So we lose money to inferior human beings.” He and his friend used to joke about the Commerce denizens being “worse than us at everything except poker. Norm quickly moved from stud to hold’em, but he was not yet good enough to win. However, there’s a critical difference between famously brainy Jesus and Norm: Norm did it quicker. It’s precisely the stunt that Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, a legendary figure in that era’s poker boom, performed on ESPN.

Around the time of our weekend together in 2006, he had perfected an impressive memory trick: Remove any card from a deck and Norm could quickly sort through the 51 remaining cards to tell you which one you selected. Before he’d finished high school, he had developed into such a strong backgammon player that he was competitive on the tournament circuit. Growing up on a farm in rural Canada, he passed time by dealing himself endless hands of bridge and whist. Norm Macdonald read Beat the Dealer at age eight and learned to count cards. Cool Norm, who was betting against them, via the Don't, smiled ever so slightly while the croupier paid him off. A collective groan rose from the other players. It would mean that they had a read on me.”Īn old dude, wearing sunglasses and dispassionately betting thousands, threw a seven on his fifth roll. He pursed his lips and replied, “That would be the ultimate insult – especially if they paid me extra. The plan this time was different: He would do his standup act in Vegas and then try to double his payment by gambling at the tables, with me riding shotgun.īefore we got started, I suggested to Norm that it might be expedient if he got paid in chips. I had already done a piece for which I played in his home poker game. Beyond the work, though, the comedian’s penchant for gambling was pretty well-known. He had been juggling a lot in the decade after his memorable five-year run on Saturday Night Live had made him famous-movies, roasts, television, a recently-released sketch comedy album. At the time, of course, Norm was regarded as one of the most talented comedians in showbiz. It was 2006, and I’d been commissioned by Playboy to do a story on Macdonald-a story that, owing to vagaries of magazine decision-making not made clear to me, never saw the light of day. “If I’m in a casino,” Norm explained to me, “I’m gonna gamble.”

As far as cushy gigs go, this one was sweet for Norm Macdonald: Fly from Los Angeles to Las Vegas on a Saturday morning, do stand-up comedy that night, collect $40,000 in cash. But there was a potential catch when it came to playing Vegas.

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