WASHINGTON - Last night I watched the movie Casino, the Martin Scorsese epic with Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci and, of course, Mr. Warmth himself, Don Rickles. Actually, the movie was on while I was doing a bunch of other things like reading, editing, you know, that kind of stuff.
It was Wednesday night and there was no baseball happening here in D.C. so I was kind of on my own. What? Was I going to watch hockey?
Not unless Keith Jones is playing.
Anyway, Casino was on providing perfect background noise until that scene where Pesci, "half in the bag," as Rickles described him, showed up at the Tangiers looking for $50,000 marker at the Blackjack table. Things got ugly not when Pesci asked for the cash, but when the dealers kept turning over picture cards one after the other when all that did was leave him busted.
As most folks remember, Pesci kept picking up the kings, queens and jacks off the felt and threw them back at the dealer with the message that the poor schlub working at the table could take it and do something that would be illegal in most Midwestern states.
Actually, what Pesci was doing probably was just enough to get a guy banned from the Greektown casinos in Detroit. At least that's the way it seems based on the latest incident involving Allen Iverson in his soon-to-be ex-hometown. Apparently Iverson hasn't had much luck at the tables and has been taking it out on the poor schlubs working the tables.
According to reports, Iverson has been banned from two Detroit casinos for "boorish behavior." Counter reports indicate that no such ban has occurred, though this winning quote from the Detroit News.
"He is a bad loser, and he loses a lot, often throwing his chips or cards at dealers," Pistons beat writer Chris McCosky reported on his blog. "He is often loud and disruptive, according to witnesses, rude to dealers, other players and the wait staff."
It was also reported that police had to be called when Iverson's bodyguard got into a fight at a casino and that NBA security was investigating incidents at other casinos.
Oh, but there is more...
According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, Iverson caused a disturbance at a casino outside Minneapolis earlier this season and had a long history in Atlantic City while he was with the 76ers.
For instance, in December 2005, Iverson got into an argument with a dealer at the Trump Taj Mahal casino after the dealer overpaid him $10,000 initially refused to give the chips back.
Then, in February 2004, the paper says Iverson urinated into a trashcan at Bally's on the casino floor.
Yeah...
And we're talking about practice?
So when they say life imitates art (or vice versa), apparently that really is the case. Besides, it's a good thing he's not throwing the dice, because we'd hate to hear what happens if Iverson takes a beating trying to hit the hard eight.
As it turned out, Pesci didn't fare too well at the end of the movie... maybe the same kind of ending is coming for Iverson's basketball career.