Chaos of the Dice

 Chaos of the Dice

I traveled by Greyhound bus from Atlantic City to meet Falafel, who is the highest ranked player of backgammon in the world. Then, I took the jitney to Borgata Hotel. Falafel's real surname is Matvey Natanzon. However, no one calls him that. Even his mother who calls him Mike. Mike was the name he adopted as a nickname when he emigrated from Israel and Buffalo. This was just one leg in a long journey which began in Soviet Russia. Now even Falafel calls himself Falafel.

Falafel visited Atlantic City to visit a friend, The Bone. He is a professional poker player and was registered at the Borgata. The Bone, a Brooklyn native, used to play backgammon. But he switched to playing poker due to the more lucrative game. Falafel is either a perfectionist or unable master poker, or both. He is a committed backgammon player, and his main source for income. This is to the extent that he is able to find wealthy people willing or able to win cash-only private matches against him. They are more common than you might think, but they aren't as numerous as one might imagine. It is not easy to find these and keep them.

The jitney that transports you between Atlantic City hotels is slow, run-down, and a terrible way of traveling. Falafel would not take it. He can earn ten thousand dollars an hour playing backgammon. But he can also make hundreds of thousands in an afternoon. The money is always changing. He has no house at the moment. He doesn't have a driver’s license. He didn't have a cell phone, a bank account, or a credit card, until he moved to California - just a few short months ago. Practically everything he has can fit in a large suitcase. However, he does enjoy certain luxuries. One of these is to rent a car instead of riding in a jeep.

Falafel had said he would be at Borgata’s poker room, but when I arrived at four thirty on a grey January afternoon, half the room was empty. For non-gamblers, an Atlantic City casino interior is no place to be joyous. The atmosphere was very energizing for Falafel, who wanted a quick dip while he waited to see The Bone. He is both tall and overweight. His attire was relaxed: a soccer shirt with the logo for a Turkish cell phone company on the front and the number seven and the word "falafel" on the back. The yellow knitted cap he wore on his head gave him the appearance of a giant garden gnome. His knees were covered in nylon shorts. He fiddled with a bulky black cellphone and looked up to smile.

Falafel is usually untanned, but the stubble does not make him look imposing. His face fills easily with warmth. Falafel's documentary, "Falafel's Game," was made in 2005 by an Israeli filmmaker. In a scene filmed in his hotel room, Falafel states, "I'm like a child inside." He is forty four. He has lived in hardship, once living on a bench in a park. He was robbed of his belongings by pickpockets. Lowlifes took advantage of him. He is now street-smart, but he still has a lot of his childhood innocence. He lives his life like a game.

Falafel spent three hundred dollars on chips, and he sat down at the table. Soon, the piles ahead of him were

Falafel was able to save five hundred dollars within two hours. Things were looking up. He stated that one year ago, "If you found me there, my life would be so different." Falafel lived for a time in Las Vegas with his roommate, a young backgammon whiz named Lobster. He rarely left the couch where he watched sports and saw the money he placed on them disappear. He now sees the potential. He stated, "This is my year of travelling a lot, and I'm playing more backgammon." Falafel planned to leave Atlantic City to attend a tournament in San Antonio. After that, he would travel to Los Angeles, Israel, Denmark and Monte Carlo for the world champions. Each place held the promise of cash side games. A gaming website on the Internet was interested in working with him. He had hired a student. Falafel was full of purpose. He was ready, he told friends, to turn around his fortunes. Learning How To Play Backgammon Has Never Been Easier