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Hello and welcome to Focus on OLLI. What is OLLI? OLLI is a program at UNLV dedicated to active retired or semi-retired individuals who understand the importance of keeping themselves engaged. OLLI is the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UNLV. Every month this program will dig into favorite classes, interesting teachers and members as well as special events offered through OLLI.
Wesley Knight 0:00
This is a KU NV studios original program. The content of this program does not reflect the views or opinions of 91.5 jazz and more the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, or the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education.
Keith McMillen 0:16
Hello and welcome to focus on Olli. Olli is a program at UNLV, dedicated to retired or semi retired individuals who remain engaged and active in civic activities and lifelong learning. Olli is the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UNLV. Olli is made possible by support from the Bernard Osher Foundation, established by philanthropists Bernard and Barbara Osher with a mission to support lifelong learning, higher education and the arts. This series is designed to give you an in depth look at the Olli program and encourage you to join in the fun.
Ed Ort 0:55
Well, hello, I'm Ed Ort. I'm a student as well as an instructor at Olli. Welcome today's Olli podcast. You know, people come to Olli for a variety of reasons, of course, to learn to socialize, but they also come to have fun, and one of the ways they have fun is by playing games at Olli. Over the years, Olli has offered a variety of classes and special interest group sessions on games, and this semester is no exception. Today we have a number of guests who are leading classes or hosting group sessions that give Olli students the opportunity to learn new games and to play games and of course, have lots of fun. Our guests today are Frank daveo, who leads a class on recreational card playing. Esther shube, who leads a class on Asian Mahjong, and Susan Waldman, who hosts the special interest group, what we call a SIG on American mahjong. I think we can bring out the bridge table right now and play some of these games right now. But seriously, let's learn more about these fun classes and sessions at Olli. Let's start with Frank. Frank, I understand you're a lifelong card player.
Frank Davio 2:07
Yes, yes. Said I've been playing cards most of my life, and when I joined Ollie in 2015 there was no card games. There wasn't any kind of fun activities there, though. The classes were fun and learning. And my whole life, I played cards so and I come from a card culture in my old neighborhood, we had a social club on every block, and people would have to work at them play cards, and it seemed enjoyable.
Ed Ort 2:47
Yeah, so what are your What are your recollections about how people reacted to your class when you first gave it Well,
Frank Davio 2:55
the first class was in 2017 and to this state, the most students that enrolled was in the first class, the 46 Ollie members enrolled in that class. So it tells you that, you know, the people were a little hungry to have some fun, and over the years, we average about 30 people in each class.
Ed Ort 3:20
Now what kind of card games do you actually play in your class?
Frank Davio 3:23
Well, my favorite card game is a game called casino, but we play hearts, babes, pinochle, I've been introduced at some rummy games lately because rummy is fun.
Ed Ort 3:40
So do you play some of the like the casino games that they play here in the hotel casinos, like, hold them poker or anything like that. No, the
Frank Davio 3:51
poker games to enjoy, you have to play for money. Got it? You know? We that would be too boring,
Ed Ort 4:01
right? This is all this is all about fun. Do people have to be experienced card players to come to your class?
Frank Davio 4:09
No. In fact, one thing about cards is it, even though you play one game, it's played differently in various parts of the country, like, for instance, I learned hearts in New York, and I've had people from California, other parts of the country playing hearts, and they play it differently. So I always have to make sure I my favorite phrase is house rules. This is how we're playing my rules. This way. It doesn't get confusing,
Ed Ort 4:46
right now. You know, playing cards, playing games in general, I think, is a great opportunity to exercise your mind, but also to be socially active. You know, those are two really good ways to maintain your. Brain health. That's something really important as we age. Any thoughts about that, I remember you telling me a story about a woman who came to your class and the social aspect of that, right?
Frank Davio 5:12
This woman was, oh, well, first of all, I'll begin by saying that she was, she fled Germany during a World War Two, and her and her husband. Now I forgot, I imagine they were children, or I don't think they were married when they left to come to the United States, but her husband passed away, and I assume they were very close, and you could still see the glow in this woman, but you can see that it was suffocated because of her loss. She lost her spouse, so she would come into the class. Her children sent them to the class, because when she lost her husband, she became depressed, and she started going into the casino, and she wind up gambling all her money away. And it got out of hand, so out of hand that the children had to step in. So she came into the class, and we became good friends. And, you know, I admired a woman because she, you know, you could tell she was hurting, but beneath the hurt, you can see the beauty in her. But the only reason it wasn't there is because of the loss of her husband. So for the people that come into the class, it's saving them a lot of money, because the art class is an hour 45 minutes. Could you imagine the money you would gamble in a casino, especially if you hit a dry spell for an hour and 45 minutes? So I can imagine why her children stepped in.
Ed Ort 7:03
Yeah, so here you can have fun and save money too well.
Susan Waldman 7:07
I think that I know who you're speaking of, Frank, and she has become a big part of Ollie. And she goes to a lot of other classes too. So coming to ollie has led her to other interests and meeting different people, and she has formed friends, and I think that's a wonderful thing for a person to be able to do, and it's wonderful that you notice that in her, that she had this wonderful charm and glow about her.
Ed Ort 7:35
Yeah, there are many stories of people who have come to Olli looking to make friends, and they have made lots of friends through Ollie. So it's a great social experience as well as a learning experience. Let's go on to Esther. Esther, you are leading a class on Asian mahjong. Can you tell us about that?
Esther Schube 7:55
Yes, I'd like to also comment on Frank. I was in his card class. Enjoyed it. In fact, I had dinner last night with a lady that I met in that class, but I met a lady named Barbara Stratton in that class, and we got together, and we were talking. I had just learned Mahjong, and she invited me to her home, and so I went there and and played with her and her friend. Later, we talked, and we said, oh, this is so much fun, you know, why don't we do it for Ollie? And so I asked if I could do a SIG, which is a special interest group, and I started that on Friday afternoons in the coffee area after everybody was gone, because we could have the round tables and we wouldn't bother anybody, because Mahjong is kind of loud. Tiles are kind of loud, and we had to teach from scratch, and we had probably 20 people that learned Mahjong from the very beginning, and it blossomed and but I was frustrated, because I never knew how many people were going to be there every week and whether I should come or not. And so I asked if, and put a proposal in to see if I could teach a class. And so it was approved. And then I started teaching the class the next semester, and Barbara helped me the very beginning, we taught beginning again, and because those the first people, it was okay if they had a refresher course, and it just blossomed, and people started having classes. I mean, not classes, excuse me, having groups in their homes. People told me how it changed their life because they were able to meet other people, socialize, go out and make new friends with these people, and it's just, it's been it's warmed my heart. What Frank said about. Having your own rules, or house rules. We also had that because some people had already played, so it's kind of we had to have a set of rules. So this past summer, I wrote a book, a manual, on Mahjong, shubi style.
Ed Ort 10:17
So there may be some people listening here, who don't know what mahjon is, and especially what Asian mahjon is. Could you kind of give a brief overview of it?
Esther Schube 10:27
Well, when I learned it, I didn't know either, and they offered it in the clubhouse where I lived, and it is used with tiles that are kind of like dominoes, but the rules are very much like a rummy game, and it's very easy to learn, I think, lots and lots of rules. I used to be an umpire, so I kind of like rules, but once you get the hang of it, then you never master it. It's something that keeps you going forever. And Susan helped me out this last semester, because I was going to be gone the first two semesters, two weeks. And so she took over for me, and she and I live in adjoining subdivisions, but her rules and my rules, even though the basics are the same, still differ. So that's where I wrote the manual. And so, Susan,
Ed Ort 11:26
yeah, so, Susan, why don't you that's a good entree, yeah, what is the difference between American mahjong and Asian mahjong?
Susan Waldman 11:33
Well, American Mahjong has been around forever. I remember when I was two years old hearing crack BAMs and dots. When I was in my bedroom trying to sleep, and my mom was playing with
Ed Ort 11:45
her cracked BAMs and dots. What are those?
Susan Waldman 11:49
Those are the tiles that you play with. You have cracks and BAMs and dots. You have an east, the West, the North and the South, and you have dragons. But it was always I always listened, and I always heard those, those words and and they and I all always heard the tiles on the table. It was fascinating, but I never learned how to play it because I was a single mom, and all the women who were playing it were moms who were at home all the time, and I just didn't have an opportunity, because most of it was played during the day and I was working. But when I moved here from New York 19 years ago, I moved in a community that's a senior community, and they offered lessons in Mahjong, both Asian and American. So I learned them both together. I love playing American mahjong. It's a lot more centered, because you're using a card, and you play off the card, and the money that's paid to you when you call Mahjong is on the card, so you don't have to figure out what you're paying, you know what you're going to be paid.
Ed Ort 13:04
So, so are these games that are played for money? And Ollie, Oh,
Susan Waldman 13:08
yeah. Well, we sort of because, you know, there's really no gambling in Ollie, we're not a casino. But we, we try to, we try to have people know what it would be like if they yelled Mahjong, and how much money they would be paid. So we, all the fans, are worth a certain amount of money. Each fan is worth five cents, and you work it around that way, I can keep score.
Ed Ort 13:39
Yes, people coming out of your games as paper millionaires,
Susan Waldman 13:46
not quite Ed, because there's a pie, and you pay play for pie, and pie is usually $5 and if you go pie in the game, you can play for
Esther Schube 13:58
free. Now, when she says pie, it's they bring $5 in small coins, the average per hand you might win 50 cents. 55 cents, you might have to pay out 55 cents. And the pie that she refers to is the total amount that you could conceivably lose. However, in all the time I've been playing, I've never lost it. She's never lost it. I've only seen one person lose it. And when you Mahjong, which means you lay down all your tiles, then people, whoever facilitated that, Mahjong pays.
Ed Ort 14:35
You got it. Let's get back to Frank. Now. What if someone is brand new to card playing. What would be a good game for them to learn?
Frank Davio 14:45
Well, I have a special game called, oh, hell, fun. Yeah, it is. It's an easy game to learn. And the people that I knew, I take them over to a separate table, and you. Usually there's about five or six, and I go over the game with it's a simple it's a Trump and a bidding game, similar to spades and pinochles are Trump and a bidding game too, but you don't bid for in pinochle, you bid for points. In spades, you bid for tricks, but all hell is a simple game. That's the one I like. And what happened as a teacher there, I always used to get good reviews, but you're having one of these learning sessions. There were a couple of people at the table, and while I was trying to give instructions, one lady kept talking over me, and I had to tell her, you know, you want to teach. And she got offended, insulted. And at the end of the year, when the reviews came out, that was the first time I got a bad review. And I kind of know who wrote that
Susan Waldman 16:03
reveal. I have to tell you, Frank, when you started your card playing, I took your class. I am not a card player. I couldn't catch on. I just, I just couldn't, I mean, I played Mahjong, I played cards as a kid, and everything you know, rummy and war and all the that kind of stuff. But I just, I just couldn't get it. I don't know why, and I really am angry at myself for not continuing i but it was just something that I couldn't get. But you are a wonderful teacher, and the people in the class are very helpful, right? So when I was in the class, they were trying very hard to teach me how to do this, but it was me
Ed Ort 16:50
again, like all of these classes, I think it's not even so much a matter of you being really good at the game, or it's just having fun, absolutely, I'd last to ask Esther and Susan pretty much the same question was somebody who's brand new to mahjon, could they come to your classes?
Susan Waldman 17:13
Well, I'm I'm having a special and special SIG this year on Friday afternoons at Ollie and I, I require that they have a little bit of knowledge of knowing either the card or the tiles. The game could be taught within a couple of hours. And we do have that amount of time. And what, how I got to want to play American Mahjong was a lot of the women who were playing Asian Mahjong asked me if I could teach American Mahjong, and that's how the special class came about.
Ed Ort 17:52
What about you? Esther,
Esther Schube 17:54
it takes about two classes to really understand Mahjong, because it's a very new concept for most people. If you know how to play Rummy, you're halfway there, but just learning the different tiles and what the how to group them and things, which is why I wrote the book this summer, and it's only 20 pages, but it goes from how to set up a table, which there's a lot of rituals in Asian mahjong.
Ed Ort 18:27
And by the way, is there a way of obtaining your book outside of the class, or is it just you
Esther Schube 18:35
can email me? Okay, at m, Duval, M, D, u, v, a, l, l, at Yahoo. Excuse me. M, Duval 20 nine@yahoo.com and that is my mother's name, because, like Susan, my mother played it back in the 50s and 60s. Day didn't teach me, but I think that it fell out of favor for a long time, because it used to be primarily housewives that played and then women in the 70s started going to work, and they didn't have the luxury of staying home and playing games. They were busy working and raising children and so but it's a resurgence now, and which crazy Asian movie. A lot of people have said that they saw it on that and that it has brought interest to them,
Ed Ort 19:27
right? In fact, I was going to ask you, I understand that there are millions, literally millions of people around the world who play Asian Mahjong, and those numbers are growing, and that's probably part of the reason why that in the media, there's some shows that show people probably playing Asian Mahjong, so it probably increases the interest in
Esther Schube 19:50
it. I tried real hard to find a YouTube video. Most people think mahjong. When you say, Oh, you're teaching mahjong. What's it Why does it take you so long to teach somebody? They see that. Online game that is just matching tiles. Matching tiles has nothing to do with mahjong. So they have a misconception. It's a it's been around for centuries and centuries, right? It's the American came in when Parker Brothers needed to have a new game, a millionaire came who learned it in Asia. He taught it, and so he had Parker Brothers put out a game, and then that's kind of like Monopoly, how it became popular, right? But it's a resurgence now, and people are asking me all the time to teach him, which is why I wrote the book Wonderful.
Ed Ort 20:42
So I'd like to point out that these are not the only fun game classes at Holly. You know that Holly offers this semester. You know, another class that we're offering this semester is called relieving fall boredom. Let's play board games where you have the opportunity to play popular board games like Scrabble and maybe learn some others, like Ticket to Ride, which I have played with my kids and grandkids and kirkle, I've never played that one. I think I'd like to learn that game. So there are just a number of different really interesting games that you could play and learn at Ollie I'd like to ask the group question. You know, I have been an instructor at Olli and one of the things is that, probably in every class that I've led, I have learned something interesting from the people in the class. Anything that has come up during your game classes that kind of is really interesting that you learn. Maybe it's a different kind of card playing strategy, or a different margin strategy. Anything that you that strikes your mind right now about that?
Frank Davio 21:48
Well, in my case, you know, every time I leap for a class, my wife tells me, just have fun, and that's about it. All I could learn is not to clash with people by having fun.
Ed Ort 22:04
Oh, that's a learning experience.
Susan Waldman 22:06
Well, I haven't had my class yet. It's starting this this semester, but I must say that when I was in Esther's class and we were playing mahjong and Asian Mahjong, it brings back a lot of memories to the people who are playing, and they talk about their past and where they come from, and you learn a lot about people and what they did as as younger people, what their careers were in their lives, and it's become a very social, informative, fun, loving game. Terrific.
Ed Ort 22:38
Esther, wow, yeah, that's a tough one, right? You're really knowledgeable about this game. Yeah, I
Esther Schube 22:47
I really haven't learned that much, but I have gained so much from the positive comments. They even brought me little gifts at the end and how I've how much I've changed their life because they found fulfillment. I also teach pickleball, and many of the people are in both classes, so I address the mental and I address the physical, and it's really seemed to have affected in a positive way. A lot of the the Olli members, and they bring their friends to start class.
Ed Ort 23:21
Yeah. And I should also point out those of you who are listening that you know have already signed up as Olli students. There are great opportunities to lead classes at Olli, and as you've heard from our guests, you get so much out of it leading a class. So I highly recommend that if you have any interest at all. Now, Susan, you are about to lead a SIG, but there are other SIGs at Olli too, like book club, where you can join virtually over zoom to discuss with other members a new book every month. And speaking of fun, having fun at Olli over zoom, Olli offers a class called Team quiz quest, where you can join a team of three to six people over the internet or even in person and answer questions on general knowledge topics. The team with the most answers at the end of the semester wins prizes. So again, you can have fun, socialize, even win a prize. How much better can it get than that? Now another, I guess it's a SIG, is Ollie at the movies. And Susan, you're involved with that? Can you talk about it?
Susan Waldman 24:27
Well, we had started Ollie's at the movies many years ago. I've been going to ollie now for 16 years, and it's been a very successful time. And we see different movies. They're they're not new, but they are movies that you might have seen in the past, or are very poignant movies, or movies that have become very popular and very famous. And Keith runs that. And you get popcorn when you come
Ed Ort 25:02
really, yeah, free popcorn, free movie, yeah, with your ollie registration, absolutely and again. How often are
Susan Waldman 25:12
these? The third Friday of every month, and they goes continue through the January through December.
Ed Ort 25:19
Okay, all right. One other thing I would like to mention. You know, those of you who come to Olli, we're right on the UNLV campus, and later this month, there's going to be an art walk where you can look at some of the great pieces of art that people at Olli and UNLV have created, it's going to be on October 24 on the Promenade on the UNLV campus. So highly recommend you going there. You'll see a lot of terrific art. So any final words from our guests regarding playing games at Olli
Susan Waldman 25:59
it's a wonderful time in the school. There's so much to offer that I would love to see new faces there. As I said, I've been going there for quite some time, and every time I go through the door, I always have a smile on my
Ed Ort 26:13
face. Wonderful.
Esther Schube 26:15
And I'd like to thank Frank, because if he had not started recreational cards, neither Susan nor I would be with doing what we're doing. Yes, great, right?
Frank Davio 26:23
I think you would have eventually come to your games, even without
Esther Schube 26:31
true I've been in many of Frank's classes, and I enjoy it, and he's very good about putting the beginners where they need more help, and letting us that are experienced do our competitive games.
Frank Davio 26:44
I always,
Susan Waldman 26:46
he always brings donuts.
Frank Davio 26:49
Well, the shop clothes with covid. I miss that.
Ed Ort 26:53
Wait, wait, let me understand this. You come to Frank's class, you get donuts. If you come to ollie at the movies, to get popcorn. Hey, wow, you
Esther Schube 27:04
have to pay to play.
Ed Ort 27:08
Well, sadly, we have quickly come to the end of our session. I want to thank our guests today, Frank Esther and Susan, and I really want to thank all of you for listening.
Keith McMillen 27:22
Thanks for listening. To focus on Olli. There are several ways to get more information. Our web address is Olli o l l i, dot, u n L v.edu, you may also email us at Olli at, u n L V, that's Ollie O L, L, I, a T, U, n, l, V, at sine, unlv.edu, you can also just give us a call at 702-895-3394, Monday through Friday, between the hours of eight and five, except, of course, on university holidays, you.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai