Poker Player Spits Food on Dealer at Los Angeles Casino

Live Poker Etiquette 101: This does not belong in a dealer’s face. (Photo: Poker Grump)

Is tableside food service at Los Angeles casinos a good thing? The answer you get probably depends on who you ask. Players are generally big fans of the option to have a meal without missing a hand, since they can play marathon sessions whenever there’s a juicy game. But if you ask the dealer who had the misfortune to be on duty at the Bicycle Casino yesterday dealing to Mesbah Khaffaji, he’d probably tell you that it’s not his favorite thing about pitching cards in Southern California.

Khaffaji, 52, apparently lost his cool in a no-limit hold’em cash game at the Bicycle on Sunday and decided the best place for his food would be in the dealer’s face – so he took a bite and then spat it at the dealer. The ill-considered move landed the poker player in the custody of casino security until they were able to hand him over to police. So what kind of trouble can you get in if you spit food in a dealer’s face in Los Angeles, anyway? Well, Khaffaji was charged with misdemeanor battery and released after posting bail of $20,000.

Luckily for the dealers at the Bicycle Casino (and the rest of Los Angeles), this isn’t a normal occurrence. Still, they would probably appreciate it if the management asked players at the upcoming Legends of Poker festival to refrain from repeating one particularly rude player’s behavior.