Vegas -1966-1980 Way it Was "GCA"
- From: "RussGeorgiev@xxxxxxx" <RussGeorgiev@xxxxxxx>
- Date: 21 May 2007 08:36:25 -0700
This is the WAY IT WAS in LAS VEGAS from 1966 until 1980. I was here
most of
this time as well as most of the time since then. This is my, John
Martino's
account of these days. Russ is writing and we have been in
communication by fax
and telephone, as we are not in the same states. We are staying 1000's
of miles
apart.
Russ and I came into the world of poker from two directions. Russ G
came into
poker as an honest player, while I was always a cheat. However, Russ
found out
about the business as fast as possible. I grew up in West Virginia and
was
around card games since I was young. It was always cheating back then,
at least
in the games I played in. By the time I was 15 years old, I was
already a card
mechanic. I grew up cheating in all the games in the south. When I was
21 years
old, I found my way to Las Vegas.
Within three days I had a job. I started at the Fremont card room in
1966. In
those days it was almost impossible to book any kind of win in a poker
room.
All the games were either cheated with marked cards, teams, or the
pots were
raked to ungodly amounts. I started in the small games and worked my
way up. I
was very good at taking the money out of the pots and dropping it down
the slot
without causing any attention. It was in the timing. This is what
card
mechanics are good at, sleight of hand. And I was very good. Being
young was
also beneficial, as I was a new face.
I was a dealer in Vegas from 1966 until 1976 upon which I left to run
games
for other people elsewhere. At this time, my fingers were nimble and
my mine
was a lot sharper. I was also around quite a lot in the years after
this. My
home was Las Vegas. I cheated in Vegas from 1966 until the present.
During the period that I dealt in Las Vegas, I worked in many card
rooms. At
first I was making a few hundred dollars a day. It gradually grew as I
became
involved with the mainstream cheats. I have worked in the Fremont,
Horseshoe,
Mint, Circus Circus and the Dunes card rooms as well as others. The
Dunes was
the last card room that I dealt in. I was there for a period of about
1 and one
half years from 1974 until 1976. Here is where major damage was done
to the
poker players in Las Vegas. Here was the start of the newest era in
cheating.
Here is were almost all the players in high level poker were to begin
there
careers. This was the beginning. The modern age of cheating.
I had worked in the Horseshoe casino twice in my life. In the late
sixties and
the early seventies. I have also dealt the World Series of Poker. I
did this in
1973, prior to going to work at the Dunes card room. During the late
60's I was
basically small time. I was good at taking money out of the pots
without
getting complaints from the players. It wouldn't have done them any
good
anyway. I was always in with the management. We all had a vested
interest in
the drop or the rake, which ever you wish to call it. We all received
a piece
of the action. Since we didn't have first count, we didn't argue about
how much
money we were given, it was enough. We knew we were getting shorted,
but still
accepted the fact. The money was too good. Complaining would of done
nothing
except get you buried in the desert or off the payroll.
At this time, I became aligned with several players. Even though the
games I
was dealing in the sixties were small, we could always make another
$100
dollars or so, by dealing a few hands to our associates. Since we were
in with
the management, it was always to our benefit to make as much as we
could. I
thus became a highly prized commodity.
My reputation grew and I became better known. I began dealing the
bigger games.
I made enemies of certain people of these days. They didn't know
about my
abilities as a card mechanic and we thus cheated also. However, I was
aligned
with a certain "cheating packs" and thus was safe to continue dealing
and
cheating. In those days it was "cheat" against "cheat", anything
goes.
When I dealt in the WSOP, it was all cheating, at least in the side
games. The
WSOP was not the big thing it is today. However, I was dealing to many
of the
"cheating pack" I was associated with. We made a lot of money. When I
state
"dealing" it is a term I refer to as dealing a cold deck, or running
up a hand
to deal to one of my associates. Management was always involved with
this, as
they also had a percentage. Marked cards were the norm. Every edge was
used.
When I went to the Dunes card room, it was here that we cheated the
"biggest of
the big". Most of these people are dead today. However, the "biggest
of the
Big" in those days was known as "Major Riddle". He was a stock holder
in the
Dunes Hotel and a very wealthy individual who liked to play poker.
He , also
had friends like himself. Amongst those cheated for enormous amounts
were also
Bob Rice, Charlie Watts, Syd Wyman, Kupie Rich and Todd Derlackter.
Excuse me
if I misspelled some of the names. However, these people and MAJOR
RIDDLE were
the main victims of the "cheating packs" of the seventies.
Besides this,"Big Jule Winethrop" would bring junkets of "very wealthy
gamblers
and poker players from New York". They never had a chance. The Dunes
was the
"slaughtering house for poker" in those days. Cheating was rampant,
and I was
one of the lead dealers.
When I moved to the Dunes card room in 1974, I only dealt the big
games. I was
in a battery of "five card mechanics" that only dealt the big games.
Our cover
was that we were good, experienced dealers, who didn't make mistakes.
Would you
like inexperienced dealers, dealing for big money to you?
At this time there were two major "cheating packs" in Las Vegas. Both
people
are dead, so I will name the leaders. One was Tony "the ant" Spilatro
and the
other was Nick "shoeshine" Simpson. There were other smaller ones, but
they had
to wait their turn, and play in the games these people didn't want.
Tony "the
ant" Spilatro would have controlled the whole thing, but Nick
"shoeshine"
Simpson was there first, so they kind of split the cheating. Others
just picked
up the crumbs. Or cheated in the smaller games, in other casinos.
While I was involved with the Dunes, I dealt to all the names of
poker. They
were all part of the "cheating packs", either one pack or the other.
Some were
with the small packs. I had dealings with both of the "main men". I
was one of
their "dealers".
During this time, I dealt to at least 40 different cheats. Games would
be built
around one of the people mentioned, with "Major Riddle" being the MAIN
TARGET.
Games I dealt were $100-$200 and up. The bigger the better. With the
Major,
games were quite high. $1000-$2000 being common when he played. And
this was
the middle 70's. No prisoners were taken. Smaller games were left to
the
smaller cheats. All had to give up a "piece of the action" as the
action was
all controlled by the heads of the "cheating packs".
My "commission" or part of the take was anywhere from 15% to 25%,
depending on
how many people were involved. We settled for what we were given. It
was in the
$1,000's. We didn't argue, even though we knew we were getting
shorted. The
money was constant, day after day. Week after week. Most of the people
got only
small percentages. 5% being very common. Even this brought you $5,000
in a play
back then. This was very big money. No one said a word. The "main men"
had the
say. No one wanted to be cut out.
The main way of cheating was the card mechanic, in those days. Not
like
Gardena. It would soon change, however. I and my fellow dealers were
there for
one purpose, to deal the "scammers" the cards. Cold decks were the
main weapon.
Most floormen were corrupt in those days. If they weren't, they
wouldn't be
working there. When new set-ups came in, they were always cold-decks
[prearranged decks]. We also played with shaved cards. "marked cards
you feel".
Shaved cards were used. This way we could feel the cards when we dealt
them. It
made it easy to run up hands, as we knew what the cards were by touch.
With a
whole deck it is easy to the person who is trained in this art. With
only three
cards or five cards as your hole cards, it was impossible to get a
"feel for
the deck". Besides, you were not able to touch the whole deck.
The cards were also marked. However, the dealers were the only one who
could
see the markings. The markings were impossible to see at a distance.
Since the
dealers had possession of the deck it was easy for them to see the
cards. I
have stated the games were built around one or two "live ones", so it
was
fairly easy to know the cards of the intended victims. You only had
to
concentrate on knowing two or three cards. That is if one "live one"
was in the
game. This was the norm. However, many times there were more.
It is always easier to cheat one person with a pack. This is a reason
the
cheats want to play as "high as the sky". Short handed is a lot less
work and
quite a bit easier to cheat in. They make the games so big that
isolation
becomes easy. No one can afford to play this high, except for the
cheats and a
"live one". This is the intention. Games are roped off. This is too
keep the
other cheats from seeing what was going on. Cheats "want to know".
I would signal the "scammers" what kind of hand the "live one
possessed". It
was an easy thing to do. The chips in our dealing racks were arranged
in a
certain order. The chips would go from the smallest denomination to
the
largest. A rack of chips for the dealer would contain $1's $5,s $25,s
and
$100,s. We would signal the strength of the "live ones" hand by
keeping our
dealing hand [the hand containing the deck] over the denomination of
the chips
in the racks. Thus, a hand over the $1,s would signify a weak hand
while one
over the $100,s would signify a strong hand. This was how it worked.
You were up against a battery of card mechanics. The best in the world
at this
time. Technology and "scamming" were just beginning. You had two
options if you
played poker in those days, you were either in or you didn't play. At
least not
in Vegas. And as Russ G has stated, you also didn't play in Gardena.
Those who
were not accepted had to hit the road. Those who didn't want to play
under
these conditions also had to go elsewhere. However, as Russ G states,
"California was the same". These were the "poker capitols". The other
casinos
in Vegas contained smaller cheats. It was a matter of "turf".
You were either in a "cheating pack" or you didn't play. I dealt in
the Dunes
card room until I received a better offer. I was to run a crooked game
or mini
casino in Alaska. In 1976 I left for Alaska. I was there for three
weeks a
month and the rest of the time I would spend in Las Vegas. These were
very good
days for me. I left Alaska in 1979 or 1980. I came back to Vegas.
I will deal with this time period in later posts. However, this is the
way it
was in Las Vegas in the 1970's. Major Riddle was one of the "biggest
losers of
the time", he virtually lost millions of dollars. Games were built
around him.
One seat would be left open, in case someone was fool enough to get
into the
game. No one had a chance in those days, and everyone from that era
who played
high level poker was involved.
John Martino Russ Georgiev
www.pokermafia.com
.
- Follow-Ups:
- Re: Vegas -1966-1980 Way it Was "GCA"
- From: OrangeSFO
- Re: Vegas -1966-1980 Way it Was "GCA"
- From: Torpedo
- Re: Vegas -1966-1980 Way it Was "GCA"
- Prev by Date: Re: Constructive Opinions?
- Next by Date: Re: Razzo is Boss Tweed
- Previous by thread: Vegas, the Way it was 1966-1980 "GCA"
- Next by thread: Re: Vegas -1966-1980 Way it Was "GCA"
- Index(es):
Relevant Pages
|
