The Players

You can meet the most interesting people at a poker table. I met Desi Arnaz one night at the Sahara Dunes Casino near Lake Elsinore, CA.

Desi was smoking big cigars and drinking Cube Libres. He joked with everybody, played wild poker, and kept saying, 'I love Lucy. I will always love her.'

The famed Cuban from the 'I Love Lucy' television series lived in nearby Palm Springs. There he lived alone in a desert mansion. His only companion was actor Steve McQueen.

The two made a strange pair. Arnaz was a smiling man who enjoyed a drink. In fact, he enjoyed too many of them and that was why Lucille Ball divorced him. McQueen was withdrawn quiet man who preferred smoking to drinking.

While Arnaz lived a boisterous robust life and played his cards that way, McQueen would play his cards to his vest, yawn and excuse himself for the evening. Then he would lumber to the parking lot, rev up his motorcycle and head down to the lake for a couple of racing rounds before riding to Desi's house.

Poker players in Lake Elsinore were generally drinkers. No mineral water for them. They wanted firewater! Carried along by the effects, they would play in poker games that lasted two or three days. We were a hardy breed and proud of how long we could stay awake.

Today's breed of poker player has changed. The modern player is a bright kid, super-intelligent maybe, brought up on computer intelligence. He drinks mineral water and avoids booze. And, yes, he is tough to beat.

I like to test myself against these kids. They are brash, have deep pockets and balls of steel. They can overwhelm many of the players, but not all of them and they are fun to beat.

When a couple of these jet-setters come into my game, I just wait until I get a trap hand. Just when they think they got me, I spring the trap and smile as I rake in the chips.

I like to analyze the people I play against. At Talking Stick Casino, there is one I will refer to as the mad Russian. He wears a fierce black beard and rants and raves like a lunatic when he loses.

No matter what his style, I respect another poker player. He walks a path fraught with danger and may the best man -- or woman -- win. Let the games. begin.

Author: Geno Lawrenzi Jr.

(Geno Lawrenzi Jr. is an international journalist, magazine author and ghostwriter and poker player who lives in Phoenx, AZ. He has published 2,000 articles in 50 magazines and 125 newspapers. If you want to share a gambling story or book idea with him, send an email to glawrenzi@gmail.com ).