GROVER BEACH - When professional poker champion David Stearns decided to leave Los Angeles to open his own casino more than six years ago, relocating to the Central Coast wasn't even in the cards.

"I was looking for a nice place (to open a casino) for about 10 years," Stearns said. "I looked on the map for where (Highway) 101 met the ocean. I had no ties to this area. I hadn't even been to this area before."

But once Stearns made the decision to move to the Five Cities and open Central Coast Casino in Grover Beach, he's never looked back.

"I had a $1,700-a-month house payment but I couldn't go outside because I could get shot," he said with a laugh. "I'm not going back. I'm happy right here."

Stearns still plays in professional poker tournaments and high-stakes games once or twice a year, but he is quick to point out that the Central Coast Casino - "Where visitors feel like locals, and locals are treated like guests," according to its motto - and its clientele are his main focus.

"This is a place where a real player designed it," he explained about the small card room that has only two tables. "If the players aren't happy, it's going to be a very short-run proposition. That's what I do for a living, make the game fun. It's less competitive here (than the big casinos)."

And whether they were winning or losing, Stearns' players seemed to be enjoying themselves - heckling and jawing with one another at the tables as the dealers laid out their hands, eating homemade food prepared by Stearns' wife and simply enjoying the camaraderie.

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"People feel really comfortable in here," Stearns said. "I don't try to get everyone in here and really try to tailor it to the people who can afford to play."

Unlike the large money-making casinos in Las Vegas, Stearns encourages his Texas Hold 'em players to make small bets and know when to walk away.

"The main thing is to have a good time and learn," he said. "Half of what I do is to discourage people from playing. I don't want them to ruin their lives. Playing with your rent money isn't good."

Poker, according to Stearns, is a game of 90 percent luck and 10 percent skill.

"Poker takes a minute to learn and a lifetime to master," he said, adding the key to being a good poker player lies within a person's ability to be disciplined and a willingness to learn.

The poker champion also shares his knowledge of the game with his customers by offering free poker lessons, which he encourages all newcomers to the sport to take at least once. And those lessons can pay off.

One woman who had never played poker and took his lessons went on to win 11 tournaments in a row.

Taking poker lessons is important, he said, because students learn not only how to play the game, but also why they win or lose - how much was bad luck and how much their own mistakes.

"This is a casino with a card room, too," Stearns said. "It's a big name for a little place."

* Staff writer April Charlton can be reached at 489-4206, Ext. 5016, or by e-mail at acharlton

@pulitzer.net.

July 26, 2004