I opened the Blackjack table at 10:00 am. After surveillance is notified that the game is opening, the six decks of cards to be used are opened and "proved" on the table in front of the dealer and floorman. Surveillance watches the whole ordeal of proving the decks of cards, but it's called cover your ass. If any cards are marked, missing or mis-marked, it's on that floorman and that dealer should something go wrong. But today before even one card came out of the pack, the table was full. Six hopefuls walked up all at the same time, cash in hand, dreams in mind...this is how it starts.

All six get to sit at a Blackjack table just observing the dealer proving the cards. They also discuss how they're going to beat the house, how much money they want to win, how much they've won or lost the rest of the weekend and how this one table is going to save them from either having a losing weekend or better, how this one magical table is going to solve their financial problems for the next twelve years. Each table is a new start, and it holds the answer to all their dreams. If they win they'll take the money and.... The cards get washed, shuffled, put into the shoe and reality is about to hit the fan. I pick up the six hundred dollars, a hundred dollar buy-in each. They hand in their players cards like good little gamblers; they've been taught well. This way they can get all those points for playing $5 a hand, but better yet, the casino gets to track their gambling careers, as well as the IRS and anyone else looking for that kind of information, like how much money you spend on gambling, what games you play and how many hours you spend gambling. One day it'll come back on those of you who try to claim you lost that $15,000 in the stock market rather than during that weekend on the crap tables at the Horseshoe.

Women and men approach the games so differently at times. The women are more optimistic, they're there to have a good time and often have as much fun when they lose as when they win. They don't bet as much, they don't raise their bets as much as men do, and they don't stress the game nearly as much as the guys do. Guys buy in and take it as seriously as a Monday Nite Football game. If I beat them a couple of times they want revenge. They'll use money as a weapon to try to get even, not with themselves, but with me, the dealer. They take it personally when they get beat and as a dealer, I often find myself getting involved in the competition. When I know they're out to beat me personally, I usually pick up the pace, try to confuse them and usually succeed in creating total confusion for anyone who wants to play that game. But the girls get off easy. I'll take as much time as I can for their game, advise them on the better moves and lighten the losses up by letting them know I'm going "to see to it that they win the next time."

But one thing they all have in common is the BUZZ everyone gets when they gamble. Win or lose. Hard to believe but it's true. It's not just the winning or losing, it's also the playing that gives us the buzz. The dealers call it "being in the action" but the players call it "Heaven and Hell". My job is to show up every day on the set of the only real reality show in the world. To get on the show I had to pass an audition. The show is unscripted, although the format is always the same and the results are known to no one. This show twists and turns on every hand. Small fortunes are won and lost in the blink of an eye. People go from good to bad and back again, even faster than Michael Jackson. But there's no replacement for the buzz that winning a bet gives you. Sex is great but it's quick and short, we know the outcome in a few minutes and after it's over there's always the letdown knowing it's over for now. But gambling gives us the opportunity to reach multiple orgasms, both good and bad, with each bet.

As long as the money holds out, so does the excitement. When my tables get quiet, if they're a quiet crowd or if they're just losing I often stop the game and remind them where they are. "Here we are, it's everyone's weekend, we're sitting in a casino where anything can happen, you guys can go on a winning streak and walk out of here with thousands off just a $20 buy-in if you play your cards right. Or you could be sitting at home watching re-runs of Seinfeld or Oprah with nothing much to look forward to but maybe a microwave dinner and a Dodgers game. So have a good time and lighten-the-fuck-up."

One of my players last week bought in for $10 on Roulette. He carefully placed the chips on various corner bets until he had $20 and then, for some unknown reason, he put $10 on 17 and $10 on 32. The ball popped out of the 17 right into the 32. With the $350 he went to the Blackjack tables, took a $100 check and ran that up to $600. But he wasn't just winning, he was BUZZED. He wasn't a regular player and hadn't experienced much more than $20 or $30 wins at any time. Now he had a thousand dollars from a ten dollar buy-in and he was crediting me with his winning streak, since he was following me from table to table. He was taking care of me accordingly, so I had no problem with the guy. He couldn't sit still and kept making cell phone calls when I'd shuffle to tell his fiance how much he was winning. She was trying to persuade him to cash out but he was on such a high he couldn't just quit and go back to his everyday life, he had to stretch it out as long as possible. It didn't even occur to him that he could possibly lose it all. But this story wasn't going to turn out that way if I had anything to say about it.

When I went on break he had $1,250 and was playing $25 a hand Blackjack. When I came back to the Pai Gow table he came over with only $700 left.

"Why didn't you cash out when you got down to a thousand?" I asked.

"I thought I would come back but I lost a couple double downs and $200 on splitting Aces." I knew the guy couldn't afford to lose this money but I couldn't talk him out of quitting now.

"I never played Pai Gow, can you show me how?"

And with that I had him up to $50 and $75 bets after he went on a run. When I clapped off the game he had his $1,200 back and told me he was cashing out. He threw me another $50 and as he walked away I knew this story wasn't over just yet. After my break, I came back to deal Three-Card-Poker. This game, if you're not familiar with it, has payouts as large as 30 to 1 for a three-of-a-kind, and 40 to 1 on a straight flush. But on only three cards those hands are few and far between.

"Ken, let me give you one more shot on the way home," he said. He was still buzzing from the $1,200 in his pocket, more cash than he'd ever held at one time. He took the cash out and I told him, "Put the money back in your pocket and go home, man." He took two $25 checks that he had left and placed them on the bets. "I'll split it with you Ken." I looked at the guy. I'd seen winners and losers before and this had all the classic looks of a loser waiting to happen. I handed him his three cards and without looking he put the last $25 check on the play spot and stood up to walk away. "It's been an unbelievable day whether I win or not," he remarked.

I turned over my cards, Ace, King, King. Whatever the guy had, he was going to need the other two Aces or someting better to beat me. I turned over his cards one at a time...8..8..8. I was floored, he was jumping up and down, screaming and pumping his hands like an NFL touchdown. A three-of-a-kind pays 30 to 1 plus 4 to 1 on the back bet. I took out nine black $100 checks. "NINE HUNDRED, BLACK OUT" and handed him the money. He handed me a black check and asked me for green checks. I was getting warm thinking this guy's going to give me a lousy $25 tip. He took four black checks from his hand and put it on the layout, placed two more $25 checks on top for a total of $450. "I always keep my word, I told you half and I meant it" and he pushed the $450 toke towards me. Now I was buzzed. This is gambling, this is the BUZZ. This is what we're all after. The one day we can walk in, take a few bucks and walk out with an experience we can't get anywhere else.

Welcome to my job.

Ken Pearlman