Sam Farha is Out of Order

The BIG event takes place tomorrow – six players battle it out in front of cameras and an audience to claim prize money that includes an entry into a $25,000 buy-in tournament to be hosted by Bellagio next year.

*****

Gus is one of the final six. I love Gus, Gustavo to the rest of the world. He’s the chip leader at the end of day four. I get a huge kick out of Gus and his happy go lucky attitude whenever I deal to him and see him. He’s like an injection of “I don’t give a damn what the rest of the world does, I’m having a hell of a good time”. Everyone should take a double dose of that injection every time it’s offered.

I have to say that out of the final six, there are three of them that I truly treasure. I deal to them on a regular basis and they are fun, witty, always pleasant, and easy to get along with. I wish all six of them the very best. What a great event for poker and what a truly outstanding statement for Bellagio to host the first and the last tournament of the World Poker Tour. *applause*

*****

On the dealer side of the world. Last night George had a vase with flowers in it on the table in front of his chips as he played. Apparently it was a night for Sammy F. and The Devil Fish to duke it out verbally. I missed all of it…heavy sigh of relief.

*****

Tonight I thought I’d die laughing. Carmen raced into the office while I was on a break. She was looking for masking/duct tape. She wanted to help with a bet that had been placed in the George/Sam/Devil Fish game in which Sam had been overly talkative and everyone was tired of it. The bet was that his mouth would be taped and he would be quiet for XXX amount of hours.

After I’d left the room for a few minutes and returned, Carmen said, “Look at Sam.”

I walked up to Table 1 and touched Sam’s arm, he turned around with a piece of slot machine tape sealed across his mouth that read, ‘out of order’.

He pulled one side of it free and said to me, “All the dealers are safe tonight. I’m not saying a word to any of them or I’ll lose the bet.”

He was laughing and so was I. Hysterical…did “out of order” say it all or what?

*****

My night was fairly simple, just deal and move to the next game. The room was much quieter. Looks like summer sizzle and slow games are looming up on the horizon.

About Linda R. Geenen

The easiest way to begin is to start at the beginning. But where is that? At what point does one suddenly decide they are going to spend the rest of their life involved in the intricate art of the dance? What is the art of the dance? A game about people - played with a deck of cards. Poker! I stepped into the poker world in 1980 in Missoula, Montana. I didn’t know anything about poker, couldn’t tell you what the difference was between a bet and raise, or if a straight beat a flush. I had three boys to feed, needed a job and a dealing spot was open in one of the local bars. I played my first hand of poker in a 5 Card Stud game (with the help of one of my bosses) and that was it – I was hooked. I lived, breathed, slept, dreamed, ate, and talked poker. I eventually ran my own games (licensed by the County) in several different bars in Missoula, and at one point, managed the games in the bar where I started my first dealing job. In 1987 I traveled from Montana to Nevada to deal major poker tournaments, returning to Montana at the end of each one. In 1989, I opened The Mirage – along with 6,400 other people. In 1993, I moved to Gulfport, Mississippi, and opened Grand Casinos Poker Room, returning a year later to Las Vegas and The Mirage. In 1998 I opened Bellagio - along with over 9,000 other employees. In 2003, I dealt the final table of the Aruba Ultimate Bet Poker Classic event. Hey…I’m on TV! I had the privilege of being chosen as the dealer in the Howard Lederer videos that have been released on No Limit Holdem. I play poker on a regular basis and I deal to every name brand player that is still above ground and breathing air, the elite, the freaks, the ne’er do wells, the rich, the poor, the illiterate, the educated, the beautiful, the ugly, the superstitious, the rational, the sane, and the insane. Perhaps I am the one that is insane but if I am, I fit right into the game plan. Five nights a week I walk into the greatest, social melting pot known to mankind. I no longer dream about it but the art of the dance is prevalent in everything I do - see you there!
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