Beechwood 4-5789: About Pai Gow Poker?

Hi, all. New to the boards, but a long time reader of Snopes. I figured if there was any meat to this story, someone here would know.

The legend that came up at my local casino today is concerning the old Motown hit "Beechwood 4-5789." Allegedly, when Marvin Gaye wrote the lyrics, he had Pai Gow Poker in mind. When you dial the number "Beechwood 4-5789" on a telephone, you are dialing 234-5789 (the BE in BEechwood representing the 23.) 2-3-4-5-7-8-9 also happens to be the worst possible hand in Pai Gow Poker. There are also some who refer to a 2-3-4-5-7-8-9 as a "Beechwood Pai Gow," or "Beechwood 4-5-7-8-9".

So what do you think?

- Kevin

[snopes]

I couldn't say for sure, but I believe that although pai gow itself is a very old game, the poker form is of more recent origin than the song "Beechwood 4-5789." At least, I'm not aware of pai gow poker having been offered in U.S. casinos prior to the mid-1980s.

- snopes