The Economist (yes, the Economist!) is carrying an article describing the new image of poker in the United States. My favorite section was this:
The second push came in the mid-1980s, when California legalised high-stakes poker. This lent a gentler patina to the game, according to James McManus, who teaches a course on the literature and science of poker at the Art Institute of Chicago (nice job, that). Rough-hewn cowboys gave way to women and foreigners, a more middle-class clientele that, in turn, attracted more players than ever before.
He gets paid to teach a course on the literature of poker. The literature… of poker.
Categories: In the News, Sports
1:06 pm | 2 comments
May 27th, 2004 at 1:40 pm
Yeah, man. That’s some heavy reading, there. My favorite book is “A tale of two trails” by Charlie “Card Shark” Dickens.
May 27th, 2004 at 6:39 pm
I’m almost finished McManus’ “Positively Fifth Street“, which is jointly about Ted Binion’s murder and McManus’ exploits in the WSOP. He took his cash advance for an article that he was writing for Harpers and plunked it down at the WSOP, only to find himself at the final table a few days later. It’s a highly entertaining read.