Mickey Johansson was born in Gullspang, Sweden. He graduated high school at the age of 14 and joined the Merchant Marine. Six months later, while on shore leave, he was struck by a car and spent three days in a coma. After a three month hospital stay he went back to his duties as a Merchant Marine but within a short time Mickey decided to quit and returned home. He took a job in a local factory where a childhood buddy, Tino Helge, also worked.
Tino was an aspiring artist, and when he wasn't working in the factory or painting he performed as a trapeze artist in a small circus in Denmark. Mickey had never even been to the circus but Tino talked him into practicing some routines with him and then convince him to send in some resumes to a new circus that was forming in Denmark. Tino and Mickey didn't have a facility high enough to actually perform the acts so they took turns taking pictures of each other in different positions and spliced the film together to give the appearance of a trapeze act. They actually thought it was a joke because of the ridiculous salaries they requested but surprisingly the Olympia Circus hired them. Due to mismanagement, after only one season the circus went broke.
Tino and Mickey had to resort to something no circus performer likes to do, they took their act to the carnival. They had to build their own rigging so they could perform outdoors but their carnival career only lasted a short time. Within a few months Circus Rhodin was in search of a new trapeze act after one of their trapeze artists was hurt in a fall, Tino and Mickey were hired as their replacement.
John Ringling North of Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus came to see the circus one night and was quite impressed with Tino and Mickey's performance. That visit from Mr. North got Tino and Mickey a spot in the most famous circus on earth. Six years later Mickey's partner, Tino, was becoming an established artist and the two decided they'd had enough and quit the circus. They finished out the season in Venice, Florida and Mickey decided to take a job with Circus Circus in Las Vegas overseeing the Monorail Showgirls.
Mickey's poker career began in the Circus Circus poker room, first as a player than as a shill. When he wasn't working with the performing acts he was playing poker. His love for poker grew and in his spare time he practiced dealing. When Circus Circus experienced a managerial change Mickey was hired on as a poker dealer.
During one of Mickey's shift's, Bill Friedman the General Manager of the Silver Slipper and the Castaway's stopped by and was impressed with Mickey. Friedman approached Mickey with an offer to teach his customers to play blackjack. He took the position on a part-time basis but continued to deal at Circus Circus and within a year he was promoted to supervisor of the poker room.
In 1974 he left Circus Circus to manage the poker rooms at the Silver Slipper and the Castaways. In 1978 he went back to Bingo Palace as a dealer and then on to supervisor. He left the Bingo Palace for the Tropicana but within a short time he was asked to come back to the Bingo Palace as cardroom manager.
In 1983 Mickey went back to Circus Circus as a dealer. He left Circus Circus for a supervisory position when the Luxor opened, he left the Luxor when the Monte Carlo opened and in 1999 he went to Texas Station as a supervisor.
In November of 2004 he assumed the position of cardroom manager at the newly opened poker room at the Sante Fe.
For you movie and trivia buffs out there, pick up a copy of the James Bond movie, Diamonds are Forever. Mickey appears in the movie, actually all you see are his legs. He is the guy peddling the bike around the track on which the girls are performing their act.
Mickey oversees a nine table cardroom with 32 employees that started with a bang and hasn't skipped a beat since opening.
DB: When you were performing did you work with a net?
MJ: Not always, only in places that required it, like Washington, DC.
DB: Did you ever fall?
MJ: Yes, but I was never seriously hurt. I had a spotter that was remarkable. If I fell he would grab the rope ladder and give it a whip like jerk that would catch me and break my fall.
DB: Are you the only one in your family that ever performed in the circus?
MJ: Yes, but I married a former trapeze artist. In 1965 I met my wife for the first time in Calgary, Canada where she was performing with her family in the Calgary Stampede, she was only 14 at the time and I was 18. She was part of the Cavaretta's, one of the most famous flying acts in the world. I didn't see her again until I came to Las Vegas and found her performing at Circus Circus. We were married in 1988.
DB: Okay, let's talk poker. What convinced Stations to open a poker room at the Sante Fe?
MJ: I believe it was Mike Doe, cardroom manager at Texas who really started the ball rolling, he always thought it was a good location. Richard St. Jean, our GM came from Texas Station and Weldon Russell, Director of Poker Operations both agreed it would be a good idea.
DB: Has it been as successful as they anticipated?
MJ: Yes, it has exceeded all of our expectations. I thought we'd have four or five games on weekends and two or three during the week but we opened with eight games and it hasn't stopped. We're full on weekends with nine games on Friday and Saturday and six or seven weekdays. We have never fallen below five games since opening, of course that's not 24/7 but it's daily.
DB: Do you believe this love of poker is just a fad?
MJ: No. It's not that it's just popular, it's mainstream now.
DB: What draws players to Sante Fe?
MJ: Our Jumbo Jackpot is probably the biggest reason people choose to play at Sante Fe but it's not the only reason. We have a lot of players that just don't want to make that drive to the strip. The room is non-smoking and we have a no abuse policy. It's friendly room in a great location, just inside valet parking.
DB: Why is the Jumbo Jackpot such a huge draw?
MJ: No one else can match it, they don't have enough poker rooms. Our jackpot starts at $100,000, it was just hit yesterday at 6:30 p.m. (February 18) for more than $110,000. The players share was $194 and we had 85 players at the Sante Fe alone that received a share.
DB: What live games do you offer?
MJ: We spread $2-$4, $4-$8-$8, and $6-$12 limit hold'em and we spread a no-limit game with $1 and $2 blinds. The minimum buy-in for the no-limit game is $40 and the maximum is $100.
