[sternroolz]

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I'm really surprised to hear that folks think the number is low -- I had always assumed that all of the Persians/Middle Easterners were, along with a good chunk of the Asian business community.

I know I really shouldn't think too much about this sort of thing, but it just boggles my mind that (as stinkypete pointed out) people can lose hundreds or thousands every day without going broke. But hey, bless 'em -- if it weren't for them, I'd probably have to go back to work.

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Well the part about business is key. A TON of the players own their business or work in some other job where they have access to lots of cash. Some are truly wealthy. These are the ones you see losing year after year after year. Others are "temporary" millionaires....They make or have access to thousands at a time and will be Commerce regulars for a year or two.

Through playing the low level tournaments years ago, I ran into a number of people like these temporary millionaires. One guy owned about 18 or so burrito stands and played up to $300-600. Of course he lost it all with his wife getting like the last three stands at divorce. Another guy owned a auto shop. He played as high as $30-60 and was degenerate as heck. He also lost it all(and is now essentially homeless).

But lots of these guys are very successful and will always play. There is one guys who plays horrible, admits he plays horrible. He knows it. But he has more than enough money to fade 30-40K a year in losses. Another I knew about was a female dealer. Her husband was loaded. She loved to play $20-40 at Commerce. But she was horrible at poker. So her husband cut her off from gambling and she returned to dealing to fund her poker playing.