Subject: World Poker Open - Day 5 From: lvdlrs Newsgroups: rec.gambling.poker Date: Thu, Jan 10, 2002 12:09 AM Message-ID: <3C3D6AC9.C229A234@midsouth.rr.com> A lot of people have come up to me and asked, "Gary, just what is it that you do here?" I tell them I can't explain it in under 5 minutes. It's true. I don't know what to call myself. I'll give you the details of what I did today (give me 5 minutes at least) and let you come up with a term. First thing I did today was gasp. It literally took my breath away when I opened the double doors and looked inside the tournament area. Every table was full. Players were milling about in the aisles, staff scurrying about doing their thing. Everything was just perfect. Well, not really. Supervisors were in need of food comps. Players were grabbing them up like trick-or-treaters on Halloween night. Between 800-1000 people go through the players buffet upstairs every day. So I went to see Bill Hicks, got some comps and gave them to the supervisor and other key tournament personnel. Stopped by Terry Vanderlip's podium to see how the single table satellites were going. Everything peachy except we're short on timers. Jot down in notebook, "Get wife to get timers." Waded through the throng to the registration desk and encounter a small problem with our clerks being blinded by the lights immediately above. Seems they called maintainance to unscrew them. No, no, no. Bad clerks. Surveillence must have proper lighting. Big brother is always watching you. So I dialed maintainance to come back and replace the 90 watters with 30's. Clerks happy, surveillence happy, everybody's happy. Next off the see Pepper Munsey my counterpart for this tournament and our regular poker room manager who promply handed me 7 or 8 Payroll Correction Request sheets. Seems that many dealers incorrectly clocked in or out and / or signed in or out. You have to do both and obviously some don't. 7 or 8 really isn't a bad count taking into consideration the first couple days. What a nightmare those to days were on payroll. So I'm off to see John Moss (I swear that's his real name, and guess what, there's two other temporary poker dealers by the same name here for the tournament. Go figure) to see how many hours these people actually worked. On the way I meet Barry Johnston, poker player extrordinare and general all around classy guy. No Barry I don't have comps dated for tomorrow. How many you want? Three? No problem. Give me 15 minutes and I'll have them. I wonder if Bill Hicks is in his office. I stroll into the dealer's break room, noticed the water cooler bottle supply was getting low so into the trusty notebook got a reminder to call maintainance for more. A few dealers are there getting their nicotine fix and I ask the crowd how things are going. One guy says the hotel front desk called him to say he's got to come up with a credit card or $250 for deposit or check out because he isn't teamed up with a roommate. Seems his quit and left for some silly reason. Is your name on the roommated wanted list posted near the supervisor's podium, I ask him. Yes and it's the only one on it. Another note gets jotted down in the book. Next it's out to the live action area. Table 7 needs a fill. Hmmm, all the brush personnel are busy doing other things so I get table 7 the rack of white needed. Table 23 needs a floorman. Don't look at me. David, that's your call. And David quickly arrives to handle it. Suddenly I flashback to last years WPO when I was the swing shift supervisor. Oh oh, better get out of the live area quick. In the process of leaving 5 different people try to hit me up for food comps. No sir I don't have any. See that man over there in the dark suit with his back to you. Yeah the guy with the short blonde hair. That's David our day shift supervisor. He's got those tickets. I think poor David as I scurry out of the live area and through the double doors across the hall and into the employee dining room for a diet pepsi. All this took up no more than the first hour of work. I can't figure out what to call myself when someone asks me what I do here for the tournament. All I know is I'm the grease that makes everything run a little bit smoother. And it makes me feel good. Gary (...) Philips