At 17, John dropped out of high school and ran off to Vegas to become a professional gambler. Being young and inexperienced, John soon convinced Rob, a Vegas native, to take him under his wing and show him the ropes.

Their first lesson? Racking the shotgun.

Perry explains:

Rob took John to a cabaret. They walked in the door and sat down ...

Rob had a sawed-off shotgun in his jacket. He pulled [it] out [and] slipped it under the table. He pressed the lever, popping the chamber open as if to load it. But instead of inserting a shell he loudly snapped it back shut.


A few heads in the crowd twisted around, trying to see where the racking sound had come from. Everyone else was oblivious….


Then [Rob] leaned over and said to John, "John, the people who turned around — those guys are NOT marks. Do not play poker with them.

"John, your job is play cards with everybody else."