Friday, October 03, 2008


, originally uploaded by Dai Vernon.

Atlantic City Poker Cheats, Arrest Details Released

The New Jersey Attorney General's Office has released new details on the June 7th arrest of four men for their alleged involvement in a poker related cheating scam at Atlantic City's Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa. Steve Forte, known for his expert cheating knowledge, was arrested along with Stephen Phillips, Joseph T. Ingargiola and James C. Harrison. The four men, presently free on bail, are charged with the use of computers and cheating devices to commit theft, attempted theft by deception and conspiracy.

According to the NJ Attorney General's Office, these four men were convoluted in a scheme, coaxing high-stakes poker players to join them in their Borgata hotel room for a game of poker. The room was fitted with hidden cameras that allowed the four men to see their opponent's hole-cards.

The authorities also allege instances of marked decks being used, as well as computer simulation programs to calculate the probable outcome of any given hand.

Steve Forte's web site claims he is the president of International Gaming Protection, his own consulting company, listing a multitude of the largest casinos in the nation as his clients. Forte authored the 2007 book "Poker Protection: Cheating and the World of Poker", which distinctly outlines how to protect one's self from being cheated at a private poker game, covering such issues as cheating crews and marked decks.

While preliminary reports stated their intention was to somehow scam the Borgata's Summer Open Championship Event, the Hotel and Attorney General's Office both agree this was never the target. The entire scheme took place off the casino floor and arrests were made nearly one week prior to the event's qualifying opener.

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

HOT Tuesday in LA

Hot day in the valley yesterday, peaked at 100 degrees. A bit cooler in Hollywood. 7 miles away and about 7 degrees cooler. Met Aaron at the gym, worked out and then headed to his place before we went to Ammo for lunch. Aaron is working the Castle this week (Late Close-Up) and wanted to discuss some new bits he was working on. We had a nice lunch and it was good to just chill with him. We made plans to hook up at the Castle later in the evening.

The day disappeared with a flurry of exercise, housework and mostly just trying to stay out of the heat. I blew off work because it only cooled down to the low 90's. . . . to hot for me to expect that the night would be worthwhile. Instead, I caught up on some of the football games I had TiVo'ed on Sun. & Mon. The season is gelling up nicely with some exciting last minute wins.

Last night, after a healthy meal I prepared at home, more relaxing before heading to the Castle to see Aaron's show at 10PM. A lot of the time I don't feel like I'm any thinner. I think it's because most of the time I wear shorts with an elastic waist band. Last night I put on my Versace Suit and the pants were HUGE. Last time I had the suit on, it was a tad snug, now I have inches to spare! Guess I'll have to have them taken in.

Aaron's show was a treat. I had never seen his close-up set and I was not disappointed. What can I say. . . he's a bonified card star. He opened with the Chicago Opener, Closed with very strong Christ Aces and filled the middle with expert card handling, humor, wit and intellectual content while adding the new bit to create a sense of improvisation.

Afterwards, as it was the slowest night I had seen at the Castle in a long time, I split and was home by 11:30PM. Surprisingly, I beat Polly home by 20 minutes.

Monday, September 29, 2008

getting healthy


getting healthy, originally uploaded by Dai Vernon.

Busker du Jour


Busker, originally uploaded by tfrank8176.

A weekend of ups and downs. . .

Amidst the backdrop of global financial insecurity, life goes on. Babies are born, people are dying and Sundays are filled with this seasons NFL Football games. As for me, like many, I feel like I'm working harder for less. C'est la vie.

Friday night, after a pathetic game of stiff the street magician, I hit the gym, then went out to visit Polly who was working on "Big Love". It was going to be a late night for all of them and I ended up visiting from about midnight to 2:30AM. They wrapped around 3AM. It was steak and lobster night at the studio and I ended up eating like a pig.

Interesting enough to note, the director of this episode was Michael Lehmann, Director of a little movie called Heathers. I love visiting set and seeing how it's all put together. It's a painstaking and tedious process of getting master shots, coverage, dealing with actors and fatigue plaguing every department. All for. . . you guessed it. . . your entertainment pleasure. I got to say the episode they were shooting was bizarre even by Mormon standards.

Saturday night was better. Deck sales, nonexistent, but I tried to bust it big in tips. Did pretty well considering the bleak financial reality that we're all dealing with. Nice crowd and a beautiful night. Sunday back to the bullshit, another trying evening.

Polly and I were able to spend some nice time together over the weekend, but it's Monday and back to the grindstone. The Hair Dept. Head needed to deal with a family emergency so, it looks like Polly is going to help out by working the next three weeks solid. Ouch.

Sunday, September 28, 2008


Aces, originally uploaded by ChristianLynnerup.