A Fine Casino Brawl
So, I was involved in another day of exhaustive research for material that goes into the preparation of this column when I came upon an item of particular interest.
At 4 a.m., my research staff, which includes myself and a neighborhood fox we call “Lucky,” was pouring through the headlines for topics of interest to the global casino entertainment industry. After rejecting boring topics like prediction markets, blockchain payments and bonus display technology, my staff homed in on an item headlined, “Wild casino brawl sees gamblers grapple with woman in leopard print, crushing her in dogpile.”
It was a New York Post story, which explains the trendy lowercase headline. Notwithstanding that, as anyone who knows me will confirm, I never pass up a story with “wild casino brawl” in the headline, not to mention references to women in leopard print clothing at the bottom of a dogpile.
From what I gather, it is still a mystery what caused the casino floor at Hard Rock Casino in Bakersfield, California to suddenly turn into a WWE wrestling exhibition. But shortly after 1:30 a.m. on a Sunday, a scene broke out that had gamblers reaching for their cellphone cameras. It was a melee, with men, women, security guards, dogs and horses flailing fists at each other, gaming chips flying, and people dressed in laid-back Saturday night casino-wear piling on like a prison riot.
(OK, there were no dogs or horses.)
The Post, God bless them, obtained cellphone video of the fracas. On the surface, it’s hilarious. It’s like an Old West movie saloon fight after someone’s accused of cheating and all the cowboys jump into a brawl that wrecks the barroom, except everyone’s wearing sneakers, chinos and knit shirts.
Kudos to the Post staff for posting the video on their website complete with audio. The one cameraman, as he points his cellphone, says, “Hey, I lost my money, but this is worth all my money right here!” They were snickering and chuckling through the whole video.
The Post seemed to pay much attention to a woman in a leopard-spot pantsuit, “seen slapping at a man and eventually grappling on the casino floor.”
Reviewing the video, the lady looked like Catwoman, with a close-fitting leopard-spot superhero uniform. It was Leopard Woman. She’s seen grappling with employees, grabbing people, smacking a guy, falling to the ground at the bottom of a pile of combatants, wrestling her way out, and jumping back into the fray again.
Leopard Woman. She’s always on the job.
When they finally unpeeled the pile, police found that one woman had been stabbed, but her injuries were not life-threatening and she was treated at a local hospital. Police tracked down and arrested the alleged knife-wielders.
Thank goodness that was the only injury. Police say people kept leaping into the dogpile as they pulled others off. It was like the brawl Errol Flynn has in Dodge City. Still, what no one has figured out yet is how it started. Every account begins when the fight started, so hopefully, someone will reveal how a lazy casino scene at 1:30 in the morning ends up as Dodge City.
Did someone try to save a slot machine? Were players hogging several slot machines at once? Did someone hit a hand in blackjack that ruined the result for the rest of the table? Did a stickman try to put someone’s eye out? Did a drunken player spill wine on someone’s chinos?
It’s a mystery, but the next time I’m playing craps at 1:30 in the morning, I’m keeping my eye on the stickman.
Moving on, Netflix has confirmed production of its new Korean series The Dealer, a crime drama that, according to Netflix, “follows Geonhwa, a brilliant casino dealer whose wedding plans suddenly fall apart, forcing her to unleash her long-hidden powers and plunge into the dangerous world of gambling, in order to successfully make it down the aisle…
“An exceptionally adept and seasoned dealer who has lived a life far removed from the vices of the casino floor, Geonhwa finds her life upended when a housing scam derails her newlywed plans. Forced into the underworld she’s avoided, she unleashes the full extent of her powers to the test.”
Wow. It’s hard to imagine such intrigue juxtaposed to the casinos I frequent. “Geonhwa’s plans fall into peril, forcing her to return to working the salad bar at the Palms.”
Oh, well. If Geonhwa ever stumbles into the Hard Rock, she’ll have to deal with Leopard Woman.
Cellphones at the ready!
