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The biggest prize in the history

The story happened in a gloomy October day 1889, in Bowen Saloon, Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Ike Jackson, one of the richest farmers in the west, and the legendary player Johnny Dougherty were playing a passionate poker game. Among those 100 spectators that were watching the game, was also the Governor of the New Mexico, L. Bradford. When the bet reached 100,000 dollars, Jackson bet his farm. In his turn, Dougherty wrote a few lines on a sheet of paper, rose and pointing the gun to the governor’s head, forced him to sign the note. The note was placed then as a bet, on the table. His opponent read the note, swore and folded it up. “I rise the bet with the whole New Mexico territory”, the note said. See, you can bet anything, as long as you assume your responsibility and you have a gun pointed to your head! Or better said an entire country…

NIXON AND THE POKER PASSION

It is said that the former American president Richard Nixon sponsored his first election campaign from the money won playing poker in the navy during the Second World War. Still, as the political career does not match gambling, Nixon gave up poker in 1952, not before writing in his bibliography the following thing: “I’ve learned that the people that have a good hand, usually speak less and in a low voice, while those that bluff have the tendency to speak loud and in this way unmasking themselves”.

If for Nixon this worked, then keep in mind my advice, it might help you on your next game.

THE POKER MARATHON

The best example of the passion that the game induces was the well-known confrontation between the legendary poker player Johnny Moss and Nick “the Greek” Dandalos, a competition turned into a marathon game in 1949 at the Binion Horseshoe Casino in Las Vegas.

Why a marathon? The game lasted five months, with small interruptions to eat and sleep. At the end, it is said that Moss won 4 million dollars of the Greek’s fortune.

This was, in fact, the beginnings of the World Poker Championship (WSOP), which officially started in 1970.

MONEY DO NOT MATTER

An addicted player and a sharper – William “Canada Bill” Jones improved his career at the middle of 1800’s, in the casinos along the Mississippi River. His fabulous prizes are also lost at the gambling table, and at the end remained a memorable remark of his: “Players have nothing to do with money anyway. This is why they are made for, isn’t it?”.

HE BET HIS WIFE AT CARDS

Well, even nowadays people continue to bet without a limit.

The most recent incident is that of the Russian Andrei Karpov who gambled his wife at cards, when he was left with no money and when he lost. Unfortunately for him, he also lost his wife, Tatiana, who chose a quick divorce and a relationship with, you are right, Sergey Brodov, the one who had fairly won her playing poker.

Andrei Karpov was not the only one. The American secretary of state, Bill Bennett also gambled his wife at poker.

“Though I regret betting on my wife, I felt that I had a good hand and that it was impossible for me to lose. I was totally surprised when Jim Baker laid a royal flush”, those were his words immediately after the game. With a nice price, he finally succeeded to get her back. HOW TO LOSE MILLIONS The billionaire Kerry Packer, the richest man in Australia, had two big passions: sports and gambling. The passion for gambling cost him millions of euros, in just one night, losing in a casino in Las Vegas 20 million dollars.

HOW DID YOU START YOUR CAREER IN THIS DOMAIN?

Right after 1990. I’m form Timisoara and shortly after the Revolution different people started to come bringing gambling machines from Italy, Serbia… I have started at that time a gambling business in Timisoara, after that I have moved to Bucharest.

Since then I only do gambling, from slots to live casinos. In 2002 I have created the Romanian Association of the Casinos Organizers, and since 2004 I have been its president.

ARE THERE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE ORGANIZATION IN ROMANIA AND THE SIMILAR ONES OUTSIDE?

No, they are the same, and recently we have become members of the European Casinos Association in Bruxelles.

HOW DO YOU SEE THE ROMANIAN LEGISLATION IN THE CASINO’S DOMAIN?

It is very bad. There is a law since 1999, that we all try to change and I hope that will change by the end of the year. I have suggested a series of new and good things for this law that is still a project, and that I hope it will be approved so that this way we can be on the same position with the European legislation.

WHICH ARE THE GAMES THAT YOU LIKE MOST?

I like all the games, for me they are all the same, the only thing that is different is the machine or the gambling table, but the principle is the same. In slots you can electronically adjust the percent of winnings, but in live games it all depends on probability, mathematics and, of course, on some rules. If you fallow a series of clear rules, the casino can not lose.

WHAT ABOUT THE FAMOUS CARDS RECORDER?

There are 2650 cards recorders all over the world; I have found two in Romania also, but foreigners. It is interesting that the most hunted one is a Romanian; he has an activity of almost 25 years.

IN WHAT DO YOU GAMBLE?

I don’t gamble often, I play when I go to Las Vegas, for fun, but I don’t have patience anymore.

I have taken player’s psychology classes and I don’t feel the adrenaline anymore, for me it is interesting when I take the player’s money.

WHAT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THIS BUSINESS AND ANY OTHER HAVE YOU NOTICED SINCE NOW?

There is no comparison between this business and any other. You come with the money and I sell you a dream, an illusion.

There are clients that came to the casino as they were coming to a restaurant, with their wives, to have fun, others seeking to get rich and others just to gamble lots of money. We had people that won 100.000 euros, but they didn’t leave until they didn’t lose all those money and 50.000 more.

WHAT ATTRACTS YOU TO THE WORLD OF THE CASINOS, OF GAMBLING?

It is a hard business, it is very profitable, but it is also the most difficult business in the entertainment area. You can invest millions of euros, but if you don’t work with professionals, you fail. The secret lies in the team you are working with, your people must have the experience to turn a small player into a big one, ready to play more for bigger sums.

DO YOU BELIEVE THAT WILL ALSO SOON APPEAR IN ROMANIA OTHER CHAINS OF CASINOS?

I don’t believe that after the integration new casinos will appear, but that also depends on the facilities they will be offered.

Unlike America, for example, where from the profit of a 50.000 dollars gift is inferred, this doesn’t happen here, nothing is inferred for us.

WHICH WAS THE PLACE YOU HAVE BEEN AND IMPRESSED YOU MOST?

I remember a visit to Las Vegas, when I have been to a private saloon, in one of the biggest casinos in the world. The sums gambled here are amazing, a single counter valued 250.000 dollars, and there were won and lost millions of dollars each and every hour and still the players were relaxed.

These are the players that have at their disposal a private plane of the casino, that live in 800 m2 apartments, with a 200 m2 pool inside the apartment.

The luxury they are offered there is amazing. In Romania we pay them the plane, a 5 stars hotel, trips around the country; we can’t do more than that for now.

IT HAS BEEN DIFFICULT THE BEGINNING OF THIS INDUSTRY IN ROMANIA?

The beginning was a pioneer’s work; there were many problems to solve. Now it is just a business, a very secure one, we have 76 cameras here at Grand Casino Hilton which can see absolutely everything; we can even see what you are writing on your phone. In Romania there are now 40.000 slot machines and 20 casinos, among which 10 in Bucharest and 10 outside the city. The market limited their number, not somebody else.

WHAT DO YOU WISH TO SEE IN ROMANIA IN THIS DOMAIN?

I’d like us to grow fast, to have big casinos, with amazing shows. The market will grow if we have stability, and if the incomes grow, people will come and will have fun.

ARE THERE TRAINING COURSES?

Most of the time, the most important ones take place in Las Vegas and London. The Asian market is apart, even if Macao has outrun this year the profits in Las Vegas.

I’ve been to Macao and I was shocked, clients were coming and offer money to those sitting at the gambling table in order to give them their places. The Asians are the biggest players in the world; do not forget that they have invented the game of cards, the roulette…

CAN WE DO GAMBLING TOURISM?

Of course, it depends on what we offer them. If there was a free zone as there is in Las Vegas, I can assure you that there would have been brought to the country billions of dollars, but in our country has been a mentality problem.

George Copos, while he was vice-president, had the initiative of making on the coastline near Eforie a gambling area, but the lack of the necessary substructure made that impossible. In Russia has already happen in three areas, but here private businesses are more important, not the state’s interest.

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO READ IN THE CASINO MAGAZINE?

It would be interesting to tell the stories of this world, many things happen in a casino, our public comes from all the social strata, the professions in a casino are true stories, and the casino itself with everything that happens here is a small copy of the society.

GRAND CASINO IS A CHAIN OF CASINOS THAT FUNCTION ONLY ON THE ROMANIAN MARKET HAVING THREE CASINOS OPENED IN THE THREE MOST ELEGANT HOTELS IN ROMANIA.

First of them was inaugurated in 2000 inside the JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel. One year later, in 2001, GRAND CASINO Hilton has been opened, inside the Athenee Palace Hilton Bucharest Hotel. Later, in 2005, the GRAND CASINO chain also took over the casino inside the Europa Hotel, in Iasi.

Now, the casinos in Bucharest and Iasi have 650 employees that promote the values of GRAND CASINO: professionalism, respect for the individual and reputation.

Opened 24 hours seven days of the week, the GRAND casinos offer its clients a great variety of games, slots and game limits.

Here you can find the traditional casino games, Roulette, Blackjack, Poker, together with a variety of slot machines, and in the electronic gamble hall in Marriott you can play on the newest Slot Machines, together with the classical Cleopatra and Triple Diamond.

The most popular game of poker, Texas Hold’em Poker, it is played each night in GRAND CASINO, from 8:00 p.m., and the best poker players in the country take part monthly in the Texas Hold’em Poker tour.

The GRAND CASINO casinos have a variety of auxiliary services for its clients: restaurant, bar, free transportation for players, invitation to special events organized by the casino, hotel accommodation and many others. There have been many important moments in the history of the GRAND CASINO, the opening of the casino from Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel, taken over from the Partouche group, can be mentioned among those because opened new developing and extension perspectives for the company and imposed the GRAND CASINO brand on the casino’s market. In the near future the game and services offer will be more varied, the number of gambling tables will grow and the new games will appear. GRAND CASINO holds each Saturday night varied parties and special events: a concert, a fashion parade, a sport event or a tour.

The special atmosphere, the elegance and style of GRAND CASINO attracted for a long the time film producers, TV shows and event organizers in search of new ideas and locations. Here have been filmed scenes from films and TV series, shows, press conferences, products have been released and a series of event for the employers of the multinational companies. Jean Claude Van Damme, Bernthard Daniel, Adrian Paul, Manuela Harabor, Andrea Banica, Anda Adam, Loredana Groza and many others have visited the Grand Casino.

In an electric casino there are, also, electric machines, known as “Slot Machines”, unlike the classical casinos, which have gambling tables – Roulette, Blackjack or Poker, but also Slot Machines.

Today Slot Machines have become very popular and many casinos have special areas arranged or even separate halls for Slot Machines.

TELL US, PLEASE, WHICH ARE THE PROJECTS YOU ARE WORKING AT NOW.

The soap opera “Movie Like Love”/”Iubire ca in filme” broadcast by ACASA TV, where I play the character called Ileana, the TV series “At Work”/”La service” on PRO TV, I have concerts each weekend and a lot of fashion representations.

It is a period in which the program is full but that is good.

MOVIE, TELEVISION OR MUSIC? All of them, I feel good making each of these.

HOW IMPORTANT YOU THINK IT IS FOR A WOMAN TO BE ADMIRED FOR HER LOOK?

It is very flattered for any woman to be admired. And this motivates her to keep her physical condition, which gives her a good tonus for her every day activities.

WHICH ARE YOUR PASSIONS?

When I have time, I go rolling.

It helps me to relax, it keeps me in shape. If go rolling one hour, I don’t have to go to gym anymore.

WHAT DO YOU WISH IN THE NEAR FUTURE?

More free time to spend it with Zsolt.

YOU SHOW UP IN THE ONLY ROMANIAN GLOSSY MAGAZINE DEDICATED TO CASINO’S WORLD? WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS FIELD?

I don’t know much about casinos.

What I find interesting about this world is that causes addiction and challenges your will. A man that starts gambling in a casino can’t stop. I played a few times at a slot machine, but nothing else interested me.

ARE WOMEN ATTRACTED BY THE CASINOS AND GAMBLING UNIVERSE AS THEY ARE ATTRACTED BY FAST CARS, FORMULA 1 AND EVERYTHING THAT MEANS SHOW AND LUXURY?

There are many women that are fascinated by fast cars, casinos, but there are some that just admire all these, without getting involved in this industry. It is true that many of them are attracted by the glamour and the beauty of those things.

YOUR BOYFRIEND IS VERY ACTIVE IN THIS FIELD, DO YOU TALK ABOUT THIS BUSINESS?

We don’t talk about this.

IS THERE A PARALLEL BETWEEN GAME, GAMBLING WHICH INVOLVES RISK, WINNING OR LOSING AND STAR LIFE?

Each person that bets on this way of winning also takes the risk of a possible loss. In everything that you do there is the chance to win, but also the risk to lose, it is the same way for any person whether it is a star or not. And if it is than also his/her activity involves a certain risk of doing things that may bring a prejudice to his/her image and, why not, to winning.

WHICH WAS THE MOMENT YOU RISKED IN YOUR LIFE?

Never. I don’t like risking and I thing I’ll never do it.

WHICH WAS YOUR BIGGEST WINNING?

I won something out of each experience. Starting with the parts in soap operas, to my musical career. These brought me closer to the audience, to the fans. But the most important warning of all it is the fact that I can say I found true love. And I have found it in a very important moment in my life.

HOW IMPORTANT DO YOU THINK ARE CHANCE AND LUCK IN ONE’S LIFE BESIDE ONE’S WORK?

I believe in the saying: “The right person, in the right place”, so yes, I’m convinced that luck plays a very important part in one’s life. If you don’t have it, you can also make it.

COULD YOU EVER BET ALL ON ONE CARD ONLY?

No. as I’ve already said, I don’t like to risk.

WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF NOW, WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT?

I wish I had more free time to spend it with Zsolt.

WHICH WAS THE MOMENT YOU FELT THAT YOU WERE VERY LUCKY OR UNLUCKY?

Very lucky… the fact that I met Zsolt. I can’t say that there was a moment in which I was very unlucky.

I hope I’ll never be.

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“BELLAGIO IS THE PLACE WHERE YOU FEEL YOU HAVE MONEY ON YOU, THAT YOU HAVE NOT WORKED FOR NOTHING, THAT YOU ARE LIVING YOUR LIFE”, SAYS STEVE WYNN, THE ONE WHO BUILT BELLAGIO, THE HOTEL CONSIDERED TO BE ONE OF THE SYMBOLS OF LAS VEGAS. A PIECE OF PARADISE, THE PLACE WHERE DREAMS COME TRUE.

Vegas would not be as charming as it is without the fountains’ show in Bellagio, without the poker shows and competitions, without the hot stories that make themselves heard through the walls of the famous hotel, situated in the middle of Las Vegas. It is the favorite hotel of the Hollywood’s stars.

ONE BILLION DOLLAR HOTEL

The Bellagio center has cost over a billion of dollars. Hundreds of five star rooms, show halls, a casino, luxuriant gardens, clubs and restaurant of dazzling luxury. “It is a place that will never become old-fashioned. Bellagio represents tradition and modernity put together. It is a place where money was wisely invested, maybe the only one in Vegas”, writes the American Life magazine. Beyond the fountains’ show, probably the most famous inthe world, the comedy and variety shows, the heart of the Bellagio business remains the casino, one of the most luxurious in the world.

DIPLOMATS’ CASINO

Bellagio’s casino is one of the most famous casinos in Vegas. And this is because here come to gamble the most well-known stars of Hollywood, but also politicians from all over the world. Bill Clinton, Arnold, Tom Cruise, Seinfeld etc. have been seen here. The location is built in such a way that offers entertainment and protection to all the stars willing to taste the sensation of gambling. More than 300 tables and 800 machines offer a variety of games, from Caribbean Stud, Let it Ride Stud Poker, Pai Gow Tiles, Pai Gow Poker, Big Six, Three-Card Poker to baccarat. In Bellagio also take place some of the biggest poker competitions in the world. From 7 to 27 of April here took place the Fifth Annual Five Star World Poker Classic.

LIFE MAKES SENSE

And if you want to see something you will never forget all your life, then this is the fountains in front of the casino. To say that it is a music, light, fireworks and artesian fountains show, it would be a wordless description. The water dances in the rhythm of the music, accompanies the voices and sometimes springs almost touching the sky. A show that takes you to another world.

BELLAGIO TENTATION

In Bellagio, money gets a special quality – the volatility: disappear immediately and you don’t even know where. A statistics shows that in Vegas, 85% of the tourists gamble and lose, on an average, 665 dollars per person.

But in Bellagio, the sum is a few times bigger. “The only way to make money in a casino is to owe one” – these are Steve Wynn’s words, the person who built Bellagio. However, no matter how much one spends, the game in Bellagio is a sensation that must be lived and, more than that, must be repeated.

GAMING, BETTING & ENTERTAINMENT

ADMIRAL IS THE BRAND UNDER WHICH WE FIND SOME OF THE ROOMIEST, PLEASANT AND NOTABLE GAMING AND SPORT BETTING HALLS IN ROMANIA. THE ADMIRAL BRAND IS PRESENT IN ROMANIA THROUGH SC INTERTOP SRL, WHICH IS PART OF THOSE MORE THAN 100 COMPANIES ALL OVER THE WORLD, BELONGING TO NOVOMATIC, NUMBER 1 WORLD WIDE IN THE FIELD OF GAMING TECHNOLOGIES.

AUSTRIAN STANDARDS IN ROMANIA

The ADMIRAL gaming and sport betting halls, in Bucharest and all over the country, represent a successful business, to which the players’ market responded very well. The quality of the ADMIRAL brand can be found in all that these gaming and sport betting halls offer, new playing machines that attract the player visually and sonorously, an attentive and well prepared staff. The last games appeared, but also the already classical ones are to be found in the selection the management of the ADMIRAL made, and have been offered to the fans.

ADMIRAL sport bets give you the possibility of multiple betting, with maximum security, comfortably, with the newest technology available.

All the machines are examined and have a license given by the European associations of gaming, those that check all the machines in Europe and not only. Thus, we can say that what an ADMIRAL hall offers us in Romania is equal to any other in Europe or anywhere in the world, where NOVOMATIC operates.

For the near future they plan to enlarge the business in Bucharest, but also in some other cities in the country. Together with increasing the number of halls, also the investments in sport bets will grow, an area that grew fast in the last years in Romania.

The connector of all the services offered by ADMIRAL among which we also mention bar, exchange, sports betting etc. it is the high standard of quality, this being both a NOVOMATIC politic and a result of the competition on the Romanian market.

A leader after more than 25 years on the market of machines for electric casinos, NOVOMATIC is the provider of technological solutions and software in the field.

In Romania as well, the presence of ADMIRAL equipments is not only to be found in their own gaming and sport betting halls, but also in the operations of all gaming organizers from all over the country. All the products offer the clients, besides the satisfation of playing, also a maximum level of security, being a company that operates for the future of gaming, a pionieer in the gaming research, in order to offer the programs and the technology of gaming for the future. In Australia, Germany, United States, Great Britain, Switzerland or any other country in which NOVOMATIC or one of its brands is present on the market, the values of the group are respected: development, involvment in inovation, responsability, quality of the services, the continuous training of the employees, security and the list may continue. Respecting all these principle, their prescription to the other parteners as well, always turned NOVOMATIC into a leader.

NOVOMATIC was founded in Lower Austria by Johann F. Garff in 1980 and was able to establish itself in the international gaming market within a short period of time. This group offers its customers a wide range of products and services. The tiered structure of their range of operations stretches all the way from the research and development of games and gaming machines, including their production, as well as the running of casinos and slots arcades, right up to advising companies on the developmentof their casino operations.

They are thus able, as a single supplier, to offer turnkey solutions to the gaming sector, making NOVOMATIC one of the few integrated gaming companies around the world. The company is also proud to have been awarded a National Award of the Republic of Austria in 1986.

Sport and betting are two inseparable concepts and NOVOMATIC’s subsidiary, ADMIRAL SPORTWETTEN, offers all betting friends the chance to turn their knowledge of sport into hard cash. Sporting events are broadcasted live onto big screens or monitors at these outlets. Above and beyond this wide variety of sporting events, international horse and greyhound races are also shown live. The range of services is supplemented by a professional catering service.

NOVOMATIC

as a globally active enterprise, is actively engaged in over 340 sites in more than 30 countries. It entered the Romanian market in 1990, and since the year 2000, INTERTOP is the sole representative of NOVOMATIC to Romania, operating, renting and selling NOVOMATIC Austria’s equipment.

A GAME THAT MADE HISTORY. A GAME THAT CHANGED A WORLD, PUT MARKS ON A GENERATION, CHANGED DESTINIES AND EVENTS.

A GAME AS OLD AS THE WORLD

The five magical cards stirred up, along the history, the biggest passions.

Around this game fabulous fortunes were lost and won, political decisions that changed the world were made. A game above all the rest, a game that, as some say, it is given by God. Or maybe the Devil.

Poker, as we know it today, appeared somewhere in the second decade of the 19th century.

Yet, the game was known from 1600, when in France and Italy similar games were played, which implied betting and three cards combinations. The game was so popular that spread fast all over Europe. In 1790, it is certified in England and Germany, the place where was also called “poker” for the first time. In the German game, the players indicated if they wanted to quite or go further by hitting the table and saying “Ich Pocher!”. There are also stories about “pukka sahibs”, a game of cards similar to poker which was played thousands of years in India, and the historical sources speak also about Poque, a game that the Persians considered the best way to have fun.

POKER CROSSES THE OCEAN

The 1790-1830s definitely mark the period in which the poker game knew its fame.

Brought by the English men to America, the game rapidly developed, becoming the most popular game of cards. In New Orleans, for example, something similar to poker was played, with 25 cards, by four persons. The bets were announced by “Te poque for a dollar” or “I poque against you 2 dollars”. In 1892, the English actor Joseph Crowell wrote about poker for the first time, in his diary, a game on fashion on the steam boat of Helen M’Gregor, which was heading towards New Orleans.

PROFESSIONALS APPEAR

Poker really became famous in 1800s. In 1834, the game had just one betting round; the players received only five cards and changing cards was not allowed yet. Jonathan H. Green, one of the most famous players in the history, comes than with the idea of modifying the game a little. In 1837, the pack of cards raises to 52 and the game is available for more players. A few years later, he also adds straights and colors as winning variants and introduces the rule of changing the cards. This way the game reaches a great popularity in a short period of time, becoming the most known game in the world.

CHASING GOLD

There’s no doubt that when we speak about poker, we associate it to cowboys, the pursuit of gold in 1850-1900. A period when poker is the game that moves money from one pocket to another, that replaces the real estate negotiations, that ruins destinies and changes America.

A period in which the game knows some other essential changes. In 1875, the wild cards appear, than Stud and Draw variants, which allow more betting rounds, a bigger number of players and, maybe the most important of all, the bluff… the salt and pepper of poker.

In the same period, in 1870 to be more specific, the Jackpot is introduced in order to stop players that have low cards from entering dangerous pots. (to be continued)

HE IS CALLED KID POKER. HE WAS THE YOUNGEST POKER WORLD CHAMPION, THE ROMANIAN WHO REWROTE THE HISTORY OF THE MOST LOVED GAME OF CARDS IN THE WORLD. DANIEL NEGREANU BECAME, IN JUST FEW YEARS, A TRUE LEGEND IN THE WORLD GAMBLING. A SPECTACULAR CARRIER, MILLIONS DOLLARS PRIZES, A LIFE AS IN THE MOVIES – THE PROFILE IF A TRUE WORLD CHAMPION.

THE ROMANIAN THAT CONQUERED THE WORLD OF POKER

He was born in 1974 in the Canadian city Toronto. His parents had left Romania in 70’s, in search of a better life. In his adolescence, he used to play pool. Then, by accident, he discovered the gaming cards. And he never let them go. “I remember the fact that, at that time, I wanted all that meant specialty book. I used to love the risk, the bets, the strategy. Step by step I’ve started to understand that the game of cards is more than luck. It is strategy, it is a true art”, tells Negreanu. At the age of 21 he realizes that poker was no more unknown to him and decides to go to Las Vegas, the place where the game is seen as a true art. “Then followed two years in which I have participated in different championships.

I have started to win gradually, to the players, to realize when I can take my chance, when I have to be careful. Actually, those were the most beautiful years of my life, the ones in which I changed my way of thinking the poker”, says Negreanu, in one of his interviews for CNBS.

THE YOUNGEST CHAMPION IN THE HISTORY

Then followed the fame. In 1998, at the World Poker Championship, becomes the youngest champion in the history of this game. He had already won over 8 million dollars out of poker.

One year later, Daniel Negreanu obtains the title of United States of America’s champion. Then the won championships start to gather, one by one in his record. “I don’t remember how many they are. I have won almost everything that can be won. From World Poker Tour, to World Series of Poker. But, you know, beside these tournaments, beside my record, I have won the most important thing, I believes – the respect of the others. Me, a Romanian, whom no one believed that can do it, at the beginning, I have been able to make it to the top, starting from zero. I want to believe this is an example for those that have a hope, for those that live the bet of life as it should be lived. I wanted to be a world champion and I succeeded. With a lot of work, anything is possible.

This is my message for those that love poker”, says Daniel Negreanu. And his record honors him. He won many tournaments, two World Poker Tours, two World Poker finals in Foxwoods and two World Series of Poker bracelets.

He has qualified himself in 11 main events and over 40 challenge poker series. The most important title was obtained in 1998, when he became the youngest winner on the WSOP bracelet in the history, a record that he held until 2004. The sums he won by playing poker top the 50 million dollars, thus succeeding to reach the second place in the world in the top of all-time prizes won by a single player.

POKER, A TRUE ART

Daniel Negreanu is an atypical player. He doesn’t participate in any tournament. He doesn’t want money, for him poker is a true art that must be treated as such. “In poker, doesn’t matter the number of games you play. It doesn’t nec essary matter the experience. You ca win hundreds of cards, you can be full of strategies. In this game talent is the most important, the intelligence and a bit of madness.

It is the most wonderful game in the world, because practically, even if you practice it forever, a rooker can appear and beat you in 4 cards. Of course, the second day you’ll defeat him and this is because you will know him, you will analyze his moves, you will know everything about him”, says Negreanu. It has been said about him that he is a tough, a strong player. “He is like a blade. He cuts in flash. He is keen, he takes quick decisions and he has an amazing capacity in reading his opponents”, writes john Marshal, sports commentator in CNBS. “Besides his exceptional talent, he has a powerful capacity in fixing strategies and anticipating the moves of the opponent. Negreanu is the coldest and most perfidious player I’ve ever seen”, Daniel Bursweek characterizes him, a real “guru” in the United States, in the field of specialized sports commenting.

THE ART OF BEING NUMER 1

Daniel Negreanu tries to change the way poker is perceived in society and he is a big supporter of promoting the fair and competitive games. For him, being number 1, is a wish. “Life can bring you on the first position, in any domain. Besides the respective goal, remains the story.

One you reached the top, you must tell the others how you made it. To teach them, to help them, to offer the chance to reach their goals too”, says Negreanu. Along the years, Daniel appeared in many poker shows, as Late Night Poker, High Stakes Poker and Ultimate Poker Challenge. He is often invited to the TV shows of Fox Sportum CNBS and ESPN. He wrote hundreds of articles for Card Player Magazine and other specialized magazines and he has been mentioned in the most important “Who’s who?” in the world sports. His last big achievement, that he is very proud of, is his book called “Daniel Negreanu’s Power Hold’em Strategy”, a specialized analysis of all the aspects of the Texas Hold’em game.

NEGREANU, A REGULAR GUY

Besides the millions of dollars which he won out of poker, “Kid Poker” has remained a regular guy. He lives in Las Vegas, together with his wife Lori Lin Weber, as a normal person. “I live my life close to my wife, I’m a regular guy. Beyond the tension of the tournaments, I prefer to relax myself at home, in front of the TV or in the yard, at a barbeque, to drink a Light Cola or a good win, to see a basketball match or to go camping with my friends”. Even if he has been in Romania only once, he considers himself a true Romanian. “My parents taught me about Romania, about what we represent as people. I have been only once in the country, and I really felt home. It is a feeling I’ll want to feel again. I’ll even try to organize a poker tour in Bucharest”, also stated Daniel Negreanu.

NEGREANU, IN THE STATISTICS

In 1997 becomes a professional player.
In 1998 he has been declared “the youngest champion” in
World Series Of Poker tour.
“Player of the year 2004” in the World Poker Tour (WPT)
competition.
He won for three time the World Series tour and two WPT
titles.
In 2003, he launched fullhousepoker.com site, where the
users can play virtual poker.
He launched “Daniel Negreanu Protégé” competition, where
those that have signed up in a tour for winning the privilege of
being the disciple of the champion, compete.

10 PIECES OF ADVICE FROM NEGREANU
1. Start playing only if you are relaxed. Tiredness can make you
lose important bets.
2. Always watch you opponents. Try to discover their reactions.
There is no one that doesn’t feel joy when he has received a
good card, and you can see this even in one grimace.
3. Be aware of the details. Any card is important, even if in that
moment is not useful.
4. Play for the future. Don’t thing of rapid winning. It is better a
winning at the end, than one concurrence one.
5. Dress yourself careful. Any vestimentary detail can betray
your reactions when you receive a good card. Should I tell you
about sweat? About emotions?
6. Poker is not only luck. Fix your strategies. Poker is more
than a game of chess.
7. Do not gamble all your money. Leave room for next time.
8. Poker is a game of cards. Treat it as such. Do not turn the
game in a life or death business.
9. Bet constant sums. Avoid throwing all your money on one
card only.
10. You will be a champion when you will know to close the
game. Poker means, beyond anything else, the moment you
know to win and stop playing.

TEMPTING PRIZES, A GREAT VARIETY OF GAMES, COMFORT AND MOST OF ALL FUN. THESE ARE THE TRUMPS THAT GAMBLING SITES USE IN ORDER TO ATTRACT MILLIONS OF PLAYERS ALL OVER THE WORLD. ONLINE CASINO IS NO LONGER AN ORIGINAL EXPERIENCE, IT IS A REAL BUSINESS WORTHING HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS.

ONLINE BOOM

In the 90’s, online gambling became a successful business. If until that moment, because of the low development of the internet networks, the number of players was around a few hundreds, now, along with the technological boom, online gambling has became extremely popular. For exemple, in 2006 the number of players that have entered the gambling sites outran 450.000, faithful users, identified by their IP. An IPA statistics made in US in 2005 shows that more than 156.000 players had bet from 20 to 2500 dollars in the online casinos. A world wide statistics shows that the cash flow in online gambling industry in 2005 outran 355 million dollars.

COMFORT AND FUN

The big trumps of online gambling are related to comfort – you don’t have to leave your home, you only need to have a computer, an internet connection and a bank account; fun – no one will know who you are when playing online, the access to the site is based on a password and a personalized ID; promptitude and opportunity – in case you win, the money will get to your account in on instant.

NECESSARY STEPS

Choose the sites that have the biggest number of users. That means that they are to be trusted. Verify the game’s rules in “Terms and Conditions” section. Verify the way the financial transactions take place, where you deposit your money, and how you get your money. Do not go for big pots. More games at the same time, for a few dollars, can give you more chances to win. If your connection to the internet drops off, the site keeps a record of your betting and your game situation.