29 replies to this topic

[booboom]

I know you FCPer's like to hear a good story so I've decided to let one out the bag. Last year, I decided to take a road trip to Las Vegas (I live in Seattle) and try my hand out in a little texas hold'em. I had just made a crapload of money playing 15-30 limit the month earlier somewhere to the tune of $16,000 and decided that I'd give Vegas a try. It was a little scary because I was only 19 years old and I just had to hope that I didn't get caught. Anyways, enough about me. One morning at about 3:00 am, I'm walking through the Golden Nuggett and spot Phil Ivey at the craps table. Its during the World Series of Poker events so the pros are playing at the Nuggett. I proceed to ask him if I can take a picture with him and although pictures aren't allowed to be taken in the casino, Phil basically tells the pit boss that he's going to take a picture with me whether he likes it or not. After that is all done, I ask him a couple questions and explain to him that I'm only 19 and playing poker in the casinos. He laughs and tells me about how he used to play in Atlantic City as "Jerome" when he was underage. After our conversation, I leave and wake up all my poker friends to tell them that I met the one and only Phil Ivey. About 2 days later, at about 3:00 am (I never go to sleep early in Vegas) I see Philagain at the craps table. He actually remembers me (I felt really good about that) and invites me to play craps with him. Wow! Phil Ivey wants me to play craps with him? Mind you, I don't have any money that comes close to the table limits so he just wants me to roll for him. I have never played craps before so he kind of gives me a quick rundown of the game. It took me a little while before I realized that you DON'T want to roll a 7. So I'm sitting here rolling dice for Phil Ivey (Chiau Chang and Paul Darden are also there although Paul doesn't have any money down and is just rolling)and a LOT of money is at stake. I'm sweating because I am extremely nervous as Phil has $500, $1,000, $5,000, and $25,000 chips in front of him. All I could think was that if Phil let me have 2 white chips ($25,000 chips) I would be able to pay this year's tuition and still have a lot of money leftover (I am an out-of-state student at the University of Michigan). Well, needless to say, I am not a very good roller. Although I would not like to give away other people's financial situations, he lost a LOT of money. All I am going to say is that he lost between $100,000 and $1,000,000 dollars. The irony of the situation is that Phil wouldn't totally teach me the game because he said that I should never play craps in the first place. It sounds as if he has had a lot of ups but many more downs while shooting dice. There are a couple of interesting things that I noticed though. One, Phil is as aggressive at the Craps tables as he is at the poker table. His favorite two words were "press it". He was always pressing his bets and hoping that the shooter wouldn't crap out before he could actually start pulling a profit in. Second, a railbird came by to watch and while he was there, it seemed as if we were crapping out more than usual. Phil then told the pitboss, "get this guy out of here". Apparently the guy had watched Phil play before and when the guy was escorted out of the casino, Phil turned to me and said, "that guy gives me the creeps." Lastly, when Phil was done shooting craps for the night he told the Pit boss that for as much money as he lost, he should be eating for free and be able to stay at their casino for free for the rest of his life. I thought it was pretty funny because Phil was obviously not happy having lost a lot of money. So... there goes my story. Me and Phil Ivey. Phil Ivey and me. Just thought you guys might find it interesting. Oh and by the way. Did I heed Phil Ivey's advice and never play craps? Heck no! I lost all of the money that I brought to Vegas and when it was time for me to leave, I had to ask my brother to wire me $500 so I could have enough food and gas money to get back home. Was it an easy lesson learned the hard way? Yes. But I am glad that I lost the money now when money isn't as big of a deal as it will be when I get older and have responsibilities and bills like old people. :-) J/k. Hope you all enjoyed my story! I'm too tired to go back and proofread it so... ummmm.... yeah. Peace!

[allinbluff35]

i'm going to read it but first i'm going to bitch about you not knowing where the return button is

[AllenRay4]

it's worth the read...good story....i doubt though anything like that is possible anymore though...there will be tons of people hounding him (and all the other pros) at this yr's WSOPbut yea, listen to AIB on the return thing

[mbreon]

Good story. You just need to put it in paragraph form.

[dna4ever]

Good read. I concur with the other commenters ....

[Downtown Parker]

nice tale... if i was throwing, i'm not sure i could handle the blank Ivey stare....

[bulldog999]

Pressing his bets at craps wasn't being hyper aggressive. It was taking advantage of some of the best odds against the house you'll see in a casino. Good story though.

[tiger47]

When I was in LV in late January for a work conference, my boss told me this story.He had some of his family in town before our meeting and he wanted to teach his 70 year old mom that had never been to LV to play craps. So he gives here $100 and point her to a table to teach her how to play, of course at the Golden Nuggett. After a couple of seconds at the table, he realizes that there's only one other person at the table and that they seem to have a large amount of chips in front of them. Who is it? Phil Ivey of course, at his private table. He nods to the pit boss that he doesn't mind if they play with him.On like the fifth role, Phil is shooting and my boss's mother reaches down to move her bet. The dice hit her hand and they crap out. He estimated that Phil lost $20K or so on that one roll and just looked up and smiled. What a good guy.

[Downtown Parker]

bulldog999 said:

Pressing his bets at craps wasn't being hyper aggressive. It was taking advantage of some of the best odds against the house you'll see in a casino. Good story though.

nice icon Bulldog, Marv was my favorite character.

[JoeWalsh]

These are good stories but its sad that it highlights why so many of the greats go broke. I wonder how many big winners don't have vices associated with gambling.

[elkang]

Great story! Parts of it seem fishy but I believe it.

[HarryDemetriou]

And there I was waiting for the happy ending....that the pit boss came over and said that as you were underage they had to give all that money back to Phil Ivey.Had he won would they have paid him if they knew you were underage?I think NOT.

[skoal_dip]

HarryDemetriou said:

And there I was waiting for the happy ending....that the pit boss came over and said that as you were underage they had to give all that money back to Phil Ivey.Had he won would they have paid him if they knew you were underage?I think NOT.

About your signature Mr. Demetriou, come on!!!!! When your aces get cracked!!! lol j/k. Your signature is a very important piece of advice.... The other day, my friend's mother died. She was only 42. He decides the next day he wants to get his mind off things so we go to a friends to play poker. I take a bad beat and get busted. On top of that, I find out the host and another friend of mine are cheating. This infuriated me, especially since this was supposed to be just for fun. As I'm leaving later that night with my friend, I'm ready to smash something, car window, the host's front window, anything. But then i think about what my good friend is going through, and I put things into perspective. A lot of wisdom in what you are saying, and any poker player must realize that it is absolutely true. Off topic, I know, but important stuff I think.

[afan002]

good read.i was waiting for the part where you grabbed a handload of ivey's chips and bolted outta there

[Petoria]

Great story, it was a good read. I'm glad these pros haven't let the money get to them. Probably the best story I've seen posted on FCP. Note to self: They don't check I.D.'s in Vegas

[allinbluff35]

Note to self: They don't check I.D.'s in Vegasnot really, i never got carded there when I was 17

[Meatwad]

i remember his card player interview where he said he's never afraid of losing money and always put himself in a position where if he loses it hurts a little. wouldn't be surprised if him and chau were gambling with their winnings from that night alone. thanks for sharing! :-)

[PrtyPSux]

do you think you would have gotten paid if you made phil win like 500k? that wouldve been awesome.... I still wouldnt roll for him thoufh, just cuz i'd be scared he would kill me if he lost, or even worse if he won but they didnt pay him.. then surely he'd bust a cap..

[SplashMaster]

Petoria said:

Great story, it was a good read. I'm glad these pros haven't let the money get to them. Probably the best story I've seen posted on FCP. Note to self: They don't check I.D.'s in Vegas

yeah guess again

[troutsmart]

Great read booboom. In vegas a few years ago about 3am, I was playing craps for just my 2nd time. The table was empty with the exception of a lady who busted out. They handed me the dice and I went on tear of nearly 30 minutes without crapping out. About 5 minutes in, a player walked up and withdrew a pocket full of chips. I remember him looking at me and soon as he got the chance, he threw bets out on every number. As I continued hitting the numbers, he kept saying "press". He talked with the pit boss and signed a paper, while I had no clue what was going on. I was just happy about my $100 having doubled simply playing the pass line odds. It didn't dawn on my until about 5 minutes later that he and I were playing two different stakes. I was rolling for a high roller! About 20 minutes in, it happened. I rolled a ten. Then I rolled again and the point was at ten again. I roll. Ten. I roll the point. Ten. All the while he is pressing. He now maxes up the pass line bet. I ended up stringing 8 ten points and hits together. Granted, I was hitting a few numbers between, all the while making him a chunk of change. He and the dealers were in absolute amazement. I was naive and thought it seemed odd, but I was rather tranquil about it. On roll 9, the point went to 4. All the dealers started saying that now 4 was it! But that high roller wasn't a believer. He pulled his bets off the table, and was done. I hit the 4 and the dealers were saying "see" as the high roller settled his score. He payed no attention. The point went to 4 again, they all got excited, and the next roll, 7. He left and I decided to leave too with my winnings, which I was ecstatic over. He saw me leaving, walked up to me and said, "that was the best run I've ever had kid. You just bought me a house. Thanks." He walked away in his blue jumpsuit. I decided to go back to the table, where the dealers immedietly asked me, "Did he tip you?" I was confused, replying "no." They kind of shrugged and it was obvious they had been stiffed. The point man said, "sometimes they really reward a hot roller, and you definitely earned it." I really didn't think much about it, but count it has one of my great memories. I've always felt bad for those dealers though. I think I tipped them too much though in hindsight. shrug.