Steve Farhood - Cashing Out

IN LAS VEGAS, IT’S JUST ANOTHER HAND of millions, and Eric Stansbury deals pocket sixes to a drug company rep who’s in town for a sales meeting. Frankie Viagra calls four bets before learning that he’s been beaten by a pair of kings. Stansbury dutifully delivers the chips to the winner. What he doesn’t do is ask the loser why he kept donating after the flop brought two overcards and the turn produced a third. Stansbury might’ve cracked a knowing smile, but only on the inside. Like a good player, a good dealer has to know how and when to maintain a poker face.

Hold ’Em in Las Vegas isn’t all about Phil Hellmuth’s bracelets and the Big Game at the Bellagio. It’s also about $65 buy-in tournaments and the accountant from Nebraska who’s happy to blow a couple of Benjamins chasing inside straights at $2/$4 Limit.
Some players dream about making the final table at the WSOP’s Main Event, while others just want to fly home and have a story to share at the office water cooler on Monday morning.

By Vegas standards, the poker room at the Paris is humble. It has eight tables, and according to Terry Severin, one of the room’s shift managers, 98 percent of the players are tourists.

“Eric is an outstanding dealer,” Severin told me. “He has a great personality, and he’s good with the players. People are here to have a good time. Along with the integrity of the game, legalized poker is about customer relations.”

Dealing poker for a living can be just as much of a grind as playing it, and Stansbury keeps in the game by challenging himself.

“I categorize the players and try to figure out what they have,” Stansbury explained. “It makes dealing more interesting and sharpens up my own game.”

Stansbury, 29, has a degree from Central Michigan University. After playing poker in college, he began dealing at a Native American casino in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, near his hometown of Detroit.

Stansbury relocated to Las Vegas 18 months ago. After a short time, he was dealing in the WSOP, and Greg Raymer was helping him with the intricacies of Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo.
“I figured that if I was going to deal,” he said, “I might as well be doing it where I can make the most money.”

At the Paris, Stansbury works 26 to 30 hours a week in six- or eight-hour shifts. He earns $6.30 an hour, and with tips, $150-$175 a day.

“After tournaments,” he said, “80 percent of the winners tip the dealers. But when somebody tips $6 and we have to split it six ways, we just have to accept it.”

On a scale of one to 10, Stansbury rates the average tourist player a 7.5. “More of them know the game than before,” he said, “and I’ve noticed an improvement in the quality of the play. If you enjoy the game, dealing poker is fun, and you don’t have to work too hard.

“For the most part, people are here to gamble, and they’ll pay a substantial amount to see the next card. The only problem comes when somebody’s had too much to drink. But I haven’t had to call security yet.”

Like almost all the dealers in Las Vegas, Stansbury plays poker too. His games of choice are $1/$2 No-Limit or $2/$5 No-Limit, and he says he breaks about even. But he isn’t consumed with the game and has no intentions of becoming a pro. In fact, Stansbury is a writer who is about to publish an online collection of poetry about life experiences.

Is poker poetic? Maybe Stansbury will answer that question. In the meantime, one thing’s for certain: Frankie Viagra sure seems to get a rise out of it.