Got an email over the weekend, he wanted to know if I had heard the term "crossroaders."
YES, a term we used to use in Nevada, not sure if it is still in use.
It referred to those who devoted all their time and energy to "stealing" from a casino. Some of the cleverest and most intelligent people I have ever met and known, were crossroaders.
The term originated in the old days, when the towns in Nevada were small, an "arrangement" of some kind was made to take money from a casino, and after the "hit" they would meet out of town, at the "crossroads." Thus the term.
Casinos have money, money for the taking, and if you develop a move or a system, or whatever, and can take the money without getting caught, it is there for the taking.
I knew people in Nevada who devoted hours a day to practicing some move, "mucking" cards, short stacking, adding to a stack, a shot on a craptable, marking cards, daubing .... and I mean days and weeks of practicing till their move was perfected.
I was promoted to a "boxman" on a craptable, and was offered an opportunity to "travel the road" a bit, in order to learn how to protect my table.
So, I got to know a lot of them, got to know a few rather well, they were a rare and interesting breed.
I learned early on, when dealing a game, never be overheard saying, "Oh, I love that suit."
In a short while, a person, a hanger, and that or a similar suit would appear, at a greatly reduced price. I know, I built up my wardrobe that way. Even got two pair of alligator shoes that way. Shirts and underwear you had to purchase.
I have watched old Wesley West, carry a book of matches, concealed in his hand, have one laying on the bed or a table, pick it up, and drop the concealed book in exactly the same spot, completely undetected.
There was not the surveillance in those days there is today.
I knew some brothers, from San Jose, California, had their own airplane. They would get something lined up, fly in to Vegas, extract their money, score, or whatever term you like, and they fly back to California. They lived well, nice homes, and basically that was all they did.
One of the old timers, and the first one to "take advantage" of me when I was a "dealer trainee," lived in Reno, by the golf course, rented house, leased car, nothing in his name, and was an expert at whatever he did. He had been a crossroader all his life.
They used to have weekend golf tournaments in Reno, he never won on the weekend. But a few of the money players would stay over a day or two, get a little "action," and they his game improved. He was a great golfer, but no one knew that, except those he beat.
I went with him one time to pick up a new golf cart, his old one had worn out. We spent an hour beating it up to look like his old one.
He drove an older car, kinda beat up, but it had new "everything" on and in it. He never looked like he had any money. Even wore bib overalls at times. No pretense.
He was good. Took me a long time to learn not to "flip for coffee" with him. He would let me call it, I never won.
He finally told me how he did it. When he flipped the silver dollar, it was always the same number of revolutions, if he caught it here, it was tails, up here, heads.
Pool, he was an expert, he could not even hold a cue right, until the money was right.
We went bowling one night, he limped out of his house, limped in to the bowling alley, in practice he was awful, I had a real pigeon here.
Until money entered the scene. Then it all came back to him. He never kept or knew his average, same in golf, no handicap, he just could bring it on, when the money was on the line, and he didn't want anyone to see how good he was, till it was too late.
They had a pro golf tournament one weekend in Reno, years ago, mostly West coast pros and club pros. Quite a few of them stayed over a day or two, as they often did. Got some heavy betting going on. He won more, on monday, than the tournament winner got on Sunday.
