Hi, my name is Joseph Pigliatti. I am also known as Joey the Pig, Joey Toe Jam, Two Guns Joey and Joey Cream Pie. If you don’t mind, I prefer Joey the Pig.
The good folks at gambleonthis.com asked me a question the other day and requested I answer it in an article. Their question was – What does organized crime think about gambling? To wit, my article answer lies below.
I don’t get to meet with the Big Boss’s very often. After all, they are the Big Bosses and they are busy with stuff. They have a lot of administrative duties like intervening in places and with people who are hurting their business’s and planning out the future of their families and setting up hits and so forth and so on.
But last summer I was at the racetrack with Don Corleonona. It was one of those sizzling hot days and I hadn’t won a single race all day. That was when Don Corleona turned to me and said “Joey the Pig, I likes you. But you are a lousy race track gambler. If you could pick horses like you pick your nose you’d be rich.”
When Don Corleonona says something like that there is not much one can say. First of all, he is the Don. You think I want to get whacked over something like that? Forget about it! Second of all he was right.
A few weeks ago I was eating dinner with Don Gigabytes at Skinny Albert’s Italian-American eatery in Little Italy. We had quite the spread. I was eating the veal, and as most of you already know Skinny Albert’s has the best veal this side of Rome.
Anyhow, we was watching the basketball game on the TV and the Knicks were getting trounced. Unfortunately, I had bet heavily on the Knicks. At the sound of the buzzer after the Knicks had lost by 72 points Don Gigabytes turned to me and said “Joey the Pig, I likes you. If only you could handicap basketball like you handicap a plate of veal you’d be a rich.”
There was not much I could say to that. He was the Don and he was right. Luckily I’m much better at poker and Blackjack.
So, as you can see, organized crime does think about gambling just as normal people like you and me do. I hope the good folks at gambleonthis.com like my article. I enjoyed remembering it.
Until next time, arrivederci.
Copyright Joey the Pig. All rights reserved.
Joesph (Joey the Pig) Pigliatti is a contributing article writer at www.gambleonthis.com.