History

Carol, once again we are driving from Las Vegas, Nevada to Tulsa, Oklahoma. We are traveling down old route 66-"The main street of America"-but now they call It I-40.

We are traveling back to Tulsa, Oklahoma-remember the song?-"Take me back to Tulsa?"-to make arrangements for my # 78 birthday poker party.

I remember the first time I traveled on "The main street of America." It was when I was about ten years old riding down old route 66. The Hale family was on its way to the land of milk and honey-California!

When I was 17, (yes, it was a very good year) I could play poker in the card barns in San Diego, California-But I could not take a drink. I was old enough to die for my country and to play poker with my uniform on-but I could not go in a bar and order a drink.I could and did just sit right down and play poker with the old boys.

Among any Gallery of Great American Writers, none has a higher place than Edgar Allan Poe. A lonely, tortured genius, he crafted tales of terror and poems of passion and pain.

Born in Boston in 1809, Poe's parents were struggling actors. By the time he was three, both parents had died. He was taken in by acquaintances John and Fanny Allan, a childless couple.

A few years ago, some of the casinos tried to put in a variety of Red Dog as a table game. They called it Red Dog but that was a misnomer as the game they introduced actually was In Between. In Betweeners is nothing more than just a kitchen table game.

True Red Dog is a four-card poker game in which you don't play against each other, you play against the money in the pot and against the deck. So it is not a competitive game between the players.

Almost sixty years ago, I used to play a little poker in a number of very rich homes, country clubs and private clubs in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the oil capital of the world. This was back in my first salad days--and I had no fear-Hell, if I lost a pot or if I lost in the game, it was not the most important thing in my life. I would just reload-and come back-I had just put the money in one of my poker banks and the players were just taking care of it for me-for a little while!

Benjamin Franklin was the first "Mr. America". More than any other Founding Father, he defined the character of the new nation.

Born into poverty in Boston in 1706, he was the tenth child of a candle maker. He had almost no formal education. Selftaught, he would become one of the most influential, admired and celebrated Americans in the country's history.

At age 12, he became a printer's apprentice. He ran away to Philadelphia at 17 to pursue his trade. He became publisher of The Pennsylvania Gazette and the author of Poor Richard's Almanac.

This 4th of July be proud you're an American Poker Player. After all, we invented the game. Poker is more American than baseball or apple pie. Poker developed with the new nation and is a part of our heritage and culture. As such, it reflects much of the American character and personality.

Over the years of playing poker, I have learned to love to hold and to play with small baby pairs.

Years ago I did not appreciate holding small pairs as I do today. I remember in one poker game at the old Golden Nugget in downtown Las Vegas. I was playing with real money, not in a tournament, but with real money with a bunch of very good poker players. Do not worry, folks--in those days I played a little bit better than I do today.

Introduction: This part of Chapter 7 takes place at the 1988 Binion's Hall of Fame Tournament. Wendeen, a legal consultant by day, has taken a respite from the stressful role of a crisis consultant to James T. Sherwin, Vice Chairman of GAF Corporation, a defendant who is fighting Wall Street inside trading charges brought by U.S. Attorney Rudy Giuliani. Her two worlds collide and strong friendships with both prosecutor Rudy and defendant Jimmy are tested in New York, while her poker skills are tested in Las Vegas as the first woman to reach the final table of a major tournament.

Some of the craziest and most outrageous things are said or happen in a game of poker. The following is a list of some of my favorites:

1. Amarillo Slim Preston has been quoted as sayingIf a woman ever wins the main event of the World Series of Poker, I'll cut my own throat." I approached him a few years back and asked him if he really said that. He claims he stated,If a woman ever wins the World Series, I'll eat my boot." As a female contender for this title, I hope to hand him a knife and folk on that fateful day.