Wednesday, September 08, 2010

Memories of the PNE

Favorite Memories of PNE 2010 (in no particular order):

1) Pork Sliders and Korean Tacos at the Roaming Dragon (my official favorite restaurant)
2) Getting Fat BBQ Pork Rice from employees who probably will ask for EO when I get back (but thank you nevertheless)
3) Meeting new people from Boulevard and Fraser Downs
4) Hearing "Stayin' Alive" when I was taking a break but coming out to do a dance anyways (too bad they never played "YMCA" or something from MJ)
5) Passing 260 chips flat with my left hand to one player and 120 chips with my right hand to another player at the same time (love those chips)
6) Dealing roulette as if it was the early 90's. Nobody could spin the ball like Wes Smith and Jason Feng (too bad Wes wasn't there)
7) Spending dinner breaks playing the arrows
8) Thank you to Mr. Ken's Donuts for giving the staff free donuts if you asked. It was great for the first two or three days and then I guess I got tired of it. But the generosity was much appreciated
9) Discovering an uncanny ability to deal Texas Shootout as if I was an expert (that's for you, Raymond)
10) Having the time of my life

17 Days

And as quickly as it started, it has ended; 17 fun-filled days at the PNE doing something I hadn't done since I was a rookie Blackjack dealer in the summer of 1989. I'd vaguely remembered that summer as I did my one shift at the PNE, 8 hours of Blackjack and 4 hours at Crown & Anchors. I swore I'd never go back to the PNE. And even though through the years I kind of missed it, I never went to the PNE. But this year, there was a shortage of roulette dealers and an overage of management shifts at the Rock, so I asked, and was approved, to be a roulette dealer. It was a decision that many thought was silly of me to decide on. Why would I take a pay cut and work extra long hours? The answer was simple: I was doing something I truly enjoyed.

I averaged about 11 hours a day, sometimes in frigid weather. I dealt 4 hours straight on Red Dog on the first day (thank you Sager), and in the 2.5 weeks I got to deal the other games: Texas Shootout, Four Card Poker, Three Card Poker, and even a bit of Texas Hold'em Bonus in addition to Blackjack. But of course most of my time was spent doing the one thing I missed the most since I became a floor manager. I got to hear the sound of the roulette ball once again. I wasn't the same as I was back then. I made a few silly mistakes but in the end it was the time of my life. Give me the cold anyday.