RIP All American Dave (at the WSOP, that is)

All American Dave, not to be confused with scammy sportsbetting tout Vegas Dave or former poker pro Hollywood Dave, has been a staple at the Rio WSOP.

He provided good, healthy, albeit expensive food, from a stand he set up in the back area of the Rio. Dave hired a bunch of pretty girls to deliver the food to the tables, but you could also pick it up from the stand yourself.

https://www.casinocitytimes.com/i/Co...ker-209859.JPG

It was well-liked, and many swore by it. Brandon had a bit of a problem with one of those delivery girls some years back, and talked about it on radio. Dave jumped to action and was very gracious/apologetic about it, comping Brandon a meal. He didn't know we had PFA Radio, so it wasn't about that. Just seems like a good guy who appreciates his customers.

Anyway, since the WSOP is moving to Bally's/Paris this year, they just informed Dave that he's a gonner.

https://twitter.com/AllAmericanDave/...23137014685696



Dave deserved better. They likely didn't want the competition with their own in-house food outlets, but Dave had such a long (and good) history with the WSOP, they should have made an exception. I hope they reconsider.

Fucking bs. I got me an AAD hoodie. Good nutritious food easily accessible during breaks. The food court at the WSOP has always been barely edible.

Hellmuth getting involved, so maybe they will find a way for All American Dave to at least be delivered there.

https://twitter.com/phil_hellmuth/st...67974850121729

Bad ending for all. And I've lost a lot of sympathy for Dave.

https://twitter.com/AllAmericanDave/...98821224046592

https://twitter.com/ToddWitteles/sta...27179295117314

https://twitter.com/AllAmericanDave/...34205052071940

https://twitter.com/mEVpoker/status/1514414811815157762

https://twitter.com/mEVpoker/status/1514415950107344896


Poker community is mixed so far, though this announcement just dropped tonight, so I'm sure more reaction is forthcoming.

Some blame WSOP for this, and claim that player balances are just a casualty of the business that got ruined by WSOP's decision, which was apparently forced by the culinary union. Therefore, they say that the business is dead, and Dave should not be responsible to pay anyone back.

I feel differently. Players have patronized Dave over the years in part due to a strong personal connection to him and his brand's strong characfer and ethics. This wasn't just a situation of a large business going under, and customers losing credit they held for future purchases. Dave WAS the business, and players trusted him. Nobody had any clue that, when leaving money on deposit for a year or more, that the money was at risk.

Also, Dave seems to have been living an expensive lifestyle, including this month. He posted a picture of a trip in Fiji just two days ago, and has other pictures on social media of a high-flying lifestyle. Even if he somehow has no assets now, he can at least pledge to pay people back once he gets on his feet. He isn't. He seems to just want to wash his hands of this.

Unfortunate situation.
As far as Covid putting him in a bad spot financially, I don’t know of a single business that got turned down for a PPP loan that applied. Maybe he runs under the table and doesn’t report anything. No reason he shouldn’t have received PPP in both 2020 and 2021.

I see one guy commented on Twitter that he had $1,000 balance. Makes you wonder why these people purchased such high dollar plans to begin with.

https://twitter.com/AllAmericanDave/...53699606679556


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECukqY7RaIA

Another case of not segregating funds in the poker world!

Time to move this to the "Scams, Scandals, & Shadiness" section, no?

Sounds like AAD is now promising to make things right, over time, with things of value.

A lot of errors in this case:

- Funds should definitely have been segregated and not used for operations (or perhaps even personal use)

- Not a good idea for players to leave or roll over the funds "on account" since its been clear for quite some time that COVID has affected the business and WSOP and that the WSOP is moving venues from the RIO to Ballys. Caesars instability speaks for itself.

- AAD should have incorporated or created an LLC to operate his business. He's now got the uncomfortable conundrum of having to file a personal bankruptcy if this can't get resolved, which means his personal assets will be subject to the BK process rather than just the assets of a business entity

- AAD should have thought the business operations through more carefully given the change of venue, COVID delays, and even Vegas Unions

If he owns an actual Food Truck (not clear to me), maybe he needs to just sell the truck and settle with the players he owes.

I would be curious as to the number of people that have outstanding balances. Many of these people may not see his post on Twitter and will only find out their money is gone when they go to the WSOP this year.

It's really hard to say if he really plans to make it right. It's just really easy for him to say he will make it right in the future without much of a downside in the short or long run. He can just keep saying he doesn't have it. Eventually people will stop asking since it's not a large amount to any one single person.

If he still has that food truck in the picture, that would more than likely pay everyone he owes. These trucks are very pricey.

I don't use Twitter, but I wish someone would ask him about PPP loans. If you gave the documents the bank ask for, you got the loan. In 2021 when they let the self employed apply that had zero employees get PPP, people doing Uber were getting around 20k. I'm sure he could of got 100k. Maybe he did get it and he spent it on rubbish.

Does he have this truck at another location when the WSOP is not running?

Does he run it for 7 or so weeks out of the year at the WSOP and then just chill?

It seems like if he has such a following, it wouldn't be difficult for him to set up at a permanent spot in Vegas and gain a dedicated group of people that want a healthy alternative.

He and I were conversing privately (he initiated the discussion), and I kept repeatedly telling him that, at minimum, he needs to pledge to pay people back once he gets back on his feet.

I told him that players trusted him, and that's why they bought big meal packages, often way in advance, and often knowing their balances may have to carry over to future years.

Apparently nobody had the option to "cash out" at the end of the 2021 WSOP, either. They were simply stuck waiting for a service which never came.

When a community trusts you and builds a relationship with you, that doesn't mean you should walk away without refunding them for unused services, even if you can get away with it. The only reason you had that extra money in the first place was because people trusted you NOT to screw them.

Dave apparently mulled it over, and tweeted this:

https://twitter.com/AllAmericanDave/...32823897931778


That's some progress.


Hopefully he really makes good.

Matt Vaughn has been under attack by various Twitter trolls, because he had the AUDACITY to ask about his $500 or so in remaining funds. (He asked this before Dave clarified that people weren't getting it back.)

People were attacking him for being petty and for making such inquiries "too soon", on the same day Dave made the depressing announcement about the end of the business.

I found these attacks to be ridiculous. Dave was announcing the end of his business. He wasn't informing the public that his mother just died. If someone posts about mourning their recently-deceased mom, and a person comes back with, "Where's the $500 you owe me?", that's bad form. If someone posts that their business has gone under, and you ask them what will happen to the funds he was holding for you, that's perfectly reasonable.

At the same time, some trolls were also attacking Vaughn for listing he/him in his Twitter profile. While I agree with the trolls that this is virtue signaling cringe (Vaughn is a heterosexual man who was born male and looks male), it's not really relevant here. I defended Vaughn's recent tweets while also noting that the he/him thing is something he is best off removing.

He got a $243k PPP loan.

The loan: https://www.sba.com/ppp-funded-compa...imited-3207323

Notice it's to "Swanning Limited" in Las Vegas.

Here's the connection between All American Dave to Swanning Limited (see bottom of page): https://blepay.clarkcountynv.gov/ble...asp?ID=2145024


Swanning Limited also shown to belong to Dave here: https://opencorporates.com/companies.../E0183592013-8


:what

He's offering to send people items in lieu of repayment.

Someone got sent a blender. Another got sent "grass fed beef". He gives them a list and they choose what they want.

I'm not joking. He also does own the truck, which hasn't been sold yet.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Dan Druff

He's offering to send people items in lieu of repayment.

Someone got sent a blender. Another got sent "grass fed beef". He gives them a list and they choose what they want.

I'm not joking. He also does own the truck, which hasn't been sold yet.

---

All stuff he wants to get rid of/liquidate anyways. He may not even have the stupid “grass fed beef”, it just fits into his bullshit narrative. He could of gotten away with the scumbaggery if not for his final act of greed. The PPP loan of 250K makes his statement that he operated at the WSOP at a loss last year ridiculous.

If he just gave people back their funds (which considering the loan he 110% should have the ability to do) he would of gotten away free & clear. Now we know what kind of guy he is.

I’m taking odds on anyone getting made whole outside of someone getting sent the occasional blender or whatever leftover asset.

Any money he’s collected in deposit or from Uncle Sam the business is going to pocket.

It’s a bankrupt business. His name will be mud in poker. But at the end of the day he doesn’t need his name in this community anymore as he just got the boot.

Classic let the buyer beware situation. No reason to have any material $$ tied up in a wsop food plan.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Dan Druff

He got a $243k PPP loan.

The loan: https://www.sba.com/ppp-funded-compa...imited-3207323

Notice it's to "Swanning Limited" in Las Vegas.

Here's the connection between All American Dave to Swanning Limited (see bottom of page): https://blepay.clarkcountynv.gov/ble...asp?ID=2145024


Swanning Limited also shown to belong to Dave here: https://opencorporates.com/companies.../E0183592013-8


:what

---

Great work.

Maybe someone can put him on blast on Twitter and ask where that quarter million went.

There is no way he burned that kind of money on his business. He is not in a Business where you can get heavily upside down. He has labor and food cost. No doubt this was donked off on personal shit.



Apparently Twitter is to "Toxic" for him. He is going to "check out" for awhile.

Anyone that voted for a Democrat governor in any state should be stiffed.

Luke Vrabel aka Slaydog already found this thread and put the PPP stuff out there. So it's known, at least by some. All American Dave has also left Twitter for awhile:

https://twitter.com/AllAmericanDave/...80554156232706


Dave has also protected his tweets, and several people have been blocked.

Two distinct camps have developed on Twitter.

There's the "All American Dave is a scammer and a scumbag" camp, and there's the "All American Dave is a great guy, and anyone piling on him is a piece of shit" camp.

I actually am in neither of those camps.

I don't believe All American Dave was looking to scam people at any point.

At the same time, I believe Dave probably lived a lifestyle which left him with little savings, and when the summer windfall of money stopped in 2020, trouble happened. He probably couldn't slow himself down, and burned through every penny he was holding, including the unused meal funds.

Whether or not the vacation to Fiji was an actual vacation or just to end his long-standing rental there is immaterial. What we know for sure is that he was renting property in Fiji for the past few years (at least), despite it being clear since early 2020 that his business might be in trouble, due to both COVID and the soon-to-be-changed Rio venue.

It was unethical to take long term meal money from people, given that he wasn't certain he could operate in 2022. As has been pointed out by many, even if WSOP allowed him to operate in 2022, he wouldn't have had any funds to do so, and would have had to take loans to do so -- if he could get them!

When it's all said and done, Dave suffered from the same affliction which felts many poker pros and leaves them owing people money -- poor bankroll management, followed by unethical "borrowing" to stay afloat. Just like a poker player borrowing money "because I can't access it right now" when in reality he's busto, Dave sold future meals to people when he didn't know if his business really had a future.

At the same time, he wasn't looking to rip people off, and legitimately wishes he could still be at WSOP serving people food this summer.

He mentions the "WSOP was his business". Most people would love to have a business they can run 7 weeks per year that supports them all year. In my opinion he really took this for granted. It's one thing if he had assets to fall back on. If I was in his position, I would have took that income from the 7 weeks each year and considered it a windfall. Do something the other 45 weeks per year to support yourself. It's one thing if he was semi-retired and had assets to fall back on, but he didn't.
He Works 7 weeks per year, then wonders what happened when shit goes bad.

Hamilton worked there also.

Lol Dave. He’s already admitted the LLC is insolvent. By distributing the physical assets to unsecured creditors who request those deposits back on a “first come, first served” basis, he is favoring one creditor over another. If the LLC then files bankruptcy, or a creditor forces the LLC into it, the trustee will have the power to demand return of those assets, in order to fairly distribute them.

I don’t think there is any intentional fraud here. There were unforeseen circumstances (the move from the Rio). Don’t fault him for going to Fiji. It’s one of my favorite countries, and is about half the cost of going to Hawaii.

There is a simple solution to this problem.

All American Dave needs to setup in the Grand Bazaar Shops just outside of Bally's.

They have Giordano's, Wahlburgers, Dirt Dog, Dave's Hot Chicken, etc.

If you walk by the Grand Bazaar Shops at 3am you will see about 20 people in line to buy some middle-eastern food.

They have plenty of units that they could rent out at the Grand Bazaar Shops some with kitchens some without.

This is the solution to All American Dave's problem.

Note about Bally's. The staff there have a real shitty attitude and they like to fuck with people. WSOP is going to be a fucking disaster. Paris Las Vegas is the exact opposite, they will bend over backwards to make things happen.

https://www.caesars.com/content/dam/...-img/image.jpg

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jayjami

Don’t fault him for going to Fiji. It’s one of my favorite countries, and is about half the cost of going to Hawaii.

---

Only if Dan Bilzerian didn't pay the fucking bill.

All American Dave is not a business man.
He is a personal trainer and chef.
In business, you must have vision and adapt to change.

Dave was making over $700K for about two months of work for seven years.

Dave is upset because Caesars won't allow him to deliver to customers tables like they do at Caesar's Palace Sportsbook.

Become an official vendor and open a restaurant in Caesar's Palace food court then you can deliver wherever you want.

https://static.wixstatic.com/media/1...e506ef~mv2.png

https://s3-media4.fl.yelpcdn.com/bph...KI3mbWlQ/o.jpg

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by PositiveVariance

He mentions the "WSOP was his business". Most people would love to have a business they can run 7 weeks per year that supports them all year. In my opinion he really took this for granted. It's one thing if he had assets to fall back on. If I was in his position, I would have took that income from the 7 weeks each year and considered it a windfall. Do something the other 45 weeks per year to support yourself. It's one thing if he was semi-retired and had assets to fall back on, but he didn't.
He Works 7 weeks per year, then wonders what happened when shit goes bad.

---

Far as I can tell he’s not bitching that the wsop pulled the plug on him and blaming the rest of the world for his problems.

I’m sure he would love this gig back.

I’m sure many of the rest of us would too.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by TheXFactor

There is a simple solution to this problem.

All American Dave needs to setup in the Grand Bazaar Shops just outside of Bally's.

They have Giordano's, Wahlburgers, Dirt Dog, Dave's Hot Chicken, etc.

If you walk by the Grand Bazaar Shops at 3am you will see about 20 people in line to buy some middle-eastern food.

They have plenty of units that they could rent out at the Grand Bazaar Shops some with kitchens some without.

This is the solution to All American Dave's problem.

Note about Bally's. The staff there have a real shitty attitude and they like to fuck with people. WSOP is going to be a fucking disaster. Paris Las Vegas is the exact opposite, they will bend over backwards to make things happen.

https://www.caesars.com/content/dam/...-img/image.jpg

---

I’m sure he would love this / but no fucking way they going to let him operate there unless they getting a huge chunk of the $$.

So companies like Sunset Case that sell cellphone accessories must pay Caesar's 70% of all profits in order to operate at the Grand Bazaar Shops?

Bullshit.

:wrong

Thexfactor, just curious, where did you get the 700k figure?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by TheXFactor

So companies like Sunset Case that sell cellphone accessories must pay Caesar's 70% of all profits in order to operate at the Grand Bazaar Shops?

Bullshit.

:wrong

---

I’m sure they “just” pay rent. I can’t imagine what retail rent goes for on the strip but it ain’t cheap.

The $700K number comes from All American Dave himself.

Dave is very hard-headed.
He won't comprise on anything.

He won't give up his food truck but won't operate it like a real food truck.

Dave's prices are a little high for a food truck but people are buying $15 sandwiches and $20 pizza's from food trucks.

https://www.vendhq.com/blog/wp-conte...014/04/AA1.jpg

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by TheXFactor

The $700K number comes from All American Dave himself.

Dave is very hard-headed.
He won't comprise on anything.

He won't give up his food truck but won't operate it like a real food truck.

Dave's prices are a little high for a food truck but people are buying $15 sandwiches and $20 pizza's from food trucks.

https://www.vendhq.com/blog/wp-conte...014/04/AA1.jpg

---

He needs the truck so he can haul his toys around.

It really bothers me that Dave borrowed money from the government, and pissed it all off because he doesn't know how to budget for a rainy day. I hope his loan does not get forgiven, or anybody else's for that matter. I own a small business that was impacted by COVID, but I didn't borrow a penny from anybody. In fact, I don't believe in going into debt, ever. Just my personal opinion.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Online Veteran

It really bothers me that Dave borrowed money from the government, and pissed it all off because he doesn't know how to budget for a rainy day. I hope his loan does not get forgiven, or anybody else's for that matter. I own a small business that was impacted by COVID, but I didn't borrow a penny from anybody. In fact, I don't believe in going into debt, ever. Just my personal opinion.

---

I'm almost certain his loan was forgiven. All you have to say is that you used the money for certain things and your good. There was almost no enforcement for these PPP loans. The bank is on the borrowers side for these loans as the government pays off the loan to the lender. He likely blew that 200k plus on on ransom shit - not his business.

You are supposed to spend most of the PPP money on your employees. Dave's got 60? No fucking way. Even during great times when he paid dozens of mostly women to deliver his meals, he never employed that many people at a time.

What did Bankrupt Dave buy with nearly $250K? A Rolex? A new vehicle? A new home? A new girlfriend? Did he spend it on his wife & kid?

Look Bankrupt Dave is a good chef and personal trainer.

I think he could have made money being regular food truck but Dave doesn't have that kind of time and won't put the work in. What should Bankrupt Dave do now? He is finished in the poker community and probably with Las Vegas too.

Move to Hollywood, train the rich and famous.

You just know that you will see one of Dave's vehicles at a future Trump rally.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FE6Te6BV...jpg&name=large

We are several years removed from the All American Dave fiasco.

The guy I believe still has a home in FIJI (he posted about being in FIJI as late as March 2023)

What a joke, claiming to be broke.

All American Dave masqueraded as an honest businessman who cared about the poker community... until he couldn't operate at WSOP anymore, and gave everyone the collective middle finger.

That's basically what happened.

He's BACK... sort of.

https://x.com/AllAmericanDave/status...99116737323443


Dave is now heavily into fitness, and has some kind of weight loss bet with Dan Bilzerian, of all people.

He claims that he will try to make right the situation with the WSOP player food balances, if possible. Hopefully he does.

He has also been messaging me privately, stating that he'd like to tell me the full story, so I will hear him out.

Does anyone know exactly how much money Dave owes in these balances? The thing is he has hemmed and hawed about these balances forever. Either pay them back or shut up about it already. He’s talked about playing people with food, equipment and even fucking “knowledge” for Christ’s sake.

This is not a guy who has been on his ass for years. He has three young children, a wife, property & a business. We all have our struggles, but it looks to me Dave is better off than most. Good for him. It’s great he’s taking care of himself. But a guy who has a weight loss bet with Dan Blizerian, using the name “All American Dave” and still doing this nonsense regarding these balances is just absurd to me.

Either pay it or not. I have a strong feeling he could have made good on these balances already. The fact he hasn’t paid a penny (that I know of) leads me to believe this is just lip service. The only way I see these balances taken care of is if he somehow gets a gig feeding poker player again.

I get that the guy had a cash cow when he worked the WSOP. He got used to that money coming in and the lifestyle that came with it. But shit happens and things change. He had to know there was a large possibility that wasn’t going to last forever. I wish him well but the next time he brings up these balances it should really come with some actual $$$ returned to the players with balances. It’s really been enough already imo.

I’m guessing this guy Matt Vaughn’s $500 balance is probably among the highest. In the gambling world I think a lot of us realize it’s not worth chasing people down for debts of a few hundred bucks in many cases. It just takes too much energy, especially if you doubt it’s even collectible. I’m guessing that’s how the overwhelming majority of people that had balances look at it. Plus a lot of big names seem to come to Dave’s defense and publicly felt bad for him losing his gig. But again, it’s just annoying he keeps bringing it up but with $0.00000000 behind it. But he’s got money to bet with Dan Blizerian? Come on.