Service for Dan

In honor of Dan, I will be hosting a service for him at my house at 3:00 this Sunday (5/28/17). We are fortunate to have our own DJTeddyBear to lead the service. The service will have elements of the faith Dan was born into as well as the one he converted to as an adult. Guests will be encouraged to share a memory of Dan.

Guests may arrive as early as 2:00. I'd like to officially get started on time at 3:00. As usual, it is better to arrive early than late. After the service there will be snacks and drinks. If there is sufficient interest we may take things over to the Red Rock later for dinner and/or gambling.

It should be noted that I've been unable to reach Dan's wife or any family member. So this gathering will be for his friends and people he worked with through his gaming career. In the event I make contact with the family, I may cancel this if they are planning something already.

Please let me know here for by PM if you can make it and I'll give you the address in north Summerlin. The poll is for your RSVP.

Mike -

Thanks to you and your family for opening your home and your heart in this manner.

After the discussions we had, it should come as no surprise that I voted that I'll be there. Thank you for asking me to do this. I'm honored beyond belief.

See you and the WoV gang Sunday.



Gang -

If you are in the area, please come. It is just a lucky coincidence that I'm coming to town Sunday.

I hate funerals and wakes as much as the next guy, but this should be a more relaxed occasion. Just a gathering to talk about and remember the friend we lost, combined with a brief religious service.

While the circumstances are most unfortunate, I look forward to it.



Reverend Dave Miller

Strange that I can not find an obit for him, or is dan lubin a pen name?

Quote: GWAE

Strange that I can not find an obit for him, or is dan lubin a pen name?

Daniel Lubin was his real name. I think a lot of people go without an obituary. We never bothered with one for my father or father-in-law, who died in February.

This probably came as a surprise to everybody. The immediate survivors have enough stress as it is and adding the writing of an obituary to the list is just one more thing to stress over.

Quote: Wizard

Daniel Lubin was his real name. I think a lot of people go without an obituary. We never bothered with one for my father or father-in-law, who died in February.

This probably came as a surprise to everybody. The immediate survivors have enough stress as it is and adding the writing of an obituary to the list is just one more thing to stress over.

I always thought you had to run an obit to give creditors a chance to go after your estate. Just like when you fIle bankruptcy.

Don't most funeral homes post a listing showing times for services for each client, etc.?

Quote: GWAE

I always thought you had to run an obit to give creditors a chance to go after your estate. Just like when you fIle bankruptcy.

This used to be the case, but now there is an online clearinghouse for death certificates. Certificate is posted/filed, creditors detect a match, claim is placed. It's pretty effective.

Quote: DJTeddyBear

Don't most funeral homes post a listing showing times for services for each client, etc.?

Yes. With an online guestbook/journal. I've been looking for one for Dan. Can't find it.

I can't make it to town for this service. But I'd be happy to help if there's anything that can be done remotely. Maybe I can chip in for snacks or supplies?

Quote: rdw4potus

I can't make it to town for this service. But I'd be happy to help if there's anything that can be done remotely. Maybe I can chip in for snacks or supplies?

Thanks for the offer but expenses should be pretty minimal. I request anyone wait until we can reach Dan's wife and give any gifts or offerings to her. They were going through some tough times financially, as I understand it, so I'm sure could use the help a lot more than me.

In other news, several people from outside the forum will probably attend. So don't be scared off by the two confirmations so far here.

Quote: DJTeddyBear

Don't most funeral homes post a listing showing times for services for each client, etc.?

Most funeral homes these days are online.
An old friend of mine passed away last year
The funeral home had a remembrance page where people could post stories.
You could also light an online candle
Great for those out of town but still want to participate in some kind of remembrance

I have heard second hand that Dan's family is planning a Buddhist/Catholic service within 10 days. I would still like to go on with this second service but am open to discussion about it.

Can we go to both services?

Quote: NicksGamingStuff

Can we go to both services?

I think the other one will be open to Dan's friends so I assume so.

Quote: Wizard

I have heard second hand that Dan's family is planning a Buddhist/Catholic service within 10 days. I would still like to go on with this second service but am open to discussion about it.

I think the only reason to cancel your plans is if the family requests it.

The only reason to change your plans is if it conflicts with their plans. However, "within 10 days" makes it seem unlikely there's a conflict with your event, 4 days from now, 6 days after his death.

Hopefully Dan's family is able to reach out to Wiz or someone else here and let us know those family service plans...I will likely drive in to town to attend one of the two gatherings and with no details on the other service, a round trip from So Cal on Sunday to attend is my current plan.

I'm going to stick with the current plan to do separate services. I have a good connection to someone in contact with the family and will relay what I know when I know it.

Thread bump.

I'm in Newark, waiting to take off so I can do some final adjustments to my service.

If you're in Vegas, it's not too late to contact Mike to get his info so you can join us.

See you later.

DJ Teddy Bear / Reverend Dave Miller

Thank you again to Wiz for hosting and for DJ doing an excellent job with opening remarks and closing of the service yesterday...it was clear from the words spoken by DJ and others that shared during the service that Dan was a special man, passionate about the table games world, kind and generous with both his time and wisdom and full of joy for life & people. He will be missed by the many lives that were enriched because he cared enough to be involved and make a difference. Rest In Peace Dan.

On the obit, check again over the next month or two. Sometimes the family doesn't run them right away. Had a neighbor who had his posted almost 3 months out from when he died.

EDIT

And it might be posted in his hometown if it is not Vegas,

Roger Snow penned a nice article on LinkedIn concerning Dan here: Requiem for a Gamer

Thank you for sharing the LinkedIn post by Roger Snow. It solidifies in stone everything in the brief history I knew about Dan. Every time I read his book, I see him, hear him and continue to learn.

Roger's article is wonderful. Also, Roger's LinkedIn profile is hilarious.

Quote: rdw4potus

Roger's article is wonderful.

Amen to that.

Wow.

Having been away from the forum for six months, I was immediately saddened to hear about Dan's passing. I was in Las Vegas last weekend with my brother (arrived on Sunday) and he said there was a "Commission Free Pai-Gow" game at the Nugget which I told him was impossible unless it was EZ Pai Gow (turns out it was a variant where the 9 high in the top sparked a draw).

He will be sadly missed.

It occurs to me that many WoV members would have been at the service if they could have been. I live in New Jersey. It was mere chance that I was in Vegas that week.

While the service was not recorded, I DO have the sermon that I wrote, and wanted to share it.

Per Mike's Request, I began with Ecclesiastes 3:1-3:8.

When writing my sermon, I found on an Athiest funeral website, a great short poem by Robert Burns called Epitaph of a Friend, which talks about an honest man. That was a no-brainer to include. It was followed by my sermon.

Quote: Sermon at the Dan Lubin Memorial

On the forum, I go by my former stage name, DJ Teddy Bear. I was raised Jewish, but as some of you know, I became a Reverend to officiate weddings as a way of staying in the wedding industry when I retired from DJing. I was ordained thru an atheist internet church.

Mike knew all that when he asked me to preside today. In his initial request, Mike called me the Wizard of Vegas resident “Math of the Cloth”. I’m not sure if “Math” was a Freudian slip, or an intentional pun, but I feel honored by the title.

Math of the Cloth has a nice ring to it. It seems to imply that I would preach about math. Okay. So be it. Let’s include a discussion of math or at least one of history’s math greats. 17th century mathematician, physicist, theologian and philosopher: Blaise Pascal.

As this group of math nerds sit here in Las Vegas, a town who’s very nickname of Sin City suggests that combining religion with the vice of gambling would seem absurd, it should be noted that Pascal did exactly that. Pascal tied God and gambling together.

One of his famous theories, is about man’s ultimate gamble. To paraphrase, Pascal’s Wager argues that it is an Advantage Play to behave as if God exists. Doing so, you may miss out on some of life’s pleasures, but will be rewarded with an eternity in paradise. The alternative, taking advantage of all that is available in this world, could cost you dearly in the afterlife.

The question is, do you believe in an afterlife? What’s the house edge on eternity?

Pascal’s Wager asks us that very question. It insists that we make a choice, regardless of our particular religious beliefs, regardless of whether we’ve ever heard of Pascal or the Wager, regardless if we have even considered such a choice, and regardless of whether we even believe in God. One way or another, consciously or not, we do make that choice.

The key to Pascal’s Wager is this: A belief in God is not a requirement to live your life as if God does exist.

Dan Lubin was a perfect example; born Jewish, converted to Christianity, married to a Buddhist, but not particularly religious. Anyone who knew him, or merely read some of his posts, knew where he stood on the important stuff. To Dan, the Golden Rule was the only rule.

Is there an afterlife? 70’s rock band Blood, Sweat & Tears said it best: “I can swear there ain't no heaven, but I pray there ain't no hell, but I'll never know by living, only my dying will tell.”

I don’t know if Dan believed in God or an afterlife. But as a math nerd like us, and with his ability to tell a good game from bad, I’m sure he has at least heard of and thought about Pascal’s Wager. And no doubt, he was very comfortable with his life decisions.

I don’t know if Dan is on that great escalator towards the afterlife, or just taking the next step towards “ashes to ashes, dust to dust.” But I think he beat Pascal’s Wager. He lived a good, full life, despite being cut short early. And if there is an escalator waiting for him, it’s going up.

That was all I had for a written sermon. I then spoke from the heart, and not from a 'script' and started to tell a few stories about Dan. Here’s two that I haven’t mentioned here before:

Quote: Stories about Dan

Several years ago, I stayed at the Fiesta Henderson. After checking in, I went down to the pit to find Dan, to play at his table. As luck would have it, I caught him coming off break, going to the craps table to work the stick. I also noticed the dealer rotation was stick to base left to base right to break.

There were two players on the right side, nobody on the left, so I took up a spot on the left next to Dan so we could talk while I played. When the next dealer push came, with still the same players, I moved to the end of the table so we could continue our conversation. When the next push came, the floorman told Dan to stay where he was, and had the stick move to base right. He said he did this so we could continue our conversation.

When I thanked the floorman, he said, “Hey, any friend of Dan’s…”

When I signed my contract with Galaxy Gaming, I got a package with a bunch of cool Galaxy logo SWAG. Mouse pad, coasters, coffee mug, that sort of stuff. It came with a congratulatory card from the Galaxy staff.

A couple days later, I got another shipment. It came with a card from Dan. It was a bottle of Glenlivet 12 year old Single Malt Scotch Whiskey. (Lifting it) This very bottle here. I’m not a drinker, so it's been sitting at home, unopened for two years. I could not think of a more appropriate time to open it. After the conclusion, we'll use it to toast Dan.

At that point, I invited all assembled to tell their own Dan stories.

I learned a great deal about Dan as people spoke. In short, he was loved by all.

At the conclusion, we made that toast and drank that Whiskey. Then we hung out and continued to tell stories. People were slow to trickle out.

I wrote my sermon on my computer. Except for a word or two, the above sermon is exactly what I said at the memorial. I intended to merely speak from the heart when telling my own Dan stories. Instead, while on the flight in, I made some notes which I used as bullet points when speaking. In preparing to send a personal note to Dan's wife, I looked at those notes, and remembered several things I said but hadn't mentioned in my post above.

Quote: Memories of Dan

I ‘met’ Dan on the Wizard of Vegas forums in 2010. He mentioned, on multiple occasions, that he created EZ Pai Gow. Since I had something of an idea for a game in my head, but no idea how to get it out, I asked Dan, and he was very generous with his help.

A few months later I was coming to Vegas for a wedding professionals conference. Dan immediately offered to give me rides to my hotel, a ride to a meet & greet with the Wizard, and arranged a meeting with a gaming company to discuss my idea, a ride to that meeting, and a ride back to the airport. My wife thought I was crazy to accept rides from someone whom I never met in person. But by that time, I had already read enough of Dan’s posts about ethics to know that there was no danger in the situation.


A couple years later, I decided to stay at the Fiesta Henderson, so I can hang with Dan while he works. After checking in, I went down to the pit to find Dan, to play at his table. As luck would have it, I caught him coming off break, going to the craps table to work the stick. I also noticed the dealer rotation was stick to base left to base right to break.

There were two players on the right side, nobody on the left, so I took up a spot on the left next to Dan so we could talk while I played. When the next dealer push came, with still the same players, I moved to the end of the table so we could continue our conversation. When the next push came, the floorman told Dan to stay where he was, and had the stick move to base right. He said he did this so we could continue our conversation.

When I thanked the floorman, he said, “Hey, any friend of Dan’s…”


When I signed my contract with Galaxy Gaming, I got a package with a bunch of cool Galaxy logo SWAG. Mouse pad, coasters, coffee mug, that sort of stuff. It came with a congratulatory card from the Galaxy staff.

A couple days later, I got another shipment. It came with a card from Dan. It was a bottle of Glenlivet 12 year old Single Malt Scotch Whiskey. This very bottle here. I’m not a drinker, so it's been sitting at home, unopened for two years. I could not think of a more appropriate time to open it. After the conclusion, we'll use it to toast Dan.


On another occasion, several Wizard of Vegas members had dinner together followed by group gambling. Dan wasn’t with us. At one point, the dealer accidentally paid me when I should have pushed. The other WoV members who were with me looked at each other, and knowing what Dan would say, we simultaneously said, “Don’t tell Dan.”

I eventually did tell Dan. He initially laughed, then told me why I was wrong. He said, “You’re just gonna lose it again in a few minutes, so why make a fuss, right? So it’s your plan to be a loser? Why not just do the right thing and be a winner?” It’s hard to argue with logic like that.


So, when you’re out there, faced with a decision like that, remember Dan, and be a winner.

Very nice!

I think however, at least in my Christian view is that God knows your heart. In Christianity, living "like a Christian" is not the same as "being a Christian". Quite the opposite. To be Christian, you have to be of the view at one time or another that Jesus is your personal savior and that he died for your sins. There is a quantification of "rewards in heaven" -- whatever they are based on how "good" you are, but entering the gates of heaven for Christians is based on that tenet and what is or has been in your heart. Actually, Christians believe it is God's grace that gets you to the afterlife.

There is no proof of an afterlife, no proof of God. The EV of an afterlife apparently compared to the existence of 0-115 years on this planet is unknown. To have an understanding of what an afterlife would be like, you have to read and believe a book written by humans inspired by "God". Which to many is a far stretch.

I have faith in an afterlife, but I completely understand that my basis in that faith could be nonsense.

Point is, I don't think Pascal got it right, or maybe we didn't. You kind of have to pass the Jesus died for your sins test before you get to the Christian camps' pearly gates, and even for Christians, at times, that's a difficult one.

Please note that I am not biasing against other religions. Although my Christian leaders tell me that the only path to Heaven is via Jesus, I think you need to add the adjective "Christian" before the word heaven. I think that other religions have their own path to a positive afterlife too -- just not Christianity's version of heaven.

Which makes no sense.

There will be an official funeral mass for Dan tomorrow (June 8) at 2:00. Anyone interested please PM me for details. Any friend of Dan's is welcome to attend.