When Police Play Poker, Nobody Gets a Ticket For Speed

I pay great credit to the brave men and women police and fire fighters across our nation for making our everyday lives a lot easier and a whole lot safer...

...By putting their lives on the line every day to protect us and keep us safe in the face of potential disaster, they keep us out of harm's way. Each summer they travel from across the United States to participate in the three poker tournaments that are among the many competitions of the annual Nevada Police & Fire Games.

A few years ago during the Games, Don Vines (see my blog from May) put the strong arm on me to mingle with a few hundred cops and firemen at Binion's poker room downtown Las Vegas. Actually I felt honored to talk poker and shake hands with these brave men and women. Don was a helluva poker player who had a nice working relationship with the police and firemen of Las Vegas. For more than a decade he gave something back to his community by playing the role of "resident tournament authority," advising Detective Jim Mitchell, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, on how to set up the tournament structure and the payout schedule, acting as a floor man till the wee hours of the morning, and using his M.B.A. to do their accounting.

He also solicited freebies from poker venues (merchandise from PokerStars.net through Tom McEvoy,1983 World Champion of Poker; poker books from Cardoza Publishing, which published Don and Tom's book, "How to Win No-Limit Hold'em Tournaments); plus caps, jackets and shirts from Las Vegas poker rooms. These prizes further rewarded our guardians of the peace and safety for their service. Tom, Don's wife Dana Smith (PokerSchoolOnline team member), and I all tried to give Don a hand when we could. Phil Hellmuth even made an appearance at the Games a few years ago wearing his Oakeys and answering questions from the podium.

I'm sorry that I had to miss being there this year (the 31st) because it was special. According to Tom and Dana, no holds were barred as 144 of Nevada's finest raced through the blinds in a high-speed chase across the potholes and detours of no-limit hold'em. Their ultimate goal was winning the championship in the newly-named "Don Vines Memorial Nevada Police Athletic Federation Poker Tournaments." Largely due to the efforts of Detective Mitchell and his wife Regina (retired Las Vegas Highway Patrol), the tournament was dedicated to the memory of the man who had devoted his time and expertise over the past decade to the event.

Detective Mitchell and Regina co-directed the three tournaments in the series with Dan Camillo, retired FBI. Mark McDaniel, Downey Police Department, won $9,029 and the championship trophy after stealing blinds and robbing pots (you know the drill!) from start to finish. Christopher Hons of the United States Border Patrol captured second place for $5,198; and Kathy Stahl with the Mt View Police Department grabbed third place and $3,010.

In the preliminary Half Stud/Half Hold'em tag team event, Phil Roland of the LVMPD and Tom Seelig, San Bernardino District Attorney's office, outmaneuvered 36 other teams to haul in the trophy and $2,072 swag. The Limit Hold'em event commenced with 107 players and by the end of the evening, David Reed, retired Chief of Police, Bell (California) Police Department, had handcuffed his 106 competitors to the rail, taking down the $6,747 first prize. Some of the other events in this year's competitions included baseball, basketball, bass fishing, bowling, cycling, golf, pistol, semi auto combat, revolver, powerlift & bench press, rifle, racquetball, sports submission wrestling, and track and field.

In the elaborate magazine the Games put out each year with names of the defending champions, Vines' photo and dedication appeared in the poker section. "Don was a poker coordinator for many years ... and he helped make our tournament the success it is today," it read. "Rest in peace, Don. You will be missed by all." At the championship tournament on August 18, Dana Smith received a commemorative plaque and a standing ovation from the poker players who respected and appreciated her late husband's contributions to the Police & Fire Games.

TJ Cloutier

News Added: 23 August, 2007

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