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.