After staying Monday night at our "private B&B" at Jack and Betty’s (for the good company, so we could practice on his table, as well as for the shorter drive ), we arrived in AC Tuesday morning to find our spots right away on a craps table. it always feels like coming home. Everyone, dealers and supervisors alike, remarked on how well Sandtrap was looking, and asked how he is doing. He actually has a small length of hair coming in (about 1/8th inch), and one of the dealers who used to be a hair dresser said she could start to think about how to "style" it (LOL). He still uses a cane, and gets tired from all the walking. He also still has trouble eating, and has not yet gained any of the weight he lost. His pants are all falling down, but he refuses to go shopping, in case he gains back the 20lbs he lost. As he says, he used to wear long shirts to hide his protruding abdomen. Now he wears them to hide the bunched up waist and belt.

To get back to craps, our first morning was not very productive. I find when we were coming twice a month, we do well most sessions. Now, coming only once a month, we need one session to get used to a regular table, which we don’t have. We took 3 turns at the dice, and Jack tossed a 14, Sandtrap a 12. The other two turns, and mine, were very short. The afternoon, however, was very good for me. I tossed a 3, 5, 28, 18, and 18. Sandtrap was all under 5, and Jack tossed one 16 out of 5 rolls.

During this session, we met three students from the March AC primer class. One, DoubleA, is from Philly, and plans to got to AC quite often. I have never seen a primer shoot the way he does after one month of practice. He practices 1-2 hours a day and video tapes himself. He is extremely conscientious and dedicated. he averaged rolls in the 10-16’s, but also had at least two 30 rolls observed by the other two GTC’ers. He also had three 20’s back to back. All his rolls hit numbers consistently, so he made money on most of them. He had been pressing right away, and when I advised him to change that, he started making money even on his short rolls. Although he might need a small grip adjustment, for the most part, his dice were going down together, hitting the back wall, and coming back together. He did have a 6 or 1 show up, so he was not always on axis, but the results were great. Congratulations DoubleA. I even called Dom to tell him how well DoubleA was doing.

Wednesday morning we each tossed three times, and each of us had one double digit roll. After breakfast, Jack had two 18 rolls and I had one 14 roll. The savior, however, was Sandtrap with a 43 roll! Even the dealers and supervisor applauded, and all said, "Sandtrap is back!" He was so excited and happy. In the later afternoon, I had one 10 roll, and gave my spot to DoubleA. Sandtrap however, rolled a 35 and a 16! After dinner, I was the only winner with rolls of 17 and 23.

Thursday morning we tossed three times. I tossed a 10, 2, and 20. Jack tossed a 14, 10 and 7. After breakfast, only Jack had decent tosses of 17 and 20.

Friday morning I had one 24, and gave my spot to DoubleA. He tossed a 21, 3, 10, 19, and 11. Sandtrap had one 13 and one 15 roll, and then the dice kept slipping out of his hand. We think the chemo in his body is still affecting his fatigue factor, walking (his right ankle slips), and the right hand shooting. We were told it would take many many months for him to return to normal, and that certainly seems to be the case.

Several times someone would throw money on the table when we already had the dice, or would place a pass line bet when the point was already established, or didn’t understand the payout and created an argument. Each time, we 7’d out. Even players next to me went ballistic, and sometimes left the table, as did we.

During breaks, I went to Pai Gow, where I met a man wearing a Yarmulke, and another player, who called him the Rabbi. The Rabbi bought in for $5000 the first time we played together, and bet it all and lost it. He bought in for another $4000, bet part of it, and lost. He then lost the rest and bought in again, and so it went. He didn’t like $1 chips, and he kept tossing them to me, so I used them to play the bonus bet, which I kept losing. The Rabbi was still there the next morning, stayed the entire day and night, and still there the next day, for a total of 48 hours without sleep or food. He never took a break except to go to the bathroom, and kept ordering drinks and water. The dealers said he always does this, trying to make up for his losses, which he didn’t do this trip. On Wednesday, when I wanted to play, the table was full, and Rabbi told me to play on top of one of his bets. I chose the bet closest to the extra empty seat, and that spot proceeded to win most of the time, so he said I brought him luck, and continued to give me $1 chips. At another session, he must have left without saving his spot. The table was full and he asked to play under my bet, although he would have to stand. I agreed since he was so pleasant to me, and kept giving me chips. By this time, I had started to teach DoubleA the game. He was catching on quickly, but not fast enough for Rabbi, who kept telling him what to play. One time he was wrong, and fortunately the bet pushed. Rabbi apologized, and I am quite sure had the bet lost, Rabbi would have given DoubleA the money. The supervisor said to me, "I am surprised you let him play the hand that way." I replied, "Rabbi spoke too quickly and the had was played before I could see it." The supervisor laughed.

This was the best week that Sandtrap and I have had for a long time. It was terrific watching DoubleA do so well, and we have made a new friend, and a new member of the AC Boardwalk Rollers.

Goddess

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