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 An interesting New Years casino story has been spreading around lately about a poker player whose poker face got him more than just a stack of chips. A booze loving poker player used his "poker face" to fool Star City Casino staff into serving him a staggering 42 drinks over a 17-hour period on New Year's Day back in 2008. Three waiters seemed more than happy to provide the cashed-up player with five beers every two hours as he requested and they failed to keep track of the seriously high level of alcohol he was ingesting. It wasn't until the card tables closed at 7 am that Star City staff realized that the man was wildly intoxicated and by that time it was far too late. The casino faced a $10,000 fine for breaching liquor laws, which ban casino operators from allowing an intoxicated person to gamble, and many of the staff were let go as a result of the incident
"He didn't appear to be steady on his feet. He was dozing off at the table and the manager had to help him collect his chips so he could cash them in," said former bar waiter Helen Mikhael-Ghanime, who was sacked for her role in serving the man 15 beers in seven hours.
When the Casino Liquor and Gaming Control Authority demanded that Star City explain why casino staff could not tell the gambler was drunk, they said it was because of his poker face.
"The nature of poker is that players tend to be ... very controlled in their facial expressions and body movements," Star City's leaked letter to the authority states.
"This level of control means that many of the visible signs that a person ... is affected by alcohol may be minimized."
The three wait staff who served the man 31 of his 42 drinks - from 2.29pm on December 31, 2008 until 7.26am on January 1, 2009 - have been sacked or demoted. Internal investigations however blame the incident on the lack of communication between bar staff, managers, and security.
The $10,000 fine has since been reduced due to the casino's spotless record. Over the past few years, the casino has managed to reduce that fine with stricter protection measures. No similar incidents have been reported since that time.
As always, stay tuned to Casinofan for more news and updates
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