Torrey, it would have been nice if I could have afforded to keep any of the Paris French Roulette $1,000 jetons. The night I had 4 of them wasn't the first time I had any of them, but it was the most that I ever colored up to after a good playing session. I bought in for $500, and after a few hours of playing, I lost three spins in a row. That's when I decided it was time to cash out. I colored up for $4,850, $150 short of getting a $5,000 plaque. I tip generously when I'm winning at the tables - probably tipped the croupiers $500 during that session - so a $5,000 plaque would have been mine if I had been a little tighter on tips.

I was flying to Las Vegas once a month while that table was on the floor at the Paris. The croupiers and the French Roulette table dedicated pit bosses (it was a "high roller" table that had its own pit boss) knew me by name, and after a few visits, the croupiers remembered the numbers and combos that I bet when playing roulette. They could place my bets for me without asking what I wanted when I first sat down, and they'd usually get it right on the first spin. The croupiers placed bets for all players at that table, but most players had to inform them of the bets they wanted. One of my favorite stories about playing at that table...$5 straight up on zero was ALWAYS one of the bets I made in my regular betting pattern. On one spin, the ball landed on zero. The croupier hadn't placed one of my $5 jetons on the zero for that spin. I saw that, and told the croupier that I always bet on zero. He knew me and my betting pattern, and he said I was right - there should have been one of my $5 jetons on zero for that spin. He told the pit boss that I always bet on zero and they forgot to place that bet for me on that spin. The pit boss looked at me (he knew me too), looked at the table layout, then he told the croupier to place one of my $5 jetons on the zero and pay me for the winning bet! That table and the people who ran it were very good to me!