Insider’s Guide to Gaming

5 Questions for Poker Pro Alex Fitzgerald

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 05:00:00 -0700

Alex Fitzgerald started his professional card career at age 18, while living in the University District.

The Alaska-born, Bothell-raised poker pro has since won more than $2 million playing online and hundreds of thousands of dollars at live poker tables. Today fans watch Fitzgerald’s training videos at pocketfives.com or read his musings at pokerheadrush.com, where he writes about everything from his constant globetrotting (he’s visited about 40 countries) to the hand he was dealt last night. We caught up with the 24-year-old pro, who’s now living in Costa Rica.

How did you get involved in poker? I’ve been playing cards for money since I was 15. I’d start games in the back of my classes or in the cafeteria. I’d make $20 or $30 then spend it all on comics and CDs…. I quit my last real job—as a security guard at the old Safeco building in the U District—on October 31, 2006…. I have been a professional poker player ever since then.

What convinced you to play poker full time? There was never really a question in my mind about what I was. If I played long enough I always made money at poker…. The month before I quit my security job, I made $1,200 working 40 hours a week. I made $7,000-plus that same month playing poker at nights. So I knew if I took it seriously as my only job that I could really flourish.

Have you ever considered giving up poker? I’d be playing for tens of thousands of dollars one minute and then the next minute eating a cup of noodles on some street in some city I didn’t know, wondering how I lost it. That never really worried me like it should have. My family was rich when I was a young child and on food stamps when I grew up, so I always felt money came and went.

Has your relationship with finances changed since then? The money element of poker is strange. If you never save or spend the money you make, in reality you’ve never made a cent, you’ve just played a tournament with yourself using all the money you have in the world…. My girlfriend, and soon-to-be wife, has helped teach me about investing in my family and my future, and I’ve been fortunate enough to get involved with charity projects over the years. Playing for some other purpose gives meaning to the financial rewards and motivates me to be a much more cutthroat player.

What’s your advice to would-be poker pros? Do not quit your job until you have six months of expenses saved in an outside account for emergencies. To the younger kids, go to college, and grow up there. I grew up on the poker tour, which was much harsher and lonelier than learning about life with my friends in a university…. Study on your own, away from the game. A bad habit can stick with you and cost you money for your whole life. Watch training videos, read books, and watch the great players play. Poker is no different than any other endeavor of controllable risk. Hard work and study beget success. Mindless gambling delivers ruin.

Internet Gambling: Washington Hold ’Em

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 05:00:00 -0700

Image: Matthew Hollister

On March 28, 2006, Governor Christine Gregoire signed into law Senate Bill 6613, making it a Class C felony to play games of chance online for money. In so doing, she gave Washington the distinction of being the first state in the country to definitively outlaw online gambling; Congress wouldn’t pass similar legislation for another six and a half months. But SB 6613 also gave Seattle native Lee Rousso something to fight for.

Rousso was between marriages in 2006 and had turned to Internet poker to pass the time; he’d even qualified for the World Series of Poker—Las Vegas’s annual, big-money, in-person showdown—through an online site. So, when the state threatened to take away his new pastime, he went all-in to protect it by filing a lawsuit to overturn the law. “Within a half-hour of my house, I can probably drive to 20 casinos, so the state doesn’t really care if I gamble or not,” he says now. “But if I try to do it from my house, gee, that’s a problem?”

Technically Internet gambling was always a misdemeanor under the Washington State Constitution. The 2006 law, sponsored by State Senator Margarita Prentice, a Democrat from Renton, just clarified things and raised the stakes for online poker players. And, in fact, it wasn’t the first example of Washington’s efforts to restrict wagering to the real world. The Washington State Gambling Commission began investigating Internet gambling sites as far back as 2002, and in 2005 the agency banded together with more than a dozen other agencies to establish the Multi-State Internet Gambling Task Force. Though shutting down Internet gambling certainly reduces competition for casinos and card rooms, commission spokesperson Susan Arland says the law was designed to protect individual players from nefarious sites.

Rousso wasn’t just some crusading card shark; he was an attorney by trade. But the deck was stacked against him from the beginning. In May 2008, a King County judge ruled against his suit, and in September 2010 the state supreme court upheld the decision. Internet gambling was dealt its biggest blow the following April, though, when the FBI shut down the three biggest sites in the country, accusing them of money laundering and fraud.

It was a sobering turn of events for Rousso (“I wasn’t necessarily on the right side of history,” he says), but he’s confident that some day Internet gambling will be legal again—once the state figures out how to make money off of it. “It will thrive here someday,” he says, “but it’s going to be a long, drawn-out political battle.”

Washington’s Lottery’s Best Bets, By the Numbers

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 05:00:00 -0700

Image: Matthew Hollister

Jackpot
Washington’s Lottery’s biggest Powerball jackpot since May 2011: $1,000,004. Smallest Powerball jackpot since May 2011: $626.

Lucky Town
Want to increase your chances of hitting the jackpot in Washington’s Lottery? Head south to Vancouver. Since 1985, the Plaid Pantry at 514 Washington Street has sold eight winning tickets, totaling more than $41 million, making it the luckiest location in the state.

Hot Spot
Aloha Market at 7762 Beacon Avenue South sold 15 winning lottery tickets of $1,000 or more in 2011—the most of any store in Seattle.

Holy Rollers Film Stacks the Deck

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 05:00:00 -0700

Image: Chris Skiles

In the past five years, a team of card-counting blackjack sharks took $3.2 million from casinos across the U.S. They stuck it to the man in Las Vegas and preyed on smaller operations from Indiana to Washington state. It wasn’t gambling—it was work. A profession. Players received an hourly wage for their time at the tables, and their returns were divvied up among investors. Money was secreted through airport security taped to legs and stuffed in socks. Some Saturdays, the team barely saw the light of day—just the bling and ka-ching of the slots, the cigarette-stained carpets, the cocktail waitresses in too-tight tops.

And on Sundays, the card counters went to church.

Image: holyrollersthemovie.com

Seattle’s team of “Holy Rollers” made national headlines last year when a documentary about their adventures in gambling did the film festival circuit. Card-counting blackjack players weren’t news—but card-counting Christians? Yeah, that’s something. “I learned how to play blackjack professionally from my pastor,” goes one line in Holy Rollers (recently released on Video on Demand). And he likely learned from “Church Team” founders Colin Jones and Ben Crawford: one a math major, the other a man of faith who doesn’t mind getting into a little trouble. See, the Bible doesn’t explicitly say, “Thou shall not gamble,” but it certainly doesn’t encourage false gods like the almighty dollar—or any of the other, shall we say, perks of casinos. “You’re putting yourself in an environment filled with vices…but you want to live life with challenges and questions,” said teammate David Drury, a 40-year-old Shoreline resident, father of two, and member of Wit’s End church. But at the end of the day, he says, they’re just playing a game, and playing it well.

“Card counting isn’t gambling. When you learn the game and run the numbers, there are only a certain number of variables. You can actually gain an advantage,” he said. It’s a David-and-Goliath story line reinforced in the movie by the Greek chorus of card counters:

“Casinos mislead people—give them the hope that they’ll win.”
“Casinos take advantage of our disadvantage.”
“Why is addition and division illegal?”

Why indeed? Technically, it’s not. But casinos can refuse service if they suspect you’re messing with them. As Drury says, getting kicked out of casinos is part of the job—that’s why they wear disguises. Bushy beards, makeup, trucker hats. One of Drury’s best covers is a comb-over, vest, and khakis, a look he calls “My Dad.”

And though the team has officially cashed in its chips, Drury—a writer by trade—hopes to relive these tales in a book he’s working on. He wants to be the David Sedaris of Christian card-counting blackjack players. Don’t we all.

How to Count Cards—and Not Get Caught

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 05:00:00 -0700

Image: holyrollersthemovie.com

The many faces of holy roller Ben Crawford.

1. Memorize basic strategy from one of those silly plastic cards available in most casino gift shops. Follow it exactly when making playing decisions (hit, stand, split, double).

2. Stand and watch from behind the table, only sitting down when you’ve seen enough cards to feel comfortable wagering big money. Starting small and placing progressively larger bets is a clear card-counting tell.

3. As each card comes out, assign a value of plus-1 to each low card (2, 3, 4, 5, 6); minus-1 to each high card (10, face, or ace) and 0 to the middle cards (7, 8, 9) to establish a “running count.”

4. Raise your bets while the count is high. When your running count is bigger than the number of decks still sitting in the shoe—smile; you have gained an advantage.

5. Don’t get a player’s card. Casinos typically offer a kind of ID that rewards frequent gamblers. Sure, the comped food and drink is nice, but once they have your info, the casinos can track you more easily.

6. Play like a drunk at the table. Ask for playing advice, even if you don’t use it. Order beers, only to pour them out in the bathroom and refill them with water.

7. Change up your appearance on each visit and from casino to casino: hats, jackets, fake eyeglasses. Nothing intense, just enough to throw security off your trail. A few of my favorites—the Golfer, the Long-Haul Trucker, and My Dad.

8. Be aware of “heat.” Things like phones ringing in the pit, pit bosses staring daggers at you. Seasoned pros know when to stay and when to split.

9. When you do get caught, take it in stride. You have done nothing illegal. The casino has decided that you are a winning player and doesn’t like it.

UW Alum Argues Poker Should Be Mandatory at Biz Schools

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 05:00:00 -0700

Image: Matthew Hollister

On a below-freezing night last February, a 64-year-old man stood before a crowd of business students in a University of Washington auditorium. A Clintonian shock of white hair sat atop a face tanned in the way only the Nevada desert tans a face—deeply bronzed, as if rotisseried by the sun. In from Sin City, and with the top three buttons open on his collared shirt to prove it, Barry Shulman told the budding entrepreneurs that the world is changing fast, and if they want to seize it they need take a page from card sharks like him.

Shulman didn’t set out to be a poker impresario. He made his first money, right out of UW business school, in real estate. But cards were his passion. And when he presaged the Seattle real estate nosedive in the ’90s, Shulman cashed out and moved to Las Vegas, set on retirement. Instead he bought a magazine. Card Player is now the centerpiece of Card Player Media, which includes poker websites and licenses the Card Player name to magazines in a dozen countries. And as a player Shulman has won more than $4 million at live poker tournaments.

Five points crucial to successful business never came up when he was at school, Shulman says, and he had to learn them at the poker table: risk of loss (that is, the realization that losing your chips early can be a blessing in disguise); people-reading skills; protection (amassing enough capital during fat times to get you through the lean times); discipline (knowing when to fold ’em); and bluffing.

That last item is an outlier. Shulman doesn’t say one should bluff in business, so much as know when others do (a lesson that buyers of millions of subprime loans could have used back in 2008).

Shulman isn’t a lone knight charging at pokerless MBA programs. “One thing you can’t emulate in class is how prominent a role emotion plays when it comes to making choices,” Greg Dinkin, a Los Angeles literary agent, motivational author, and poker evangelist, told us. “But get stuck a few grand in a poker game, after your aces have been cracked and you are tired and irritable, and then we’ll see how well you think strategically and make decisions.”

But even poker has its limits. Back at the UW talk, when a student asked Shulman for advice for aspiring professional poker players, Shulman left no room for interpretation. “Get a job.… If you’re smart enough to make it at pro poker, then you’re smart enough to get a job where there’s real security.”

Insider’s Guide to Gaming in Washington

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 05:00:00 -0700

Image: Matthew Hollister

REMEMBER A COUPLE YEARS AGO when placing a bet on a poker hand felt like a safer investment strategy than a 401(k)? Those days are behind us (maybe? hopefully?), and we can finally get back to taking chances with our money because we want to—not because we have to. But if the financial meltdown taught us anything, the secret is to take calculated risks. So with that in mind, tread lightly if you plan to let it ride—and take a lesson from some of the card sharks, poker pros, and all-around gambling gurus we consulted for Seattle Met’s guide to Washington gaming.

5 Questions for Poker Pro Alex Fitzgerald

Internet Gambling: Washington Hold ’Em

Washington’s Lottery’s Best Bets, By the Numbers

Holy Rollers Film Stacks the Deck

How to Count Cards—and Not Get Caught

Washington Casino Guide

UW Alum Argues Poker Should Be Mandatory at Biz Schools

Washington Casino Guide

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 05:00:00 -0700

Image: Matthew Hollister

EMERALD QUEEN

2024 E 29th St, Tacoma, 253-594-7777; emeraldqueen.com

Transportation: Tacoma Dome Station is one-and-a-half miles away. Shuttle ferries overnight guests from the hotel in Fife to the gaming floor in Tacoma every half hour.

Game Time: Blackjack, roulette, craps, 2,000 slot machines, Keno.

Vibe: A labyrinth of ring-a-linging slot machines, smoky corridors, and neon lighting, this is no place for the faint of heart (literally).

At Your Service: Friendly, helpful staff serve drinks with a smile. Beefy security guards loom at every turn.

Dining: Sports Bar and Express Buffet serve hot dogs, ready-made Caesar salads, and Chinese food beneath a fluorescent glow. The International Restaurant has “cousine [sic] from around the world.”

Drinks: Walk-up cocktail windows and self-serve coffee and soda stations.

Entertainment: CageSport MMA and mega country stars pack the I-5 Showroom. Caters to Asian expats with a Cambodian New Year celebration and Asia Fest.

Nightlife: I-5 Bridge Nightclub gives northern New Jersey some stiff competition.

Get a Room: Emerald Queen Hotel in Fife offers discounted rooms for $83 if you show your concert stub.

Swag: If you’re in the market for M&Ms or engraved pencils, spend your hard-earned chips at EQC’s gift shop.

Smoking or Nonsmoking? Thanks to low ceilings and a crowded gaming floor, smoke even wafts through the designated nonsmoking areas.

Claim to Fame: Self-proclaimed “Entertainment Capital of the Northwest.”

The Pitch: “There is always something to do at Emerald Queen Casino.”

The Verdict: Come for a country show, stay for a round of slots, breathe in the secondhand smoke.

• • •

MUCKLESHOOT

2402 Auburn Way S, Auburn, 800-804-4944; muckleshootcasino.com

Transportation: No shuttles, but it’s on a local bus route.

Game Time: Blackjack, roulette, craps, 3,150 slot machines, 32-table poker room, Players Club.

Vibe: With its soaring mirrored ceilings, swanky cocktail lounges, and catchy house music (think Motown), Muckleshoot sets a bright and breezy stage for the twentysomethings.

At Your Service: Hip young blackjack dealers.

Dining: The usual assortment of buffets, grills, and delis—but the best deal is the tableside food service in the poker room.

Drinks: Fun cocktails and sake at Asian-themed restaurant 8.

Entertainment: Wally and the Beaves, a doo-wop cover band. You don’t come for the live music—you come to gamble.

Nightlife: Boogie under the disco ball to a ’60s cover band in the lively—and relatively tame—Club Galaxy.

Get a Room: Nearby Best Western Peppertree or La Quinta Inn and Suites.

Swag: Standard-issue tchotchkes (eagle-attacking-wolf statue!), glittering leather jackets, and dream catchers.

Smoking or Nonsmoking? Non in a room with 1,000 slot machines and 35 of 75 table games; the entire building is well ventilated.

Claim to Fame: Biggest poker room and highest limits in the state.

The Pitch: “The biggest and the best in the Northwest!”

The Verdict: Watch a game, play some poker, and drink some beers at relatively moderate prices.

• • •

SNOQUALMIE

37500 SE North Bend Way, Snoqualmie, 425-888-1234; snocasino.com

Transportation: Shuttle picks up from multiple locations in Seattle and costs $10, which you recoup at the buffet.

Game Time: Blackjack, roulette, craps, 1,700 slot machines, high-limit slots, 10-table poker room.

Vibe: Built to look like a lodge with warm lighting and post-and-beam decor.

At Your Service: Pretty young things in velour miniskirts and bustiers deliver cocktails on the casino floor.

Dining: Terra Vista restaurant has views of the North Cascades, El Gaucho prices, and a Mad Hatcher quail entree. On a busy Saturday night, hundreds of hungry gamers line up for the Falls Buffet.

Drinks: Lively bars with over 100 flat screen TVs and beer on tap.

Entertainment: From Jay Leno and Craig Ferguson in the ballroom to Joan Jett and Smokey Robinson at the outdoor amphitheater.

Nightlife: A cabaret and “ultra lounge” opens in May, and Asian bistro 12 Moons will replace the now closed and boozy Club Sno this summer.

Get a Room: Salish Lodge and Spa is three-and-a-half miles away. Next closest option is the Holiday Inn in Issaquah.

Swag: Local goodies like Chukar cherries and cedar-plank smoked salmon.

Smoking or Nonsmoking? Smoking almost everywhere, but big open spaces make breathing easy.

Claim to Fame: Stellar views of the North Cascades—if you ever go outside.

The Pitch: “Now that’s entertainment.”

The Verdict: Makes the strongest bid for “classiest casino,” but it needs to build a hotel.

• • •

TULALIP RESORT

10200 Quil Ceda Blvd, Tulalip, 360-716-6000; tulalipresort.com

Transportation: Shuttle from Sea-Tac, Port of Everett, and Seattle Premium Outlets.

Game Time: Blackjack, roulette, craps, slot machines, Keno, bingo, no-limits poker room.

Vibe: Vegasy carport with a waterfall, heat lamps, and smoking benches opens into a cavernous, loud, under-the-sea-themed casino floor.

At Your Service: Slick security guards wearing earpieces and black suits keep the clubbing crowd in check.

Dining: Tulalip Bay fine dining restaurant is helmed by James Beard House invitee chef Dean Shinagawa, boasts an award-winning wine list, and offers a quiet spot away from the gambling floor.

Drinks: Order at one of the many walk-up bar windows or sip martinis at the MPulse Lounge, next to the fire pit.

Entertainment: Outdoor amphitheater gets the Doobie Brothers and Jamie Foxx, and the Orca Ballroom draws comedians like Wanda Sykes in May.

Nightlife: Don a fedora or a sequined bustier and join the clubbers in the (very long) line for dinner and a show at the packed-on-weekends Canoes Cabaret.

Get a Room: Tulalip Resort and Spa is on the premises, and it’s pretty plush.

Swag: The gift shop caters to the bachelor and bachelorette crowd with hot-pink martini glasses, sparkly jewelry, and shot glasses.

Smoking or Nonsmoking? Nonsmoking poker room, smoking everywhere else except restaurants.

Claim to Fame: Tulalip Bay’s award-winning wine list, according to Wine Spectator.

The Pitch: “Fun is the name of the game at Tulalip.”

The Verdict: Closest thing to a Vegas resort experience in the state, with gaming, hotel, spa, shopping, and fine dining in one spot.

Insider’s Guide to Gaming

5 Questions for Poker Pro Alex Fitzgerald

Gaming Facts

Internet Gambling: Washington Hold ’Em

Gaming Facts

Washington’s Lottery’s Best Bets, By the Numbers

Holy Rollers Film Stacks the Deck

How to Count Cards—and Not Get Caught

Gaming Facts

UW Alum Argues Poker Should Be Mandatory at Biz Schools

Insider’s Guide to Gaming in Washington

5 Questions for Poker Pro Alex Fitzgerald

Internet Gambling: Washington Hold ’Em

Washington’s Lottery’s Best Bets, By the Numbers

Holy Rollers Film Stacks the Deck

How to Count Cards—and Not Get Caught

Washington Casino Guide

UW Alum Argues Poker Should Be Mandatory at Biz Schools

Washington Casino Guide