Without the rings, that is.
From the Associated Press :
– Alex Rodriguez was cautioned by the New York Yankees that playing poker in illegal clubs could be dangerous and harmful to his image, according to a newspaper report.
Early last month, the Daily News reported the star slugger had attended games at an underground club with professional card player Phil Hellmuth.
Scott Boras, the third baseman’s agent, denied that the Yankees had warned his client.
“The Yankees have never addressed or spoken with me in regard to any off-field activities regarding Alex Rodriguez. And the Yankees have never spoken to Alex regarding any of his off-field activities,” Boras was quoted as saying in a story published Wednesday.
Art Schlichter, Pete Rose and Gabe Kaplan were unavailable for comment. Or perhaps no one called them.
The club he attended, the Broadway, was recently raided. The Broadway was the only poker room I visited on my recent trip to NY, and I have to say I was unimpressed by the caliber of the dealers. If they’re going to charge me a fin every 30 minutes for my seat, and rake the pot five percent, and I’m expected to tip the dealers, then the dealers shouldn’t be acting like Tom Cruise in Cocktail, and they should be able to reliably count numbers smaller than 100. Maybe shit like that (and the possibility of losing every cent on the table if the place gets raided) doesn’t matter to America’s Favorite Third Baseman.
I saw no sports celebrities there, though there was a Kennan Gudjonsson and a Jodi Shapiro sighting. I left up $188, so there’s that. And I met Gilbert Gottfried, Doyle Brunson and the RZA in the same evening. So there’s that too.