to the beach. It was just after sundown and the mosquitoes were out in force. I looked out at the waves and the twinkling lights and said to myself, “What the hell am I doing here?”

Well, it isn’t always as glamorous as the movies portray.

The Quickest Game in the West

Days after Howard Hughes died, I played at the Desert Inn. The DI was still very small in those days and Hughes had occupied a good percentage of the rooms. Due to his death, the Hotel was closed, but the casino was open. In the middle of the afternoon, I was the only player in the entire casino. Imagine having a Las Vegas Strip casino entirely to yourself.

Most of the dealers were elderly and had known Hughes in earlier days. (Some of these stories are starting to make me feel old.) I played with a dealer who dealt as though he had been handling cards since before Vegas was invented. Perhaps he had. I allowed him to play 90-some percent of my hands for me. On a close decision, I quickly raised my finger to indicate that I wanted to call the play myself. I was able to play completely without cover, as no one seemed to care about anything.

We had all been told that Hughes had been a complete recluse for ages. But the dealer said that most everyone there had met him.

There are a few adjustments you must make as the sole player in a casino. First, no back-counting. Kind of difficult to back-count when there are no other players. In fact, moving from one table to another just wouldn't look right. Not only would it be obvious, it would be an insult to the dealer.

The dealer and I got into a great rhythm. He generally knew what I wanted to do. I wish I had timed the game, as I have never since played this quickly. He told a few Hughes stories as we played. I don’t remember them, and they may not have been true anyhow. What I do remember is that this is the fastest, least cover game I have ever played. And not likely to appear again outside of my dreams.

 © 2009 Norman Wattenberger