Sad news about one of our stars

[The Mayor]

One of our brightest young talents passed away yesterday. Ricky, otherwise as "El Burro" was found dead late last night sitting in his car parked in his garage. The cause of death was asphyxiation. An autopsy is being performed to determine more information.

This is very sad. He never really knew how much I liked and cared for him. I will miss him.

I met him once, in December of 2001. He was as intelligent and excited about the game as anyone I had ever met. His knowledge of advanced ways of beating the game was enormous, and his enthusiasm knew few equals. We spoke often on the phone during the early part of 2002, and he gradually became involved with the highest circle of advantage players in Las Vegas.

I became aware that Ricky had a substance problem in the middle of last year, and also heard of other hard times that started to befall him. I spoke to him once on the phone late last year, and pleaded with him to let me come to Las Vegas and take him to a treatment center. I told him I knew about his problem and that I was willing to do whatever I could for him. It was already too late.

His downward spiral landed him in prison, and finally these sad events.

I cannot understate how excellent an individual Ricky was, and how glad I was to know him for the brief period we communicated. I will always remember him as the bright young star I met that one cold Las Vegas evening.

--Mayor

 

[JLP]

Very sad

Very sad
My condolences to Ricky's family, to you Eliot, and to all others that knew Ricky

 

[Rob McGarvey]

Stars Have Fallen

RIP Ricky. Far too often this can happen to people with potential. We often don't see the contribution we can make, or how important we are in the eyes of others. I hope others can learn from his adversity, and realize that drugs can make you crazy, or help you stay that way.

 

[TG]

I doubt drugs is all to blame.

Mayor, sorry for posting. I know you dont care too much about the tactics I use and my opinions,but in the end we're all friends. I have a need to get(what I feel)is an inportant message to aspiring gamblers.

I've only met El Burro from internet postings and considered him to be one of the few friends I had in cyberspace who was a true cardcounter in action. It is my understanding he moved to Vegas several years ago at a young age with high hopes and dreams of becoming a professional gambler. I feel it is very important for newbies to understand becoming a pro gambler is very diffcult to achieve and is not as easy as "Read a book,learn to count,get bankroll,move to Vegas,get rich." The risk can be huge when someone takes on Vegas with very little experience under the belt,in some cases the risk of suicidal tendencies can occur, as in Burro's case.

At a young age I also moved out to Vegas as a newbie with intentions of becoming a pro gambler. Eventually I went broke due to misuse of money management and inexperience. I lost everything I had and began visiting pawn shops,to survive. It was a very depressing time in my life. I felt like a nobody,a bum. I had to leave Vegas quick before trying something crazy. It's best to set goals at a lower expectation and leave Vegas far before anyone gets in the miserable situation I was in. It was a costly lesson of emotions and money that I learned,experienced,and will never forget.

Anyway,enough rambling. My point is, it is very unlikely that only drugs are to blame for El burro's death. God bless him,he will be missed.

TG

 

[miss brown]

Re: I doubt drugs is all to blame.

." The risk can be huge when someone takes on Vegas with very little experience under the belt,in some cases the risk of suicidal tendencies can occur, as in Burro's case."

I believe the true cause has yet to be determined! RIP Burro.

miss brown

 

[wong out]

Re: I doubt drugs is all to blame.

I think that TG is probably a little right. The drugs were perhaps the sympton of other issues. In any event it is truly sad. I never met the Burro but did exchange a few emails with him and found him to be a bright young guy. He was really "high" about being a pro player and was throwing away his engineering degree/career (IMO - you need to use it or you definately lose it in the mind of many employers). At the time he was enjoying some good flux and didnt want to hear it; he jst focused on how much more he made (per hour) than his engineering buddies were.

The problem is adv play is about extracting a tiny amount back with huge variance and it is easy to forget how bad the bad can be while times are good. It never ceases to amaze me how "experienced pro's" will excitedly talk about big wins (or big win rates) for a short time (hundreds of hours is a short time in 21). I cringe because I am always afraid that they are headed for the big fall and are not prepared emotionally for the downdrafts of the game. IMO guys that make it over the long haul are not enthusiastic and aggressive but realistic and conservative. I think that El Burro's problems were partially attributed to drugs but may have also been affected by some short term problems in the negative flux area as well. Just guessing...

In any event it is very sad and I feel bad for those that knew him well.

 

[LVHC_Hitman]

Re: I doubt drugs is all to blame.

To suggest that El Burro was an unsuccessful gambler and this is what drove him to death is erroneous. El Burro was bright, skilled and was a hard worker. At one point in time, he was a colleague and a friend of mine. But the sad truth is that El Burro had a drug problem and I strongly believe that, had El Burro never taken that first hit of methamphetamines, his life, and the lives of those who knew him, would have been much different. Things would not have gone the way they did. I think he had the potential for greatness, be it in the gambling world or elsewhere, but drugs sent him into a downward spiral which ended in a very sad death. Some of us saw what was happening and even tried to help him, but our words were powerless in the face of the euphoria and solace he found in crystal meth and, sadly, self-destruction was an inevitability. Drugs turned him into a different person and, whether directly or indirectly, it is because of substance abuse that he is no longer with us today.

I am not an anti-drug crusader, I've certainly done my fair share, but El Burro's demise is a lesson to us all. No matter how bright, talented or driven you are, if you go up against something like crystal meth, you will lose. It will ruin you and, starting with your first hit, everything good in your life will begin to dimish and everything bad will escalate. I have seen it happen to other people and, over the year and a half or so that I knew him, I saw it happen to El Burro.

As miss brown has suggested, perhaps the truth and all the facts will come out someday. Or perhaps they won't. But, whatever the case, RIP, El Burro.

 

[Rob McGarvey]

Nice To See Your Take on This LVHC

I think that gamblers, including, and possibly more so advantage playing gamblers, have a propensity for addictive behaviors. There are certain stimuli created in the brain when you win, or lose, that will send off euphoric signals that often keep the player coming back for more. I have watched my Father battle many of these demons since my first trip to Woodbine Raceway when I was around 7. Horses, sex, drinking, pornography, lottery, collecting star trek tapes, computer, and recently hold'em poker are things that often blinded him to the fact that he was missing the rest of his life. The hold'em started when he saw how well I was doing with my blackjack, almost like he wanted to compete with me rather than tell me how good it was to see me succeed at the things he wanted to succeed in. I didn't want to follow in his footsteps and get into horses, and years later when I asked him about explaining his method in further detail, he kind of shrugged me off, which leads me to believe he knows I will find a hole in it somewhere.

I think we should all be aware of the possibility that we can become, or possibly already are showing signs of addiction. I joke around and tell people that I am addicted to winning. The fact of the matter is I am telling the truth. It would be rather easy for me to quit if I wasn't winning. I experimented with drugs when I was young and foolish and I quit when I didn't like the feeling any more. Maybe if I was taking some of these new drugs I would not have been able to call it off so easily. I have my Grand Fathers will power, which seemed to skip a generation and I find it easy to control everything in my life when I chose to do so.

I agree, we can learn from those who have fallen along the way, and those who have risen to new and higher levels of achievement. The choice? Is yours....

 

[marvin]

I met El Burro a few times, about 8 months into his learning card counting. He was so smart. I was surprised how fast he picked up blackjack knowledge and winning playing skills.

I believe he could have succeeded in any endeavor he chose, because of his dedication and ambition. His parents seemed to be so proud and loving towards him. That's the Ricky know. I hope others will heed the warnings of drugs. Drugs and gambling can be a deadly mix.

Rest in peace Ricky.