The Palms had 2 million reasons for banning UFC president Dana White
We already knew UFC president Dana White was no longer allowed to gamble at the Palms. Now we know how much money he took from the Las Vegas casino.
White confirmed with the Las Vegas Review-Journal over the weekend that he won $2 million during a three-month hot streak at the Palms and was subsequently told he could not come back to play. Initially, his limit was reduced from a maximum of $25,000 per hand to $5,000; then he was just outright given the boot.
White said on UFC Embedded two weeks ago that he would no longer be able to play at the Palms.
“A lot of people are going to think I’m a card counter after that Ben Affleck thing at the Hard Rock," White told the Review-Journal. "I’m the farthest thing from card counter.”
There were hard feelings two years ago when the Palms cut White's credit line and White promised not to bring UFC events back there. The icy relationship was thawed in March, the Review-Journal reported, when Palms chief executive Dan Lee, who recently departed, sent White a bottle of his favorite wine, 2001 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Montrachet ($5,000 a bottle).
This split was friendlier. White said he heard the Palms was planning on giving him a trophy that says "congrats, you kicked our ass and made us tap out."
Rumor has it that White tipped the dealers almost $200,000 during the stretch in which he won the $2 million. The LVRJ reported during the previous ban that dealers and servers were angry at management for jettisoning White, because of his outlandish tips. White confirmed that Mandalay Bay had invited him to play there.
“Casinos don’t want to gamble anymore,” White said. “They’re all owned by hedge funds and corporations. They want to stack the odds so much against you that won’t play. Realistically, there’s only one place to play left in town. That’s Caesars. They will let you play what you want to play. No messing around with limits.”
White doesn't want to hear from critics who say his gambling is out of control.
“Has it affected my personal life?" White said. "Has it affected my professional life? Have I lost all my money? There’s nothing negative about what I’ve been doing lately.”
This time, White won't stay away from the Palms completely. He'll remain a regular at N9ne Steakhouse, and UFC events will still be held at The Pearl arena there.
