American Mahjong Royalty

Andrew Keeler

Mister Mahjong

San Francisco, California

The man who moved the game to the bar.

In San Francisco, Andrew Keeler's friends long ago named him Mister Mahjong. He has taught and hosted American Mah Jongg, and Hong Kong style for the adventurous, across the Bay Area since 2015, and has grown the Bay Area Mahjong Meetup into a community of some fourteen hundred players. His story began at five years old, listening to his mother and her friends play.

His first games were at the Jewish Community Center, but he wanted the game out in the world, so he set up free public tables around the city several days a week: a standing Tuesday game, Monday nights in Noe Valley, and the crowd at Mr. Mahjong's near Chinatown. He arrives with chocolates wrapped to look like tiles. Prim admired most the steady weekly work of keeping people coming back.

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The Hosts and the Clubs

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