In February 2001, Shirley and I were still playing hot and heavy at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas --- to the tune of about $10 million of coin-in per month. As explained in my autobiography, Million Dollar Video Poker, the vice-president of the slot-marketing department of that casino at that time was arithmetically challenged: She just didn’t understand how many promotions the players could profitably piggy-back.
We knew it was too lucrative to last, but slowing down to make it last longer wasn’t really a smart option at this point. We were ahead some $600,000 in the preceding four months, so even stopping altogether wouldn’t have extended the time we were allowed to play. We were already in the casino's bull's eye and knew it was only a matter of time before they pulled the plug on either the promotions or, more probably, our welcome at the property. (Turned out, they did both.)
Part of the non-financial benefit of our play was essentially unlimited comps to the best events in the MGM Grand Events Center. Different events interest different people, but one of the ones that struck my eye was the ESPY Awards. For those unfamiliar, the ESPYs are sort of the Academy Awards of the sporting world, hosted by ESPN and I seem to recall we got eight second-row seats -- along with a few in the nosebleed section. We invited, among others, Ernie Moody (the inventor of Triple Play and owner of what was then called Action Gaming, now called videopoker.com) and his girlfriend, along with Anthony Curtis (you’ve probably heard of him) and whomever he chose to bring. We didn’t sell the comps, but we regularly invited friends and business associates to excellent seats at premium events. (Ernie and Anthony qualified as both.)
Anthony brought Jessica with him. This was the first time I’d ever seen or heard of her. She was new at Huntington Press at the time and had some experience in producing videos, so I definitely wanted to get to know her better for business reasons. I noticed that Jessica was lovely, with a charming British accent, but that was sort of pleasantly incidental. Being faithful is a significant part of the success of Shirley’s and my marriage.
After the ESPY Awards, we invited our guests to a tour of the Mansion, where we were staying. The Mansion consists of 29 villas and was by far the nicest place to stay at the MGM. Ernie and his date took us up on the offer. Anthony, Jessica, and the others declined.
After the tour, Ernie wanted to see us play for high stakes. He had never seen anybody play for $500 a hand. So I played a $25 machine (for $125 a hand) and supervised Shirley playing a $100 machine (for $500 a hand).
As it turned out, this was that magical night when I hit a $100,000 royal and a half- hour later Shirley connected on one for $400,000. But the magic wasn't just about the money: These amounts were life-changing from a professional point of view. Although I wasn’t a better player immediately after we hit those royals than I was immediately before, just the fact that we hit them provided me with more credibility in the eyes of others, which in turn opens doors.
So, it was the most exciting night of my life. And it was also the night I met Jessica Roe. And as Jessica would so quaintly phrase it, the exciting part had bugger-all to do with her!
