[Rick Nebiolo]

About fifteen years ago I was playing mid-limit holdem in a Gardena club and just outside the top section (which was surrounded by a short wall) a guy has a serious heart attack while playing one of the smaller games.

The club staff lays out the poor guy on the floor about eight feet from the table and within a minute the paramedics are there right away doing all the things they do well. Meanwhile the game continues on like nothing happened. After about five minutes the guy is carried out on a stretcher. Now one of the players is upset that the floor is taking so long to pick up the players chips - he actually said: "bring us a live one" although my understanding is that this sort of thing has been said before so he wasn't being original.

Later I heard the guy died. This is the life I chose and I was sick about it for the first time.

~ Rick