Late fifties, I went to work at The Primm in Reno. It was somewhat of a "step up" from where I had worked before. I was hired by one of the finest gentlemen I had ever known, Mr. Alan Roberts, and it was owned by another gentlemen, Mr. Ernie Primm.
I was put on the "graveyard" shift, 3 AM till 11 AM. I had worked a lot of graveyard and really liked those hours. You could either do your partying in the morning after work, or the time before you went on shift. I must admit I don't remember my first day, pretty nervous entering into this new, different way of dealing craps. Each club has its own way of dealing, and that was how it was done, and, they got bigger "action" at the Primm, and that made me nervous.
My graveyard boss turned out to be Don Eammelli. He put me at ease right away. I eventually learned some of his background. He was from Steubenville, Ohio, a starting place for a number of casino employees. Don had also been a band leader in his younger days.
My first night, break time, Don challenged me to call a heads or tails on a silver dollar, to determine who bought the coffee. Don won. Don always won. His "flip" was so practiced that he could determine whether heads or tails by where he caught the coin. He sometimes would come over to the table and make a bet of one kind or another, he always won.
Early on, Don took me to a casino and introduced me to to the shift manager, Joe Hill. While we were talking, he opened a new pack of cards for a change on a 21 table. He rippled them a few times, fanned them, and said, "Uh Oh, a factory marked deck," and proceeded to turn over cards, naming them. Then he explained how sometimes, when they are trimming the deck that a blade gets a nick or something in it, and marks the deck. "Can't use those."
Don had him give them to me, good training for the future, check out the deck and learn for yourself. I took the deck home, used a magnifying glass, spent hours, looking for the mark. Don made me labor over that deck for a week or so. Then one morning, he laughed, said that Joe had marked them during the few short manipulations he had done while he had the cards. My lesson, don't trust anyone, don't believe what you see, and don't doubt what someone says they can do.
Don owned a number of houses and apartments around town. We rented one from him. I occasionally went with him to do maintenance on them and check things out. Don limped, had lost a leg in a car accident, he had done some work for the bank, and was driving back to Reno in a "repo" and had a wreck.
Don trained me, and helped me out, and eventually, I was given the opportunity to "sit box," next step up the ladder from a dealer, sit in the middle of the table, keep an eye on the customers, keep an eye on the dealers, hand out meal tickets, be nice to the customers, and try to look the part. I bought some Louie Roth suits, with cuffs on the sleeves, white on white monogrammed shirts, a Gensler Lee watch, with 33 diamonds on the face, alligator shoes, with tassels, tried really hard to look the part.
Don could leave the pit, sit at the bar, drinking water, check things out in the mirror on the back bar, and know everything that was going on in the pit.
One morning, there was an oriental playing 21, and Don was sitting at the bar watching him in the mirror. He was betting in a familiar pattern, like a "card marker" and I strolled over to Don to mention it to him. "I know, let him bet a few more hands." Then he casually strolled into the pit, got a few new decks out of the drawer, changed cards on one table, then casually changed them on the one where the oriental was playing. He said nothing, let him get another deck marked, Don changed them again. We took him for quite a bit of money before he caught on to what Don was doing.
Don was a "marker" and a "counter" and knew what to do when they sat down to play. That is how and why he so many properties around town. Don's problem, when gambling, he would get ahead, they would buy him drinks, then he would start losing, not all the time.
One evening, Don needed some extra money to make payments. Payed one of our security guards to follow him around, and when he got so much ahead, make him leave, and go home. They went to Harrah's Club, Don was "counting" .... a count system he had originated. He wanted to teach it to me, but I was afraid to learn, and, he was much smarter and had a much better mind than I did. His count system was simple, as cards were shown, he remembered three numbers, and those numbers let him know what his odds of winner were.
Don started winning, drinks started flowing his way, they all knew him, he got to his amount to leave, his guard came to the table, "Come on Don, time to leave." Don called security over, said the man was bothering him, them escorted him out, Don lost his money, and went home.
I could write a book about Don, and what he did, and what we did to him, pin wheel watches, a product that cleaned drains, having a picnic and eating chicken, in the median area, on South Virginia, cars whizzing by, the Cattysark and Milk Fund, Joe Conforte, Del Ray, the magician, so many stories.
I hope Don is still in Reno, and perhaps reads this. I think his two children still live there, not sure about Don. It would be nice to let him know what an important part he played in my life. If things had unfolded differently, who knows, I had some great people on my side.
Thanks, Don.
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