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Article: For card club regulars, it's both business and pleasure. (Los Angeles County, CA, gambling industry)
- Article from:
- Los Angeles Business Journal
- Article date:
- March 9, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 CBJ, L.P. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Pacing nervously outside the front doors of the Commerce Casino, Rick Martinez inhaled deeply on his Marlboro Light and pondered his luck. The day, he acknowledged, was not going well.
After seven hours at one of the card room's high-stakes poker tables, Martinez was down $700 - not a particularly daunting sum for a high roller out on the town, but Martinez is no such high roller. Unlike most card players, he doesn't gamble for kicks. He gambles for a living.
A 42-year-old former accountant, with a wispy brash of a moustache and dark, darting eyes, Martinez said he has been earning his keep at the Commerce Casino's card tables for the past four months.