One of the top con men on the road cold decked me and the table in the casino in Ruidoso, and it was only 10 buck limit. He had the Indians fooled and dropped the limit down because some good players were in town that he feared, and in feared.

He brought the deck in under a chip box, and was helping the dealer count the rack. She had already shuffled. The give a way was that his partner..whom I had already knocked off..kept raising with a pair of threes before the flop and he kept raising with two nines. He caught four nines on fourth, but on the flop, everyone had some big draw. He just wanted to show me he could do it, because the money was wrong. We are old rivals, and he is a top con man. His picture is in Doyle's Super System book of the players at the first World Series. He's still out there. Would name him, but I don't knock another man's prop.

I have a couple of friends who help the Indians count their money.

there was still alot of action at jack n jills in the early 90s especially one pocket

Um.... ok, it's highly unlikely. But it is impossible to go and check?
After all, you've mentioned that you have all this security, all these camera, we know the exact time and place of the suspicious behavior... etc... All you gotta do is recall the action, then count the chips that get shoved to the player. I'm pretty sure those players know how much money they show up with, so it should be easy to check all of this.

Additionally, since these accusations are serious, and you work on the show, and this dealer you know, it should be well within your power to review tapes of this dealer's dealing.

My point is simply: you clearly have a ton of resources available to you to get to the bottom of this. I would recommend doing so and eliminate all doubt.

Not to do so certainly doesn't do anyone any favors.

Nice read op

He could use this as an excuse if he was pulled up by one of the players.

Although the good character of the dealer has been mentioned, there aren't too many opportunites where he would deal a game this high and might be too much of a temptation.

I am a live noob, before reading this thread I didn't even know dealers weren't supposed to do that. Thank you Touppe Jay for bringing this sort of thing to my attention.

If there is nonpublic footage still out there and someone wanted to bet, I would watch the rest YouTube videos.

If this was the only time he had handled chips in this manner, I'd take him being guilty at even odds. This was def a favorable set of circumstances regarding preflop action and table conditions so would be too much of a coincidence otherwise.

This response sounds like I'm not going to rock the boat to find out.

i think one thing is that in dealer school they are probably not taught how to handle cash on the table. the fact he has to pick up cash is what is causing him to cup his hand.

im going with nervous dealer not thinking being a lot more likely than dealer stealing on live tv....

but i think this is still a good post because in most spots when this occurs the dealer will be stealing, so thanks jay.

Thanks for chiming in Johhny. I don't know you but respect your opinion. We are two old school gamblers who have seen it all, so we both know what is possible. Very true that someone who is going to make a move (like the one shown here) will do it over and over again, so the players are numb to it.

Someone mentioned that it appears the dealer may have been struggling to move the chips into the center. I will only say this in response. ANY poker player with no dealing skills at all has no problem shoving chips any way he wants. It takes literally no skill whatsoever to shove or slide a pile of chips with your hand. EVERYONE knows how to do this. In fact, I would go so far as to say it's the easiest thing a dealer has to do. So once again why is a "skilled" dealer having a problem?

Criticize away but I have a BIG problem when I see dealers grabbing chips like this. If it happens in a game I'm playing in, I will stop them and ask them what's going on. That's usually enough to make them stop. They know someone is watching them.

I have sat in games where the dealer is cutting the pot and watched him take excessive chips ostensibly making change. All the chips first go into his box and then the change comes back and the drop is made. Every time he did this he was stealing a $5 chip (it was a 15-30 game). I was the only one at the table who noticed this and these were regular players. I was winning pretty good in the game but I still got up to cash out and told the dealer that it was a good game for him too when I was leaving. He gave me a funny look but we both knew what I referring too.

Thank you Barry for offering your opinion. You're a great player and a fine example for the younger players to follow. I like the way you handle the beats that are a part of poker. I've never played the big games but I have won and lost thousands in one day. And I've learned to roll with the punches too. There will be good days and bad in gambling.

All that said, when I see a dealer grabbing chips like this, I will not sit still and say nothing. And I don't think you will either. All the best my fellow tribesman!

You grab cash with your fingers, you scoop chips with the side of your hand. It's not hard. I'm beginning to sound like a broken record.

Feeling pretty uncomfortable right now remembering counting down my stack after winning a sizeable pot with 99 in Bobbys room early in te WSOP action and thinking I should have more $ and then just dismissing it. This was at a table with lots of cash and lots of socialization, and I won the pot off on the side of the table, and got shipped a 10k wad in the hand.

Don't remember anything else including the dealer and unlikely anything happened but damn. Never know. I mean a dealer got caught for palming chips at the same table later that summer

thanks OP for the warning, always good for a reminder to keep your eyes on the prize

HAHAHAHA....... Your absolutely right!! Jamie Gold gives his money away for free anyway so what's the difference!

agreed. Thanks for the heads up OP, most of us non-miserable DB's know your just trying to look out for us. Much appreciated.

My apologies if this has been covered, I've only half kept up with this thread. I agree with people saying it's pretty unlikely that a dealer would attempt this while dealing a televised game, though I don't think it's impossible. To me the bigger issue is that a dealer who is so comfortable handling chips this way may have have learned for a reason. Whether or not the dealer stole in the hand in question is a separate issue.

Thanks for the advice Jay, I'll look out for it next time I'm in Vegas. What do you say when you see a dealer doing this? Just ask him to move the chips into the pot in a different way or something a little more intimidating?

How easy would it be for a dealer, or a confederate of a dealer, to cash in said $1k chip?


Why wouldn't you warn the other players, and/or the house? Or do you assume the house is in on it?

if thats the 'palming' you're talking about at the 7:20 mark...then lol

sorry, thats some seriously sloppy shiz right there.....he might as well be doing it with salad tongs.

Nothing to see here.

This!

I would "think" this being televised AND real High Stakes with Big name pros, the pros would have "some" say as to who the dealer is. They probably know them all and who is better than others. And honest to boot!

And I wouldn't think even a dumb theif would try this with TV cameras to the side and security cameras overhead! (But I'm not too naive to believe it happens).

RULE # 1 - DON'T ASSUME ANYTHING!

For those who thanked me, you're welcome. I was only trying to point out to any interested people that things like this can and do happen, and even moreso in bigger games. The reward is very tempting for a "skilled" dealer. And for those that think I'm paranoid, that's okay too. I can handle the criticism.

YES, I will definitely say something if I see something funny going on in a game I'm in. I can be very vocal. I caught a dealer at the Bike years ago stealing chips out of the pot. He would just drop one into his tray during a big pot. Once again, no one else noticed. It was in the VERY sweet 15-30 Hi-Lo Split game that used to run everty day back in the 80's. I totally busted this guy, I was so hot the second time I saw it. I told him to put the chip back in the pot! He acted totally innocent, like I was making it up. THe other players sat there surprised at my comments. A floorman was called over and I told him what I saw the dealer do. The dealer naturally said I was wrong.

The floorman finally told the dealer to continue dealing and he would "check" it out. This is something that you might be able to see on the tapes. That dealer was no longer working at the Bike the next time I came in. I talked to my friend who was one of the bosses. I asked what happened to so and so. He said he got canned for stealing chips! HELLO!

P.S. Every situation is different! Sounds just like poker, huh? Sometimes I will speak up, especially if it is a casino I frequent. In some spots it may be better just to leave the game. I was playing a private game at a pool tourney. It was only a 10-20 Hold 'Em game but far better than any game you would find in a casino. Before I sat down I asked the guy who was running (and dealing) the game how much he was cutting the pots. He said $5 after $50 and no more. Okay with me, so I got in.

Early on I saw that he was grabbing a second chip out of big pots ($10). I was sitting in the five seat, directly across from him. Once again the other players were oblivious to this. I didn't say a word. The game was so good I won over $800 in a couple of hours anyway. I NEVER tipped the dealer and when I cashed out, he (the same guy) had his hand out for a tip. I looked him in the eye and told him he already got his tip, out of the pots I won. He just shrugged his shoulders and said nothing!