Christmas in a casino
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Got my first Christmas card of the season.
It came from the sweetest dealer in Las Vegas, Monica from Vietnam. She is the epitome of fresh and sweet and innocent. Though she's tasted the sadness of widowhood in her 20s she is a spring of goodness and cheer, perfect for Christmas.
Monica
She brought tears to my eyes when I read her note to me on the card. She really isn't big into Christmas, coming from the Far East, but she is big into giving in her frank, refreshing manner. This is what she said:
It's been my pleasure to work with you. You are a very warmhearted person, always willing to help people. Hope all your dreams come true (I know one of them: become the best dealer in Vegas....)
She has this distinctive little girl voice to accompany her innocent nature. She says that she will be so embarassed if she turns 40 and still has a child's voice. I tease her a lot. I tell her to say in a deep voice, "Don't mess with me, sucka!" And she blushes and smiles and even does it on occasion.
One of her favorites is, "I'll drink all ya bitches unda the table!" Irony is not lost on her.
When she was an infant for several months her grandmother would wrap her all up in a box and take her to the hospital where she worked. Monica was her baby in a box!
She and Mike and I were the only dealers to get together for a cheap casino Thanksgiving dinner at Ellis Island, since my casino family always celebrates it early and they didn't have anyone here to share it with. We plan on seeing a Christmas day movie together.
This is a juice town where folks look out for one another when they have established ties. We are establishing such ties. I would be glad to help them get a better job in the future if the opportunity arises and I'm sure they would do so themselves.
On a side note, I see my role in the sometimes surly casino world as one of building ties, of earning other's favor and building circles of friends who will help each other over the decades just as Milo helped us all through my childhood.
Anyhow, Monica just earned the Sweetest Dealer in Vegas Award. Congrats, Le!
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