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Whatever Happened to Benny the Bite ?
Back in the days when most of you were just a twinkle in your daddy’s eye … I was living and working in Las Vegas.When I began my career in Las Vegas in the early 70s I broke in at Del Webbs Mint in downtown Las Vegas as a Crap Dealer. In those days they had 25 cent crap tables. The table were always full and because of the action all new dealers were expected to learn on those tables.
Benny drove a Taxi Cab and would always park his cab at the front door of the Mint and always left his motor running while he came in and played the quarter tables. He was a short guy … Maybe 5’5″ mid 50s with a big barrel chest … slicked back hair … Italiano.
I didn’t know who he was at first but I would hear the dealers … Oh God … “Here comes Benny” and just like clockwork you would see him swing out of his cab, come inside, throw down a 20 dollar bill and play 25 cent craps.
Not once did I ever see him go the cashiers cage and cash winners. He lost every time he played.
He had been banned from nearly every casino downtown because of his temper. He went beyond a fair amount of cursing. He was extreme but he had some juice with someone in the Mint so they would tolerate him.
It didn’t matter if he was standing next to an 80 year old Grandmom. When the dice 7’d out and he lost his money he would go completely nuts. You God Damn Mother F_______ you didn’t even try you Son of a Bitch …. he would scream at the shooter. Always at the shooter …. You F______ing Ass H_____ he would yell. You pathetic piece of S______. God Damn you to hell he would scream.
It got real quiet. There was a hush from the other players on the table and the cursing would echo across the casino floor. He would just come totally unhinged when he lost. And he lost all the time.
After about 2 minutes of rage he would burst out the front door, jump in his cab and he was gone (until the next day).
There are still people who remember Benny …. what a wildman. Benny is probably in heaven now (or at least I hope so). No, Benny was alright he just didn’t know when to quit.
He got his nickname “the Bite” because one day he bit a player standing next to him.
The story goes he caught a good hand and for the first time was winning big and kept pressing his bets putting all his winnings back in action just like he always did. An elderly lady standing next to him at the table was betting 25 cents in the field. The dice were in the air and the woman reached her hand in to pick up a winning bet … the dice hit her hand … and 7’d out.
Benny lost it all … all his money and what little temper he had.
He screams, you God Damn Rotten F_____ ing whore … he then grabs her hand, bites down and would not turn loose. A security guard had to be called in to extract her hand from his mouth.
I didn’t see that one but I did get to see him drop to his knees one day and bite the corner of the crap table. It’s a memory that will live with me forever. What a crazy demented character Benny was.
So why am I telling you this story ? Just like on Wall Street, on a Crap Table you can be a bull and win. You can also be a bear and bet the Don’t Pass and win. But if you’re a pig you’ll only get slaughtered. When you get big winners on a Crap Table you have to cash and there’s another moral to this story.
Keep your God Damn hands out of the way when the dice are in the air … Benny might be standing next to you.
