It was a pretty uneventful trip home yesterday, for Kai and I. The Kaister has developed a deep-seeded hatred for all things Hammond. As a happy-go-lucky type, he rarely finds himself on the opposite end of a personal dispute, as I sometimes do. But for some reason, every time he ventures north to the outskirts of Chicago, he winds up getting into verbal altercations.
The thing about Kai..and to know him is to truly appreciate his intellect, is that he is going to lose a lot of people in most of his conversations. Its one of the reasons we are friends. The typically mind numbing table banter at a poker table is one that requires an iPad and headphones to hide from. But when it is further complicated by the ramblings of what amount to troglodytes trying to outdo each other in the attempt to start a fire...you just have to surrender sometimes.
That is what Kai did. He surrendered. I choose my friends very carefully in poker. With what transpired up there this week, and resulting fall out...it's times like these when it's important to know who your 'true' friends are. And I know who mine are. There are others who think...that I THINK they are my friends. Trust me...I know better. I know who all you backstabbers are. Who...at the first sign of 'Trouble for the Monkey' are one of the first ones to pile on. This act grew tired and old years ago. See, to those who don't know me...I mean, REALLY know me...like you 2+2 hate-mongers who have been beating me up over there (oh yeah, I've checked it out, and even left a few comments of my own) you have no idea of the transformation I have to put myself through to keep playing this game. The hoops that I've forced myself to jump through so I could be deemed a 'good little monkey.'
At the end of the day...I am constantly trying to appease those who are some of the slimiest, corrupt, and socially bankrupt people you will ever run across in life. Who I am, as a human being? Is not something that keeps me up at night. I go out of my way to help the under-privileged. I always have. I try to always volunteer in great times of need. Or to raise money for those who have been beset by tragedy. And now with a 6-month old daughter and a loving wife to tend to? I know that life holds a lot more for me than anything I can ever accomplish at a stupid poker table. Yeah...its a means to pay the bills. And yeah...there is some degree of respect earned in posting good results. But none of that really means shit to me. Honestly. So for those who have chosen, instead, to review me as a person who has spent years 'getting in trouble' in poker...and that is their sole analogy of me? To them? I say...with a very vociferous amount of gusto in my voice: F-U-C-K Y-O-U!!!!
It's true. I'm not perfect. I have made mistakes. I have done some things, and said some things, I would like to take back. To change. Some of you think I am blind to my own faults. I'm not. Trust me. I've made mistakes all throughout my life. In my past jobs. In school. In sports. In relationships. In just about everything I've ever done. But it is those mistakes that you make in life that you grow from, and become a better person. I don't think I'd be half the person now were it not for a lot of those mistakes. Real humans? Real people with character? They understand this. They allow you the opportunity to change, to prove people wrong...where their opinions of a person might be wholly negative, and sometimes undeservedly so. But poker? And the carnies who run it? Seem to be oblivious to this type of thinking.
Three days ago...I was walked out of a tourney that I had a good stack in. I was told (not asked) that I made harassing comments to a female dealer, two days prior. Comments that were going to result in me being kicked out of the casino. When I asked what those comments were, I wasn't told. Because the guy didn't know. That made two of us. When I asked why I was being treated in this manner...without any kind of a meeting over these accusations, do you know what the nice gentleman from security told me? "You've had quite a few problems before in casinos, haven't you!??" So, when I asked if that is why I was being 86'd...he told me "It probably didn't help." I could have sworn to God...that I thought I lived in a country where you are supposedly considered INNOCENT until proven guilty? But this seems NOT to apply to casinos. I've had several run-ins with casino security...some that got sorted out, some that didn't...and the one thing that always seems to ring true...is that they spend very little time fact-finding. It's almost always a case of them hearing the complaint...and deciding in their own mind, if they are going to buy it. And if they do, you are simply kicked out. No due process. No ability to defend yourself. Just booted.
Now, I know what your saying. Maybe. If I had NEVER had any problems in a casino...would they have thrown me to the wolves? Maybe not. Maybe yes. Who knows? I think that when they make these decisions, they do so not taking into consideration that this is our job. That they are messing with our future. Our livelihood. The question I don't think I need to even ask is: Do they even care?
What happened with me...I didn't even KNOW...as they were standing there telling me that I was being kicked out. All I was doing was scanning my brain...trying desperately to produce any kind of an incident that could have led to this on that past Saturday. Nothing came to mind. I left the casino baffled, and angry, and feeling defeated. On top of being afraid of what to tell my wife.
As you know...things cleared up dramatically, later...as the dealer who had made these claims...was busy threatening another player with eviction, after he had touched her foot or leg with his foot. She quipped that if he were to touch her again, she would have him kicked out just like she did that other player. Had there not been a player at the table who knows me very well...I would never have discovered this information. Because when he asked her if it was 'Monkey' she said yes. She then volunteered that I had 'offered her $1000 for her to be my escort for sex.' When I heard that, I gasped. Huh?
First of all..this girl was ....very borderline attractive. She is Russian, specifically Belarussian. She has a very large nose, and bad skin, and beat to shit hair. But she is tall and skinny and was wearing tight leggings and 6-inch heels...so from a distance, you might credit her with being an eye-catcher. Whatever. Secondly. Who among the players do YOU know...who after busting from a tourney...where they fell far short of their expectations, have the slightest inkling of a desire to pay someone for sex? And lastly, it might be noted that my roommate for this poker trip...was my wife's best friend, Claudia Crawford. Ridiculous.
Yeah...and as you know from reading my previous post...I was able to recollect how this stupid matter evolved into what it did. Me walking past the 8 dealers lined up to escort us to the payout area...and remarking that I got stuck with my payout escort, the guy who destroyed me in yesterday's tourney...I would prefer ANYONE but that guy to walk me back...and gestured towards this girl...and asked if she would like to be my escort to go get my thousand bucks (bad beat, thinking I'd made the next jump, to $1034...I actually only cashed for $952). Her snotty reaction and dirty look should have told me that there had been a misunderstanding. But I just took it as a snotty look.
It has since been told to me...that a dealer who I thought was a friend (kind of like Judas was a friend to Jesus)...who's name I won't yet post, although I have given him TWO full days to refute the accusation made against him by another dealer who overheard him in the break room...through a message I left him on Facebook (where he is a friend, as requested by him two years ago)...that he went to this girl, told her he heard my comment (which certainly must be true, since I saw him sitting at a table dealing as I was busting, and getting up to leave) and that she really NEEDED to go report it to Charlie Cirisi (the acting Tournament Director for this event). That he would go with her. Why would this guy do this? What have I ever done to him? Why, when I asked my very good friend (name withheld) who is a floor person, to ask Charlie why this was allowed to occur, did he tell me it went above Charlie...that whoever filed the complaint went straight to House Security, and did not follow S.O.P. and report the offensive comment to her immediate supervisor? When apparantly, it didn't. It would appear that this girl, at the goading of this dealer...who's initials are A.L. and who almost ALWAYS has on a SD Charger jersey when not dealing...went straight to Charlie and reported her problem.
So when I texted Charlie Cirisi yesterday...the day I was leaving Chicago, I guess it should have come as no surprise that I never heard back from him.
I can't describe the feelings I have over this whole episode, fully. For those of you with an ounce of common sense...you are outraged that something like this could even HAPPEN....albeit, to me. When, and how...did these people become so empowered with the ability to just recklessly cast people out of the casino for whatever they wanted to dream up? I mean...to an extent, I kind of get that this girl totally misunderstood me...being of Russian descent and all. But for the other people to get themselves so involved? And to take it to the extremes they did? It sickens me.
I know there are some newcomers to my blog. I've never gotten so many hits on this blog in the past four years as I have in the last two or three days. It just goes to show that people care nothing about the good things you do...they only want to be a part of the trainwreck. And to those new comers who bitch and complain because I don't have the ability to express my views in one paragraph or less...HEY! Welcome to my blog! I've always been somewhat long winded...and I'm not about to change for a bunch of trolls who have only come by to check this out in hopes of finding some dirt that you can use in your campaign in disparaging me. Tell me I'm wrong.
MONKEY
The thing about Kai..and to know him is to truly appreciate his intellect, is that he is going to lose a lot of people in most of his conversations. Its one of the reasons we are friends. The typically mind numbing table banter at a poker table is one that requires an iPad and headphones to hide from. But when it is further complicated by the ramblings of what amount to troglodytes trying to outdo each other in the attempt to start a fire...you just have to surrender sometimes.
That is what Kai did. He surrendered. I choose my friends very carefully in poker. With what transpired up there this week, and resulting fall out...it's times like these when it's important to know who your 'true' friends are. And I know who mine are. There are others who think...that I THINK they are my friends. Trust me...I know better. I know who all you backstabbers are. Who...at the first sign of 'Trouble for the Monkey' are one of the first ones to pile on. This act grew tired and old years ago. See, to those who don't know me...I mean, REALLY know me...like you 2+2 hate-mongers who have been beating me up over there (oh yeah, I've checked it out, and even left a few comments of my own) you have no idea of the transformation I have to put myself through to keep playing this game. The hoops that I've forced myself to jump through so I could be deemed a 'good little monkey.'
At the end of the day...I am constantly trying to appease those who are some of the slimiest, corrupt, and socially bankrupt people you will ever run across in life. Who I am, as a human being? Is not something that keeps me up at night. I go out of my way to help the under-privileged. I always have. I try to always volunteer in great times of need. Or to raise money for those who have been beset by tragedy. And now with a 6-month old daughter and a loving wife to tend to? I know that life holds a lot more for me than anything I can ever accomplish at a stupid poker table. Yeah...its a means to pay the bills. And yeah...there is some degree of respect earned in posting good results. But none of that really means shit to me. Honestly. So for those who have chosen, instead, to review me as a person who has spent years 'getting in trouble' in poker...and that is their sole analogy of me? To them? I say...with a very vociferous amount of gusto in my voice: F-U-C-K Y-O-U!!!!
It's true. I'm not perfect. I have made mistakes. I have done some things, and said some things, I would like to take back. To change. Some of you think I am blind to my own faults. I'm not. Trust me. I've made mistakes all throughout my life. In my past jobs. In school. In sports. In relationships. In just about everything I've ever done. But it is those mistakes that you make in life that you grow from, and become a better person. I don't think I'd be half the person now were it not for a lot of those mistakes. Real humans? Real people with character? They understand this. They allow you the opportunity to change, to prove people wrong...where their opinions of a person might be wholly negative, and sometimes undeservedly so. But poker? And the carnies who run it? Seem to be oblivious to this type of thinking.
Three days ago...I was walked out of a tourney that I had a good stack in. I was told (not asked) that I made harassing comments to a female dealer, two days prior. Comments that were going to result in me being kicked out of the casino. When I asked what those comments were, I wasn't told. Because the guy didn't know. That made two of us. When I asked why I was being treated in this manner...without any kind of a meeting over these accusations, do you know what the nice gentleman from security told me? "You've had quite a few problems before in casinos, haven't you!??" So, when I asked if that is why I was being 86'd...he told me "It probably didn't help." I could have sworn to God...that I thought I lived in a country where you are supposedly considered INNOCENT until proven guilty? But this seems NOT to apply to casinos. I've had several run-ins with casino security...some that got sorted out, some that didn't...and the one thing that always seems to ring true...is that they spend very little time fact-finding. It's almost always a case of them hearing the complaint...and deciding in their own mind, if they are going to buy it. And if they do, you are simply kicked out. No due process. No ability to defend yourself. Just booted.
Now, I know what your saying. Maybe. If I had NEVER had any problems in a casino...would they have thrown me to the wolves? Maybe not. Maybe yes. Who knows? I think that when they make these decisions, they do so not taking into consideration that this is our job. That they are messing with our future. Our livelihood. The question I don't think I need to even ask is: Do they even care?
What happened with me...I didn't even KNOW...as they were standing there telling me that I was being kicked out. All I was doing was scanning my brain...trying desperately to produce any kind of an incident that could have led to this on that past Saturday. Nothing came to mind. I left the casino baffled, and angry, and feeling defeated. On top of being afraid of what to tell my wife.
As you know...things cleared up dramatically, later...as the dealer who had made these claims...was busy threatening another player with eviction, after he had touched her foot or leg with his foot. She quipped that if he were to touch her again, she would have him kicked out just like she did that other player. Had there not been a player at the table who knows me very well...I would never have discovered this information. Because when he asked her if it was 'Monkey' she said yes. She then volunteered that I had 'offered her $1000 for her to be my escort for sex.' When I heard that, I gasped. Huh?
First of all..this girl was ....very borderline attractive. She is Russian, specifically Belarussian. She has a very large nose, and bad skin, and beat to shit hair. But she is tall and skinny and was wearing tight leggings and 6-inch heels...so from a distance, you might credit her with being an eye-catcher. Whatever. Secondly. Who among the players do YOU know...who after busting from a tourney...where they fell far short of their expectations, have the slightest inkling of a desire to pay someone for sex? And lastly, it might be noted that my roommate for this poker trip...was my wife's best friend, Claudia Crawford. Ridiculous.
Yeah...and as you know from reading my previous post...I was able to recollect how this stupid matter evolved into what it did. Me walking past the 8 dealers lined up to escort us to the payout area...and remarking that I got stuck with my payout escort, the guy who destroyed me in yesterday's tourney...I would prefer ANYONE but that guy to walk me back...and gestured towards this girl...and asked if she would like to be my escort to go get my thousand bucks (bad beat, thinking I'd made the next jump, to $1034...I actually only cashed for $952). Her snotty reaction and dirty look should have told me that there had been a misunderstanding. But I just took it as a snotty look.
It has since been told to me...that a dealer who I thought was a friend (kind of like Judas was a friend to Jesus)...who's name I won't yet post, although I have given him TWO full days to refute the accusation made against him by another dealer who overheard him in the break room...through a message I left him on Facebook (where he is a friend, as requested by him two years ago)...that he went to this girl, told her he heard my comment (which certainly must be true, since I saw him sitting at a table dealing as I was busting, and getting up to leave) and that she really NEEDED to go report it to Charlie Cirisi (the acting Tournament Director for this event). That he would go with her. Why would this guy do this? What have I ever done to him? Why, when I asked my very good friend (name withheld) who is a floor person, to ask Charlie why this was allowed to occur, did he tell me it went above Charlie...that whoever filed the complaint went straight to House Security, and did not follow S.O.P. and report the offensive comment to her immediate supervisor? When apparantly, it didn't. It would appear that this girl, at the goading of this dealer...who's initials are A.L. and who almost ALWAYS has on a SD Charger jersey when not dealing...went straight to Charlie and reported her problem.
So when I texted Charlie Cirisi yesterday...the day I was leaving Chicago, I guess it should have come as no surprise that I never heard back from him.
I can't describe the feelings I have over this whole episode, fully. For those of you with an ounce of common sense...you are outraged that something like this could even HAPPEN....albeit, to me. When, and how...did these people become so empowered with the ability to just recklessly cast people out of the casino for whatever they wanted to dream up? I mean...to an extent, I kind of get that this girl totally misunderstood me...being of Russian descent and all. But for the other people to get themselves so involved? And to take it to the extremes they did? It sickens me.
I know there are some newcomers to my blog. I've never gotten so many hits on this blog in the past four years as I have in the last two or three days. It just goes to show that people care nothing about the good things you do...they only want to be a part of the trainwreck. And to those new comers who bitch and complain because I don't have the ability to express my views in one paragraph or less...HEY! Welcome to my blog! I've always been somewhat long winded...and I'm not about to change for a bunch of trolls who have only come by to check this out in hopes of finding some dirt that you can use in your campaign in disparaging me. Tell me I'm wrong.
MONKEY
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4 comments:
Monkey its sad what happened to you. I know the reason most of this happened. The dealer by the name of Aaron Lashley really is to be blamed. I know this for a fact because I was in the break room when he told that dealer to go to charlie, and tell her story. She had no intention of saying anything, but Aaron Lashley made sure to bring her to Charlie. I know this to be true because like I said I am a dealer and witnessed the whole thing. You need to blame Aaron Lashley for this.
Monkey, please check your inbox on 2+2. Just in case the fucktards have bombarded you with hate mail on there, you want to look for the message entitled "a little help" by BKBozo.
Chin up, Bub!
Is it Karmas' a bitch or what comes around goes around. Sorry to hear of the 86ing but I know in years past you may have abused some people yourself. People who just wanted to get away for a few days and enjoy some tournament poker only to get verbally assualted by the local who is trying to make a living and needs to vent some frustration. I've been playing in tourneys in Biloxi for years and have seen it happen. I hope the payback is over and you're free to move forward harrashment free.
Dealers work hard to make your tournament experience a good one. While players play 10% to 25% of the hands and can take a walk whenever they need, dealers are locked into the box and dealers play every hand. 100%. Often during tournaments they work 14 hour days back to back. They deserve to be treated with common courtesy.
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