Mortimer's card room, Marina landmark, closes.

To paraphrase the classic saying, there are a few things you can count on in life: Death, taxes and a poker game at Mortimer's Casino.

No longer.

After becoming a local institution since it first opened its doors in 1938, the card room suddenly shuttered this weekend, catching roughly 25 employees off-guard.

Adjacent and connected, the divey Lee & Buzz's Cocktail Lounge (384-6502) remains open, and home to one of Monterey County's best 20 happy hours. They are separate businesses.

The city's relatively recent card room tax didn't help the bottom line, and neither did the Great Recession.

Jesse Crawford has managed the open-until-late card room for the last five years, and was among those taking the news hard.

"It's an emotional time for us," he says. "Some of the employees I’ve known for 20 years. I'll miss working for an iconic business. Anywhere you go in the county, someone always has a nice story to tell about it."

There are plenty of rowdier stories too, which Ryan Masters captured with great texture with the 2014 cover story, "A Total Gamble: Three days and nights inside Marina’s card rooms stacks character and revelations as high as the chips."

The families who own the property could not be reached despite several calls.

Frank Calamia owns The Marina Club Casino (384-0925) and was among those stunned by the closure—at least in one way.

"I'm surprised the way they did it," he says. "There's not even a sign up there now. I've got people asking, 'How can I cash in my Mortimer's chips?'"

On the other hand, he wasn't surprised given the toll the 5 percent city tax takes on margins.

He does plan to take on some of the jobless Mortimer's staffers to help fill vacation shifts where he can.