Texas Hold’em is one of the most dramatic, most delectable and popular varieties of poker in the world, and it seems like everywhere you turn there is another article, another website, or another show dedicated to the subject

History

The birthplace is Robstown, Texas, and the birthdate is sometime in the early 1900s. The game was borught to Las Vegas in 1967 by a group of Texan gamblers and card players, including the legendary Doyle Brunson. For several years the Golden Nugget Casino in Downtown Las Vegas was the only casino in Las Vegas to offer the game and unfortunately not many people would put the big money into it. Only as late as 1969 were the Vegas professionals invited to play Texas Hold’em at the entrance of the now-demolished Dunes Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. It was the very same year when the first ever poker tournament was organized and the first time that the Hold’em was featured among the games. Yet it was to become the main event in the competition. In the years to come, Hold’em outgrew Nevada and soon become the unrivalled celebrity of card rooms all around the world. Its popularity boomed in 2000 due to the synergy between the game’s massive appearance in film and on television, the invention of on-line poker and the growing mass of dedicated literature.

THE STAKES AND THE GAME

Texas Hold’em is normally played in nine or ten players but it can also be played in less than that, for a short hand (not less than two, anyway). To open the game, each player is dealt one card, and whoever gets the best card will be the first dealer. After each hand, the white dealer button rotates clockwise, so that every player gets to that position.

The objective of the game is to get the best combination of five out of the seven cards available – the community cards face-up on the table (which can be used by all players) and the two hole cards, face-down in front of each player.

It is the five community cards that make the difference between the Texas Hold’em and the Stud or Draw, where each player has their own hand. The community cards are turned face-up at three stages of the game: first, a group of three, called the flop; second, only one, called the turn card, and third, the last card, called the river card. As with all other poker variants, in Texas Hold’em the players compete for an amount of money contributed by themselves – the pot. The game is divided into a series of hands or deals; at the conclusion of each hand the pot is awarded to one or several players.

In Hold’em there are no antes, but blind bets are used – forced bets by two players. Before dealing the cards, the player to the left of the dealer posts the small blind which is usually half the minimum bet. The person to the left of the small blind posts the big blind, which is equal to the minimum bet. The hand starts with a “preflop“ betting round (before turning the three cards faceup), beginning with the “big blind“ (two positions to the left of the dealer), or the player to the left of the dealer, and continuing clockwise. After each group of cards is revealed, the players place their bets, yet this time they do so informedly. A hand ends either at the showdown (when the remaining players compare their hands and the best wins), or when all but one player have folded and abandoned their claims to the pot. The pot is then awarded to the player(s) who have not folded.

The objective of winning players is not winning every individual hand, but rather making mathematically correct decisions. Because each player starts off with only two cards, the rest being shared, the game presents an opportunity for strategic analysis (including mathematical analysis). This is why Hold’em inspired a wide variety of strategy books which provide recommendations for proper play.

Could the casino be a place of perish as some claim?! Then wouldn’t the world, with all its temptations, be a place of perdition? Is poker a pretended game of chance? Is the theater only a scam? And is the roulette a promiscuous craving for wealth? Couldn’t the players of the markets stabilizing/destabilizing the economic balances of the world be compared to mere dreamers about an illusion of fortune? In the end, the strong one is he who controls his instincts and not the one who has “exorcized” his temptations away. And the balanced one is the drinker of fine wine who knows how to savor his “passions”, while stopping each time before oozing to the floor rather than the abstinent who considers the grapes much too sour, fearing a beginning with no end. In a life time, the winner is not beaten by the first hand that faith has dealt him, but is ever searching for ways, states of mind and will to dream. Is pushing your luck bad?! Is wishing to exceed your status that bad?

Gambling is actually a war with yourself; the expressed intention of playing with the elusive, of managing your chance. The courage to challenge, to stoke the possible, the “perhaps”. In this match, self-containment is decisive for strong characters. The casino, as a scaled life, offers the temptations, aligns the promises, and unleashes its sirens in order to enchant the ear… Untie yourself and raise the glove. Know when to start and stop when you should! Live and don’t allow yourself to be lead!

Chance is like a classy woman always around one who doesn’t lose his head.

Big names in football, tennis or snooker showed, throughout time, a special inclination towards another type of sport, labeled too many times, unfairly, just a gamble. Professional poker and international poker tournaments have drawn the attention of many VIPs, among which famous sportsmen.

Yevgeny Kafelnikov

One of the greatest names in the world of the white sport, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, has a new passion – professional poker.

Grand slam tennis man since 1992, Kafelnikov has won in his ca- reer 26 simple titles and other 27 double titles, tennis adding up to his accounts over 24 million dol- lars. The “black” year in the turn of his career was in 2003, truly un- lucky for the tennis man. The first number 1 worldwide ever to be giv- en by Russia, Kafelnikov failed to win any simple ATP title, for the first time in 10 years, finishing the year with the smallest ATP scoring. That seems to have been the moment which determined the retirement of Kafelnikov from competitional ten- nis and the beginning of a new path, in poker. His new career isn’t just about occasional games at ta- bles in casinos around the world, where the sports star tries to en- hance his fortune earned on the tennis field, but it means literally a new professional course.

Used to being the best, once en- tered in the world of poker, Kafel- nikov hired Kirill Gerasimov, Rookie of The Year in professional poker in the year 2002, in order to be trained by him. On 13th of October 2004, Kafelnikov won the “Corona” Russion Poker championship, held in Moscow, and in 2005 he man- aged another remarkable perform- ance at the World Poker Tour.

Kafelnikov is extremely popular in his country and not just because of tennis but also because of his charity actions. In 2001 he donated his 137.000 dollar prize won at Moscow to the relatives of the ca- sualties of the air crash produced near his birth town, Soci. His chari- ty actions will probably continue during his new poker player career as well, if we are to consider the good habit of VIPs around the world, invited to play in poker tours for charity purposes. So far, the amount Kafelnikov has won from poker adds up to 147.145 dollars. In an interview given to the daily gazette “The Independent”, the for- mer Russian tennis player stated about his transition to poker: “The most important fact was not to dis- appoint my fans. It’s very difficult to make a good image in Russia.

Once you have succeeded, you are a hero. ”

Matthew Stevens

The sport which gave the biggest number of poker players is, without doubt, snooker, and Matthew Stevens is one of the snooker play- er who has professional poker as hobby. Stevens was born in 1977 in Carmarthen and started playing professional snooker in 1994. Al- though seen as an exceptional player, he didn’t manage to win any important competitional title until 2003, when he won the Travis Perkins British Championship, beating Stephen Hendry in the fi- nal. Like most colleagues, Stevens was seen many times in poker tours shown on TV, competitions in which he proved a very good and strategic player. He participated in competitions of Hold’em No Limit, as well as in Open poker tours, in Great Britain, even winning some. The total amount won from poker adds up to 513.274 dollars. In 2004, Matthew Stevens won the most profitable poker tour in Great Britain, cashing the amount of 500.000 dollars, after defeating the former tennis player Yevgeny Kafel- nikov and Darts champion, Phil Taylor in the final of Open Poker tour 888.com Pacific, shown on TV. “It seems like a dream the fact that I won a poker tour, although I was playing for very little time” said Stevens, having a “length of serv- ice” at that time of only 17 months.

Teddy Sheringham

By his real name Edward Paul Sheringham, Teddy is famous for his career at the highest competi- tional level in the professional football. Sheringham made his debut in the national team of Eng- land in 1993, at the qualification tour for the World Cup in 1994. His career as a football player started with Millwall, after which he was lend for a brief period to play at Aldershot, before being bought by Nottingham Forest for the amount of 2 million dollars, in 1993. He was then transferred to Tottenham, from where he left in 1997 for Manchester United. The glorious period at Manchester was followed by the return to Tot- tenham and, in 2003, the transfer to Portsmouth. After the conclu- sion of the season 2004/ 2005 Teddy Sheringham played for West Ham. Beside his footballer career, Sheringham is frequently seen playing in poker tours. Start- ing from 2005, he played at Fahrenheit Festival, in Southend- on-Sea, winning the sum of 7230 dollars, at 888.com Pacific Poker Open in Maidstone, where he won 20.000 dollars, then in 2006 at the same 888.com UK Poker Open, Maidstone and in 2007 at 888.com UK Open IV, Maidstone, reaching the sixth position.

Lucian Bute, IBF world boxing champion, leaves you with the feeling that he is your oldest friend. Smiling, cheerful and elegant. He speaks about his life, his dreams and his work. All in a perfect Romanian language.

BOXING, A COUP DE FOUDRE

HOW IS LIFE AS A WORLD CHAMPION?

It is a beautiful life. I am happy I came this far. This is what I have always wanted, to become a world champion. It was my dream since the moment I entered professional boxing, in October 2003, when I signed with Interbox. And exactly after 4 years of hard work I became the world champion, I became number 1 in the world. This is a big achievement and an extraordinary fulfillment for me.

INTERBOX HAD THREE PROFESSIONAL BOXING WORLD CHAMPIONS, ALL FROM ROMANIA. IS THE CANADIAN’S TECHNICAL ROLE DECISIVE HERE OR IS THE ROMANIAN TALENT ESSENTIAL?

I believe it is a combination of talent and commitment. You have to have the support of a strong management team to be properly promoted. The fact that Doroftei, the first world champion from Interbox, was Romanian, represented an extraordinary opportunity for me, for Adrian Diaconu, and for many other Romanians which compete for this club. I also think that our work, talent and focus counted a lot. They couldn’t have done it without us, nor we without them. We are all a team, we’ve worked together and came up with this result. The Romanian school of boxing is renowned and highly appreciated all over the world.

WHEN DID YOU MOVE TO CANADA?

I started at the age of 14, in my home town Galati. A friend of mine, who was a boxer at that time, took me with him to the gym. I was curious although I wasn’t very fond of it. I didn’t even use to watch boxing on TV. I kept telling myself that it wasn’t a suitable game for me. Therefore I went there by chance, grew a passion for it and never left the gym since. I ended up in Canada thanks to Leonard Dorin and Rudel Obreja. In 2002, Doroftei defended his world title in Bucharest. Interbox, promoters, everybody was there. I was an amateur boxer and part of the Olympic team. Together with Mr. Rudel Obreja, president of the Federation, we established contact with their managers. Interbox watched my games, saw my tapes and then called me for an evaluation in Canada. We came to an agreement and in 2003 I signed a 3 year contract.

HOW MUCH DID YOU WORK TO BECOME A WORLD CHAMPION?

Very, very much! I went through same though moments when I basically wanted to quit. I was telling myself: ”This is it , I am quitting, I am taking up something else!“. During my period as amateur I was clearly disadvantaged by the referees. This was a huge disappointment. I used to work for a year to take part in a major competition World or European championship regarded as favorite but disadvantaged by the referees in the preliminary rounds. I got over these moments though, and continued to work. I have worked hard and made a lot of sacrifices to come this far.

WHAT IS NEXT?

After I became the world champion in October 2007, I defended my belt for the first time this year, on the 29th of February in Montreal, in a game with William Joopy. Unfortunately, the Romanian TV stations ignored this event. I won by KO in the 10th round.

Everybody was happy, especially me, as I remained world champion and that was what mattered. Now I am on holiday to support my friend Adrian Diaconu in Bucharest. From the 6th of May I will be in Montreal to resume my training. The next game will be somewhere in September or October this year. The date and venue haven’t been yet set, but it will be a match with the mandatory challenger, Mexican Librado Andrade, who is training in Las Vegas, in the US. The people from IBF, where I am champion, have imposed this match due to the regulations.

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TEMPTED TO PLAY IN A CASINO?

Yes, it is beautiful world, very lively. Actually I do play, and I have seen quite a lot of casinos. Some of the time even in Las Vegas. I can say that if you ever end up in Las Vegas and not play, it’s like you haven’t been there.

I am not gambler, I am not very tempted by gambling. But for fun, with my friends, it’s really entertaining. There is a big casino in Montreal and also one here in Bucharest, where I’ve sometimes been. I go for fun and I am aware of myself, I don’t like to push it, I have self-control

DO YOU KNOW THAT THERE ARE SOME CELEBRITIES ABROAD WHO PLAY IN CHARITY TOURNAMENTS? WOULD YOU ACCEPT SUCH A PROPOSAL?

Currently I wouldn’t have time o go to Las Vegas or any other place where these events take place. Maybe in the future when I shall retire I could try, why not, to participate in this kind of tournament for helping the children in need. But for the moment I will concentrate on what I aim to achieve in the near future.

YOU REPRESENT YOUR COUNTRY WITH GREAT PRIDE N CANADA, AND NOT ONLY. HOW IS ROMANIA SEEN THERE?

I am aware of what is going on in Canada, in the Quebec area, where I practice boxing and almost I can’t believe it. In 1976, when Nadia became Olympic champion with the first 10 in history, it was amazing. It was basically then they heard of Romania. Nadia is a goddess in Montreal and I don’t believe there s a person, among the old ones, who doesn’t know her. I was also very embraced by the Canadians. I speak their language and hey appreciated this very much. They consider me to be one of them. During the last match that took place a day after my birthday, on the 29th of February, 15,000 spectators stood up and sang me “Happy Birthday” in French. You can’t even imagine the atmosphere and how they shouted my name… What is happening to me in Montreal is simply extraordinary!

12►

Saturday, the 19th of April, Sala Polivalenta, Bucharest. The most important boxing event ever held in the Romanian capital, the “Invincible” Night gathered boxing enthusiasts from around the country, in a special event.

THE EVENT

The Event began at 18.30, with the game between Canadian Carl Handy and Russian Vasily An- driyanov. The Canadian – Adrian Diaconu’s sparing partner – over- came Andriyanov without forcing himself too much, and the audi- ence greeted the first win of the night.

In the next match, Cristian Hodorogea from Iasi fought Spaniard Raul Asencio Cerisuelo, trying and succeeding, after four rounds, to remain unbeaten in the professional circuit. After the third game, Silvio Branco (Italy) – Ab- delkader Benzinia (France), ended with the victory of the imposing Italian, another promising Roman- ian youngster raised by Interbox entered the stage, Ion Ionut Dan, or Jo Jo Dan by his stage name, met the famous Raul Balbi, who had suffered only one loss in his entire career (over 60 games, of which 38 won by KO) at the hands of Leonard Doroftei. The second loss would also occur in Bucharest, by the fist of another Romanian. Jo Jo Dan sent the Ar- gentine to the floor after only 3 rounds (out of 10), and managed to win the NABA heavyweight title. The moment of the decisive hit raised the audience of the Poliva- lenta for the first time, in celebra- tion of the Romanian’s amazing victory.

DIACONU-HENRY

The main-event of the night of Saturday, the 19th of April was the match between Adrian Diaconu and American Chris Henry.

Dressed in t-shirts printed by the City Hall with the message “All for Adrian” and with Romanian paper flags, the audience filled the “Poli- valenta” Hall in order to witness, for the first time in Romania, a world ti- tle being granted to a Romanian. “White Tyson”, a nickname given by the press, or “The Shark” as he prefers to be called, beat American Chris Henry on points, after 12 rounds. The 12 rounds were ex- tremely balanced, with hooks, jabs and uppercuts by the boxers, pres- sure, nerves and protests. At the post-game press conference, American Chris Henry and his staff contested the refereeing, suggest- ing that, while Adrian was a difficult opponent, he won the game be- cause it took place in Romania.

“Everybody considers Adrian Dia- conu the white Mike Tyson, but we have the real Mike Tyson” said Henry’s coach at the press confer- ence. Asked whether it was the hardest game of his career, Henry replied that it certainly wasn’t the hardest game, but Adrian won the fight because it took place in his home country. The American’s team Bucharest convinced that Adrian Diaconu was favored by the Canadian referee, but was im- pressed by the atmosphere at the Polivalenta. “This was the best au- dience in my career. It was fantas- tic and I think I will come back” said Chris Henry.

On the other side, the new world champion, Adrian Diaconu, admitted that the first words he said to the reporters immediately after the match with Henry were the hardest in his career, as the American was his toughest oppo- nent so far, but he is happy that he managed to win the world title. “To- wards the end I haven’t made the best rounds in my life, but I was smarter than him and I managed to maintain what I achieved in the first eight rounds”. “I lived extraordi- nary moments, the audience was amazing, you can only feel what I felt tonight if you take up boxing”.

In response to Henry’s accusations regarding the refereeing, Diaconu said: “Who cares what he is saying now?! The belt is here!”. Within 120 days from this victory, Diaconu must fight Chad Dawson, the cur- rent holder of the WBC diamond belt, and should he win, he will be- come the undisputed mid- dleweight champion. If Dawson re- fuses to play, the Romanian will automatically be granted the belt.

THE AUDIENCE

Important names of Romanian sports took part at the event held at the Polivalenta to support the Romanian boxers, and especially Adrian Diaconu. Among those present at the event were Victor and Giovanni Becali, national foot- ball team coach Victor Piturca, for- mer Steaua owner Viorel Paunes- cu, the President of the Romanian Football Federation, Mircea Sandu, the President of the Professional Football League, Mitica Dragomir. Also present in the hall were the former Romanian boxing champi- ons, Leonard Doroftei and Mihai Leu as well as gymnast Andreea Raducanu. They all declared Adri- an Diaconu winner even before of the start of the game with American Chris Henry, being convinced that “The Shark” is in great form and he will fill the audience with pride. The one person who fully supported the Romanian boxers throughout the entire event was world champion Lucian Bute, who arrived from Canada together with Adrian Dia- conu and Jo Jo Dan. Elegant and extremely charismatic, Bute was among the favorites of the media.

He encouraged the fighters and was very tense during the matches, although the odds were for the Ro- manian boxers. Visibly touched by the fact that he was home again, Bute said that Adrian Diaconu and Jo Jo Dan, his colleagues at the Canadian club Interbox share the same emotion. “It is an honor for them to box in front of their sup- porters, of the Romanian fans, and I believe they will make them feel proud. He too hopes he will make the Romanians proud after the match which will most probably take place in October with the im- posed challenger, Ignacio An- drade, and which he is sure he will win. “I will keep the belt” promised Lucian Bute.

THE ORGANIZATION

With this event, the Romanian Boxing Federation managed to start a series of extremely important events in Bucharest. “It is a great victory for Romanian boxing and for Romania, because such a hap- pening, as Chris Henry said, is rarely seen even in the US. I think we proved what Romanians are ca- pable of. This is the real face of Ro- manian boxing. I am proud of this event, especially since president Basescu was present” said Rudel Obreja at the end of the night. The event was organized with the sup- port of the City Hall. Agreeing with Bute’s opinion that “the capital of boxing has moved to Bucharest”, mayor Videanu said that although he is not good at boxing, because in politics “there are no punches given or taken”, he is near Roman- ian athletes and he hopes this does not remain the only important event held in Bucharest.

She is beautiful, young, hot, and quite a heart- breaker, for sure. Miss Playboy 2005, Andreea Spataru, reveals her experience with casinos, beauty and Playboy.

YOU’RE A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN, NO DOUBT ABOUT THAT… HOW IS BEAUTY RELATED TO MONEY?

Well, you know how it is.

We’re not getting any younger, so we need to spend money if we want to stay beautiful, but we must afford it. Since I’m still young, beauty is not that ex- pensive. But I am aware that I need to take care of myself and of how I look, because everybody knows, “looks are not forever”.

ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH CASINOS? HAVE YOU EVER GAMBLED?

I am certainly not a gam- bler, but I have not stayed away from casinos either. Any person in Bucharest must have seen one on the inside at least once… It’s funny, but I have on- ly gambled small amounts, just for the fun of it. I don’t remem- ber how much… I would surely remember it if had been a lot of money.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT CASINO GOERS?

Well, it depends. There are people who go there just for the fun of it. And they never lose their cool, they don’t stake their property, but just bet the cash they can afford. This is fine with me. I can only feel compassion for those who lose control in casinos. Just as with the drug addicts. Things car- ried to excess are harmful… And that goes for gambling too.

WHAT IS YOUR IDEA OF A PERFECT HOLIDAY? SHOULD IT BE MORE OF A HIDEAWAY OR RATHER A COSMOPOLITAN CITY, WITH LOTS OF SHOPPING, CLUB- BING AND SOME THRILLS IN A CASINO?

Well, a little bit of every- thing, one at a time, moderate- ly. It depends on my mood. There are times when I’d rather go somewhere romantic, away from everybody; some other times I feel attracted to places where fun is always the dish of the day. So my choice de- pends on how I feel.

ARE YOU A SOCIALITE? DO YOU GO OUT A LOT?

Well, I do, but I’m not over- doing it. I must admit, I’m not very much into socializing; I’d rather spend a quiet evening with my loved ones.

HOW DO YOU DEFINE LUX- URY?

For me luxury is about hav- ing what I like, while paying less than 10% on top of what I can afford.

HOW DID YOU PLAYBOY APPEARANCE AFFECT YOUR LIFE?

It has certainly brought a positive perspective in my life. Both professionally, and emo- tionally. I am more self-confi- dent, less inhibited…

YOU’RE HOSTING YOUR OWN SHOW. HOW DO FEEL ABOUT IT? I KNOW YOU HAD BEEN DREAMING ABOUT THAT…

Yes… a dream come true!

What can I say… I feel great. I was very nervous when we first started, but now I’m in excellent shape.

I feel I have been doing this forever. Perhaps I couldn’t have made it all by myself… A whole team is there supporting me. And then there’s Tudor… We host the morning show together and we get along perfectly. I don’t think I want more than that right now.

HOW MUCH DO YOU GET INVOLVED IN PRODUCING THE SHOW AND PICKING UP THE GUESTS?

We have a meeting after every morning show. We dis- cuss about the guests, about the next projects… Alina Nicolae, our producer, thinks that our opinions are im- portant too. In brief, both I and Tudor get involved in how the show runs. Of course, profes- sionals make the final decisions, always.

WHAT ATTRACTS WOMEN TO POLITICS AND WHAT KEEPS THEM THERE?

I guess not all women get in- to the politics, develop and stay there the same way. I think every woman has her own way of starting and coping with poli- tics.

YOU SAID SOME TIME AGO YOU WERE CONTEMPLATING THE IDEA OF BECOMING PO- LITICALLY ACTIVE, GIVEN YOUR EDUCATION. DO YOU STILL THINK ABOUT IT?

It’s too early, for now… I’m just enjoying my morning show, and we’ll see…

The Wynn Las Vegas Resort and Country Club (often just called “The Wynn”) is an A five diamond/Mobil five-star casino resort located on the Las Vegas Strip

The US$ 2.7 billion resort – the largest private investment ever in the USA – is named after casino developer Steve Wynn and is the flagship property of Wynn Resorts Limited. Le Reve had been the working name of the resort before it was changed to Wynn Las Vegas, well before the project was complete. Wynn Las Vegas opened on April 28, 2005, Wynn’s wife’s birthday.

WYNN CASINO

Nothing about the Wynn Casino is short of anything. There is no surprise that, once inside, you are overwhelmed by one of the most glamorous and opulent interiors, that you marvel at some of the most valuable works of art in the world but, perhaps the more important, you become part of that fantastic world and get to witness or even be as lucky as to hold some of those so craved fabulous winnings.

Although slightly resembling to another Vegas-famous casino (the Bellagio), Wynn Las Vegas lends an unmatched “personal touch” of elegance and style to games at the highest level. The mere sitting in front of a slot machine is bound to make you feel part of the privileged few. At the Wynn, there is nothing even remotely discriminatory between the bigwigs and the ones entertaining themselves by betting smaller money. Finding the right table and finding the right stake is finding the right place.

THE TABLE GAMES

Located on the main casino floor, Wynn Las Vegas’ selection of table games includes Baccarat, Black Jack, Big 6, Caribbean Stud, Roulette, European Roulette, Let it Ride, Mini Baccarat, Pai Gow Poker, Three Card Poker, and Casino War. Beside these, and in addition to the “traditional competitions”, Wynn also presents the Wynn Megabucks, Windfall, The Wind Signature Series WYNN 7, Wynn Cash For Life, and Wynn Monte Carlo.

THE POKER ROOM

“The Wynn surprise” for the more adventurous player is the 26-table “Poker Room”, offering a variety of games to test the players’ skill Texas Hold’em, Omaha Hi-Low, mixed game combinations. The games are generally offered at limits ranging from $4/$8 up to $100/$200, yet the Wynn also provides for no-limit Hold’em tournaments. Despite its rather “young age”, the Wynn Poker Room has already won a remarkable reputation for its highprofile games.

Every time you go for the Wynn Casino Las Vegas it is a must to know that this truly is the place for high-stakes gambling! Despite the impressive number of tables, ranging from the Blackjack tables (including the brilliant tables by the pool) to the Caribbean Stud and Let It Ride tables, it is barely likely that you should find any game offered at a $5 standard limit. Most of them require a minimum stake of $15 and even those can be an impossible trifle to find during busy periods. While playing for a $15 stake would prompt you in the most exclusive company in other casinos, it won’t even get you noticed at the Wynn.

Steve Wynn, the casino mogul, has turned old-time Vegas from a gambler’s den into an authentic attraction, an adult playground where people can see what they never saw before and do almost whatever crosses their mind. And this is the place where gamble has no limit…

Playing cards first appeared in China, in the twelfth century. Initially they were banknotes (it is known that the Chinese are the inventors of paper money) and represented the stakes of the game. In order to see the evolution of the first playing cards today, we can take a look at the Mahjong tiles.

Playing cards entered Europe later, through India, where they suf- fered certain changes which made them re- semble their current ap- pearance. It is to men- tion that playing cards in India were round, hence the mirroring of the figures in order to be seen in any position, for the purpose of elimi- nating idle times for ar- ranging the deck of cards.

The exact year or who brought cards is not known. What is known is that in 1278 they existed. It was back then that Petrarca wrote a book called “On cures for bad habits“, tackling games among other problems. The author didn’t speci- fy whether he referred to card games or other games, but since they are treated as vices, one could imagine the topic was card games.

Before reaching Europe, card games traveled to the Persians and the Egyptian soldiers. It is here that they were gifted with hu- man figures. Initially the Egyptian soldiers used the name of military commanders or the sultan, in or- der to order the values. The three high suits with human figures can still be found today in playing cards, in the shape of the King, Queen and Jack. The Egyptian soldiers called them “malik“ (King), “na’ib malik“ (Vice-King) and “thani na’ib“ (second Vice- King).

The oldest writings clearly mentioning playing cards date back in the 16th century. In 1371 in Spain, in 1377 in Switzerland and in 1380 in Florence, Paris and Barcelona. A candidate for the earliest citing could be con- sidered an ordinance given in Paris, in 1369, related to gam- bling. It doesn’t mention playing cards, but in 1377, when it is re- published it clearly mentions play- ing cards, without treating them as a novelty. The first official doc- ument in Europe by which a deck of cards is bought dates back in May 14th, 1379, and is issued by Johanna, duchess of Brabant, Wenceslaus and Luxembourg to a servant, requiring him to pur- chase the said deck.

Initially, playing cards used to be made out of wood and hand painted. After the invention of the printing machine, the first printed playing cards began to appear. A more expensive version of such cards were the engraved ones The sings have also undergone many changes. For example, the club is stylized sword. The four signs, as well as the drawings still used today were made official in France, at around 1480. Before the final versions of King, Queen and Jack, alternative figures were used, such as King, Queen, Knight and Servant.

The King used to be the biggest card in the game. For a period, the King exchanged places and power with the Queen, in German states, but the trend didn’t catch on, as the ma- jority of players were male. Initially the Ace was the card with the smallest value, specifically one. This is also noticeable nowadays in playing cards, as the Ace has only one symbol. It became the most valuable card as a result of certain games played in France after the Revolution. In fact it was a result of the involvement of poli- tics in the game, as the new lead- ers of the First French Republic wanted to show the people that in their regime, the oppressed which were considered by the old regime as the lowest human be- ings, are now more valuable then the king. The term “Ace“ comes from the game of dice. The term “Jack“ is used for the card which initially used to be called “Knight“, abbreviated “KN“. Due to the fact it resembled the K for “King“, it was replaced with “Jack“, bor- rowed from a game in which the scheme for collecting all the “knights“ was called “Jack“. Therefore the cards of the knight and servant blended into a single card, and the 11th pair disap- peared.

The Indian innovation of mir- rored figures, which improved vis- ibility, came to Europe as late as 1745. It was only adopted in Eu- rope in 1799 and in North Ameri- ca in 1802. Initially the players took time to arrange the cards with pictures, which could give the opponent an idea regarding the cards they might have. During the French First Republic, the cards with pictures were changed into “Freedom“, “Equality“ and “Fraternity“, the symbolic ideas of the revolution. This was not ap- preciated by the players, who had trouble figuring out what the most valuable card was. France re- turned to the initial pictures in 1805.

The “joker“ appeared in a game played in Alsace, called Euchre. The game was called “juker“ in German, a name given after the card. The card was first introduced in the US and it later came back in Europe. It was de- signed to be the best card in the game, a card without pair. The jester drawing was borrowed from the tarot cards, for no spe- cific reason. Considering it was a unique card, it was given different meanings in several games. In some it can be used to replace a card, in others it is the most valu- able, but most games don’t even use it. Some games introduced the idea of creating a second jok- er, of a smaller value. Therefore, there were two jokers: the big and the small one or the red and the black. The difference was sig- naled through lively colors, espe- cially red, for the big joker and the lack of colors for the small joker. This is why currently there is a colored joker and a black-and- white joker, even though some manufacturers don’t include the color red in their joker card. Final- ly, the plastic material was intro- duced in the 20th century, in or- der to provide increased durabili- ty. Initially, paper cards were only plated with plastic.

Nowadays, the drawings on playing cards can vary in different regions. Instead of the famous spades, hearts, clubs and dia- monds, some use the heart, bell, leaf and chestnut (in Central Eu- rope) or the coin/sun, spade, cup and cane (Italy). In other regions playing cards may lack certain values, such as 8, 9 and 10 (in certain regions of Italy) or contain only values above 6 (in Switzer- land). Other versions include re- placing the king, queen and jack with other images. In some re- gions in Spain, a rather strange system is played, in which the jack has a value of 10, the queen is replaced by a knight with a val- ue of 11 and the king is relegated to the value of 12.

Although using the same val- ues as the universal system, it is safe to consider a separate ver- sion the playing cards for blind, in the Braille alphabet.

Furthermore, although they look the same, cards may be “read“ differently depending on the region. For some the jack is called “servant“ or even “knight“ (reminiscent of the old card), “soldier“, “prince“, “child“, “bow-man“. The queen can rep- resent a “lady“, “dame“, “woman“ or “princess“. Quite rarely, the king is considered “emperor“ or “Cesar“.

David REESE, world poker champion, is one of the few professional gamblers whose names can be found on the Wikipedia, the wide known electronic encyclopaedia. Believed to have been the greatest player of all times, he managed to win over 3,5 million Euros, if we were to consider only the official competitions he participated in.

REESE was the youngest living player to be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame when he had just turned 40. Actually, David was perhaps the youngest all around player given that his parents passed the secret of the game to him when he was just 6 years old.

Born in Centerville, Ohio, Reese had to postpone school for one year due to some health problems. It was at that time when the football-passionate boy made his first steps towards a career nobody could have anticipated. During the year he stayed at home, he used to play poker with the football cards illustrating his favourite players. His mother, Mrs. Reese, was the one who taught him how to deal and «read» the cards. Yet not even she had ever guessed what a poker player laid in David. Not even she had expected David to defeat his grandfather and older friends in only a couple of months’ practice. Reese continued to play during high school. He so deeply impressed his colleagues that upon graduation they named the card room after him. David and his family had decided that he was to go to law school and he had already been admitted into Stanford Law School when, before classes would start, he decided to pay a visit to Vegas. In only his first night in town, he turned the 400 Dollars he had on him into an astonishing 66.000. And so it was that the one-weekend trip became his lifetime journey through the glamorous world of gambling and casinos.

Reese won the World Series of Poker championship in 1978, 1982 and 2006, the last having gathered 143 players from all around the world to play the 5 poker variants included in the contest. It took 3 days until there were only eight around the table – the best of the best in the world. When he got up from the table, Reese was the proud owner of the largest amount ever won in an official tournament: $1,78 million.

Yet the great David Reese had always preferred the unofficial tournaments, those where the real money was, those where bets go as high as one million Dollars. The people who knew him say he cared more about the money than the prestige. In fact, he really hated being recognized. Even in that world, the gamblers’, the Vegas world, he could simply go into a casino or walk the streets without anyone knowing who he was.

He would play each game with passion. When he sat at the poker table, everything and everyone ceased to exist. But nothing pleased him more than the feel of cards in his hand and watching each gesture of his partners. One might say that poker was his life. No matter what cards he drew – or even more than that, no matter what problems were on his mind – his game partners say Reese kept at all times an undisturbed calm.

He would never get anxious, not even when clumsy dealers would spoil the game. Nonetheless, the luck, passion and intelligence of his game were never matched in any of his other activities. He had several businesses, going bankrupt one after another: horse racing, oil shafts, a TV station, mining, and diving in search of the Titanic or Noah’s Ark.

This doesn’t mean that Reese ever faced financial trouble. Unlike other players, who would spend their winning right away, Reese always said that the game was meant to provide financial comfort to him and his family.

Unfortunately, all the money he won in his lifetime could not help him find a cure for the pneumonia that got him down in December 2007 and eventually killed him in his sleep.

To some extent, one might say that his wish was granted. In an older interview to an American newspaper, David „Chip” Reese said: „I’ll stop playing at my funeral. And only God knows what I’ll do after that.”