Dealers fired in dispute at World Series of Poker

By Richard N. Velotta (contact)

Wednesday, May 22, 2002 | 11:02 a.m.

Twelve World Series of Poker dealers were fired Tuesday following a dispute with tournament managers over their pay.

The 33rd annual World Series is continuing at Binion's Horseshoe Club today. The 37-event tournament is a landmark event at the downtown Las Vegas casino.

Manny Fortez, one of the dismissed dealers, said 13 other dealers also walked off the job in support of the 12 who were fired prior to the continuation of play in the $10,000 buy-in, no-limit Texas hold'em tournament that began Monday with 631 players.

Because of the scope of the event, which includes players at dozens of tables competing to reach the finals, the Horseshoe Club hires extra temporary dealers.

Fortez, a temporary dealer, said he and three other dealers met with Binion's owner Becky Behnen and tournament director George Fisher Monday to request that they receive 1.5 percent of the buy-in. Fortez said the dealers had a handshake deal with Behnen and Fisher, but the next day, 12 dealers were escorted from the property before play began.

Horseshoe officials could not be reached for comment.

Another fired dealer, Pamela Shandel, said the dealers who were dismissed were more stunned than angry.

"You don't have a bunch of people walking around here hating the tournament," said Shandel, who said she would now return to her home in Paris. "These are people who love their jobs and love the world of poker."

Shandel said that during the normal course of a tournament, it's common that some dealers are let go because the field is reduced. But the dealers who were released Tuesday were "the creme de la creme of poker dealers," she said.

"The way it was done was very sad, very depressing," said Shandel, who has been dealing at the World Series for 10 years. "The people who were fired were barred from the event. Eight of them have dealt the final table, which is a great honor, and they average 10 years at this tournament. They're on the poker circuit and they look forward to coming to this tournament because of its significance."

She said Behnen and Fisher perceived the dealers' request for more money as "a shakedown," but she said the dealers were only making a request for help.

"I'm losing money by coming here and I'm sure that some of the others are too," she said. "These are the best dealers in the world and they should be reimbursed."

Fortez said he and other dealers plan to meet with the attorney representing dealers who filed suit earlier this year over allegations that last year's tip pool was used to pay bonuses to casino employees in violation of an agreement on the 2001 tournament.

Attorney Robert Kurth could not be reached for comment on the matter. In the earlier case, his clients said they would have received $190,000 of the $540,000 tip pool if it had been distributed as allegedly agreed, but the plaintiffs had been paid less than $40,000 after working more than 350 hours over a 30-day period without overtime.

Fortez said a World Series dealer normally takes home between $5,000 and $7,000 in tips for the four-week event. This year, the event was extended an extra week and Fortez said most dealers have gotten less than $3,000 going into the final week.