A Character Study: The Goodfella

And Why He’s Potentially Your Best Friend in the Joint

You’ve seen the movie. You may even remember the line.

“He’s in the joint twenty-four hours a day. Another f---in’ few minutes he could be a stool, that’s how often he’s in here.”

Yes, he could be at every turn, around every bend, at any given moment.

Each dealer, waitress, and pit boss knows him by name.

After all, he’s a good fella.

Some folks refer to them as “casino rats,” the seemingly unemployed, unattached, and unhoused. They’re a permanent fixture upon the backdrop of flipping cards and clicking chips, serving little purpose other than to ingest the surrounding madness.

Every gaming venue has one.

Sometimes, the Goodfella will even participate in the action, dropping an occasional quarter on the pass line or a banana on the blackjack square. Other times, he’s hovering over your neck like a vulture, like impending danger.

Only the “Eye in the Sky” has observed more of the in-house shenanigans than the Goodfella. And in that way, befriending him may actually come with its host of benefits.

He is a trusted source of unlimited intel. He can tell you about the week’s grandest scores – and the epic flops. He’ll give you the skinny on the hot slots, and decipher the adept rollers from the tragic ones. He’ll tell you which dealers are wise guys, and which are the ultimate ball breakers. He’s savvy to the truth behind those mysterious bubble machines, astute on the house’s daily protocol and dealer rotations.

Logging countless hours, he’s developed a wisdom and intuition second to none, not to mention a flair for seeing the unforeseeable.  

No, he’s not there to amuse you, but this clown can undoubtedly help you pull down numbers of Lufthansa-like proportions, give or take a mink coat or two.