Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/138830
Parting Shot betting on best behavior CASINOS DO EVERYTHING THEY CAN TO KEEP THE CONDUCT INSIDE SQUEAKY CLEAN—BUT THE INTENSE SUMMER HEAT CAN SEND GAMBLERS INTO A FRENZY. BY BETSY F. PERRY C combustions occur when "big-egoed poker players with a lot of testosterone clash," and once things get testy, that's when floor security steps in to remove the perps. Las Vegas resident, journalist, and recreational gambler Rick Lax, author of Fool Me Once and I Get Paid for This, was once provided a security escort for his own safety when he told a player's wife that her husband was a jerk for holding up the game and later the man stood up as if to fight. Lesson learned, and let's be honest: All of this schoolmarmish regulation does come with an ulterior motive. Casinos want to take your money—and if they do it under the most pleasant circumstances, patrons don't seem to mind. If conduct unbecoming gets you booted out into the 120-degree heat of Vegas in late summer—when the temptation is to strip down, bake by the pool, and enjoy a few burgers and beers—your return to the casino might be when the real fun starts. Whether it's the booze or heat-induced laziness, too often sun-drenched gamblers decide to forgo a shower (let alone a brush to the teeth and a gargle to wash away the onion breath). It's summer, and you have to accept that most casinos just won't pass the sniff test. If all of this makes you queasy, Blackwood suggests avoiding the poker rooms. While most games don't permit food at the tables, the rule doesn't apply to poker players, so "One should beware of people eating greasy food and touching chips. They could end up in your pile." What's new in Vegas is really old: good manners, or at least an awareness of those around you. A young (male) gambler friend—dressed in a tank top (he promises he showers), low-slung jeans, and a baseball cap (which probably irritates more "mature" players)—says he's annoyed by background chitchat at the tables because he needs to focus, and older players, who like to discuss each play, are a distraction. But as casinos attract what I call the "yo" generation—with their electronics, Instagram, and the occasional toothy diamond grill—it's all about coexistence in a high-stakes world, because the casinos want everyone's wallet. And you can bet on that. V ILLUSTRATION BY DANIEL O'LEARY ontrary to the vintage cinematic scene of plumaged, long-limbed, strutting showgirls and their stogie-smoking wiseguys parading through casinos blowing on dice and throwing around big bucks—I'm channeling the Rat Pack—these days casinos seem to come equipped with a full deck of nannies to make sure you play nice, don't get smart-alecky with the dealers, and keep your sexist and gender-inappropriate remarks to yourself. For wheeling and dealing over-21-year-olds, these nannies (in suits, ties, and those wiggly plastic ear appendages) are an omnipresent ground crew of security with a virtual support structure: dronelike "eye in the sky" cameras to make sure you never utter an expletive—"buzz" words, they're called, and guaranteed to get you ousted quicker than you can say "bingo." While the rest of the country is besieged by profanity and incessant "Can you hear me now?" cell chatter, Vegas gamblers are secretly wellmannered. As one player shared, "With NASA-like control rooms, there's little incentive to misbehave." But leave it to the dog days of summer to spoil the party, especially when two alpha males are baring their teeth. When it comes to the breakdown of manners, Kevin Blackwood, a blackjack vet and the author of Casino Gambling for Dummies, says most 120 VEGASMAGAZINE.COM 120_V_BOB_PartingShot_Sum13.indd 120 6/19/13 10:38 AM