# ESPN: Former casino dealer tells Allen Iverson horror story



## thaKEAF

> I thought I got my reprieve when my reputation earned me a special[..]ignment from Richard, my pit boss. I was to deal Three Card Poker to Allen Iverson and his family.
> 
> Boy was I ever wrong.
> 
> The first thing you notice about Allen Iverson in person is his impressive size. On the basketball court, he appears so small, but that is an illusion. Iverson is listed as being an even six feet tall, and perhaps that's generous. But if you took the press guide at its word, this still made him the shortest member of the Philadelphia 76ers by a good four inches. Considering that there were many NBA players at the time who were seven feet or taller, Iverson was frequently dwarfed on the basketball court by men over a foot taller than he.
> 
> Sitting at the Three Card Poker table, however, he was a sight to behold. His hair was pulled back in his trademark cornrows, with a sideways baseball cap atop his head. Even wearing baggy sweats, you could see how chiseled his physique was. Make no mistake, this was a professional athlete. And after a brief chat with the casino host, who was there to cater to his every whim, he was ready to gamble. Before too long he was doing so with such gusto that I feared for my safety.
> 
> "Gimme my [expletive] money!"
> 
> His fist pounded down on the table with such force that I recoiled as though I myself had been struck by the blow. He rose from his chair, and his voice grew louder still, the alcohol on his breath just as capable of choking me to [rip] even if his hands remained at his sides, which of course they did not.
> 
> "That's right! Gimme my [expletive] money!"
> 
> Again he pounded the table. An evil, self-satisfied chuckle sprung from his lips as I very carefully placed the $600 in question in front of him.
> 
> "Deal the cards, [expletive]! Let's go. Don't stop now. I'm on a roll!"
> 
> I finished collecting the cards from the table and placed them in the Shuffle Master automatic shuffling machine, then proceeded to dole out the cards for the next round of play. Allen Iverson rubbed his hands together in gleeful anticipation.
> 
> "Here we go!"
> 
> As the day wore on, I watched as AI imbibed a nonstop succession of Heineken and Hennessey, one following right after the other. He never once tipped any of the waitresses, and not a single one of them would return to serve him for a second time, due to the abusive language hurled in their direction by the table. And mind you, the other players at the table were members of Iverson's family! From right to left, there was his uncle George, a nameless pair of cousins, and then Iverson's mother herself seated next to him the whole time (but her baby could do no wrong in her eyes). She just sat there, massaging both the shoulder and knee that had been causing Iverson so much pain that he was unable to join the 76ers on their current road trip to the West Coast, which was why he was able to be at an Atlantic City casino in the midst of the NBA regular season.
> 
> As Iverson got noticeably drunker and drunker, he started to slur his speech. He also seemed to regress more and more into a childlike state. It was all I could do to keep from vomiting a little in my mouth as I listened to the following exchange between mother and son.
> 
> "Mama?"
> 
> "Yes, baby?"
> 
> "How on earth did you get so lucky to have given birth to a man such as me?"
> 
> "I am blessed."
> 
> "You are blessed."
> 
> Now certainly, after several hours of playing, news that a celebrity of Allen Iverson's stature was playing at this particular table had spread throughout the casino. It was bound to have happened. Iverson certainly had come prepared, as he had three guys standing behind the table, making sure that nobody dared approach him for an autograph. And if somebody simply wanted to be a spectator to a few hands, and stood for just a little too long, they, shall we say, "politely requested" that they move it along.
> 
> Of course, I say three guys because the same three guys were standing there for around five hours. As it turns out, guy number 3 wasn't part of the entourage. And for whatever reason, despite his having stood there watching pretty much since Iverson sat down at the table, and having not once opened his mouth to utter a single sound, his presence suddenly infuriated Iverson.
> 
> "What you looking at? What the [expletive] you looking at, [expletive]?"
> 
> Suddenly, Iverson rose to his feet and approached guy number 3 and got as close to him as humanly possible without actually making contact. A staredown ensued, and you just knew the slightest spark would send this powder keg sky high.
> 
> .......to be fair to Allen Iverson, less than a year after my encounter with him in Atlantic City, he was honored by the NBA with their Community[..]ist Award for his work with Boys & Girls Clubs, as well as the Make-a-Wish Foundation, and several other charities that he supports year-round. If that was the only experience I had with Iverson, perhaps the glasses through which I view him as a person would be far more rose colored, but my evaluation of him for fantasy purposes would not change a bit.


http://beat-box.com/?url=http://esp...937/how-fantasy-sports-explains-world-excerpt


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## RollWithEm

If that guy has that much money and cares that much about $600 swings at the table, that's a guy I want on my basketball team.


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## MemphisX

This does not even sound realistic.


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## BlakeJesus

It sounds like this dude is writing this from the perspective of a female rape victim. Everything he says is so exaggerated, quit being such a sensationalist ****.


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## Marcus13

The article reads like it was written by a little bitch.

He was scared for his safety because AI tol him to give him his ****in money...probably in an excited mood


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## Diable

They say the exact same thing in every casino that Iverson has ever been in. I have read numerous stories about him being banned from casinos for abusive behavior towards the employees. I do not think this story is particularly well written or that it is all that shocking, but it is completely consistent with what we already know. Iverson is evidently a very mean drunk and a compulsive gambler as well.


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## jet510

LMAO iverson must be hilarious to watch at a casino...let alone drunk


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## Pay Ton

Diable said:


> They say the exact same thing in every casino that Iverson has ever been in. I have read numerous stories about him being banned from casinos for abusive behavior towards the employees. I do not think this story is particularly well written or that it is all that shocking, but it is completely consistent with what we already know. Iverson is evidently a *very mean drunk *and a compulsive gambler as well.


Oh noes.

Dear me.


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## Bogg

Come on, it's Allen Iverson. It's not like he beat anybody up or got physical with the waitresses, he's just an arrogant, rowdy drunk. The dealer should have expected that going in.


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## Jamel Irief

This is what qualifies as news in the summer?


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## futuristxen

It sounds like someone took the story we all know about Iverson's drinking and gambling problems, and then wrote a whiny ****ty article about them.

It also seemed kind of racist to be honest. The way he described Iverson had that weird tinge of condescension and fear. And the tone and the things the writer was focused on make it sound like they were kind of obsessed with Iverson's body. 

So I'd say it's either a gay racist or a female racist who wrote the article.

That's the best I could do in drumming up a response.


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## CosaNostra

Iverson is not allowed in most Atlantic City casinos anymore so I don't doubt it. He never seemed like the most mature person to me. Hell of a basketball talent though.


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## thaKEAF

Jamel Irief said:


> This is what qualifies as news in the summer?


is it not a lockout :sigh:


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## Dre

It's plausible. He and his crew have been acting like heathens for years


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## futuristxen

Dre said:


> It's plausible. He and his crew have been acting like heathens for years


To be fair, if you can't act like a heathen while gambling absurd levels of money in the safety of a casino while pounding back drink after drink...then when can you?


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## R-Star

futuristxen said:


> To be fair, if you can't act like a heathen while gambling absurd levels of money in the safety of a casino while pounding back drink after drink...then when can you?


Coming from someone whos obviously never been in a casino.

Newsflash sister, a casino isn't like a scene out of Mad Max. You go in there with money and gamble. They'll feed you as many drinks as you want so that you make stupid mistakes with your money, but the minute you start getting rowdy you're getting tossed out.


And $600 isn't absurd levels of money. For a guy like AI it would be like me saying "Damnit bitch, give R-Star his $20! Yea ****ers, $20 ****ing bucks. Big dick swingin R-Star is throwing $20 down on one bet!"

Guy does tell the story like a bitch though. "Then he hit the table with his fist and it shook, and I got scared. His body was intimidating, yet it made me feel weird inside at the same time."


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## Jamel Irief

futuristxen said:


> It sounds like someone took the story we all know about Iverson's drinking and gambling problems, and then wrote a whiny ****ty article about them.
> 
> It also seemed kind of racist to be honest. The way he described Iverson had that weird tinge of condescension and fear. And the tone and the things the writer was focused on make it sound like they were kind of obsessed with Iverson's body.
> 
> So I'd say it's either a gay racist or a female racist who wrote the article.
> 
> That's the best I could do in drumming up a response.


Leave it to you to overly sensationalize an overly sensational article. Drama queen!


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## futuristxen

R-Star said:


> Coming from someone whos obviously never been in a casino.


Well duh. I'm poor as ****! I don't have cash to splash on a gambling habit.


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## Tragedy

R-Star said:


> Coming from someone whos obviously never been in a casino.
> 
> Newsflash sister, a casino isn't like a scene out of Mad Max. You go in there with money and gamble. They'll feed you as many drinks as you want so that you make stupid mistakes with your money, but the minute you start getting rowdy you're getting tossed out.
> 
> 
> And $600 isn't absurd levels of money. For a guy like AI it would be like me saying "Damnit bitch, give R-Star his $20! Yea ****ers, $20 ****ing bucks. Big dick swingin R-Star is throwing $20 down on one bet!"
> 
> Guy does tell the story like a bitch though. "Then he hit the table with his fist and it shook, and I got scared. His body was intimidating, yet it made me feel weird inside at the same time."


lol. on point.


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## garnett

> "Mama?"
> 
> "Yes, baby?"
> 
> "How on earth did you get so lucky to have given birth to a man such as me?"
> 
> "I am blessed."
> 
> "You are blessed."


Surely that's made up. Surely.


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## AirKobe

Dude had his own set of problems, I don't see why the writer felt the need to release this story after so much time though. Its the same ol' same ol' we're used to hearing about AI. It's nothing special.


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## Chan Ho Nam

i use to troll at the casino

i play the anchor on a full BJ table, when ppl bet big that's when i make my move

good trash talking nights

i'd have enough money to keep playing of course so they lose and leave or switch tables

i'm going to hell


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