Hockey Game + Grumpy old Men + casino =... :( (long)

[Horsetuna]

So I was in at work today. I had yesterday off due to being really sick (to the point of hugging Mr. Toilet) and stuff and I'm still feeling woozy... been like this a few days. I'm worried.

Anyways, so I get onto a Blackjack table... Its Hockey Night, and Flames just won against the Coyotes. So everyone is happy/drunk/whatever in jerseys and green helmets. There's four people at the table.

Left to right; BIG biker flames fan with tattoos on his arms... Then his very pettite girlfriend/wife. the tables are waist high on me and her shoudlers are level with it (She's sitting down mind you).

Then there's another girl, a nice brunettte and HER husband/boyfriend. Both nice people. The last boyfriend is smashed, though he's a 'quiet drunk' and rather friendly. He at least admits he's sh... faced.

A guy in plainclothes (not jersey) walks up. Nice looking guy, not bad. he sits down between the two girls and starts talking and stuff... I dont remember the exact dialogue but he reveals he's an Oilers fan (Oilers are Edmonton's team, we're in Calgary... we have a 'rivalry' going that seems to vary from 'good natured' to 'bloodlust' depending who's winning and how drunk people are).

And also, he admits he's going to be 'razzing' the Biker Flamer... the biggest guy on the table. I mean he's HUGE. not fat... well, a tiny bit, but its' not unhealthy weight and he's strong looking. The DRunk Guy starts going off about oilers Vs flames and stuff and is basically provking this huge guy who's getting madder and madder..


Specially when his girlfriend suddenly states, startled "Did you just elbow my boob?"

I have NO CLUE if the guy meant to or just accidentally did it... but he laughed and started to joke about it, and the Biker guy went "If you touch my wife again i'm going to bust your F---ing head"

I'm quiet at this moment. Remembe,r not feeling good and I'm hoping Drunk calms down. But he doesnt. Its like watching a Train Wreck as the guy continues to aggravate Biker and stuff... finally I try to break in with 'hey guys, chill! " and such but DRunk is too drunk to notice and Biker is too pissed (he's actually shaking, but he hasn't moved from his spot).

The Friend at the far end of the table gets the Pit bosses' attentoin and gets her over, explaining the situation... everyone's talking at once and Drunk finally wandres off... Biker calms down and I ask him if he's okay... etc... He calms down, sadly loses all of his money though. I'm a regularly 'hot' dealer.

Anyways, they finally wander off... a good foursome to say the least. My table closes early. YAY!


SECOND STORY.


Three people I think... one eldery gentleman with greying hair and a reddish face... looks decent. The others I cant remember. A younger punk and someone else was at the table. I think this was a table before or after the above story. Anyways, I'm still hot at this time and I figure the problem of the table is gonna be the punk. He's DOUBLING on 13s and such (and not doing a bad job) but the Old Guy next to him keeps on facepalming and stuff when he does it.... and getting REALLY pissed off.

Finally he 'screams' something... and he has no voice. I dont know if he's a sore throat or mute (he rubs his throat at one point) but seems to be upset at me/his luck. To be honest, this guy scared me more than the Biker Fan did (Maybe cause the biker wasn't mad at ME.). Anyways, he finally stands up and huffs off with something that sounded like it ended in -itch. I wasnm't sure though so didnt think to call Pit Boss.

Two tables over, last table of the night. Yay. Its Old Guy, and two nice asian ladies and another Punk (I think it was the same one actually). I cringe at Old Guy and actuallyhope luck goes his way. He's doing decent for a while, as is everyone. But every time he loses he gets upset. slaps chips around, etc... I'm actuallys tanding to the far side of the tray slightly, away from him.

Pit Boss calls Last Three Hands (thank god). I was going slowly to that point, so people didnt' lose TOO MUCH.

Second last hand, the Old Guy loses, stands up in a huff and 'screams' something that sounds like 'F---- you!" at me, and stomps off. I'm shaking almost and I look at the other players. I finish the hand, then after they leave, call the pit boss over to talk to him.

I was a bit dissapointed in this one as he just looked up at the guys' back and then went badkc to closing other tables (I understand though its' buisy to close everyone then). Later on I talked to another one, and I told the Pit boss "If I see him again, I will NOT serve him. He scares me and cursed at me!" and the PB told me to remember to tell the PB/manager on duty if I do see him again.

I think that's the first time I really got scared at work. An old mute guy.

[lordlundar]

I dont remember the exact dialogue but he reveals he's an Oilers fan

This guy has a death wish, doesn't he?

[BrassCowboy]

Seriously, why would you put yourself in a situation like that? I mean, I would never walk up to a table of Eagles fans wearing my Roy Williams jersey, especially if there are other tables open.

It seemed like that guy was looking for trouble.

[Department stores *sigh*]

the guy is an idiot haha im an oilers fan and since we have the friendly rivalry you NEVER openly make fun of other people team in a private setting. You can do it publically of course like driving down whyte ave with a flames car or goin to calgary with oilers logo on your car and such.

funny thing is the degree of rivalry changes all the time haha. Take the playoff season where calgary got to the finals. Edmonton was behind them 100%. Not sure if it was the same way with calgary when we made t that far but yah. Love hate i guess.

hehe sorry edmontonian so i had to rant a lil bit about our two lovely teams ^^

[MadMike]

Maybe it's just because I'm not a sports fan, but I don't understand why people get into arguments over sports teams.

Even if I was a sports fan, I'd probably still think it's a silly thing to fight over.

[protege]

I never understood all the crap myself either. I may not get into the stats (boring!) but, I like "Dem Stillers" as much as the next guy.

For years, we had a rivalry with Cleveland (aka the "Mistake By the Lake") until their team moved. Even though the Browns were re-franchised, it's not quite the same. And yes, we still do give them a hard time, since none of our 3 rivers burned For most of us, it's harmless fun...but some idiots take it too far. I can't see why, since at the end of the season, it's pretty meaningless.

[Rapscallion]

Used to be the case over here that rival football gangs would meet up at pre-arranged times to fight. The game was just an excuse. The police had to infiltrate gangs and lock up ringleaders until they grew up.

Rapscallion

[Kusanagi]

Horsetuna - just curious, when you deal Blackjack, how many decks do you use?

The punk who doubled on 13s could have been counting. I do and have been kicked out of a few local casinos

[ArenaBoy]

Maybe it's just because I'm not a sports fan, but I don't understand why people get into arguments over sports teams.

Even if I was a sports fan, I'd probably still think it's a silly thing to fight over.

Soccer matches in Argentina and Italy can get very heated, especially if it's a rivalry. I've seen firecrackers thrown onto the field. Sports team arguments are mostly defending your hometown and that's about it.

Raps, I've heard stories from British immigrants about the rivalary. I do know that Manchester United and Manchester City has a nasty rivalary.

[Horsetuna]

As far as I know, Calgary did support Edmonton during their stanley cup run last year. But I was in Edmonton myself at the time...

Funny OT topic was the casino i worked in let you wear hockey jerseys to work during the cup in the 'party pit' (basically hockey themed blackjack). ANY team jersey. I so wanted to borrow my friends' Kipprusoff jersey to wear at work. Alas...

Back on topic - We shuffle six decks, but after dealing about four decks worth of cards, we reshuffle. If that's understandable.

[Tuxian]

Horsetuna - just curious, when you deal Blackjack, how many decks do you use?

The punk who doubled on 13s could have been counting. I do and have been kicked out of a few local casinos

Dunno if it's the standard where Horsetuna works, but at my casino, shoe blackjack games use 6 decks. When we offer the player cut, they must cut at least a deck and a half from either end (1/4 to 3/4 of the way into the shoe).

On pitch blackjack, we use 2 decks, and players must cut at least 20 cards from either end of the deck.

As for doubling... I've been known to double on 14s and 15s at times. I have extremely good intuition about what's coming. Not because I'm counting, but just a feeling I get from time to time. Of course, as the dealer, I make private wagers to myself on what's coming out of the shoe next to screw someone's hand up. And most of the time, I'm only 1 number off whatever I draw.

Edit: Didn't see your post, Horsetuna. With us, we place the cut card flat on top of the deck, and then flip it up and into the deck, so about a deck and a half doesn't get dealt in each shoe. Though... I've seen some dealers at our place do it such that when I unload the shoe to shuffle, I'll have less than half a deck remaining. Bad game protection there.

[Spiffy McMoron]

This guy has a death wish, doesn't he?

Heh. I must too, then. I'm a Flames fan living in Edmonton, and most people around here are cool with it-sure, I'll get the occational smartassed comment, but most people really don't care, as long as the teams are doing well.

-Two fun little side stories:
A) When I first moved up to Edmonton, it was in the middle of their Stanley Cup run. I'd heard of people rioting on Whyte Ave, and was so scared of hockey hooligans, that I felt compelled to take the Flames licence plate off of my car.

B) for the first game of the year, it was Calgary in Edmonton. So, in order to show my Flames pride, I wore my jersey to school-I saw more Calgary shirts than Edmonton shirts, a prof apologized to me for what the Oilers would do to the Flames, (jokingly) and walking into classes, several people booed me, while I got high-fives from others.

[lordlundar]

Maybe it's just because I'm not a sports fan, but I don't understand why people get into arguments over sports teams.

Well, in this case it's a rivalry between the two cities. If every insult was a drop of water, you could fill at least one great lake with the jabs we throw at each other over the course of a year. The sports venue is just the easiest way we can do it.

Heh. I must too, then. I'm a Flames fan living in Edmonton, and most people around here are cool with it-sure, I'll get the occational smartassed comment, but most people really don't care, as long as the teams are doing well.

Well, there's a difference between you and this applicant for an insane asylum. You didn't go up to the biggest guy you saw in your flames jersy and taunt him or any friends personally, did you? You were smart enough to avoid trouble.

As for the plate incident, as long as you avoided Wyte ave, your plate was safe. The flames got eliminated first round (just stating, not gloating) so there were bigger fish to fry. Like the San Jose Sharks.