pro machines. It cost less to operate those for tournaments or games. I hope the math works for them. Ideally they might pick up the lower end of the poker players.