I am feeling sad. He was soft spoken but was really a professional dice thrower and teacher. Pat Higgins really found the missing link in my grip. I will always  speak fondly of you Pat Higgins. There are a lot of squares out there pretending to be the “dice man”. You are the dice man. 

Janus, Alligator Rose, Kristin and I are sorry for your loss. We are sending you a big hug from Maine.

So saddened to hear this.  Such a great instructor. I can still hear his deep voice advising me on my SHOT. 

You will be missed DOC.  Alligator Rose so sorry for you and your family’s loss.   

You were one of a kind Pat. Loved your corny jokes as much as you enjoyed mine. Learned so much from you and Janis about the GTC way. You were a loyal supporter of the GTC philosophy and along with Janis, you two were an unbeatable team. You made me proud to be part of the GTC staff. My heart is with Janis and your entire family as they mourn your loss. 

Dear Janis,

I am so very sorry to hear of your loss of your husband, Pat.
May God be with you at this most difficult time.
With Deepest Sympathy, Love and Prayers.

John “Skinny” Therkelsen

Both Anne and I are so sad we lost Dr. Crapology – Pat Higgins. I am relatively new to the group as compared many of you. Pat had such a wonderful impact on both of us. Pat was one of the nicest and gentlest people I have ever met. Truly one of the BEST people either of us have ever know.  A huge loss for all of us in the GTC world. 
Janice – you and your family are in our thoughts and prayers. 

Rob & I took our Primer with Dr. Crapology & Alligator Rose.  We learned not long after that class just how fortunate for us!!!  Since then, we’ve seen their wisdom shared on this Forum.  We’ve talked to other students who learned at the knee of the good Doctor & his bride.  Their influence is immortal.  It’s inconceivable to think of one without the other.  Dear Rose, my prayers are with you as you navigate these dark days.  We love you & ask for peace in your family.  You have the very best Guardian Angel watching over you now.  ❤️ 

Kay & Rob

Doc was as homespun a southern Texan gentleman as I ever met. He and Alligator Rose were an inseparable pair. From the first time I met Doc, he and Rose made me feel so welcome. And the way he wrote in third person in this forum was a great source of amusement for me, and he was undeterred by my teasing him about it. Doc was good company with one exception – Blackjack. And that was my fault, kind of. As we all learned in our GTC sessions, you leave the Craps table when you have a good session or after getting the dice 3 or 4 times. At Bally’s Las Vegas, we took a break. Doc wanted to refresh his mind by playing Blackjack. So I joined him at the table.

(I’ll write this in 3rd person Doc style) Does Preacher keep a running count for Blackjack, as taught by GTC? That is what an Advantage Player does. But not Preacher. Compared to Craps, Preacher finds Blackjack a grind. Preacher has no interest in spending hours of play to make the small Advantage (2% 4o 5%) worthwhile. Even so, Preacher enjoys Doc’s company. So, Preacher takes a chair to the left of Doc, and is the last player before the Dealer. Five (5) minutes later, Preacher has cards Jack and 3, the dealer is showing a 3. What does Preacher do? He takes a card, of course! And busts with a King. The dealer turns over a 10 to his 3, and takes a card – 8! Beats everyone at the table. After Preacher’s 4th forced error, Doc stands up with a huff and says, “I’m not going to sit here and lose money!” It was so rare to see Doc get his dander up, Preacher is highly amused. Later, Preacher sent a video to Doc, which showed that a bad player at the Blackjack table had zero effect on the count and did not affect the advantage of a Card Counter. Did Doc argue with the math? Certainly not! Did Doc decide to sit at a Blackjack table with Preacher? Certainly not!

(Back to writing in 1st person) All that had no effect on our friendship except to give me a way to tease Doc now and then, “Hey Doc, how about we try Blackjack? I hear the count is good at that table.” Doc would say something like, “That’ll be the day.” Still makes me laugh. I always tried to join Doc and Rose on their visits to the Horseshoe Bossier City, LA. And it was always memorable with Doc and Rose in Las Vegas and Atlantic City.

I was hoping to see Doc in Atlantic City for Dom’s 70th birthday bash. My son and fellow GTC member, Captain America (US Army Captain) will join us there, as well as my younger brother, also an Annapolis grad, but new to Craps. When Doc told me he was now housebound and unable to go, I decided we’d make some video recordings of everyone, to send to Doc and Rose. Now, forgive me Lord, but Damn, I’m going to miss Doc.

Well written Preacher, and I know you didn’t intend for this to happen, but it brought a tear to my eyes this morning again, sad and happy tears….Sad,well we all know why, Happy because your story brought back a memory when Doc, Janis and I sat down at a Mississippi Stud table as I recall. Janis and I like to play that game during breaks and Doc joined us. Well when he lost $50 he got up and said “Never again”!

thanks Preacher and see you soon!

Dom

Doc was an excellent instructor and great shooter. As a matter of fact, Doc used his winnings at the Craps table to pay for his house and other debts – not small potatoes. I say this to let doubters know our GTC instructors are the real thing.

Doc had a money belt to safely carry all his $100 bills when he left a casino. Doc liked to tell the story about leaving Vegas to go home to Texas. At the Las Vegas Airport, going through security, he’d get pulled aside because of his money belt. When security wanted to search him further, he always had to insist on a private room. He couldn’t let everyone know he had all that cash on him. On one occasion, in the private room, the agent found Doc’s money belt, so Doc took it off for it to be examined. The agent opened Doc’s money belt and saw all that cash, he said, “Sir, I don’t think you understand. This is not how it works. You come to Las Vegas with a lot of cash and leave just a few dollars. That’s how it’s supposed to work. But you came with a few dollars and are leaving with a lot of cash!” Doc said, “I’ll have to work on that.”

G T C  student  12 years ago. Doc and JAN are my intructors. cant forgot the day. With deepest sympathy and prayers.