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Bob Dancer writes a video poker column for beginners to experts. He also writes a column with Jeffrey Compton, "Player's Edge", featuring information on promotions at various Las Vegas casinos. Player's Edge is published each Friday in the Neon section of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Click here to send Bob Dancer an e-mail.

For a 3,000-word preview of Bob's juicy new novel, "Sex, Lies, and Video Poker", visit www.bobdancer.com.

For more details and a schedule of Bob's free classes, visit www.bobdancer.com.

Dec 05, 2006

See You Later, Craig

Craig H. Neilsen died a few weeks ago. He was a major force in American gaming, even though many of you have never heard of him.

Craig was the founder and CEO of Ameristar --- a casino entity with properties in Jackpot, Nevada (a town built just over the state line so the people of Twin Falls, ID would have a place to gamble), Black Hawk, CO (a mining ghost town 30 miles west of Denver), Council Bluffs, IA (just over the river from Omaha), Kansas City, MO; St. Charles, MO (in greater St. Louis), and Vicksburg, MS. Ameristar was recently in the bidding for the Tropicana in Las Vegas, but they dropped out when the price got too steep --- a move widely praised as being prudent.

Craig built all of this from his bed and custom-built wheelchair, where his head was permanently tilted toward the left. He became a quadriplegic following a 1985 automobile accident. He was always an inspiration to me, as he made his biggest accomplishments after life dealt him a hand that would have completely incapacitated most others.

I met Craig in 1998. I was teaching video poker classes at the Reserve Casino, which was owned by Ameristar at the time. (Later the Reserve and some cash were swapped with Station Casinos for two very large casinos in Missouri. The Reserve is now known as Fiesta Henderson.) I was asked to travel to other Ameristar properties and offer suggestions on improving their video poker, but before I could do that, I had to meet the boss.

Craig didn't generally keep normal business hours. A 10:00 p.m. or 3:00 a.m. meeting was not unusual. He'd be propped up in his bed, quite alert in mind if not in body, while folks who kept normal hours struggled to function sharply. I always felt that my preference for playing during graveyard hours gave me an extra kinship with Craig. I performed various assignments for Ameristar over the years, and sometimes would get follow-up questions about my reports via 4:00 a.m. phone calls from Craig.

A few years after I first met Craig, Green Valley Ranch opened up. As a member of the press, I was given an invitation to attend the grand opening. The day before, however, by back decided that I was an old man. It does this every few years, and it takes a few days to get back to normal. On that day, however, I couldn't even walk without severely hobbling, so I decided to skip the grand opening. Craig was there, however, and asked my business partner, Jeffrey Compton, where I was. Jeffrey explained that my back hurt.

"A sore back kept him home? Hmm," Craig drawled. Everyone around laughed heartily. Craig's unstated point was that his condition was much more severe than a mere "sore back," and he didn't let that stop him. I was embarrassed when this story was passed along to me by Jeffrey and others who were there. I would have laughed, but that hurt my back even more!

Craig's Ameristar properties have won numerous awards, as has he. In 2002 he was honored as "Best Performing CEO" by the American Gaming Association, and in 2005 was inducted into the "Hall of Fame" by the same group. But as much as he was a successful gaming entrepreneur, he was a philanthropist. His Craig H. Neilsen Foundation has contributed millions of dollars toward spinal cord injury research and rehabilitation programs.

At last weeks Memorial Celebration for Craig's life, one of the speakers indicated Craig's philosophy was like that of the architect who said, "A building is started, but never completed." Craig was constantly prompting improvements in each of the projects he was involved with.

And just as buildings are never completed, neither are relationships. In the office it wasn't, "Good bye, Craig," it was "See you, later." And that's the way I feel today.

See you later, Craig.