William "Slick" Hanner led the life people read about with fascination, but few have the nerve to undertake. For a guy with a third grade education, he's come a long way. Slick held many legitimate jobs such as Landmark Casino poker room manager, Nevada Palace shift manager, Stardust Casino dealer, plus Jerry Lewis's bodyguard, Chicken Ranch limo driver (a Nevada brothel) and a host of other Las Vegas jobs spanning some 30 years. Slick plays Texas Hold 'Em, teaches poker and consults with his dog, Herman, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Cherie Rohn needed a decent-paying job in a town known for its "third world" wages -- Albuquerque, New Mexico. In 1996, Indian casinos took off like tumbleweeds throughout the state. Cherie met Slick, one of her teachers, at a casino dealer's school. "A quick read through Slick's 20 scrawled pages and I was hooked. After nine years -- a kind of 'overnight' success (ha!) -- I finished his story." She learned how casinos operate as a blackjack and roulette dealer and poker room floor supervisor in three New Mexico casinos. Cherie resides in Florida where she writes and scuba dives coral reefs.