Give me some Mo"

Club Regent Poker Room will be losing their Poker Manager in about 36 hours.  It is not only a loss for people who find themselves on the felts, but it really is a loss for Manitoba.  The man was truly an asset for our province.  What did he do for people?  Simply put, he empowered us.  Look at me, I am standing triumphantly in front of Caesar's Palace ready to seize my moment.  I don't remember if I won or lost at that particular session, but, I do remember playing at the same table with a very pregnant Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler.  They were in town promoting a movie and they took a break to play some cards.  I wouldn't have had that memory if he hadn't been for Mo.  He made me feel like I could play at Caesar's and any other room in the world.  

To tell you how empowered he made people feel, when I first heard the news that he was leaving, I thought it was because I complained so much to him.  I am sure my constructive feedback didn't affect him.  But, that is how he made us feel, like we mattered.  In a world of arrogance, that is rare.  

He has done so much to grow the game and I know he had more ideas.  He was a visionary and had a strong strategic plan.  A maturity that you don't see in a man of his age.  I had a secret plan for him.  I was going to recruit him to run for political office and I was going to be his campaign manager.  He is calm, collected, good in crisis, analytical, intelligent, and with a great sense of humour.  It wasn't those qualities why I wanted him to seek public office; it was because I wanted him to have a less stressful job.  

He not only empowered me, but he empowered everyone.  If you have ever been in the poker room, you probably have an earworm in your head, "Mo, Mo, Mo, Mo".  Everyone wanted to talk to him and he talked to everyone.  He tried to do the impossible, to make poker players happy.  

He wasn't perfect.  One of the people that he empowered was my partner.  He empowered him to enter the poker world, which had been my exclusive domain.  I may not be able to forgive Mo for that one.  

Also, he tried to have rational conversations with people who were either irrational or behaving irrational.  Many times, I saw him give too much time to someone who was never going to concede.  I akin it to having a conversation with a person living with dementia.  If they believe that it is Tuesday, you will never be able to convince them that it is Thursday.  In fact, showing them evidence that it is indeed Thursday is likely going to entrench their position and make them more determined and feel threatened.  It is just easier to move on.  

He established a code of conduct but did not go far enough in specifics and did not speak to consequences.  I think that speaks to his own high moral character.  He just expects that this will be shared.  Unfortunately, casino patrons have a higher degree of addiction and emotional regulation issues than you see in other settings.  Add substances to that mix and it is surprising that there are not more issues.  He may have issued more warnings to people than he should have rather than taking action earlier.  That speaks to his character as well.  He believes in people.  

He always reminded me of a NHL referee in game 7 of the final series of the Stanley Cup.  The refs tend to want the players to just play it out and perhaps ignore some minor penalties. He loves the game of poker and just wanted people to play poker and the game to grow.  

He is leaving for a new opportunity.  I do not think people will fully realize how good he was until he is gone.  People are already speculating what the future holds for the felts in Manitoba.  Tons of rumours and I am trying to start some of them.  When a bizarre rumour is floated, some players will say, "oh, well, they can't do that."  Actually, they can do whatever they want.  As I have been reminding people, playing poker is not a fundamental right protected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.  Our government run casinos are in the business of providing maximum revenue to help our province operate.  If they don't feel that poker contributes to that, they can shut it down.  

Regardless, I have some thoughts on how to get ahead of that one, but this is really to celebrate Mo and wish him all the success that he deserves.  Nice guys should finish first.  One thing that I have always found is that he leaves bread crumbs behind when he forges a new path.  When there were two poker rooms and speculation about which casino was going to get the room when it was going to be reduced to one, I knew it was going to be Regent.  The bread crumbs were that Regent dealers got new comfortable polo shirts and McPhillips dealers did not.  

So, Mo, please continue to leave some breadcrumbs so we can find you.  Best wishes and thank you for your lasting impression on the felts of Manitoba.