How it all started
The beginning of my WSOP journey
Welcome to #ThrowBackThursday! During this series, I will repost stories from my first year at the WSOP in 2022. Many of the posts from that year were abbreviated, so I’ll fill in the gaps and provide a fuller picture of the story. For those of you who followed me on my previous platform, think of these notes as director’s commentary.
From April 21, 2022:
In the last 2 years, we've all been through the ringer. Just like many of you, my journey had its ups and down. I left the security of a long time job, leaving a company I had been associated with for over 12 years. I also got COVID-19 along the way, which was one of the scariest periods of my life. But this time has stretched me in positive ways. I started a podcast. I spent over 900 hours volunteering with the Alameda County Community Food Bank. I've found work in very unconventional ways. I've reconnected with old friends and made new ones. And starting in May, I'm going to check off an important item off my bucket list.
I've been keeping this secret for a bit, but Kim and I went back to Las Vegas last week. We didn't tell anyone, because the trip came together very quickly. My motive was not purely for vacation (though we did enjoy our time there, as usual). Last Wednesday, I had a tryout for a dealer position at the World Series of Poker, which I passed. In 2016, I had the opportunity to play in the WSOP; in 2022, I will be a dealer.
For any of my dealer friends who are looking for work, I invite you to check out this opportunity. I'd love for you to join me this summer.
In late March, I was unemployed, surviving on stimulus and gig work. My wife was still working full time, so we financially stable for the moment. My job as a director of a casino party company was essentially dead for the foreseeable future. I had no job prospects and no clue on how to proceed with my career.
Then I saw this post all over social media. The WSOP was moving away from the Rio (an off-Strip property) and to the Paris and Bally’s (since renamed the Horsehoe), which are on the Las Vegas Boulevard. The move prompted the WSOP to expand their employee roster to account for the increase in tables. The WSOP needed dealers, and I needed a job. Sounds like a match made in heaven.
I always thought that dealing the WSOP would be the move after I retired from my “normal” career. But we know that COVID-19 changed everything, disrupting all of our lives.
Unfortunately, I had a dirty little secret. Over the years, I’ve played a ton of poker, and not just Hold’Em but also all the mixed games. But I’ve never dealt in a real casino setting, only for events and home games, and never for the amount of money in the WSOP prize pools. Before flying to Vegas for the live audition, I poured through all 83 pages of the dealer handbook. The day before the audition in the hotel room, Kim watched me deal hand after hand after hand. I even made her play hands for me in strange variators like no limit 2-7 single draw, 7-card stud hi-lo regular, and Badugi.
The morning of the audition, I joined 19 other prospective dealers in the Bally’s poker room. We were divided into 2 tables and given the following instructions. Each person would get in the box and deal 4 hands, one for Hold’Em and 3 different varieties. Anyone not dealing was to play a hand. We were also told not to correct any mistakes we saw, leaving any feedback to come from the evaluator. After all 10 people had gone through, the evaluator would meet with us individually and provide feedback.
At my table, I was to go 9th. I was very nervous as the first dealer sat down in the box. As he started pitching the cards and calling the game, I became less nervous. By my turn, the butterflies were gone, and I was able to fully concentrate on the task at hand. My Hold’Em hand was flawless. I was the only dealer at my table to calculate the pot correctly in Pot Limit Omaha. I had no problems identifying both the high and low hands of 7 Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better. And I made one tiny little mistake during 2-7 Triple Draw. These four hands were essentially perfect and the best score out of the 20 applicants. I was also the only person to pass the mixed game portion of the audition, qualifying me for the higher pay rate.
I was hired on the spot, went to HR to process my paperwork, and returned to my hotel room as a newly minted Caesars Entertainment employee. In the span of 2 weeks, I went from unemployed to a member of one of the largest international gaming companies, hired to work at the biggest poker event ever. Now, I only had 5 weeks to plan the rest of the summer….