Hangin' with the President...

It was an odd experience ... I was starving and had long (40 minutes dealing plus the drive into work from North Rancho Drive through to Sahara West) planned to hit the EDR (employee dining room), which is separate and afar (in yards & food) from the dealer's break room, which is just off the gaming floor after a few descending steps. Suddenly, 2 minutes from my first break (I took pole on CR 404 @ 1pm at our crew's start), at 1:58 pm my friend (Manchester borne, 56 year old husband to a Russian mail order bride & father to a 3 year old Russo/Anglo beautiful girl, Jim) comes screaming into the Caesar's Palace dice pit exclaiming, "where's Ryan, Ryan where are you." To which I turned just off my right shoulder, having glanced past the gaudy carpet and incompetent floor man to say, "I'm right here." Having reveled in and indulging my good hearted friend in past discussions concerning conspiracy's involving the Brandenburg Hotel & the elite of the world, I knew that he troubled his voice on my behalf for no small matter. "Bill Clinton will be in Cleo's Cafe (our EDR) in a few minutes." I thanked my friend with a healthy "get the hell out of here" and proceeded to clear my hands and go meet our former Commander In Chief along with some eggs over easy (remember I was hungry).

I peered around the corner as I ordered my eggs & placed the 3 1$ bills atop the metal counter. "Is he here yet?", I asked the cook and undoubtedly a Culinary Worker's Union Member. Now I must pause for a moment to explain why his union association and Bill's appearance are not unrelated. Lawyer's representing the Nevada Teacher's Union, and associated with Nevada Democrat politicians endorsing Hillary, filed a law suit declaring the "at large precincts" (that I spoke of in a prior post) which allow casino strip workers to vote based on where they work (rather then where they live) "unfair" to the teachers in NV who can not caucus at their workplace (as if schools are open on Saturday, the Caucus day). And they did so within 48 hours of Obama receiving the Culinary Union endorsement (by far the most lucrative in dollars and foot soldiers Nevada has to offer - 60,000 members in state alone). And that suit lost only hours, in the Las Vegas a.m. that very day, after former President Bill Clinton had already went on early local Las Vegas air to excoriate the 9 precincts named in the law suit. Well .... this was a "mending fences" tour" as all 9 locations he visited this afternoon were those named in the suit. As you may gather, it doesn't take Monica Lewinsky to see the balls on this guy.

At any rate, I was about to leave, due back on the game at 20 after, because this "s.o.b", as I put it, "is running late", as he is infamous for. I wait an extra 5 minutes knowing the guy out next would let me make it up to him, but nada, no show. I go back, promise to make it up to Freddy, he says no sweat, and then 30 minutes later the place is buzzing because he's actually here. So, I tell the floor I have to use the restroom (my end was dead). This may seem unusual to Titus & Jambo, where we're from you go to the bathroom on your break, however, the day shift dice pit is 90% over 55 years old, and probably half over 60 so lighting up a reserve sign & closing a dead end or grabbing a dice dealing mucker to take your spot for an urgent bathroom break is a regular phenomena at Caesar's, and in all pits truth be told. So, I use the ten minutes I know I have to go down there. He was exiting with Magic Johnson (talk about two guys who represent a parable on the dangers of infidelity), and was working the lined up bunch in typical politico fashion - hand shakes & how do ya do's. He came to me, looked me right in the eye and said "hi Ryan" (he read my name tag) as he shook my hand. I replied, "Nice to meet you sir." Then, and you can't make this up, I noticed there were a gaggle (half dozen or so) young, giddy girls behind me with their cells phones out & held up as if to take a picture. So, they start handing them to me one at a time a s I snap a shot of them & slick Willy. Nothing is so surreal as telling the former leader of the free world to "skootch over just a bit, alright, smile." But I did 5 or six times, he thanked me and he moved on down the line as I scurried back to my game .... where the shift boss was waiting for me, the cunt that she is. Now she knows my penchant for politics (of which she is a screaming lib) and knows full well that I left for the restroom under false pretenses. She can't get me for that, she's not going to back up cameras for 10 different hallways and angles, so she slaps a half point on me for being late from break the time before! Now, the dice pit is never touched in this area, they handle their own (late, no shows, etc) as part of tradition given their seniority. Not in this instance. And it occurs to me - the irony in my getting a half point from trying to meet a guy I have venomously attacked for most of my adult life is nearly Shakespearean.

I have gotten a range of text messages from my various family members (GOP to a hundredth percentile - and of the "Christian Right" no less) calling me traitor, saying what the hell, asking why all I said was nice to meet you, and I even got the ominous "heathen" from Titus. To which all I can say is this: I called him exactly what Newt Gingrich did every time he walked into the Oval Office - "sir." I would have loved to give a dissertation on how he sold us out to China, how his personal behavior and lawlessness disgraced a great office and then hit him with the best of my Clinton jokes (that's verbally hit, I don't want to be added to any watch list for any relevant agency reading this). However, in the 5 seconds of greeting and subsequent 1 minute of picture taking I don't think I had the time. Not to mention, I can get fired for being rude to Joe blackjack, I think excoriating a former president at work may have had a bad financial outcome for me.

I know, I know, it sounds like I'm gushing but I'm not. It was just a neat experience. I still wouldn't vote for the guy if you had a gun to my head - Bush 41 or Dole would have been preferable (and obviously more honorable) in my mind, but as I said, I couldn't pass up the chance to meet a former president, no matter how much I dislike him (Carter as an exception of course - I wouldn't walk ten feet to meet that guy).

Well, our caucus was this morning - get a load this: having defined the difference of the two in the past here, I still had no first hand experience with caucusing itself. So, I found my designated location, googled directions and got the start time 3 days ago (it started at 9am). And today at 11:30 I headed over to the High School where it was being held. Too late - caucus ended at 10:15 a.m. "What!?" I exclaimed. It failed to occur to me that in a straw poll - where you literally stand in one area of a room designated for your nominee while they get a head count- that people would not be required to stand there from 9am to 5pm like typical voting. The local precinct organizer is allowed to "call" the vote when he or she thinks they've hit maximum capacity for that room, and apparently that was 10:15. No matter, Romney won that local precinct and is crushing the competition in the state over all as I write.

On that topic it occurred to me - the GOP caucus was at 9a.m. on a Saturday in Las Vegas (the Dems started at 11am all over town - slackers). Now, which one group of voters do you think is the most likely to go to bed sober and early in Vegas on Friday night, and get up early and not hung over on Saturday morning? How about the non drinking, non smoking, non partying past 9pm MORMONS! If I were a Romney strategist I'd request voting be done at 7a.m. in every precinct in every state! And low and behold, he's winning ....

Later ....