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Thread: More fail at the Rio -- floor staff member demanding bribes to run sit-n-go satellites

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    More fail at the Rio -- floor staff member demanding bribes to run sit-n-go satellites

    A player at the Rio alleges that an employee demanded a bribe in order to run a single table satellite tournament.

    Here is a post from "PSUMike1999" from 2p2:

    Quote Originally Posted by PSUMike1999
    Just an fyi I was at the Rio single table satellite area the other day mid-afternoon wanting to play a couple of satellites. The guy at the podium(older guy in his 60's most likely)wouldn't initially call the request from myself and 3 others for a $525 satellite. We asked him why and he gave some incoherent answer. About 2 minutes later he looks at me and starts singing "Grease is my friend, grease is my friend". I asked him why he was singing that and he told me he made $200 the other night and if I want the $525 to go sooner I need to take care of him.

    Someone else told the supervisor but they didn't seem to care. Just giving people a heads up on what to expect at the Rio satellite area - just amazing.
    PSUMike1999 has had his account on 2+2 since January 2012, and has 944 posts. I find it highly unlikely that he's lying, as he has never been accused of making up stories in the past.

    Can you believe this shit?

    Later, PSUMike went back there and tried to find the guy so he could post more information about him. He didn't find him, but spoke to another employee and got more information:

    Spoke to woman named Tesa right before the $1500 was starting who was at the Satellite podium and she told me she was getting tons of complaints about that guy. His name is Lou and he was off today but according to her, he probably won't be coming in tomorrow. Again, she wasn't definitive on that but all the higher ups have been notified by a lot of unhappy players Lou was basically trying to extort just to run a satellite table.

    So it looks like Lou was fired, if Tesa is correct. From what I have seen, nobody at the WSOP such as Seth Palansky or Jack Effel has commented on this.

    I will actually e-mail Seth and see if he has any comment.

    Unbelievably, the some of the idiot brigade on 2+2 came out and defended this guy's actions. Among some of the sentiments expressed there:

    - Tipping for service is a long-accepted practice in Vegas, and you are just a dumb n00b if you don't understand that.

    - This guy only has once a year to make decent money, so he needs to hustle more strongly for tips during that time of year.

    - Even though this was wrong to do, firing this guy would be bad because many floor people likely do the same thing, and it would be unfairly singling him out.

    - The guy just wanted a few bucks. If you can afford to play a $525 sit n go, you can afford to give the guy a few dollars to set it up. Poker players are so cheap!


    Obviously all of the above statements are ridiculous.

    This guy wasn't asking for tips. He was refusing to do his job unless players gave him extra money. As former 2+2 podcast host Mike Johnson brought up in the thread, it would be like paying to see a movie in the theater, and the projectionist refusing to start the film until people tip him. That's not tip hustling -- it's extortion.

    Even worse, apparently there is a "no tip policy" at the Rio this year for floormen in the cash section -- a policy I agree with. In many poker rooms, floormen move people up on the waiting list based upon tips, which is highly unfair. I'm glad the Rio put a stop to that, but not if this sort of behavior was going unchecked after many complaints.

    I hope that "Lou" is gone. If anyone know who he is (or has a picture of him), please post it here. Someone described him as looking like the dad from Fraser.



    Indeed, any Rio employee demanding tips to do their job should be immediately fired.

    Here is the 2+2 thread, btw: http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/29...icker-1449670/

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    Owner Dan Druff's Avatar
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    I contacted Seth Palansky via e-mail, briefly explained the situation (and linked him to the relevant threads), then asked him the following questions:

    1) Is it true that floormen and board operators in the cash/satellite section aren't allowed to receive tips this year?

    2) Is the WSOP aware of the recent allegations against "Lou"?

    3) Can the WSOP verify that "Lou" will not be working the cash/satellite section from this point forward?

    4) As the original poster claims that supervisors "didn't seem to care", what is the best course of action for players when running into rogue employees like this?

    Here was his response related to "Lou":

    Quote Originally Posted by Seth Palansky
    There was an issue in single table satellites with the issue you describe. The employee involved has been terminated. This activity is against our rules and protocols for staff and it was an easy dismissal. It is important to relay to your audience/participants that coming forward is very helpful, so we owe them a big thanks and we encourage them to continue to bring the issues to our attention, either discreetly or vocally. Simply jotting the name of the individual on their name badge (all staff are required to wear name badges) and then bringing it to Jack Effel, Ty Stewart or myself if they don’t feel comfortable doing it directly with the staffer, we will promptly investigate. This is an unfortunate incident. I’m afraid with 2,000 temporary staff, some of this is the law of percentages.

    So again, if the issue arises again, send an email to jeffel@caesars.com and he will get it investigated promptly. Sometimes we like to go undercover with employees or use off duty staff to pose as customers to verify claims, etc., but we will take allegations like this seriously and investigate and take appropriate action.
    So it's good to see that the WSOP did the right thing here. I can't blame them for an occasional rogue employee doing something like this, provided they handle it properly.


    He also commented on the "guy who was attacked in the parking lot" situation, as I also made reference to that in my e-mail. The thread about that is here: http://pokerfraudalert.com/forum/sho...the-full-story

    Quote Originally Posted by Seth Palansky
    No one got robbed in the parking lot. Someone was assaulted and it was a result of them arranging to meet someone else in the back corner of the lot to purchase drugs and things went south from there. This was someone doing something illegal and putting themselves in harm’s way. We don’t like the fact someone was hurt in the parking lot, but it was not a robbery like has been erroneously reported and the circumstances obviously are quite different.
    Not sure how they got this information, but I believe it. The guy's behavior (fear of security) seemed a lot more consistent with someone who got beaten up while committing a crime, rather than the behavior of an innocent victim of a robbery.

    Seth finished off with the following statement regarding safety at the Rio:

    Quote Originally Posted by Seth Palansky
    We still want to always caution guests of our properties to do their part so they don’t become a victim. Use the room safes, make sure to lock the door behind you. Use safe deposit boxes. Use wire transfer and checks as withdrawal methods. Leave winnings on account at Rio cage. Don’t carry large sums of cash. Like any industry with lots of money around, yes, this event is a bigger target. But we’ve been at the Rio for 10 years. We have a ton of security, metro police, on and off duty officers, even FBI, DEA and other agents involved in protecting our guests. We have surveillance. We believe this event is staffed appropriately and our record related to security issues is actually quite exemplary. We put a lot of extra resources into this area during the WSOP and for the number of people coming through this event, the actual incidents are lower than the average crimes per capita. It is a safe place to be. Don’t put yourself in situations that give criminals opportunity.
    Good advice, and while I agree that overall the WSOP has experienced a low rate of crime compared to the number of participants (and the large amount of cash present), I still think there is room for improvement in the parking lots. They are indeed quite dark and mostly ignored by security, and I say that from personal experience of years of parking there.

     
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      Crowe Diddly: Cool stuff. Next time, ask seth to unblock me on twitter pls.

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    Diamond shortbuspoker's Avatar
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    Security was obviously up to their necks dealing with all of the hooligans in town for the Seniors' event.

    via Tristan Wade:

    http://instagram.com/p/o61sDhDGbc/

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    Platinum ftpjesus's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by shortbuspoker View Post
    Security was obviously up to their necks dealing with all of the hooligans in town for the Seniors' event.

    via Tristan Wade:

    http://instagram.com/p/o61sDhDGbc/
    Prostate problems are a bitch when ya get older..

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    Owner Dan Druff's Avatar
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    propoker:

    You posted on 2+2 that you weren't rooting for the guy to get fired, but rather wanted to see him moved to a job away from customer contact.

    You can't be serious.

    You really think a guy who extorts money from players, against company policy, shouldn't get fired?

    I would support a short jail sentence for this douchebag if it were possible, as he was doing something equivalent to embezzlement (forcing players to pay an extra fee for services, and then pocketing the money).

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    Owner Dan Druff's Avatar
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    Unbelievably, PSUMike1999 turned out to be a career scammer himself.

    Kinda reminds me of John Sepulveda -- indignant about being scammed, when his whole life revolves around scamming people.

    http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/29...rning-1454252/

    http://www.scambook.com/company/view...chael-Borovetz

    Basically, the guy hangs out at airports, spins an overly complex story of how his flight got canceled and needs money, and then takes the money and disappears. He tried to get David Gzesh (founder of True Poker), who then posted it on 2+2.



    He was also arrested in Los Angeles for doing this on May 29, but just moved the whole act to Las Vegas:

    http://www.jailbase.com/en/arrested/...rovetz-3987141

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    Diamond Hockey Guy's Avatar
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    What in the flying fuck does Michael Borovetz & his possible scamming have anything to do with "fail" @ the Rio?

    Now get radio up & running.
    (•_•) ..
    ∫\ \___( •_•)
    _∫∫ _∫∫ɯ \ \

    Quote Originally Posted by Hockey Guy
    I'd say good luck in the freeroll but I'm pretty sure you'll go on a bender to self-sabotage yourself & miss it completely or use it as the excuse of why you didn't cash.

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    http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/18...-3-mu-1349984/

    Hey Guys,

    My name is H Michael Borovetz and looking to sell a last minute 45% of the Main Event for day 1c.

    My markup imo is very reasonable at 1.3 and I am strictly a NLH tournament player.

    I have played 12 NLH events this year at the WSOP and I have cashed in 4 of them. My highest finish, 24th, came in a $1500 event where I was 2 outed on a river for most of my chips. If that doesn't happen I am an above avg stack with a decent shot at making the final table. As it was, I was crippled and got knocked out a few hands later.

    Anyways, here is my hendon mob link - strictly a live player, not online

    http://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/player.php?a=r&n=30317


    I know how to play the game, I can accumulate chips quite frequently and I feel I am really close to hitting a nice 6 figure/7 figure score.

    I had a backer but he was recently diagnosed with lung cancer and it leaves me in a bad position for the main.

    As for some quick references: Matt Glantz has known me for years and said he would vouch for me. Also Allen "Chainsaw" Kessler used to stake me in 2005-2006 before I had to take some time off from poker due to personal issues. He will also vouch for my game. I played from end of 2004 to early 2007 and started back up full-time in 2012.
    The backer with cancer was Mike Sica, who died last year.

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    Cubic Zirconia
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    0:29 in for a Michael Borovetz appearance!


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    Owner Dan Druff's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hockey Guy View Post
    What in the flying fuck does Michael Borovetz & his possible scamming have anything to do with "fail" @ the Rio?

    Now get radio up & running.
    Michael Borovetz was the guy who reported this whole scandal on 2+2. (He posts there as PSUMike1999.)

    Turns out he was a scammer, too, even though his report about "Lou" at the Rio was accurate. So I put it in this thread.

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    Owner Dan Druff's Avatar
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    He showed up on 2+2 and admitted to this scam, taking questions from the peanut gallery:

    http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/29...l#post43768207

    I just now read through the whole thread and let me state this emphatically: Everything the initial op has stated is 100% true. I am not going to come on here and try to minimize anything or justify anything. I have a serious compulsive gambling addiction which i think it is safe to say, has ruined my life in so many ways. I really did graduate from Penn State in 1999 with a degree in Chemical Engineering and had the whole world at my feet. Instead of working hard at my job and doing things the right way, i chose to use any excuse to gamble and gamble and gamble and gamble. I became so compulsively addicted that not only did I get fired from various jobs as an engineer and a sales engineer, I also started getting a nice welcome to the criminal justice system because I was a degen who needed and wanted money to play.

    I would also like to state that I am actually relieved that this thread was started because in all likelihood it would have happened eventually anyways. I promise to be open and answer any questions any of you 2+2ers have for me because since I have been an active participant in NVG for over 2 1/2 years, it is only right to do so.

    I will now write a brief summary of what led up to me "hustling money" at airports(which will be in my next post soon) and if any good can come out of this thread I am hoping that I can eventually be forgiven and hope to turn my life around. I know that some that have posted about me on here have had personal interactions with me at a table or on 2+2 and might not ever like me - that's fine, I understand in life you are not going to get along with everyone. All I know that it is depressing and sad that I am 39 years old and feel the need to embarrass myself at an airport to try and scrounge up a few hundred bucks(which will only be used to try and turn it into more money playing paigow). This airport thing has really become a never ending cycle.

    1)give story to try and get money
    2)gamble money to try and win more money so I don't have to go to airport anymore
    3)Lose all of the money in the pit and go back to #1 or win money, leave, come back the next day thinking i can win more money and proceed to lose it all

    I also want to quickly add this: Mike "Little Man" Sica knew about what I was doing at airports for a few years. That is why he offered to back me a couple of years ago. Him and I sat down together and we had a very long talk(early 2012). He always had a soft spot for me over the years since I met him at the end of 2004 at the Taj. He knew I had a gambling problem and how I couldn't trust myself with large amounts of money. He always helped me out with some "going away" money from these different venues because 9 times out of 10 I would lose everything playing paigow before the poker tournaments were even over. He didn't want me to have to go to the airport and give dumb stories for a few hundred bucks. He offered to put me in tournaments and he would hold onto any of my winnings so I wouldn't lose the money back in the pits. He was like a father to me and he wanted me to hit that "big score" that we all want so I would never have to borrow/lie/hustle money from anyone again. I came close a few times before he died but just couldn't do it.

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    Owner Dan Druff's Avatar
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    His story is an interesting read, and I think I believe him:

    I don't want to waste tons and tons of space on my backstory but I feel it is important to try and explain what led me to live this double life of poker player and pit gambler/airport hustler.

    I started getting really heavy into gambling right after I graduated from Penn State in 1999. I took a job with Dupont as a chem eng in Clinton Iowa(the middle of nowhere) and I absolutely hated it. I was super depressed and realized right away that there were 3 riverboat casinos within a 10 minute drive from my apartment. Before long I was calling in sick to work, gambling at these boats almost every hour of the day. I soon lost all my money, maxed out my new credit card and had to take out a loan from the credit union to pay my rent. Within 2 months I was fired and given a $7500 severance check(I was shocked, $7500 for 2 months of not showing up for work??) I told my parents what happened and they didn't understand any of this. They are both hard working people, how could they understand gambling/instant gratification lifestyles ,etc... My parents actually hired some financial planner for me in Iowa to manage the $7500 and told me to go to Gamblers Anonymous immediately. I did and at the same time was looking on monster.com for a new job in a better city. I was telling myself that I only went off the deep end gambling because I was in a boring place with a boring job. I wish that was why.

    Found a new job around March 2000 with an industrial gas company in Irvine California. It was a sales job and they gave you a car and base salary was $50,000 plus 20-25k in commission. I also was given a gas credit card, laptop, cellphone and $5000 relocation bonus check. I thought my troubles were over. Well before I left Iowa I was told by GA members that I had to go to meetings in California or I would relapse. I wish I would have listened. I didn't go to any meetings and within 1 month I spotted all the LA card clubs and visited them all. Of course it was only a matter of time before I lost all of my money again and started writing bad checks. I learned a game called paigow at these places and it became my game of choice. Soon I had no money at all and I called my father begging him for a loan. I told him California was an expensive place to live and that I didn't have enough money to cover my rent. My father trusted me, wanted to believe me and wired me $6000. That money was gone in 2 hours. Soon after I was fired once again, the car taken away and was left with no job, no money and I didn't know what to do.

    After I was fired, I was basically living in these casinos. Hollywood Park had at the time an upstairs "sleeping room" and if you played enough they would let you sleep upstairs. That place became my 2nd home and it was awful. I was desperate for money and after getting fired from my 2nd job, my parents and any other family members cut me off. I started calling a few of my good college friends, giving them any story I could think of and begging them for some money. They western unioned me a few thousand and all I did was gamble it away. My apartment complex in Irvine then told me they were starting eviction proceedings so I was so stressed I couldn't even think straight.

    Around the end of September I was just walking around Hawaiian Gardens Casino when I was approached by these 2 black guys(not being racist, just mentioning they were black). They told me that they have seen me around a lot and asked me if I needed money. Needed money??? I heard that and I perked up real fast. Of course I needed money I told them. The 1 guy told me that he knew a guy who worked for a company and that he could get his hands on a few "big" checks made out to the company from certain vendors or something. He told me that his buddy could change the paid out name on the check to my name and that we could deposit the checks and split the money 3 ways. He asked me if I had a checking account and I told him yes. Basically he wanted me to deposit "altered" checks made payable to me in my bank account and withdraw money every day. Me being in total despair, desperate and not thinking clearly told him okay. He said even if they eventually catch on it would be years and that nothing would really happen to me. I don't know if I even thought of the consequences of all of this - all I thought of was how I could get my hands on thousands of dollars to play paigow with. So, within a few days I deposited $24,000 approximately of 4 altered checks into my bank account and started withdrawing the money. The 1st time I withdrew $6000 I believe and the next day I withdrew $4400. The 3rd day however, the bank got suspicious and stalled me while they called the police. When the police showed up those 2 guys who were always waiting in their car outside the bank were gone and I was arrested for 1 count(initially) of defrauding a financial institution. Welcome to my introduction to the criminal justice system.

    I was taken into custody and booked into the Anaheim Police/Booking area and my bail was $10,000. I called another really close college friend/roommate and asked him if he could bail me out. After some coercing he called a bondsman in Anaheim and got me released. I was told that some detectives were going to follow up and speak with me but my 1st act was to try and hire a lawyer. Amazingly I hadn't gambled all of the money that was split with me on the 1st 2 withdrawals so I had about $2700 hidden in my soon to be evicted apartment. I looked up lawyers in the phone book(seriously) and eventually found a guy who was willing to take my case for $2500. Looking back no "good" lawyer would only take $2500 for this but he was fairly new and I had no other option imo. Believe it or not I was still hanging out in casinos, begging for money from anyone I could, even dealers I had previously tipped when I had won on occasion. I mean, these dealers work their butt off and I am begging them for a $25 dollar chip so I can "run it up" hopefully. It was pathetic. Eventually, my attorney called me and said that he was able to negotiate a deal for me. He told me that I was charged with 7 felonies and that he was able to get them to drop 3 of them and that I would plead guilty to 4 felonies and get 90 days in jail and 3 years felony probation. Again, looking back I would have never taken that deal(especially since I had no criminal record) but since my parents weren't speaking to me and I had no one advising me about anything, I listened to him and accepted that crappy offer. I ended up pleading guilty to 1)felony altered document 2)felony defrauding a financial institution 3)felony 2nd degree burglary and 4)felony forgery. I was scared about this 90 day Orange County Jail part and I found this inpatient Jewish rehab in LA that dealt with all types of addictions. I told my attorney about it and he successfully got the DA to allow me to go to this rehab for 6 months mandatory instead of the 90 days of jail time. The sad part is I ultimately ended up going to the jail in Orange County for 90 days anyways months later.

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    Owner Dan Druff's Avatar
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    I went to this rehab in January of 2001 and stayed there until August 2001. For a while I was doing well but at this place they encourage you to look for a job after 6 months. I found another sales job with a car and the same crap happened. I would drive to the casinos instead of working and soon I was fired yet again and the rehab told me to leave. I didn't understand though about the whole probation part and that I was supposed to report to a probation officer. I left and took a greyhound bus to Las Vegas(my 1st time coming). I had $220 when I got off the bus and walked right into the Golden Nugget and lost that in 5 minutes playing paigow. For the next 30 days and I am not exaggerating, I walked from Golden Nugget to Treasure Island, stopping in almost every casino on the way begging for money, begging for food, etc... I was trying to sleep in casino lobbies and would get woken up by security telling me to leave. I wore the same clothes for 30 days - no shower, no nothing. I was a complete mess and in serious distress. Around the 30th day or so I walked into Treasure Island Casino and saw some guy playing $5 slots. I don't know what story I told him but he handed me $200 and told me good luck. What did I do with the $200??? Instead of getting a room and sleeping or buying some new cheap clothes, I went to the paigow table and turned it into $1000. I was so tired though that I actually left the table and got a room at Treasure Island. I asked for a late checkout and slept for almost 20 hours. When I left the room and checked out I went into the gift shop and bought a T-Shirt and some socks and some shorts. I had about $700 left and went back to the paigow table at TI. The next thing you know I ran it up to $15,000 and this host comes over and offers me RFB(free room, food, beverage) and limos. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. I was given this big suite and I immediately took this limo to the mall and bought all new clothes, socks, boxers, a movado watch - it was surreal to me. I wanted to see the Amazing Jonathan at the Nugget so they got me tickets and the limo took me down. They gave me VIP Madonna tickets for the big concert in a few days -all for winning $15,000 of their money. Well, that "high" was short lived because i went down the next day and lost all of the money back. I was so depressed and now I had nothing. I went back to the mall and tried to take back the movado watch but they wouldn't give me cash back, only would mail me a check within 6 weeks so I started yelling and carying on - it was horrible. I went back to Treasure Island and proceeded to try and sell my Madonna tickets. I got $500 for both of them when security found out and told me I had to checkout because I wasn't allowed to sell comped tickets to anyone. I checked out of TI, took the $500 and went to Mirage, gambled it and lost quick and was back to square one. I certainly did not want to walk around the whole strip like I just had done after living the good life for a day or 2 so I decided to start asking people for money in the hotel lobbies - which led to the airport thing

    More in the next few minutes(again trying to be as honest and detailed as possible to everyone because it's the right thing to do. When I am finished I will answer questions but I will answer 1 right now about why I didn't use a fake name at the airport. I didn't want to ever get a fake id or use a fake name because that could/would lead to much more serious charges against me when I am talked to by the police. Obviously, most people will not give a complete stranger $200 or something even with a good story. Some passengers will complain to the police that there is a guy asking for money and the police will stop and ask questions. If I have a fake ID or a fake name and they want to run my name for warrants, they will find out quick that I have no valid social security number and there would be no records matching that fake name. Then I would be charged with giving a false name to a police officer amongst other things and believe it or not I have paid some people back when I have hit for a decent score. I will keep their business card and western union or mail them a money order for the amount they gave. That's the honest answer

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    I decided at the Mirage that I would need to come up with a good story to get money from people because I was so addicted to gambling I needed that fix all the time. Just like an alcoholic or drug addict, the addict in me just needs to play. I came up with some story about missed flights and job interviews and would look for guys dressed in suits -who looked like they traveled a lot. of course most peoplesay no but maybe 1 out of 10 would give me $60, $80, $100, even $200 or $300. That is what I was doing to make money in Las Vegas from early September 2001 - June 2002. Most times I would take the money and lose it right away but a few times I would have a nice run like I did at TI. I took $200 and won $15,000 at Mirage - I took $100 and won $25,000 at Bellagio and I took $200 and won $25,000 at the Venetian - All within that year. Of course though the same thing happened each time - I would lose it all back, try and sell comped tickets and get thrown out of the hotel/casino. Around May of 2002 I decided to head back to California and start playing at the card clubs again. I took another greyhound bus, went into a couple downtown hotels and managed to get $300 or so. I went to The Bicycle Club and met this guy there who I would ultimately confide in about what went wrong in my life and how I was able to get money by giving some sob story at various hotels. He offered to drive me around and wanted gas money and some extra money for waiting. I agreed since it was probably cheaper than taxis all the time and he started driving me to all of these nice hotels. I would make a few hundred in a couple of hours and he would drive me to the card clubs to try and win a lot more. Well 1 day I went to a hotel in Long Beach and there was a police officer nearby that I didn't see. The person I had asked money from told me no and told the officer. He asked me for my id and ran my name and told me I had a no bail bench warrant out of orange county. It was a probation violation for not reporting. I was eventually brought down to the orange county jail and was sentenced to 90 days. It was a horrific experience and that is a kind description . I had to fake suicide because I was being threatened by big guys in my cell in there for robbery, attempt murder, etc.. and here is this nerdy guy in for a 90 day probation violation. I told the CO I was suicidal and they stripped me naked, put me in a cell with no mattress and cold air blowing down from the vents. I had some velcro thing on me and I sat in that cell and cried for 24 hours. Finally a psychiatrist saw me the next day and I told her I was not suicidal. She got me out of there and I was put in a different cell with calmer people and I finished out my 90 days and got released.

    When I was released I called my friend from the Bike and he told me I had to report to the probation officer or I would be locked up again. I saw her and finished out 2 years of probation while living in motels, under bridges, etc... I don't know how I didn't get violated again because I was still gambling in casinos whenever I could hustle up any money. 1 day my friend suggested to me that I go to the LAX Airport because there are more business travelers there and it is better than hotel lobbies. I said sure and that's when I started going to airports to try and hustle up money.

  15. #15
    Owner Dan Druff's Avatar
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    He gets into poker:

    Around the end of 2003, early 2004 the whole poker boom exploded with the airing of the 2003 WSOP on ESPN. I like many others, would scream at the tv that i could do this, I could bluff, I am not afraid of shoving all my chips in because I have no value of money anyways. I flew back east and after hustling up almost $500 at Newark Airport, I went down to AC and started playing small $50 tournaments at the TAJ. I bought some books and read and watched ESPN reruns and started winning some of the nightly tournaments they held. Again though, same theme throughout - won $3500, gambled it right back playing paigow, won $2000, same thing. The TAJ was putting on its various poker series throughout the year so I started playing satellites to qualify in. I played a few tournaments and made 3rd place in 1 of them for like $10,000 I believe. That was also around the time I met Little Man Mike Sica. He had just won his bracelet that summer so he was playing every tournament they had. I started talking to him and of course right away I asked him if he would put me in any tournaments. He laughed and said "do you know how many people have asked me that just today?" Well we started hanging out down there a lot and he said he liked my game and started putting me in various events(his choosing). What he didn't like however was my appetite for gambling. He would get pissed that any cash or any score(no matter how small or large) was immediately gambled into the pits by me. He started telling me poker is my only shot, not those fool games. He offered to hold my money for me so I wouldn't degen it but of course at the time I said no. I only knew him at that point for about a year and even though I trusted him in my gut, I always liked holding my own money and would tell myself that I would not gamble in the pit again(YEAH RIGHT). In late 2005 after the world series of poker ended I was in a free fall. Forget airports, I was coming up to random strangers in the poker rooms(people who I might have just met 1 time) and tell them I was getting a money wire and I needed to borrow $2000, $3000, etc... I remember a Foxwoods trip in the spring of 2006 where I must have borrowed close to $25,000 from like 6-7 different people - each time I would take the few thousand right down to paigow and bet $3000 1 shot. If I lost(which I mostly did) I would walk around the room trying to borrow more money. If I won, I bet 5k to try and hit them quick for a big score. It never worked that trip and people were coming up to Little Man telling him that I was going off the deep end borrowing thousands from various people and asked if he would pay it back for me. Of course he said no but he said he would put me in tournaments and if I hit a score he would personally pay all of the people back. Well in December of 2006 I won a $1060 circuit event at Harrah's for $66,000. There was a line of about 5 people that Little Man navigated through and paid everyone back for me so I didn't gamble it beforehand. When all was said and done I had about $32,000 left. He wanted me to play the 5k circuit main the next day or 2 days so he told me to buy in ahead of time which I did. He wanted to hold the $27,000 or so I had left but of course me being stupid I said no. I took the $27,000 back to the TAJ and went over to the baccarat pit(I had just gotten into that game by watching other people play it) and I turned my $27,000 into $100,000. I took those 5k chips over to the cage and cashed out. They gave me $100,000 in 10k packets hundred dollar bills and I went back to my room and was in heaven. I was counting each packet, organizing each bill to face the same way, etc... I knew I should have called Little Man and he would have come over and taken that 100k from me but i didn't. I couldn't sleep so I took 30k down to try and win another 100k. Bad move - I lost it in 5 minutes. I went back to my room and grabbed 40k -same thing, lost in 10 minutes. I couldn't stop myself, I went back to my room, got the last 30k minus about $1000 and lost all of that. In a span of 1 hour I won close to $80,000 and then lost almost $100,000. I threw up.

  16. #16
    Owner Dan Druff's Avatar
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    In early 2008 I was in Las Vegas and I had about $1000 on me. I went to the Venetian and played paigow tiles(learned that game a few months before and started only playing that) and won $150,000. That was the most amount of money I had ever had on me and again I didn't do the right thing. I never called Little Man and asked him to hold it - I never gave it to my parents to hold for me. No, I cashed out the chips and flew to New York to visit my sisters. I checked into a nearby LaGuardia hotel and spent some time with my sisters who live in NYC. They immediately wanted me to give them all that money so I wouldn't gamble it back but I stupidly said no. I told them there is no way I would lose all of that money and they just gave up asking. I wish I had given it to them. I decided out of the blue 1 day to take a cab from the hotel by LaGuardia Airport to Mohegan Sun Casino. I wanted to win another $150,000 I guess who knew what the heck I was thinking. Anyways, I get there and I proceed to lose just about everything. I was betting $10,000 a hand and lost it all in about 40 minutes. This VP of gaming introduced himself to me after and told me he would give me butler service and get me anything I want. I told him I wanted to go back to New York because I lost close to $150,000 and I didn't want to be there anymore. They gave me a limo back to the hotel and when I had checked in I was bragging to everyone there about my big score and tipping $20's and some $50's to managers and employees. I kept extending my stay there day after day after day because I couldn't leave my room I was so depressed. I was an elite member of this hotel brand because I stayed over 60 nights a year so they believed me when I told them that I had sent my money back home and I was waiting for a bank wire. This hotel let me stay for almost 2 weeks in the middle of February without paying for my room. Finally the manager knocked on my door 1 day and told me to come down to his office to speak with him. I went down and he was with a couple of security officers and told me that I had to settle up the bill. He said I owed $4900 and if I didn't pay it right then they would call the police. I obviously didn't have the money on me to pay so they called the police and 2 detectives from Queens precinct came and took me to the station "just to question me" they said. I answered honestly to them(probably should have asked for a lawyer but I didn't) and after about 20 minutes of questioning I was arrested and charged with Grand Larceny and defrauding an innkeeper. I was sent to central booking and my bail was set at $25,000 and shipped to Rikers Island. In a span of 3-4 weeks I went from having $150,000 and at least a chance to get my life together to losing it all and sitting on Rikers Island in early March of 2008 for Grand Larceny.

  17. #17
    Owner Dan Druff's Avatar
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    I was given a legal aid lawyer(public defender) who told me that he would try and get me into a mental health court for people with poor impulse control and addictions. He asked me if I drank alcohol or used drugs and I told him no, just gambled. He said that would be tough if I don't have a drug or alcohol problem to get into a program because there are none in the area that deal with gambling. If I don't choose the program and/or don't qualify, he said I was looking at prison because of my previous felonies back in 2000. Eventually, I just lied and said I was an alcoholic also so I could get the heck out of Rikers and into this impatient program. They put me in Samaritan Village in Queens for 1 year and if I were to complete the program my felony would drop to a misdemeanor and I would be put on 3 years of misdemeanor probation. I got released from Rikers in the end of May 2008 and went to this Samaritan Village house. It was worse than jail imo. Obv I am exaggerating but it was mostly ex prison inmates there for parole requirements and it was not a nice place. I gave it 4 months and then I just split. I took a greyhound bus down to Las Vegas from New York to try and recreate some miracle magic making $150,000 but it never happened. I was sleeping in the Vegas Airport 1 night when a police officer came over on a bike and told me he had seen me sleeping there for the past few nights. He ran my name and Queens put a warrant out for me for running from the program. I was booked into the Clark County Detention Center and waited 2 weeks before 2 Queens detectives picked me up and took me on a plane back to New York. I felt like I was an axe murderer or something - in leg shackles and everything. I went back before the judge and she asked me why I left the program. I told her and she said they were willing to give me another chance. 1 month later I was released and given another program - Palladia in the Bronx. That place was even worse than the 1st house so I just left after 1 day. They put another warrant out for me and they found me sleeping in Grand Central Station. The police ran my name and found the warrant. When I went back before the judge again the DA wanted to send me to prison since I wasn't taking the programs seriously and running away. I explained these programs don't deal with my gambling so the judge ordered me back in another month to decide what to do. Another month later and the judge decided to release me to a 3/4 house - you go to group for 3 hours a day off site and then you have some freedom. I could also go to GA at night. The DA didn't want me to go into this 3/4 house because she said it is rewarding me and giving me more freedom when I haven't earned it. The judge let me go but when I got released I was told I had to wear an ankle bracelet 24 hours day and if I ran away they would know. It was in Staten Island so I was not allowed to leave Staten Island or they would know. Believe it or not with the ankle bracelet on I was doing well - I went to GA and was making real progress. After 9 months they decided to take the ankle bracelet off and that triggered me. Since they couldn't monitor me anymore I started begging for money, went to AC and just relapsed. The judge found out and they put a warrant out so I split again. I spent the summer in Los Angeles and was caught in September 2010 sleeping at LAX. They ran my name and a warrant was out for me from Queens. When I was brought back this time the judge had had enough and I can't blame her. She gave me 3 chances and I blew them all. I was sentenced to 1-3 years in New York State Prison for the Grand Larceny and shipped to DownState booking and then Fishkill Correctional Facility. Nobody there could believe I was in there for not paying a hotel bill for a few weeks. I was released from there after 1 year and was on parole for 1 year until being discharged November 2012. When I got out I called Little Man and that's when he offered to help me. I was really doing well with him - he was looking after me, holding my money this time finally for the first time and he really cared about me. Again this is not an excuse just a fact, it has been really tough for me since he passed away in November. He was a rare find in this community and he really wanted to help me in so many ways.

    For the record, I didn't post all of this about me hoping to get extended sympathy from everyone. I told the story because it needed to be told and I hope it allows some understanding about how serious a gambling addiction is. Yes we al have choices and I have made my share of bad ones. I have never claimed to be perfect and I know I never will be. Believe me, there is not a day that doesn't go by that I don't think back to what I should have done and shouldn't have done in my life. I will own everything and again, being a semi-regular poster on 2+2 for over 2 1/2 years, I know how the posts will go on here about me. The people who never liked me will use this as justification to continue to hate on me and the people who liked me I hope will continue to do so.

    As for some of the people who have said to stay away from gambling/poker/casinos etc... That has been suggested to me by people for 15 years now. I hate to say it is too late but I really feel like it is. I am 39 years old and although have a nice degree in chemical engineering, I have felonies on my record because of gambling and countless misdemeanors(mostly trespassing from airports, etc..) I think my job prospects are not the best at the present time. That's why I am hoping, clinging to that nice dream that maybe the cards will fall in place for me for a few days and I can win $500,000 or something at the WSOP. I have paid the majority of people that I have owed years ago thanks to Little Man's help and I don't plan on asking to borrow from a poker player again. As for the airport thing - yes it needs to stop because giving some sob story to try and get $100 is wrong. I actually won $5000 yesterday at the Bellagio so at least I didn't gamble that back. I will play a few snags at the Rio, play the monster stack and hope I get lucky. Just a sad situation for my life right now. I hope it can change.

    If you guys have any real questions(not trolling me) I would be happy to answer them. Sorry for the long posts but I wanted to be detailed.

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    Owner Dan Druff's Avatar
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    Before you feel too sorry for him, later in the thread he starts promoting himself and seems to be looking for a new backer:

    Yes I am going to leave tomorrow but I really do not know yet where I am going to go, do etc...

    This lifestyle really IS all that I have known for the past 14 years and just like a lot of you guys have posted, it is really going to be difficult for me to change. How can I reprogram my brain to work 50 hours a week for very little when I can potentially bink a tournament for 5 or 6 figures and get that "gambling action rush" at a casino. I really have been homeless since getting evicted in 2000 in Irvine. I have been living in hotels/motels ever since(except for when I was mandated by the courts to go to programs). Contrary to what that guy Monterey says, I think writing a book about my life would make a very interesting read and might be able to allow me to earn a legitimate income from it. Little Man thought so and talked about doing something but it just never got on the ground.

    That airport thing I do is definitely wrong and I wish I had never even thought of that. Like some people again said in this thread, I guess in a way that is like a rush also - giving some made up story and watching the guy go to the atm and hand me $300 or $200 and then hitting the next guy up.

    1 more thing I will add. Yes I know I am no Phil Ivey at the poker table but I know I can hold my own in a NL tournament. The reason Little Man was so great for me was that he DIDN'T ALLOW me to degen in the pit playing paigow. For example in AC he bought me into the tournaments and gave me $60-$80 to hold at the max to eat. My hotel was paid 1 week in advance so I had basically no money on me and was able to focus on the current tournament I was playing. If you look at my results in 2012 - 2013 I was thriving with him and I was a card away literally or a flip going my way from winning $200,000 or $300,000 a couple of times.

    Some key 2012-2013 results: 8th out of 3871 players in the Borgata $560 2 million guarantee winter open where I lost a flip 8 handed to give me the chip lead with 7 left and 50k locked up

    9th in the Borgata Spring Open $2700 main event for 25k
    17th in a WSOP $1500 bracelet event for almost 20k
    2nd in a $1090 Borgata tournament for $60,000
    24th in another WSOP $1500 bracelet event

    This was all because I had a guy like Little Man helping me. With him gone I haven't had really any results in 10 months - I have no one to help me and I started going to the airport all the time because I was flat broke.

    Again, I hope I am able to change my life but I damn well know it will be hard and I wouldn't bet on myself to do it either. Here's hoping though

    So, yeah, this "coming clean" is more just to get sympathy from the 2+2 nerds and secure more money to feed his addiction.

  19. #19
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    Might be worth breaking that long c&p off into its own thread, pretty good read though.
    Also, would be great to have him on the show recapping it, than you re-reading it.

    Finally, sounds a lot like the neverheeb story except with a lot less dick sucking (that we know of).
    When faced with a difficult decision, ask yourself "What would Micon do?", then do the opposite.

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  20. #20
    Diamond Hockey Guy's Avatar
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    It looks like he's playing the victim again & it probably was a way to get a stake:

    Quote Originally Posted by Mikey
    Yeah this will be my last post in this thread going forward, at least for a very very long while.

    When this thread was started almost 5 weeks ago, I made a decision to post my "2nd half" life story as a way to explain what led up to me going to airports, getting in trouble with the law as well as my homelessness and gambling degeneracy. I wanted to do something different in these kinds of threads, as the vast majority of them usually are people stating their opinions about the person with the "focal point" nowhere to be found. I answered questions, explained day by day activities for a while of what I was doing - heck even mentioned my burning desire to play the monster stack which I ended up playing.

    Unfortunately, as a few others on here have recently mentioned - this thread has turned into something I no longer want to participate in. It's the same 5-6 people on here that come on attacking me, insulting me, trolling me, whatever term you want to use. At 1st I got defensive and tried to defend myself but it just has become repetitive and unproductive. Those 5-6 know all - they are experts and emphasize in nearly every post what a scumbag I am. Fine and go ahead and keep doing it - I won't be a part of it anymore because no matter what I decide to do with my life(GA, poker tournaments, rehabs, relapsing, etc...) I will be insulted. Not healthy to read and not healthy to go back and forth about it.

    A quick couple of last points before I sign off from this thread - 1) I do from the bottom of my heart appreciate all the positive feedback/advice and well-wishes from all you guys who have done that. I have tried to answer all the pm's and have even sent a few unsolicited ones on my own. Someone mentioned today about my last "activity" on 2+2 today - for the record, I was off 2+2 for the 1st 4 days this past week and logged on a couple of times today, yesterday and Friday to answer pm's and do a quick read of the thread. Going forward I will no longer read the thread at all(except on the extremely rare occasion I decide to post something new) since the same 5-6 guys have essentially hijacked it. Message to JMan220, Yapping Yoda, Harkin, VPIP, Ihavethewheel and golfnutt - the floor is all yours - continue your attacks, analysis, description of my poker playing, my dying in jail, etc... have at it!!!

    2)I am leaning towards taking up an offer of poker tournament staking on a part/semi-regular basis. This person believes(like Mike Sica) that I can make money at tournaments and will help me stay away from the pits. I also spoke with Allen and he said he would hold my money if I hit a score. I trust Allen 110%. I have also begun writing a book about my FULL LIFE - childhood all the way to present day. It will include a ton more stories of all the crazy stuff that has happened to me - as well as more details of the airport thing(how much I averaged a day, biggest amount made in 1 day, best airports to go to, etc...) I have been talking with someone recently in publishing who has contacts and 1 of the contacts read my story and was engrossed. He thinks the book will sell as well as a screenplay. We shall see.

    Anyways, the haters I'm sure will have at least a few days of fun with this last post of mine("I'll never give Allen the money to hold if I win", "who would want to stake me", "he stinks as a player", "he is a scumbag", "if he pms you he is gonna use you as a mark", etc...) all the usual stuff.

    1 last thing - have to state for the record though that the guy that gave me $500 at an airport almost 1 1/2 years ago was paid back in full 3 months later. I western unioned him the money. I'm sure some won't believe it but it is true.

    I also will be doing an interview for a national publication online(bigger than Deadspin) in the near future. Stay tuned.
    Still as delusional as ever.
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    I'd say good luck in the freeroll but I'm pretty sure you'll go on a bender to self-sabotage yourself & miss it completely or use it as the excuse of why you didn't cash.

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