Starting sometime in 2010, I decided that I wanted to host a radio program dealing with gambling. I have a large amount of gambling knowledge and I’ve become something of a celebrity while doing it. I checked out various avenues. Talked to various people. And nothing happened with my idea.
Early in 2011, however, Frank Kneeland approached me to do a radio show. He wanted to title it: Las Vegas: The Good; the Bad; the Surgically Enhanced. I told him that I was interested in the idea of a radio show, but it had to be about gambling or he’d need another co-host. We agreed on my title, Gambling with an Edge, and we set out with a six-month commitment to each other. At the end of the six months, i.e. July 31, 2011, we could both agree to go forward, or either one of us could bail out if the show wasn’t working. Some of you have caught the show live on KLAV 1230AM in Las Vegas on Thursdays from 7-8 p.m., and others of you have downloaded the archived version from either Frank’s website or mine.
At the end of six months, I’m bailing — sort of.
I love doing the show. I will continue doing it. But I’ve decided I need a different co-host. The biggest “problem” with Frank is that his specialty, video poker, is the same as mine. He knows nothing about blackjack, backgammon, sports betting, casino tournaments, or any other way to make money at gambling other than video poker. Frank knows more about progressive video poker than I will ever know, but if there are any questions on the show about video poker, including progressives, I am competent to answer those questions.
The relationships Frank has built gambling-wise are with guys who play video poker. If it’s decided to have some of these players on the show, I already know how to get in touch with them. Over and over again, Frank has wanted to invite non-gambling people on the show — often with a proclivity toward surgically enhanced women. My response has been, “Frank, find another co-host and do the radio show you really want to do. You and I are not nearly on the same page on this one.”
My new co-host, beginning in August, will be Richard W. Munchkin. Munchkin is in the Blackjack Hall of Fame. Munchkin supported himself through college by gambling at backgammon and poker. He and I met back in the 70s playing backgammon and he beat me, damn it! He plays poker and other table games. His book, Gambling Wizards: Conversations with the World’s Greatest Gamblers, looks at eight highly successful gamblers. Of those eight, Tommy Hyland has already been on our show. I’d like to have the some of the others from those eight on the show eventually (not all are still alive). Munchkin knows them all personally. Munch is currently writing a book called Blackjack Wizards. For regular listeners of the show, Munchkin was our guest on the June 30 show. If you listen to the archive of that show on www.bobdancer.com you’ll see he has a great radio voice and is a really interesting guy.
Most, definitely not all, of the gambling guests on the radio show so far have been selected by me — and I have a list of another 15 people to bring on eventually. Munchkin brings a contact list of dozens more — so we can expand the show into different gambling, and perhaps other, directions.
Richard W. Munchkin has spent time as a blackjack dealer and pit critter here in Las Vegas. This gives him a better perspective of “both sides of the table” than most people have. He has also directed a number of movies. While he hasn’t achieved great success in this area, he has a number of Hollywood contacts — some of whom have gambling connections.
When I broke the news to Frank that I was replacing him he took it well. He was actually relieved. He had only planned to do the show for a year or so anyway and he was concerned that if he left a little later it would leave me in the lurch and he knew I was enjoying doing the show. He is proudest of the show closings — an entertaining and eclectic mèlange from a diseased mind — and wants to use them as a resume of sorts to get a job as a comedy writer. I think he’d be good at that. He doesn’t see being pushed out after six months instead of a year changes his overall strategy — it merely moves things up a bit. And if he decides that some more show closings are important for his resume, Munch and I will be happy to tack them on to the end of upcoming shows.
Frank helped designed the M’s progressives — and the M pays a monthly sponsorship fee to the radio show as compensation. Frank will continue to receive a full share of that compensation for as long as the M is a sponsor — even though he will no longer be co-hosting the show.
The last show Frank and I did together was last Thursday, July 21. (I have another engagement on Thursday, July 28 that night that can’t be altered.) For those who are keeping score, you’ll note that Frank is actively cooperating with the transition to the new host and not acting in the least bit jilted.
Whenever a change is made, some people will be upset. I expect no different this time. If you wish to write me a nasty email about kicking Frank out, my address is [email protected]. My motives were to make a better show for my audience and me, and to encourage Frank to develop a different show or career where he will be happier. Before you condemn me too badly, however, you might want to note that Frank himself is okay with this. Also, you might want to check out how the show goes with Munch and me. I think you’ll enjoy it.
I’m grateful to Frank for opening the door to me to hosting a radio show. I wasn’t able to manage that for myself without his help. I will miss him as a co-host. Every person I know is unique, and Frank is more unique than most! I expect our personal friendship to survive this. It’s possible that he’ll be a guest on the show. We haven’t spoken a lot about his book: The Secret World of Progressive Video Poker, and that book is unique in the gambling literature and is worth talking about.