(Dom Furore/Golf Digest photo) My old friend and prominent Las Vegas criminal defense attorney David Chesnoff introduced me to the late Evel Knievel back in the mid-1980’s when we bumped into him while playing golf at Las Vegas Country Club. That led to an afternoon of David telling me stories about the high-stakes Vegas golf games in which Knievel regularly played, a good number of which involved Knievel’s legendary ability to hold up well under extraordinary pressure.
Knievel’s death last week reminded me of another story about Knievel thriving under pressure that Knievel told in this Golf Digest inteview from a couple of years ago:

I was playing 21 at the Aladdin in Las Vegas, betting $10,000 a hand. Arnold Palmer and Winnie are standing right behind me, watching. And I’m losing. The dealer is pulling 20 every time, and although I’m pulling my share of 20s, too, I can’t win a hand, and I’m losing a lot of money. And I’m getting really angry. The next hand he deals me a 20, and he’s got a face card showing. I’m certain he has 20, and I just can’t bear tying again. So I ask for a hit.
The dealer freaks out, shuts the table down and screams for Ash Resnick, who runs the casino. Ash comes along and is told I want to hit 20. He looks at me for a long time and then says, “Give the kid a hit.” The dealer gives me an ace, and when I turn around, Arnold’s eyes are this big, and Winnie looks like she’s going to be sick.
“I know what pressure is,” Arnold said, “but you’re too much.”

Read the entire interview here.