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POKER MEMOIR TO REVEAL ALL

Royal Flush SmallShe was the hostess of some of poker’s most exclusive home games, featuring Hollywood celebrities, high profile athletes and high rollers. Then, the world she had reigned over for years came crashing down around her.

Molly Bloom arranged these high-class poker games in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York and Miami. All was well until a lawsuit seeking to reclaim $4 million emerged, bringing the games to a halt.

Now Bloom, known to her clients as the “poker princess,” is writing a memoir about her experiences, spilling the beans on some of poker’s most secretive games.

Bloom was among those listed in the lawsuit by the former clients of Brad Ruderman, who is currently in jail for wire fraud and investment adviser fraud. Ruderman allegedly lost millions in the home games, but it was not his money to lose.

Among those listed with Bloom was actor Tobey Maguire, a keen poker player, who settled out of court in November 2011, paying back some $80,000 from his winnings; although his total profit was thought to be several times that amount.

The details of all of this, including the other players in the game, will feature in the book, published by It Books, a division of HarperCollins, and scheduled for release in summer 2014.

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FUTURE BRIGHT FOR CHESS. BUT POKER?

Chess 29may12The United States hailed its young chess prodigies this week, notably International Master Marc Arnold, who claimed the US Junior title in Rockville.

As a column in the Washington Times reported, the achievement of its top rated young chess players is great for the American game, with Arnold, 19, preceding his victory with a stellar performance at the World Open in Philadelphia. It’s good for an automatic place at the US Championship next year.

Not only that, Arnold can aspire to even greater things. Historically the title has proven a vital stepping stone, with previous winners including Bobby Fischer, Joel Benjamin and the current US number one Grand Master Hikaru Nakamura.

It’s in stark contrast to the world of poker which, when compared to chess, is played behind closed doors. Occasionally it receives a visit from the outside world; an agent reporting back with photographs showing players grinning from behind big piles of money. It simply adds more weight to the outdated notions that still hold poker back from being considered anything more than a curiosity.

But poker has its share of young challengers, equally adept at making the generations before them scratch their heads in wonder.

Jeff Williams won the EPT Grand Final in 2006 the same age as Arnold. Mike McDonald, currently ranked 11th in the world on the Global Poker Index, won EPT Dortmund aged just 18. Harrison Gimbel won the PCA Main Event in 2010, also aged 19. All three were too young to play poker legally in the United States.

To watch someone like McDonald in action is as awe inspiring as watching a grand master tie an opponent in knots. Few demonstrate what it takes succeed as well as he, and few speak with such authority or thoughtfulness about a game.

Just as chess followers salute their rising stars, the poker community celebrates the achievement of its finest. But that’s where the story ends. Poker is more than a big block of bank notes and a once a year photograph in the entertainment page. Yet it is often viewed as such.
When that changes perhaps the popular opinion will change too and the mainstream press will report on the success of players like Williams, McDonald and Gimbel as they rightfully celebrate the future of Marc Arnold.