Elgin Baylor Blamed for Lakers Poker Ban

Lakers Hall of Famer Gail Goodrich reminisced about the late great Elgin Baylor, and in particular how he would "take all our money".

Goodrich was referencing the poker games between players years back and why they have since been banned.

From MSN.com:

“He'd take all our money. He was a poker player. We had to ban poker on the team because he — and Jerry West, they were taking guys' per diem on the road,” Goodrich said with a big laugh. “He'd beat Chick all the time in gin rummy. All the time. And he'd take Chick's money.

“They'd land in a city and they'd start betting on whose luggage would come out on the luggage shelf first — those kinds of things.”

Told that when the Lakers were in Minneapolis, Baylor had a habit of pranking his teammates by stealing their shoes when they slept, Goodrich again laughed.

“That doesn't surprise me at all,” he said. “… He had a great personality. He'd give everyone nicknames. But he could be really reserved. He wasn't out-going to the press. He wasn't. He was very reserved. He went about his way. He'd answer questions, be very, very nice, but he wasn't just out-going than most of the other players in Los Angeles.”

Baylor died Monday of natural causes at the age of 86 in Los Angeles with wife Elaine and daughter Krystal by his side.

- Nagesh Rath, Gambling911.com