The Legend of the White Whale

During my softball career, I had the fortune to meet some real…characters. One of the most unforgettable was a reserve 1st base – right fielder we called the White Whale. About five-eleven and around 220, he was not fat by any means, but was stocky and very, very …white.
Redish-brown hair and skin that turned bright red as we played softball tourneys in the hot Saturday sun. He had his jersey off in between games showing a bright red face and arms with a white trunk and someone stuck the nickname on him.

The White Whale was an average ball player, a practical joker and one of the funniest comedians I ever met! What a quick wit, sharp tongue and a riot to be around. He was also a gambler. He liked to bet sports and did so. But successfully?…not so much. He once owed me over $10,000…on $50 and $100 football bets!

Of course he couldn’t pay (he never did or could – which is why he could only bet with me), but I kept taking his action. Why? Simple. I simply took his bets and if I liked the same team, I didn’t bet it and if I liked the other side, I bet it extra heavy. I made a fortune! At the end of the football season, I let him bet what he owed …and no more – until he won and we could be square when softball season started.

Actually, on week 14 (that was all there was then), I miscalculated and when the day was over, he had gone from $9900 in the hole to $20 up! This of course meant that I had one of my worst days ever! The games were not over 10 minutes and my phone rings and it is The Whale - wanting to know where we could meet so he could collect!

Anyway, we were in Las Vegas for a softball tournament and of course we were in the casino at night. We all had to play eight hours of blackjack or craps ($5 minimum bet) to get our rooms comped. So our team is scattered around the tables trying to grind out the time.

Someone asks the Whale why he is not playing and he pulls out his bankroll...of $2. Now that we all know why he is not playing, he feels he can hit us all up for loans. We all say ‘nothing doing’ as the only thing he is worse at than paying off bet losses…is paying loans back.

Finally ‘Big Bill’ gives him $100 to shut him up and the Whale sits down at our blackjack table.

His first bet is for $50. Before Bill can stop it the dealer deals. Twenty-one for The Whale. The Whale lets it ride on the next hand. Big Bill is beside himself and says, “If you are going to throw my money away on one hand, I want it back!” The Whale says it’s my money now and an argument ensues.

Meanwhile, the Whale’s 19 holds up …for his third win in a row and he now has close to $400. He continues to bet either $50 or $100 a couple more times with Bill going ballistic every time The Whale bets. The rest of us are all $5 or $10, and trying to survive. This size bet is killing Bill for some reason and he is demanding his money back. After a few plays, The Whale has $500 and finally gives Bill his $100 back... to shut Bill up.

The dealer tells The Whale he can’t give chips to a player at the same table he is playing at (remember he came to Vegas with only $2 for four days), so the Whale moves across the casino and out of sight. First, there is some name calling with a teammate and man who was not only was just nice enough to loan him $100 – but could crush the Whale like a grape.

As I said, The Whale could come up with the barbs that would make the victim mad and everyone else laughing so hard they can't stand up. It was just hard to punch the guy out under those conditions - which is how The Whale made it to the age he did. I'm serious, Don Rickles was an amateur compared to The Whale.

We all play like four hours – so we are half way to our comp. As we are heading to our rooms (we did have softball to play tomorrow) I pass by The Whale’s table and he has over $4000 in front of him! He is playing three hands at $100 to $300 a hand! Because of his rate of play The Whale tells me he is already comped!

We come down for breakfast and The Whale is still at the same table with close to $12,000 in front of him! I tell him he has to eat and we got a game and he reluctantly cashes out with a marker from the pit boss. He still only has his $2 in cash and charges his breakfast to our coaches room.

The next night, The Whale comes down from a nap after dinner at around 2 am. We are out of the tourney and most of us are still working on our comp. He joins us at the craps table and immediately asks the pit boss for his entire $12000 bankroll.

You guessed it. In a little less than 15 minutes, the casino has it all and The Whale is again asking for a loan. The smile never left his face and he continued to make fun of the way the rest of us were betting and playing. – Nik Faldo