Jump and Run

By Frank Pribus

The life of Jono Horo will take you through many threatening adventures and follies. His trade is that of a topnotch casino dealer, in not so friendly environments from Israel and to the Americas. The stories are based upon true events, illustrated by an exceptional artist who truly captures these intense moments. Enjoy this journey while it takes you on a grand ride through the eyes of a very clever croupier.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Frank Pribus
• Release date: Mar 16, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370037469

Book preview

Jump and Run

Jono Horo

Copyright © 2017 Jono Horo

All rights reserved.

Distributed by Smashwords

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this ebook with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Written by Jono Horo (author)

Frank Pribus (co-author, editor)

Business contact: [e-mail]

Jozsef Varga (illustrator)

Ebook formatting by www.ebooklaunch.com

Table of Contents

Introduction

Part I - Israel

Eilat Unveiled

My First Raid

Eilat Reloaded

Hooker Raid

Some Costly Mistakes

Lockdown!

Part 2 - Israel Reloaded

To be Porky or Not to be Porky?

One Final Eilat Adventure

The Soncino Club

To Run, to Hide, to Escape!

Part 3 - The Americas

America Bound!

Life On The Big Red Boat

Bastard Cruise Line

The Miami Struggle

Part 4 - Israel, Just One More Time!

Soncino Reloaded

Scarface

Four Busts in Two Months

Final Farewell to Israel

Part 5 - Inner Journey & Paradise

A Different Adventure

Internal Reflection

Florida

Key West

Fort Lauderdale

Back to Key West

Hurricane Dennis

Epilog

Introduction

I would like to thank you for purchasing my first book. My friends and family have urged me to share my adventures with the world. These events took place in turbulent and restless atmospheres. I hope you will enjoy the stories as many are quite comical and others dramatic. They are based on real life experiences, and the character names have been changed to protect their identities. Intense situations have demanded last minute change of strategy, razor sharp surrounding analyst, as well as deep camaraderie among peers.

My croupier training began in Hungary, towards my last year at the Technical University of Budapest. Although I received a degree in Engineering, I did not end up working one single day in that field. Instead, I went with my passion and followed my instincts to pursue an adventure in the casino industry. This one change in direction set me on an unforgettable path.

Although I very much enjoyed working as a croupier in various Budapest casinos, the wages were quite low. After a couple years, a grand opportunity presented itself to me. My trusted colleague (Samu) shared his idea with me to join him on a trip to Israel. He was quite positive that this place would yield the big bucks. I felt a jolt of electricity emulating from my soul. This would be my very first voyage abroad. So off we went, to the promise land in, and boy was I in for a surprise.

The strict antigambling laws in Israel made it very difficult to maneuver throughout the country, from gig to gig. However at the same time, would prove to be incredibly lucrative. Upon my arrival at Tel Aviv international airport, the presence of police officers and soldiers with loaded machine guns was absolutely powerful.

Within these security checkpoints, you can feel a heavy authoritative vibe in the air. These security agents were very ruthless, and incredibly curious about my real purpose in Israel. My friend and I were prepared for such inquisitions and eventually made it through the gates. Finally, I was heading towards the VISA counter lines, and chose the one tended by a pretty and young female officer.

Shalom! I said cheerfully, and handed her my papers. She proceeded to ask me the same questions as the security agents.

What is your purpose here in Israel?

Do you know anyone living in this country?

What do you plan on doing here?

Have you ever been convicted of a crime in your native country?

I answered her in the same way as I did with the security guards, with an added serving of sympathy. This beautiful creature looked at me with huge green eyes and she stamped the maximum amount of time (three months) on my passport.

I immediately fell in love with this Israeli peach, dressed in commando apparel and beret.

A huge sigh of relief exited my anxious body, as I walked outside the airport to meet my friend Samu. He was in the bus line, and motioned to me to join him. We were on our way. My friend had some experience working at the Tel Aviv underground casinos, which were constantly being hit by police raids. In light of these dangers, we decided to head down to Southern Israel. Less risky? We shall see…

Part I - Israel

Eilat Unveiled

As we boarded the bus for Eilat, Samu enthusiastically said, There are several casino boats in the South of Israel, and it seems that the police leave them alone. Also, since our two colleagues (Tibor, Gordon) are already working there, I'm sure they can help us get employment. I agreed. What else could I do? I felt like a stowaway who was very happy just to get the final destination.

Eilat is a popular beach resort city with a dessert climate. Located on the Red Sea; Gulf of Aqaba, and at the corner of four Middle Eastern countries: Israel, Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. This made it an ideal location for Israelis who wanted to legally visit a casino. Once the casinos ships sailed into the Gulf of Eilat and into International waters, Israeli antigambling laws no longer applied.

After a five hour bus ride south from Tel Aviv, we finally arrived in the late evening. As we got off the air-conditioned bus, we immediately felt the intense heat, and our balls begin to boil. It was 45 degree Celsius, 115 degrees Fahrenheit, and this was early evening! How were we to protect ourselves from this intense heat? Well hydration! As we walked around for what seemed to be hours, we could not find a place to crash. It was midnight night now, so all we could do is kill time at the nearest pub.

We drank and relaxed throughout the night, and spent most of our money. So now it was imperative to get a job, or we may perish in this desert oasis! Morning rolled around, and it was about 30 degree Celsius. The temperature did not cool too much as it was still very hot. We lay our clothes on the beach, so that the sun could dry out the beer and sweat from our garments. In our underwear, we raced out to the Red Sea, feeling the rush of cool water on our backs created a simultaneously feeling of excitement and relaxation. The water was absolutely amazing, and we swam and played for a couple of hours.

When we finally left the water, our bodies had dried by the time we reached our clothes. We put together our last dollars, which was just enough to grab a taxi to the port. Immediately, we found our two Hungarian friends, Gordon and Tibor, and met the casino manager (Phillip) as well. Philip was a very pleasant guy, half Russian and half English, who happened to like Hungarians. This was a great stroke of luck, because, he hired us on the spot, despite our less than perfect hygiene!

The Montana, a 120 feet long, 800- ton boat would be my first place of employment in Israel. Mainly built for rivers, this cruiser had some difficulty in battling the three to four feet waves on the open sea. Her steering system was completely unpredictable at times, which led to some hair raising near misses. The casino floor held ten table games and a few slot machines. Israeli patrol authorities used high power telescopes to monitor the casinos while in domestic waters. Almost every day, I could see the coast guards peering at boats from great distances with high-powered binoculars and telescopes.

After my first two weeks working aboard the Montana, I earned over $1000. Back in Hungary, we had to work very hard for a mere $200 per month! The work aboard the Montana was overall great, however we had our challenges. None of the croupiers spoke a word of Hebrew, and the local players spoke English poorly.

One night, as I was tending the roulette wheel, a young and very pesky man was placing bets well after I had made my, No more bets, announcement. After each spin of the wheel, I continued to repeat myself directly to the lad, No more bets, while waving my hand over the wheel. However, the guy either ignored me or really did not understand the rules. He continued to place his bets very late. After awhile, I did not give him any more chips to play with. He did not understand the situation, so I called the armed security guard who spoke English and Hebrew perfectly. He explained the situation to the confused man. The man became very nervous and scooped the nicely lined stakes of chips from my area to the betting grid! This prevented us to continue the game for a while, as I needed to restack the chips.

Meanwhile, our security guard tried to pull away the player from the table. To my surprise, the player administered a judo type move, and threw the guard to the ground! The guard was unable to reach his pistol, which was latched within his belt. Thankfully, the player’s family pleaded with him to release the guard and eventually calmed him down.

At the end of our four-hour shift, completely exhausted, the croupiers and I sat on the blackjack chairs, while the guests enjoyed the evening breeze on the upper deck. Suddenly the