I'm not sure where you want to go with this -- but I'm game.

Guess I'll start with some softballs.

How'd you get your start in gambling? Have there been any memorable high and low points? If you had to start over today and make your living in a gambling related field with say 10K to your name and no reputation what things would you consider?

Also, best roll in a dice game and how much you made. Both personal shooting the dice and at the table if different.

ETA - Have a couple more; Most outlandish cheating/scam attempt you've seen? Most clever cheating/scam you've seen and can talk about? Favorite gambling locale (current or historical)?

A few more to kick off. Best gambling game you've seen that never gained main-stream popularity and/or faded away? Your worst beat ever? Biggest name celeb you've gambled with/against? Favorite poker game? Best gambling game/set-up you've ever had (blackjack game with great rules or whatever)?

What's the highest EV game you ever found?

Backoffs:
What's the most polite backoff you've had?
The least polite?
Most memorable?

When did you first discover that first "amazing game"? What did you do when you found it?

Story of biggest loss in one session?

Overall, what is the most bizarre gambling experience you've ever had?

You seem to have it down. What resources (web sites, books, videos) would you recommend for the AP? What was your most nail-biting moment? What's the strangest move you've ever witnessed? Who's your biggest hero you got to meet and talk shop with?

What games do you play on a consistent basis to make money?

How has the landscape of gambling changed from past to present day?

Is it possible for a new player to make a living gambling and if so which games should they stick too?

What is your favourite story about a casino employee (preferably a higher up) being terrible at maths. Those always make me smile.

I had an uncle who was a serious gambler, and he had read Beat the Dealer. He needed someone to deal cards to him for practice. I was about 10 years old, so that would have been the mid '60's. Then I read the book.

The next book I read was Playing Blackjack as a Business around 1970, and at that point I was just waiting to turn 21 and go to Vegas (I didn't wait).

Are you kidding? This business is all about high-highs and low-lows. After a while, you don't even notice things that make the man on the street bug-eyed. Both the high and low points have revolved around people and relationships. You meet some very, very interesting people in this business -- and many of them will disappoint you.

I would go work 'inside' a lot faster, and with more of a plan. This business, both inside and outside, is completely built on relationships. The knowledge you can only get on the outside -- but the inside relationships are more valuable. As far as reputation goes -- it takes years to build and a second to destroy. Don't ever lie or take a shot at someone who's on your side or doing you a favor.

It was winter at Harrah's Tahoe -- I was waiting for my partner and got into a 25c craps game to kill some time. I played the back so I could pick up my bets when he came around. As I recall, I was making 75c wagers. It was a single odds game, so I could only lay 1.50 -- making it $2.25 per point. I quit playing after I lost the second hundred. It went on for about 45 minutes. That was the best hand I ever saw -- definitely not the best I ever played.

I'm not really a craps player in the sense that I go out to play craps, or spend a lot of time at a table -- it's more of a social game, and I'll keep playing if I'm winning. I play on hunches, I risk very little money at the game, and I get bored easily. Best win was a buy-in under $200, and a cash-out over $20k -- that was a winter afternoon at the Ormsby House in Carson.

Most outlandish cheating/scam attempt you've seen? Swapping a full shoe on a 21 table at the Trop.

Most clever cheating/scam. A rigged keno game (couldn't be done the same way today, but was very clever).

Favorite gambling locale. From the inside, I prefer Reno -- as a player it's still Vegas.

As a player, Jai Alai -- as a club, Chuck-A-Luck -- although it has made a limited comeback as Sic Bo.

Your worst beat ever?

Lost 150k of 250k BR in one week (first week). Made it back, but it took many months to finish that trip.

Biggest name celeb you've gambled with/against?

The memorable ones are those who were fun and enjoyed the games -- Red Fox, Sonny Bono, and Lee Marvin were a lot of fun.

Favorite poker game?

Tournament HE.

Best gambling game/set-up you've ever had

What's the worst blackjack run you have ever had/seen? The more details, the better.

There was actually a time when the clubs did not believe 21 could be beat form a shoe. In the late '70's the Castaways set up a table called the Monster and openly challenged counters. As I recall, it was 6 or 8 decks with about 1/4 deck cut, and every player rule imaginable. We had one player doing only a ten-count for insurance, another just counting the number of cards out, another player keeping separate track of Aces and fives, etc. We could openly discuss strategy and wagering. That was a good game. We did convince them though -- and they closed the game.

Highest EV game I've ever found? Roulette. I'll leave that one to your imagination -- although it's another example of a game you won't be able to find today (and stay out of prison).

Today it's sports. There's no way to say one is the "best" -- there is such a wide range of opportunities.

Harrah's Tahoe. CM invited me for a drink, chatted for a few minutes, gave me an RFB comp -- and told me I couldn't play 21 in his store. His name was Lynn Simons, and a year later I was working with him to open the Park Tahoe.

The least polite? Tropicana in Vegas. That's how I got to Tahoe

Most memorable? Binion's. Polite, but firm. They also gave me some good information about security at the Golden Nugget, and a few other tidbits about the competition.

They come and go -- they never last long. It was roulette.

Story of biggest loss in one session? Circus Circus -- $50k in an hour. And that was playing two hands of $500!

I'm sure I've mentioned this before. After a night of social gambling in Reno, I was walking past a craps table when the dealer called "Come out roll" -- I instinctively threw in $25 and called a hopping hard 10. I have no idea why I did it -- and I had never done anything like that before. Of course it hit.

The clubs today know that the games can be beat by strategy, and read all of the literature. I wouldn't say they understand it all -- but they read it. When I first arrived in Vegas I met up with Speck Parsons (aka Lawrence Revere) and he became my mentor. That was invaluable. PC's had just become available at the time, and my value to him was in running simulations (TRS-80 Model 1, Level 1, 3k RAM). If you want to be an AP, you need to join up with some players -- and I don't know how you can do that if you're not in a major gaming venue. After you've been playing for a while, you'll recognize them at the tables.

Played one hand of Baccarat to buy a house. Won the hand. Luck.

Swapping a shoe, as mentioned earlier.

Several who I can't name. On the outside you meet a lot of people, and most of them with common interests generally pair up and form groups. It's not uncommon for individual players with a common interest to move between groups and for people to team up in different configurations -- and it would be a betrayal to name them, and in most cases to even acknowledge them if they're working. The biggest conflict I've ever felt is working the inside and seeing a player I knew on the outside -- I would generally just go over and introduce myself to prevent any misunderstandings.

Apologies for being obtuse but what exactly do you mean by inside and outside?

21, sports, and HE. Not in that order.

One of the biggest changes is security. As recently as the late 80's we only had a couple of cameras upstairs -- so you had to call from the pit and ask them to record a specific game. Today, they not only record every game from multiple perspectives, they can archive the records for months or years. Gaming is a lot more regulated, and all of that ties in with the technology available.

Almost all games if you work inside. On the outside I like the games mentioned above -- but there are other opportunities. If you like gambling, the best job is running a club. Work the outside to learn the ropes -- chances are you'll get bored soon enough. The inside never really gets boring. Even working inside, I always took shots at the competition for fun and profit I still work both sides, but my inside work is freelance.

There are so many stories ... the bigger point to make is that the people managing the casino are where they are because they're trusted -- not because they have any special knowledge or are in reality trustworthy. Occasionally they get both, but not often.