Hollywood Park Casino Incident

[Rick Nebiolo]

A few days ago my friend is playing mid limit holdem at Hollywood Park. He’s a semi-regular short to medium length session player. While he’s at any cardroom he almost never misses a blind, but once in a while might miss a hand or at most two to take a quick bathroom break.

During the one hand he misses that session a regular cracks the jackpot of $20,000. His share was $10,000 and the table share for the remaining dealt in players was about $870 each (the player with the winning hand gets $5000). My friend realizes his being away had nothing to do with the jackpot being hit, but inside was a little bit disappointed given in all these years he’s never hit one or even gotten a table share. But he kept quite about it.

After the jackpot was verified but before the money was delivered the regular who won the $10,000 just takes $300 in chips and hands it to my friend no questions asked. He said he wanted to share his luck and always appreciated playing with my friend (a tough player but a good poker citizen at the table).

Hollywood Park takes a lot of flack on this forum but I’d like you guys to realize there are a lot of good people who play and work there.

~ Rick

PS There was one detail I left out; I’ll probably email my friend Andy Fox and ask his advice as to whether or not I should have included it (despite our political disagreements, I would 100% trust Andy’s judgment on this one).

[LasVegasMichael]

Wow. That sucks that he missed the hand, but nice that the winner did that.

So, he missed a blind? In most casinos in Vegas I believe, you still qualify for the table share of the jackpot (in the casinos that have them) so long as you don't miss a blind (i.e. stepping away when not in a blind is fine).

[DeuceKicker]

Always nice to hear a story like this.

Being Hollywood Park, am I correct in assuming the missing detail is how your friend got jacked on the way to his car? (Sorry, couldn't resist)

[Georgia Avenue]

The detail was that this was AF?

I always said that being a nice guy was +EV...this story proves it.

[jfk]

I play with a guy who had the same scenario happen to him. He stepped away from the table to take a call from his son. While he was away the bad beat jackpot was hit. 50K goes to the cracked hand, 25K to the winning hand and the table share is 25K divided by anyone dealt into the hand.

The player who won the 50K gave this guy 1K for missing the hand, reasoning that had he been dealt into the hand the distribution of cards would've been different and the bad beat bonus wouldn't have been hit.

Overall a very decent thing to do.

[Rottersod]

That was a decent thing for the guy to do.

[fishyak]

OMG! A good news story about one mensch at HOLLYWOOD PARK! This must be what they call in TV serials the "dream sequence." Honestly, it is a breath of fresh air that: 1) this site can use, 2) Hollywood Park can use, and 3) I can use (at home, feeling like krap - bad head kold!). So let's hear it for more balanced reporting of good news as well as evil deeds.

[ptmusic]

A fine story, but Hollywood Park still sucks. Everytime I play there I feel like I'm gambling with crack addicts.

[Mauricio Wilson]

As a HP regular, I feel I must add my 2 cents. I've been involved in 5 bad beat jackpots at HP and on 2 occasions, someone got up to go to the bathroom and missed the hand.

On the first occasion, the guy spent an hour arguing that he was in the hand and he had 8-3 offsuit or something but the floor said the video clearly showed he wasnt dealt in.

On the second occasion the guy started commenting how everyone should chip in to give him a table share since they wouldnt have hit if he hadnt gone to the bathroom.

It's good to see there are a few good people, the guy who won the jackpot and your friend who didnt make a big deal about it, mixed in the mostly crappy crowd at HP.

[PokerSlut]

Similar thing happened to another regular I know at Hustler last week. He steps away from the table to go to the bathroom and they hit the jackpot...a pretty big one. Everyone at the table gave him a couple hundred each.