1.
2006 World Series of Poker
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All events were held at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, which marked the first time that a casino other than Binions Horseshoe hosted the final table of the main event. Six days reserved for the first two rounds of play for the event were established by Harrahs Entertainment, which has run the annual event since its purchase from the Binion family in 2004. The first prize in the event was $12 million, at that time the richest prize for the winner of any sports or television event in history. The top 12 players became millionaires, the record prize was surpassed at the 2012 WSOP, when the winner of the $1 million buy-in Big One for One Drop, Antonio Esfandiari, received a first-place prize $18.3 million. The 2006 World Series featured a much-anticipated HORSE tournament with a $50,000 buy-in, humberto Brenes, Phil Hellmuth, Chris Ferguson, and Alex Jacob tied for the most number of cashes during the WSOP, with eight cashes each. Jeff Madsen, who won two events and made two final tables, was named the 2006 WSOP Player of the Year. He barely edged Hellmuth, who made four final tables. The 2006 Main Event remains the largest tournament in history by prize pool with a total prize pool of $82,512,162. The tournament, like every WSOP Main Event, is a $10,000 No-Limit Texas Holdem event, due to the 8, 773-player field, there were 4 separate starting days, each playing down to 800 people. They were later combined into one set of separate days before becoming one whole group. The field was whittled down to 9 players on August 8, the final table of the Main Event was offered live on Pay-Per-View, but unlike ESPN telecasts, viewers at home could not see the hole cards of the players unless the player turned their cards over. Along with the usual $10,000 chip stacks, a new feature to the WSOP was the All-In button, Tournament directors have informed the participants that the coin could be used in lieu of pushing all of one’s chips into the pot. The beige $50,000 chips that were used in 2005 were not used in 2006, instead, tangerine and yellow $25,000 chips, in the design of the current $25 chips, were used. And for the first time in World Series of Poker History, the chips were mint green with black edge spots in the design of the current yellow/black $1,000 chip. NB, This list is restricted to top 30 finishers with an existing Wikipedia entry, day 1, Dan Harrington, Phil Hellmuth Jr. Both Davis and Erna finished in the money, coming in 579th and 713th places respectively, unknowingly, the rest of the players assumed that this stack was someone elses who was late and blinded off the stack. Eventually a player noticed that the stack was Mirza Nagjis chips, players estimate that out of the extra 120,000 in chips that were put into play, around 10, 000–11,000 in chips had already been blinded off from the empty stack. Many poker players who entered into the HORSE event discovered that the cards they were playing with were marked or easily markable
2.
World Series of Poker
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The World Series of Poker is a series of poker tournaments held annually in Las Vegas and, since 2005, sponsored by Caesars Entertainment Corporation. The winner of each event receives a World Series of Poker bracelet, over the years, the tournament has grown in both the number of events and in the number of participants. Each year, the WSOP culminates with the $10,000 no-limit holdem Main Event, the victor receives a multi-million dollar cash prize and a bracelet, which has become the most coveted award a poker player can win. The winner of the World Series of Poker Main Event is considered to be the World Champion of Poker, as of 2014, the WSOP consists of 65 events, with most major poker variants featured. However, in recent years, over half of the events have been variants of Texas hold em, Events traditionally take place during one day or over several consecutive days during the series in June and July. However, starting in 2008, the Main Event final table was delayed until November, the 2012 Main Event final table commenced in October because of the United States presidential election. Since 1971, all WSOP events have been tournaments with cash prizes, in 1973, a five-card stud event was added. Since then, new events have added and removed. Since 1976, a bracelet has been awarded to the winner of every event at the annual WSOP, later on, the tournament grew slowly for over a decade, reaching 52 participants in 1982. In the early 1980s, satellite tournaments were introduced, allowing people to win their way into the various events, by 1987, there were over 2,100 entrants in the entire series. At the 2006 World Series of Poker, there were 45 events, participation in the Main Event peaked that year, with 8,773 players. Currently, Texas hold em, Omaha hold em and Seven-card stud, H. O. R. S. E. has been played in the past and returned in 2006. Also, S. H. O. E. has been played in the past, other events played in the past include Chinese poker, Five card stud, and many others. Like most tournaments, the sponsoring casino takes a fee and distributes the rest. In the 2005 Main Event, US$52,818,610 in prize money was distributed among 560 players, with US$7.5 million as the first prize. The 2006 Main Event, won by Jamie Gold, is the largest single poker tournament by prize pool or by entrant numbers in history, in July 2010, it was announced that the winner of the 2010 Main Event would receive just under US$9 million. 11% of the went to Lalibertés charity, the One Drop Foundation. At the time of the announcement,15 of the maximum 48 seats had been taken
3.
World Series of Poker bracelet
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The World Series of Poker bracelet is considered the most coveted non-monetary prize a poker player can win. Since 1976, a bracelet has been awarded to the winner of every event at the annual WSOP, even if the victory occurred before 1976, WSOP championships are now counted as bracelets. During the first years of the WSOP only a handful of bracelets were awarded each year, in 1990, there were only 14 bracelet events. By 2000, that increased to 24. As the popularity of poker has increased during the 2000s, the number of events has likewise increased, in 2011,58 bracelets were awarded at the WSOP, seven at the World Series of Poker Europe, and one to the WSOP National Circuit Champion. This brought the number of bracelets awarded up to 959. Five additional bracelets were awarded for the first time in April 2013 at the inaugural World Series of Poker Asia-Pacific in Melbourne, Australia. Since Chris Moneymaker won the 2003 Main Event, only two players have won and followed it up with a win in another event, Jonathan Duhamel. The 1976 bracelet looked like gold nuggets kind of hammered flat, the bracelet in 1976 cost approximately $500. In the 1980s, Las Vegas jeweler Mordechai Yerushalmi became the manufacturer of WSOP bracelets until Harrahs Entertainment bought the rights to the WSOP in 2004. According to 2003 WSOP Champion Chris Moneymaker, the design of the bracelet remained relatively unchanged under Yerushalmi, in 2005, Gold and Diamond International based in Memphis, TN won the bid from Harrahs Entertainment to manufacture the 2005 World Series of Poker bracelets. The company also manufactures the WSOP circuit rings, in 2006, Frederick Goldman, Inc. made the WSOP bracelets while luxury watch maker Corum introduced some commemorative watches as part of the prize package. In 2006, the Champions bracelet had 259 stones including 7.2 carats of diamonds,120 grams of white and it also used rubies to represent the heart and diamond suits, a sapphire to represent the spade and three black diamonds to represent the clubs. In 2007, Corum became the official bracelet manufacturer for the WSOP, some of the 2007 World Series of Poker champions received both a watch and a bracelet from Corum. Corum designed four variations for the 2007 World Series of Poker Bracelets, the standard version that is presented to 53 winners features 53 diamonds. The Ladies World Champion receives a bracelet that is adorned with four black diamonds, the $50,000 HORSE Champion Bracelet has 91 black diamonds and two rubies. The World Series of Poker Main Event Bracelet has 120 diamonds on 136 grams of 18 carat white gold, the value of the 2007 bracelets have not been released, but the typical price of a Corum watch ranges from $1, 500–$30, 000+. In 2008, the Main Event Bracelet had 291 diamonds, totalling 2.81 carats set in 168 grams of 18kt white gold, the other 54 event bracelets consisted of 55 diamonds, totalling 0.25 carats set in 80 grams of 14kt yellow gold
4.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
5.
Poker
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Poker is a family of card games that combine gambling, strategy, and skill. Poker games vary in the number of cards dealt, the number of shared or community cards, the number of cards that remain hidden, and the betting procedures. In most modern games, the first round of betting begins with one or more of the players making some form of a forced bet. In standard poker, each player bets according to the rank they believe their hand is worth as compared to the other players. The action then proceeds clockwise as each player in turn must either match, or call, a player who matches a bet may also raise, or increase the bet. The betting round ends when all players have called the last bet or folded. If all but one player folds on any round, the player collects the pot without being required to reveal their hand. If more than one remains in contention after the final betting round, a showdown takes place where the hands are revealed. By the 1990s some gaming historians including David Parlett started to challenge the notion that poker is a derivative of As-Nas. There is evidence that a game called poque, a French game similar to poker, was played around the region where poker is said to have originated. The name of the game likely descended from the Irish Poca or even the French poque, yet it is not clear whether the origins of poker itself lie with the games bearing those names. It is commonly regarded as sharing ancestry with the Renaissance game of primero, the English game brag clearly descended from brelan and incorporated bluffing. It is quite possible that all of these earlier games influenced the development of poker as it exists now, the unique features of poker have to do with the betting, and do not appear in any known older game. In this view poker originated much later, in the early or mid-18th century and it was played in a variety of forms, with 52 cards, and included both straight poker and stud. 20 card poker was a variant for two players, the development of poker is linked to the historical movement that also saw the invention of commercial gambling. English actor Joseph Crowell reported that the game was played in New Orleans in 1829, with a deck of 20 cards, and four players betting on which players hand was the most valuable. As it spread north along the Mississippi River and to the West during the gold rush, soon after this spread, the full 52-card French deck was used and the flush was introduced. The draw was added prior to 1850, during the American Civil War, many additions were made including stud poker, and the straight
6.
Malibu, California
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Malibu is a beach city in Los Angeles County, California, situated 30 miles west of Downtown Los Angeles. Known for its Mediterranean climate, a 21-mile strip of the Malibu coast incorporated in 1991 into the City of Malibu, the area is known for being the home of Hollywood movie stars, people in the entertainment industry, and other affluent residents. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 12,645, signs around the city proclaim 27 miles of scenic beauty, referring to the historical 27-mile Malibu coast spanning from Tuna Canyon west to Point Mugu in Ventura County. Most Malibu residents live within a few hundred yards of Pacific Coast Highway, for many residents of the unincorporated canyon areas, Malibu has the closest commercial centers and are included in the Malibu zip codes. The city is bounded by Topanga to the east, the Santa Monica Mountains to the north, the Pacific Ocean to the south. Nicknamed the Bu by surfers and locals, beaches along the Malibu coast include Surfrider Beach, Zuma Beach, Malibu Beach, Topanga Beach, Point Dume Beach, County Line and they named it Humaliwo or the surf sounds loudly. The citys name derives from this, as the Hu syllable is not stressed, explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo is believed to have moored at Malibu Lagoon, at the mouth of Malibu Creek, to obtain fresh water in 1542. The Spanish presence returned with the California mission system, and the area was part of Rancho Topanga Malibu Sequit—a 13 and that ranch passed intact to Frederick Hastings Rindge in 1891. Few roads even entered the area before 1929, when the state won another court case, by then May Rindge was forced to subdivide her property and begin selling and leasing lots. In 1926, in an effort to selling land to stave off insolvency. At its height, Malibu Potteries employed over 100 workers, and produced decorative tiles which furnish many Los Angeles-area public buildings, the factory, located one-half mile east of the pier, was ravaged by a fire in 1931. Although the factory reopened in 1932, it could not recover from the effects of the Great Depression. A distinct hybrid of Moorish and Arts and crafts designs, Malibu tile is considered highly collectible. Fine examples of the tiles may be seen at the Adamson House and Serra Retreat, the unfinished building was sold to the Franciscan Order in 1942 and is operated as a retreat facility, Serra Retreat. It burned in the 1970 fire and was using many of the original tiles. Most of the Big Rock Drive area was purchased in 1936 by William Randolph Hearst and he sold the lower half of his holdings there in 1944 to Art Jones. Jones was one of the prominent early realtors in Malibu, starting with the leases of Rindge land in Malibu Colony. He was also the owner/part-owner of the Malibu Inn, Malibu Trading Post, mcAnany Way is named after him
7.
Kansas City, Missouri
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Kansas City is the largest city in Missouri and the sixth largest city in the Midwest. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the city had an population of 475,378 in 2015. It is the city of the Kansas City metropolitan area. Kansas City was founded in the 1830s as a Missouri River port at its confluence with the Kansas River coming in from the west, on June 1,1850 the town of Kansas was incorporated, shortly after came the establishment of the Kansas Territory. Confusion between the two ensued and the name Kansas City was assigned to them soon thereafter. Most of the city lies within Jackson County, but portions spill into Clay, Cass, along with Independence, it serves as one of the two county seats for Jackson County. Major suburbs include the Missouri cities of Independence and Lees Summit and the Kansas cities of Overland Park, Olathe, and Kansas City. The city is composed of neighborhoods, including the River Market District in the north, the 18th and Vine District in the east. Kansas City is also known for its cuisine, its craft breweries, Kansas City, Missouri was officially incorporated as a town on June 1,1850, and as a city on March 28,1853. The territory straddling the border between Missouri and Kansas at the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri rivers was considered a place to build settlements. The Antioch Christian Church, Dr. James Compton House, the first documented European visitor to Kansas City was Étienne de Veniard, Sieur de Bourgmont, who was also the first European to explore the lower Missouri River. Criticized for his response to the Native American attack on Fort Détroit, Bourgmont lived with a Native American wife in a village about 90 miles east near Brunswick, Missouri, where he illegally traded furs. In the documents, he describes the junction of the Grande Riv des Cansez and Missouri River, French cartographer Guillaume Delisle used the descriptions to make the areas first reasonably accurate map. The Spanish took over the region in the Treaty of Paris in 1763, the French continued their fur trade under Spanish license. After the 1804 Louisiana Purchase, Lewis and Clark visited the confluence of the Kansas and Missouri rivers, in 1831, a group of Mormons from New York settled in what would become the city. They built the first school within Kansas Citys current boundaries, but were forced out by mob violence in 1833, in 1833 John McCoy established West Port along the Santa Fe Trail,3 miles away from the river. In 1834 McCoy established Westport Landing on a bend in the Missouri to serve as a point for West Port. Soon after, the Kansas Town Company, a group of investors, began to settle the area, in 1850, the landing area was incorporated as the Town of Kansas
8.
Manhattan
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Manhattan is the most densely populated borough of New York City, its economic and administrative center, and the citys historical birthplace. The borough is coextensive with New York County, founded on November 1,1683, Manhattan is often described as the cultural and financial capital of the world and hosts the United Nations Headquarters. Many multinational media conglomerates are based in the borough and it is historically documented to have been purchased by Dutch colonists from Native Americans in 1626 for 60 guilders which equals US$1062 today. New York County is the United States second-smallest county by land area, on business days, the influx of commuters increases that number to over 3.9 million, or more than 170,000 people per square mile. Manhattan has the third-largest population of New York Citys five boroughs, after Brooklyn and Queens, the City of New York was founded at the southern tip of Manhattan, and the borough houses New York City Hall, the seat of the citys government. The name Manhattan derives from the word Manna-hata, as written in the 1609 logbook of Robert Juet, a 1610 map depicts the name as Manna-hata, twice, on both the west and east sides of the Mauritius River. The word Manhattan has been translated as island of hills from the Lenape language. The United States Postal Service prefers that mail addressed to Manhattan use New York, NY rather than Manhattan, the area that is now Manhattan was long inhabited by the Lenape Native Americans. In 1524, Florentine explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano – sailing in service of King Francis I of France – was the first European to visit the area that would become New York City. It was not until the voyage of Henry Hudson, an Englishman who worked for the Dutch East India Company, a permanent European presence in New Netherland began in 1624 with the founding of a Dutch fur trading settlement on Governors Island. In 1625, construction was started on the citadel of Fort Amsterdam on Manhattan Island, later called New Amsterdam, the 1625 establishment of Fort Amsterdam at the southern tip of Manhattan Island is recognized as the birth of New York City. In 1846, New York historian John Romeyn Brodhead converted the figure of Fl 60 to US$23, variable-rate myth being a contradiction in terms, the purchase price remains forever frozen at twenty-four dollars, as Edwin G. Burrows and Mike Wallace remarked in their history of New York. Sixty guilders in 1626 was valued at approximately $1,000 in 2006, based on the price of silver, Straight Dope author Cecil Adams calculated an equivalent of $72 in 1992. In 1647, Peter Stuyvesant was appointed as the last Dutch Director General of the colony, New Amsterdam was formally incorporated as a city on February 2,1653. In 1664, the English conquered New Netherland and renamed it New York after the English Duke of York and Albany, the Dutch Republic regained it in August 1673 with a fleet of 21 ships, renaming the city New Orange. Manhattan was at the heart of the New York Campaign, a series of battles in the early American Revolutionary War. The Continental Army was forced to abandon Manhattan after the Battle of Fort Washington on November 16,1776. The city, greatly damaged by the Great Fire of New York during the campaign, became the British political, British occupation lasted until November 25,1783, when George Washington returned to Manhattan, as the last British forces left the city
9.
Paramus, New Jersey
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Paramus is a borough in Bergen County, in the U. S. state of New Jersey. A suburb of New York City, Paramus is located 15 to 20 miles northwest of Midtown Manhattan, in 2013, it was named as a New Jersey Healthy Town under the states Mayors Wellness Campaign. Paramus was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 2,1922, and ratified by a referendum held on April 4,1922, Paramus was created from portions of Midland Township, which now exists as Rochelle Park. The name is said to be of Native American origin. The borough is one of the largest shopping destinations in the country, generating over $5 billion in retail sales. More than 63% of Bergen County voters rejected a referendum on the ballot in 1993 that would have repealed the countys blue laws, New Jersey Monthly magazine ranked Paramus as its 21st best place to live in its 2013 rankings of the Best Places To Live in New Jersey. According to a recent NerdWallet survey, the sixth-best place to start a business in New Jersey is Paramus as well as being the ninth-best place for home ownership in the state, funderas 2016 study ranked Paramus the fouth-best city in New Jersey for entrepreneurs. Paramus ranked in the top 20 places with populations over 25,000 in the U. S. by median income as reported by CNNMoney. According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had an area of 10.520 square miles. The borough borders the Bergen County municipalities of Emerson, Fair Lawn, Glen Rock, Hackensack, Maywood, Oradell, Ridgewood, River Edge, Rochelle Park, Saddle Brook and Washington Township. Unincorporated communities, localities and place names located partially or completely within the borough include Arcola, Bergen Place, the area that became northern New Jersey was occupied for thousands of years by prehistoric indigenous peoples. At the time of European encounter, it was settled by the historic Lenape people, the Lenape language word for the area, Peremessing, which meant that it had an abundant population of wild turkey, was anglicized to become the word Paramus. A large metal statue of a turkey in the Paramus Park mall commemorates this history. Another variation is that the word means pleasant stream, albert Saboroweski, whose descendants became known by the family name Zabriskie, immigrated from Poland via the Dutch ship The Fox in 1662. He settled in the Dutch West Indies Company town of Ackensack, a son, Jacob, was captured by the Lenape and held for 15 years. When he was returned to his family, the Lenape explained to Saboroweski that they had taken the child in order to him their language so that he could serve as a translator. They granted Saboroweski approximately 2,000 acres of land became known as the Paramus Patent. During the American Revolutionary War, the county included both Tories and Patriots, with Patriots greatly outnumbering Tories, although no major battles were fought in Bergen County, Paramus was part of the military activity, as colonial troops were stationed in Ramapo under the command of Aaron Burr
10.
New Jersey
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New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania, New Jersey is the fourth-smallest state but the 11th-most populous and the most densely populated of the 50 United States. New Jersey lies entirely within the statistical areas of New York City. New Jersey was inhabited by Native Americans for more than 2,800 years, in the early 17th century, the Dutch and the Swedes made the first European settlements. New Jersey was the site of decisive battles during the American Revolutionary War in the 18th century. In the 19th century, factories in cities such as Camden, Paterson, Newark, Trenton, around 180 million years ago, during the Jurassic Period, New Jersey bordered North Africa. The pressure of the collision between North America and Africa gave rise to the Appalachian Mountains, around 18,000 years ago, the Ice Age resulted in glaciers that reached New Jersey. As the glaciers retreated, they left behind Lake Passaic, as well as rivers, swamps. New Jersey was originally settled by Native Americans, with the Lenni-Lenape being dominant at the time of contact, scheyichbi is the Lenape name for the land that is now New Jersey. The Lenape society was divided into clans that were based upon common female ancestors. These clans were organized into three distinct phratries identified by their animal sign, Turtle, Turkey, and Wolf and they first encountered the Dutch in the early 17th century, and their primary relationship with the Europeans was through fur trade. The Dutch became the first Europeans to lay claim to lands in New Jersey, the Dutch colony of New Netherland consisted of parts of modern Middle Atlantic states. Although the European principle of ownership was not recognized by the Lenape. The first to do so was Michiel Pauw who established a patronship called Pavonia in 1630 along the North River which eventually became the Bergen, peter Minuits purchase of lands along the Delaware River established the colony of New Sweden. During the English Civil War, the Channel Island of Jersey remained loyal to the British Crown and it was from the Royal Square in St. Helier that Charles II of England was proclaimed King in 1649, following the execution of his father, Charles I. The North American lands were divided by Charles II, who gave his brother, the Duke of York, the region between New England and Maryland as a proprietary colony. James then granted the land between the Hudson River and the Delaware River to two friends who had remained loyal through the English Civil War, Sir George Carteret and Lord Berkeley of Stratton, the area was named the Province of New Jersey. Since the states inception, New Jersey has been characterized by ethnic, New England Congregationalists settled alongside Scots Presbyterians and Dutch Reformed migrants
11.
Bachelor's degree
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A bachelors degree or baccalaureate is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to seven years. In some institutions and educational systems, some bachelors degrees can only be taken as graduate or postgraduate degrees after a first degree has been completed. The term bachelor in the 12th century referred to a knight bachelor, by the end of the 13th century, it was also used by junior members of guilds or universities. By folk etymology or wordplay, the word came to be associated with bacca lauri in reference to laurels being awarded for academic success or honours. An honours degree generally requires an academic standard than a pass degree. In most African countries, the university systems follow the model of their former colonizing power, for example, the Nigerian university system is similar to the British system, while the Ivorian system is akin to the French. The degree is typically identical to the program of Frances universities, bachelors degree programs cover most of the fields in Algerian universities, except some fields, such as Medicine and Pharmaceutical Science. Bachelors degrees at the University of Botswana normally take four years, the system draws on both British and American models. Degrees are classified as First Class, Second Class Division One, Second Class Division Two and Third as in English degrees, but without being described as honours. The main degrees are named by British tradition, but in recent years there have been a numbers of degrees named after specific subjects, such as Bachelor of Library, in Morocco, a bachelors degree is referred to as al-ʾijāzah. The course of study takes three years, which are divided into two cycles. The first cycle comprises the first, or propaedeutic, year, after successfully completing their first two years, students can pursue either theoretical specialization or professional specialization. The second cycle is one long, after whose completion students receive the licence détudes fondamentales or the licence professionnelle. This academic degree system was introduced in September 2003, University admission is extremely competitive, with attendant advantages and disadvantages. Nonetheless, it takes four to five years to complete a bachelors degree, in cases of poor performance, the time limit is double the standard amount of time. For example, one may not study for more than 10 years for a five-year course, students are normally asked to leave if they must take longer. B. Arch. and other specialized undergraduate degrees, such as B. Eng, Science undergraduate degrees may require six months or a semester dedicated to SIWES but it is usually mandatory for all engineering degrees. A semester for project work/thesis is required, not excluding course work, the classifications of degrees, first-class, second-class, third-class and a pass
12.
University at Albany, SUNY
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Founded in 1844, it carries out undergraduate and graduate education, research, and service. It is a part of the State University of New York system, the University enrolls more than 17,300 students in nine schools and colleges, which offer 50 undergraduate majors and 125 graduate degree programs. The Honors College, which opened in fall 2006, offers opportunities for well-prepared students to work closely with faculty, the UAlbany faculty had $82.7 million in research expenditures in 2015. for work advancing discovery in a wide range of fields. The research enterprise is in four areas, social science, public policy, life sciences, an economic impact study in 2004 estimated UAlbany’s economic impact to be $1. The institution began as the New York State Normal School on May 7,1844, a new campus — today, UAlbany’s Downtown Campus — was built in 1909 on a site of 4.5 acres between Washington and Western avenues. By 1913, the institution was home to 590 students and 44 faculty members, offered a degree for the first time. Enrollment grew to a peak of 1,424 in 1932, in 1948 the State University of New York system was created, with the College for Teachers and the states other teacher-training schools as the nuclei. To do so, he launched a construction program that developed more than 50 new campuses. Reflecting a broadening mission, the College for Teachers changed its name to SUNY College of Education at Albany in 1959, in 1961, it became a full-fledged four-year liberal arts college as the State University College at Albany. Finally, in 1962, the State University College was officially designated a doctoral-degree granting university center of SUNY as the State University of New York at Albany, the same year, Rockefeller broke ground for the current Uptown Campus on the former site of the Albany Country Club. The new campuss first dormitory opened in 1964, and the first classes on the podium in the fall of 1966. By 1970, a year beyond the University’s 125th anniversary, enrollment had grown to 13,200 and that same year the growing protest movement against the Vietnam war engulfed the University when a student strike was called for in response to the killing of protesters at Kent State. The Downtown Campus became dedicated to the fields of policy, criminal justice, public affairs, information science. In 1985, the university added the School of Public Health, in 1983, the New York State Writers Institute was founded by Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Kennedy. As of 2013, the Institute had hosted over more than 1,200 writers, poets, journalists, historians, dramatists. In addition the institute has hosted up-and-coming writers to provide them with exposure at the beginning of their writing careers, during the 1990s, the University built a $3 billion,450, 000-square-foot Albany NanoTech complex, extending the Uptown Campus westward. In 2005, this campus became home to the University’s Gen*NY*Sis Center for Excellence in Cancer Genomics, in the spring of 2005, the University created a College of Computing and Information, which has faculty on both the Uptown and Downtown campuses. In the fall of 2015, CCI was replaced and its programs incorporated into a new college
13.
University of California, Los Angeles
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The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university in the Westwood district of Los Angeles, California, United States. It became the Southern Branch of the University of California in 1919 and it offers 337 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in a wide range of disciplines. UCLA enrolls about 31,000 undergraduate and 13,000 graduate students, and had 119,000 applicants for Fall 2016, including transfer applicants, the university is organized into six undergraduate colleges, seven professional schools, and four professional health science schools. Fourteen Nobel laureates, three Fields Medalists, two Chief Scientists of the U. S. Air Force and three Turing Award winners have been faculty, researchers, or alumni, the university was elected to the Association of American Universities in 1974. The Times Higher Education World University Rankings for 2015–2016 ranked UCLA 16th in the world for academics, in 2015-2016, UCLA ranked 12th in the world by the Academic Ranking of World Universities and 31st in the 2016/17 QS World University Rankings. UCLA student-athletes compete as the Bruins in the Pac-12 Conference, the Bruins won 126 national championships, including 113 NCAA team championships, more than any other university. UCLA student-athletes, coaches and staff won 251 Olympic medals,126 gold,65 silver and 60 bronze, UCLA student-athletes competed in every Olympics since 1920 with one exception, and won a gold medal in every Olympics that the United States participated in since 1932. The State Normal School at Los Angeles opened on August 29,1882, the facility included an elementary school where teachers-in-training could practice their technique with children. That elementary school is related to the present day version, UCLA Lab School, in 1887, the school became known as the Los Angeles State Normal School. In 1914, the moved to a new campus on Vermont Avenue in East Hollywood. However, David Prescott Barrows, the new President of the University of California, the same legislation added its general undergraduate program, the College of Letters and Science. After the athletic teams entered the Pacific Coast conference in 1926, the Southern Branch student council adopted the nickname Bruins, in 1927, the Regents renamed the Southern Branch the University of California at Los Angeles. In the same year, the state broke ground in Westwood on land sold for $1 million, less than one-third its value, by real estate developers Edwin and Harold Janss, the campus in Westwood opened to students in 1929. The original four buildings were the College Library, Royce Hall, the Physics-Biology Building, the first undergraduate classes on the new campus were held in 1929 with 5,500 students. A timeline of the history can be found on its website, during its first 32 years, UCLA was treated as an off-site department of UC. As such, its presiding officer was called a provost, in 1951, UCLA was formally elevated to co-equal status with UC Berkeley, and its presiding officer Raymond B. Allen was the first chief executive to be granted the title of chancellor. The appointment of Franklin David Murphy to the position of Chancellor in 1960 helped spark an era of growth of facilities. By the end of the decade, UCLA had achieved distinction in a range of subjects
14.
Jimmy Fallon
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James Thomas Jimmy Fallon is an American comedian, television host, actor, singer, writer, and producer. He is known for his work in television as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and he was born in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn and raised in Saugerties, New York. He grew up with an interest in comedy and music, moving to Los Angeles at 21 to pursue stand-up opportunities and he was commissioned to join NBCs Saturday Night Live as a cast member in 1998, fulfilling a lifelong dream. Fallon remained on SNL for six years between 1998 and 2004, co-hosting the programs Weekend Update segment and becoming a celebrity in the process and he left the program for the film industry, starring in films such as Taxi and Fever Pitch. Following his film career, Fallon returned to television as the host of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on NBC in 2009 and he moved from that program to become the sixth permanent host of the long-running The Tonight Show in 2014. In addition to his work, Fallon has released two comedy albums and three books. Fallon was born in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, New York, Fallons patrilineal ancestry originates with his great-great-grandparents, Thomas Fallon, who was from County Galway, Ireland, and Louisa Stickever. In preparation, the family relocated nearby to Saugerties, New York, Fallon has described his childhood as idyllic, while his parents have been noted as overprotective. He and his sister, Gloria, were unable to leave their home, Fallon attended St. Mary of the Snow, a Roman Catholic elementary school in Saugerties. He considered being a priest, inspired by his experiences as an altar boy and he became more interested in comedy instead. He spent many nights recording the radio program The Dr. Demento Show on a reel-to-reel recorder, Fallon developed an obsession with the late-night comedy program Saturday Night Live as a teenager, watching it religiously. He grew up watching the show, viewing the clean parts that his parents taped for him and he and Gloria would re-enact sketches like The Festrunk Brothers with friends. Fallon was such a fan that he made an event of watching the show in his dormitory during college. In his teens, he impressed his parents with different impersonations, including actor James Cagney and he was also musically inclined, and started playing guitar at age thirteen. He would go on to comedy and music in contests. By his junior years, he was labeled a class clown, to his teachers disdain. At Saugerties High School, from which he graduated in 1992, he was a performer in most stage productions and he won a young comedians contest with an impression of Pee-wee Herman. He then attended The College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York, in May 2009,14 years after he left college a semester early to pursue a comedy career, he was back to receive his Bachelor of Arts in communications
15.
Lucy Liu
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Lucy Liu /ˈluː/ is an American actress, voice actress, director, producer, singer and artist. In 2008, she starred in an ABC comedy-drama, Cashmere Mafia, the show was one of only a few American television shows to have an Asian American series lead. In 2012, Liu joined the cast of the TNT series Southland in the role of Jessica Tang. Lucy Liu was born on December 2,1968 in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City, in high school, she adopted a middle name, Alexis. She is the youngest of three born to Cecilia, who worked as a biochemist, and Tom Liu, a trained civil engineer who sold digital clock pens. Lius parents originally came from Beijing and Shanghai and emigrated to Taiwan as adults before meeting in New York and she has an older brother, Alex, and an older sister, Jenny. Her parents worked many jobs while Lucy and her siblings were growing up, Liu has stated that she grew up in a diverse neighborhood. She learned to speak Mandarin at home and began studying English when she was 5 and she studied the martial art kali-eskrima-silat as a hobby when she was young. Liu attended Joseph Pulitzer Middle School, and graduated from Stuyvesant High School in 1986 and she later enrolled at New York University and transferred to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where she was a member of the Chi Omega sorority. Liu earned a degree in Asian languages and cultures. Liu worked as a waitress at the Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase club circa 1988–89, Liu was discovered by an agent at the age of 21 while traveling on the subway. As a member of the Basement Arts student-run theater group, she auditioned in 1989 for the University of Michigans production of Alice in Wonderland during her year of college. Although she had tried out for only a supporting part. While queuing up to audition for the musical Miss Saigon in 1990, she told The New York Times, There arent many Asian roles, in May 1992, Liu made her New York stage debut in Fairy Bones, directed by Tina Chen. Liu had small roles in films and TV, marking her debut, Liu originally auditioned for the role of Nelle Porter, and the character Ling Woo was later created specifically for her. Lius part on the series was originally temporary, but high audience ratings secured Liu as a permanent cast member, in Payback, Liu portrayed Pearl, a high-class BDSM prostitute with links to the Chinese mafia. Liu was cast as Alex Munday in the film Charlies Angels, alongside Drew Barrymore, the film opened in November 2000 and earned more than $125 million in the United States. Charlies Angels earned a total of more than $264 million
16.
Gin rummy
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Gin rummy, or simply gin, is a two-player card game created in 1909 by Elwood T. Baker and his son C. According to John Scarne, Gin evolved from 19th-century Whiskey Poker and was created with the intention of being faster than standard rummy, John Scarnes theory deriving Rummy from Poker through the medium of Whiskey Poker has not gained general acceptance. Gin is played with a standard 52-card pack of cards, the ranking from high to low is King, Queen, Jack,10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2, Ace. The objective in gin rummy is to score points and reach a number of points or more, usually 100. The basic game strategy is to ones hand by forming melds. Gin has two types of meld, Sets of 3 or 4 cards sharing the same rank, e. g. 8♥ 8♦ 8♠, deadwood cards are those not in any meld. Aces are considered low—they can form a set with other aces, a player can form any combination of melds within their hand, whether it contains all sets, all runs, or a mix of both. A hand can contain three or fewer melds to knock or form legal gin, the deadwood count is the sum of the point values of the deadwood cards—aces are scored at 1 point, face cards at 10, and others according to their numerical values. Intersecting melds are not allowed, if a player has a 3-card set and a 3-card run sharing a common card, only one of the counts. Dealership alternates from round to round, with the first dealer chosen by any agreed upon method, the dealer deals 10 cards to both players, and then places the next card in the deck face up. The face down pile is known as the stock pile, on the first turn of the round, the non-dealing player has first option of taking the upcard on the discard pile or passing. If the non-dealing player takes the upcard, the acting second can take the top card from the pile of his or her choice. However, if the player passes the upcard, the dealer is given the opportunity to take the upcard or pass. If the dealer passes, the non-dealing player must draw from the stock pile, then the next turn and after. On each turn, a player must draw either the top card of the pile, or the top card from the stock pile. The game ends when a player reaches 100 or more points, in tournament rules the game is played in best of five with 250 points per game. In standard gin, only a player with 10 or fewer points of deadwood may knock, knocking with 0 points of deadwood is known as going Gin or having a Gin hand, while knocking with deadwood points is known as going down. To knock, the player discards as usual, announces knocking
17.
Johnny Chan
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Johnny Chan is a Chinese-born American professional poker player. He has won 10 World Series of Poker bracelets, including the 1987 and 1988 World Series of Poker main events consecutively. Chan moved with his family in 1962 from Guangzhou to Hong Kong, then in 1968 to Phoenix, Arizona, and later in 1973 to Houston, Texas, where his family owned restaurants. When he was 21, Chan dropped out of the University of Houston, where he was majoring in hotel and restaurant management, Chan won the World Series of Poker in. A videotape of the 1988 WSOP final heads up match is featured in the movie Rounders and he almost won a third consecutive title, but finished in 2nd place in 1989 to Phil Hellmuth. He is the last player to win back-to-back WSOP Main Events, jerry Buss, who was an avid poker player and owner of the Los Angeles Lakers, promised Chan an NBA championship ring if he could win three in a row. In 2005, Chan became the first player to win ten World Series of Poker bracelets and he is currently tied with Doyle Brunson and Phil Ivey for second place with 10 World Series of Poker bracelets, behind Phil Hellmuth. He was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2002, in 2008, Chan cashed for the first time in the Main Event since 1992, earning $32,166 for his 329th-place finish. In 2010, Chan cashed in the Main Event taking 156th place for $57,102, Chan competed in the $400,000 Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament in February 2005. He came back from having $20,000 chips out of $3,200,000 in play to finish in place to Gus Hansen. Chan later competed in Poker Superstars II during the summer of 2005 and he defeated 22 players to make it to the finals. He defeated Todd Brunson in the finals after three matches to win the $400,000 first prize, Chan appeared in Poker Superstars III where he made it as far as the semi finals but was defeated by Todd Brunson after three matches. On NBCs late-night show Poker After Dark, a six-person $20,000 buy-in winner-takes-all tournament and he came in second and fifth when he did not win. His appearances in which he made it to heads-up were, WSOP Champions — originally aired Jan. 1,2008 — Won heads-up against Patrik Antonius Dream Table III — originally aired Mar. 23-27,2009 — Won heads-up against Jennifer Tilly Chan won Bob Stupaks 1981 American Cup poker tournament and he defeated all 9 other players at the final table in less than an hour. As a result, Stupak gave Chan the nickname The Orient Express, Chan has never made a final table on the World Poker Tour. Chan played in the 2004 and 2005 World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions events, as of 2014, his total live tournament winnings exceed $8,600,000. His 45 WSOP cashes account for $4,355,464 of those winnings, in addition to playing poker, Chan owns a fast-food franchise in the Las Vegas Stratosphere Hotel and is a consultant for casinos and game makers
18.
Chris Moneymaker
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Christopher Bryan Moneymaker is an American poker player who won the Main Event at the 2003 World Series of Poker. His 2003 win is said to have revolutionized poker because he was the first person to become a champion by qualifying at an online poker site. This has been referred to in the press as the Moneymaker Effect, Moneymakers ancestors made silver and gold coins and chose the name Moneymaker as a modification of their German last name, Nurmacher. Moneymaker was born in Atlanta, Georgia and he attended Farragut High School in Knoxville, Tennessee, and later earned a masters degree in accounting from the University of Tennessee. After receiving his masters degree, Moneymaker worked as a comptroller and he was also a part-time employee at a local restaurant. Moneymaker was working as an accountant when he won a seat into the Main Event of the 2003 World Series of Poker through a US$86 satellite tournament at the PokerStars online poker card room. Moneymaker went on to win the first prize of $2.5 million, the 2003 WSOP Main Event was his first live poker tournament. One of Moneymakers most memorable hands was heads-up against Sam Farha, Farha folded a pair of nines, quickly changing the momentum of the match. Moneymaker eventually won the WSOP when his 5♦ 4♠ beat Farhas J♥ 10♦ on a board of J♠ 5♠ 4♣ 8♦ 5♥, after winning the WSOP, he quit his job to serve as a celebrity spokesman for Series owner Harrahs Entertainment as well as PokerStars. He also started his own company, Moneymaker Gaming, and began traveling to play in more numerous and his autobiography, Moneymaker, How an Amateur Poker Player Turned $40 into $2.5 Million at the World Series of Poker was published in March 2005. On the World Poker Tour, Moneymaker finished second at the 2004 Shooting Stars event and won $200,000. During Event 5 of the 2008 World Championship of Online Poker and he also did well in Event 16, the $215 Pot Limit Omaha with ReBuys, where he finished fifth, earning over $28,000. Moneymaker won the Deep Stack Pot Limit Omaha event of the World Poker Open tournament in July 2009, Moneymaker also placed 11th in the 2011 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event, earning himself $130,000. As of April 2010, his live tournament winnings exceed $3,000,000. In 2011 Moneymaker placed 2nd at National Heads Up Poker Tournament against Erik Seidel earning $300,000.00 Moneymaker has been married twice. He and his first wife divorced in 2004, as he would say in an interview for a 10-year retrospective on the 2003 WSOP Main Event and she didnt sign up for that life. She was married to an accountant who was not traveling the world, gone all the time. And it was a choice I had to make, I tried to be good, stay at my job, and be that accountant, but in all honesty I didnt want to
19.
The Bicycle Hotel & Casino
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The Bicycle Hotel & Casino is a poker cardroom in California. Founded by George Hardie Sr. in 1984, located in Bell Gardens, California, The Bicycle Casino offers a selection of games and Asian games. The casino features games including, Blackjack, Texas Hold Em, Seven Card Stud, Omaha hold em, Mexican Poker, Pai Gow Poker, Three Card Poker and Baccarat. Financing to build the original Bicycle Club casino was provided by Sam Gilbert, the casino is home to the Legends of Poker, a tournament series established in 1995 that now includes a stop on the World Poker Tour. Prior to the Legends, the main tournament series was called the Diamond Jim Brady. In 1987, Sam Gilbert was the subject of an investigation into money laundering and racketeering charges. According to the investigation, a scheme to launder the money received from smuggling marijuana was put together to finance the construction of the Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens, according to one criminal complaint, Gilbert was indicted in Miami 4 days after his death. His son Michael also was indicted, the U. S. Government seized the casino in April,1990, after a jury found that $12 million of the $22 million used in its construction came from Florida drug smugglers. The clubs profits were frozen and placed in a special U. S. marshal account until the court held civil hearing to determine which partners knew that the club was built with drug money. George Hardie and The Park Place Associates ownership were exonerated in 1990, in July 1991 a Florida federal judge ruled that at least one of the partners, former Los Angeles Westside banker M. Dale Lyon, knew about the clubs financing. Eight other partners in the LCP Associates, the named for Lyon, Coyne and Pierson. LCP partners Julianne Coyne and former California Assemblyman David C, Pierson settled before the civil hearing. In 1991, they agreed to give up half of their interest in LCP. By the time it sold its share of the casino in 1996, as a partner in the club, the government also contributed to political campaigns to defeat the proposal to build a rival card club in Orange County. The Bicycle Hotel & Casino was the first brick and mortar casino to broadcast live games over the Internet. It ran five nights a week, and was accessible via the casinos website, the show sometimes featured guest commentary from professional players like Barry Greenstein and Kenna James. Live at the Bike became a service in mid-2006. The live broadcast was canceled in March 2007, but returned in January 2011 on PokerNetcast. com, the Bicycle Hotel & Casino underwent a major hotel expansion in the Fall of 2015
20.
Betting in poker
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In the game of poker, the play largely centers on the act of betting, and as such, a protocol has been developed to speed up play, lessen confusion, and increase security while playing. Players in a poker game act in turn, in clockwise rotation, until the first bet is made each player in turn may check, which is to not place a bet, or open, which is to make the first bet. A player may fold by surrendering her cards, a player may check by tapping the table or making any similar motion. All other bets are made by placing chips in front of the player, in general, the person to the left of the dealer acts first and action proceeds in a clockwise fashion. If any player has folded earlier, action proceeds to next player, in games with blinds, the first round of betting begins with the player to the left of the blinds. In stud games action begins with the showing the strongest cards and proceeds clockwise. If there is a bring-in, the first round of betting begins with the player obliged to post the bring-in. If no one has yet opened the round, a player may pass or check. In games played with blinds, players may not check on the round because the blinds are live bets. A player who has posted the big blind has the right to raise on the first round, called the option, if no player has raised. If all players check, the round is over with no additional money placed in the pot. A common way to signify checking is to tap the table, either with a fist, knuckles, some poker variations have special rules about opening a round that may not apply to other bets. For example, a game may have a structure that specifies different allowable amounts for opening than for other bets. Normally, a player makes a bet by placing the chips they wish to wager into the pot, to raise is to increase the size of an existing bet in the same betting round. A player making the second or subsequent raise of a round is said to re-raise. A player making a raise after previously checking in the betting round is said to check-raise. A bluff is when a player bets or raises when it is likely they do not have the best hand, it is often done in hopes that opponent will fold mediocre yet stronger hands. When a player bets or raises with a hand that has a chance of improvement on a later betting round
21.
Texas hold 'em
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Texas hold em is a variation of the card game of poker. Two cards, known as the cards, are dealt face down to each player. The stages consist of a series of three cards, later a single card and a final card. Each player seeks the best five card poker hand from the combination of the community cards, if a players best five card poker hand consists only of the five community cards and none of the players hole cards, it is called playing the board. Players have betting options to check, call, raise or fold, rounds of betting take place before the flop is dealt, and after each subsequent deal. Texas hold em is the H game featured in H. O. R. S. E, in Texas hold em, as in all variants of poker, individuals compete for an amount of money or chips contributed by the players themselves. The game is divided into a series of hands, at the conclusion of each hand, the objective of winning players is not to win every individual hand, but rather to make mathematically and psychologically better decisions regarding when and how much to bet, raise, call—or fold. Ones pattern of betting may encourage opponents to bet or to fold, the winning poker players know how to enhance their opponents betting and maximize their own expected gain on each round of betting, to thereby increase their long-term winnings. Although little is known about the invention of Texas hold em, after the game spread throughout Texas, hold em was introduced to Las Vegas in 1967 by a group of Texan gamblers and card players, including Crandell Addington, Doyle Brunson, and Amarillo Slim. This is when ace high was changed from the form in which aces were low. Addington said the first time he saw the game was in 1959 and they didnt call it Texas hold em at the time, they just called it hold em. … I thought then that if it were to catch on, it would become the game. Draw poker, you bet only twice, hold em, you bet four times and that meant you could play strategically. This was more of a mans game. For several years the Golden Nugget Casino in Downtown Las Vegas was the only casino in Las Vegas to offer the game, at that time, the Golden Nuggets poker room was truly a sawdust joint, with…oiled sawdust covering the floors. Because of its location and decor, this room did not receive many rich drop-in clients. In 1969, the Las Vegas professionals were invited to play Texas hold em at the entrance of the now-demolished Dunes Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. This prominent location, and the inexperience of poker players with Texas hold em. After a failed attempt to establish a Gambling Fraternity Convention, Tom Moore added the first ever poker tournament to the Second Annual Gambling Fraternity Convention held in 1969 and this tournament featured several games including Texas hold em
22.
Chris Ferguson
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Christopher Philip Chris Ferguson is an American professional poker player. He has won five World Series of Poker events, including the 2000 WSOP Main Event, on September 20,2011, the U. S. Ferguson was born in Los Angeles, California. Both Fergusons parents have doctoral degrees in mathematics and his father, Thomas Ferguson, teaches game theory, Ferguson attended UCLA, where he earned a Ph. D. in computer science in 1999 after five years as an undergraduate and 13 years as a graduate student. His Ph. D. advisor was Leonard Kleinrock, Ferguson began playing poker at the age 10. In college, he honed his skill on IRC poker playing online for money in chat rooms. In 1994, he began playing in tournaments in California and in 1995, Ferguson beat T. J. Cloutier heads-up at the Main Event of the 2000 WSOP to win the $1.5 million prize. In 2004, he entered the WSOP Main Event, earning $120,000 for his 26th-place finish, also in 2004, Ferguson helped launch the online poker site Full Tilt Poker. Ferguson finished runner-up to Phil Hellmuth in the 2005 National Heads-Up Poker Championship and he made the finals again in 2006, but again finished second, this time to Ted Forrest. In 2008, he made the finals for the third time, at one time he had the most event wins, but he is now second to Huck Seed. In 2008, Ferguson cashed for US$677,905 at the WSOP, as of 2010, his total live tournament winnings exceed $8,000,000. His 63 WSOP cashes account for $4,051,104 of those winnings and put him third for most cashes at the WSOP, behind Phil Hellmuth and he claims to have turned $1 into more than $20,000 playing online poker over six months as a personal challenge. He talked about this as a guest on Poker Night Live, similarly, to show that it could be done, he turned $0 into $10,000 on Full Tilt by first winning freeroll tournaments. Despite achieving his goal, Ferguson has continued the challenge and was at one point over $20,000 and he is a relatively quiet player who often adopts a characteristic motionless pose to avoid providing information to his opponents. He adopted his trademark wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses consciously, to point towards a table image that does not display outright the fact that he was a college student. His style is highly mathematical, using a knowledge of game theory. Ferguson is nicknamed Jesus because of his trademark long brown hair, in addition to his five bracelets, Ferguson was the first player to have won three World Series of Poker Circuit rings. On September 20,2011, the United States Department of Justice amended an existing civil complaint against Full Tilt Poker, the case was dismissed February 19,2013 yielding insofar that money be paid out by Ferguson and limitations placed on his website and the legality of online poker. His interests include his presidency of a dancing club at UCLA, as well as his ability to throw playing cards fast enough to cut through bananas, carrots
23.
Allen Cunningham
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Allen Cunningham is an American professional poker player who has won five World Series of Poker bracelets. Cunningham studied civil engineering at UCLA before dropping out of school to play poker professionally, at the age of 18, he began playing at Indian casinos. Previously a Full Tilt sponsored pro, he became a member of Team Full Tilt in October 2006. Cunningham earned the title 2005 ESPN/Toyota Player of the Year and came close to winning it again in 2006 and he was also voted by fellow professional poker players the Best All Around Player under 35. Cunninghams single largest tournament payout occurred at the 2006 World Series of Poker when he finished in place in the Main Event. Frequently during the tournament, when players tried to take on Cunningham, ESPNs Norman Chad would respond with comments such as. Cunningham joined a short list of players who have won a World Series of Poker Bracelet in three years after winning his fifth bracelet in 2007. Others to accomplish this include Johnny Moss, Bill Boyd, Doyle Brunson, Gary Berland, Cunningham won the $300,000 Mega Match on Poker After Dark that aired the week of October 8,2007. On December 7,2007, Cunningham won the $15,000 buy-in inaugural National Poker League Vegas Open Championship Main Event after defeating David Singer during heads-up play, winning over $325,000. On May 1,2008, Cunningham won the 2008 World Series of Poker Circuit event at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, earning $499,162. In the 2008 World Series of Poker Cunningham made another run in the Main Event, finishing 117th place out of 6844 players. As of 2014, his live tournament winnings exceed $11,500,000. As of August 2014, his 55 cashes including his five bracelets have netted him $7,097,407 in WSOP earnings and he resides in Las Vegas with girlfriend Melissa Hayden and their dog. ALL IN Magazine 2006 Poker Player of the Year Official website PokerListings. com interview
24.
Paul Wasicka
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Paul J. Wasicka finished as runner-up to Jamie Gold in the 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event, winning over $6,000,000. He won $500,000 for his victory in the tournament, at the World Poker Tour $9,900 No Limit Holdem held at the 2007 L. A. Poker Classic, Wasicka made the final table which also included poker players J. C. Tran and Eric Hershler, he finished in place, earning $455,615. Wasicka has also cashed in three other WPT Championship events and has made a total of over $700,000 from WPT events alone, at the 2007 Aussie Millions A$10,000 Main Event, Wasicka just missed making the final table coming in 12th and earning A$120,000. The event was won by professional poker player Gus Hansen. As of 2016, his live tournament winnings exceed $7,850,000. His 14 cashes at the WSOP account for $6,308,316 of those winnings
25.
Blueberry
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Blueberries are perennial flowering plants with indigo-colored berries from the section Cyanococcus within the genus Vaccinium. Species in the section Cyanococcus are the most common fruits sold as blueberries and are native to North America, Blueberries are usually erect, prostrate shrubs that can vary in size from 10 centimeters to 4 meters in height. In the commercial production of blueberries, the species are known as lowbush blueberries. The leaves can be deciduous or evergreen, ovate to lanceolate. The flowers are bell-shaped, white, pale pink or red, the fruit is a berry 5–16 millimeters in diameter with a flared crown at the end, they are pale greenish at first, then reddish-purple, and finally dark purple when ripe. They are covered in a coating of powdery epicuticular wax. They have a sweet taste when mature, with variable acidity, the genus Vaccinium has a mostly circumpolar distribution, with species mainly being present in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa. Many commercially sold species with English common names including blueberry are currently classified in section Cyanococcus of the genus Vaccinium, many North American native species of blueberries are grown commercially in the Southern Hemisphere in Australia, New Zealand and South American nations. See the Identification section for more information, note, habitat and range summaries are from the Flora of New Brunswick, published in 1986 by Harold R. These species are sometimes called blueberries and sold as jam or other products. The names of blueberries in languages other than English often translate as blueberry, e. g. Scots blaeberry, blaeberry, blåbær and French myrtilles usually refer to the European native bilberry, while bleuets refers to the North American blueberry. Russian голубика does not refer to blueberries, which are non-native and nearly unknown in Russia, Cyanococcus blueberries can be distinguished from the nearly identical-looking bilberries by their flesh color when cut in half. Ripe blueberries have light green flesh, while bilberries, whortleberries and huckleberries are red or purple throughout, Blueberries may be cultivated, or they may be picked from semiwild or wild bushes. In North America, the most common cultivated species is V. corymbosum, hybrids of this with other Vaccinium species adapted to southern U. S. climates are known collectively as southern highbush blueberries. So-called wild blueberries, smaller than cultivated highbush ones, have intense color, the lowbush blueberry, V. angustifolium, is found from the Atlantic provinces westward to Quebec and southward to Michigan and West Virginia. In some areas, it produces natural blueberry barrens, where it is the dominant species covering large areas, several First Nations communities in Ontario are involved in harvesting wild blueberries. Wild has been adopted as a term for harvests of managed native stands of lowbush blueberries. The bushes are not planted or genetically manipulated, but they are pruned or burned over two years, and pests are managed
26.
NBC
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The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcast television network that is the flagship property of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. The network is part of the Big Three television networks, founded in 1926 by the Radio Corporation of America, NBC is the oldest major broadcast network in the United States. Following the acquisition by GE, Bob Wright served as executive officer of NBC, remaining in that position until his retirement in 2007. In 2003, French media company Vivendi merged its entertainment assets with GE, Comcast purchased a controlling interest in the company in 2011, and acquired General Electrics remaining stake in 2013. Following the Comcast merger, Zucker left NBC Universal and was replaced as CEO by Comcast executive Steve Burke, during a period of early broadcast business consolidation, radio manufacturer Radio Corporation of America acquired New York City radio station WEAF from American Telephone & Telegraph. Westinghouse, a shareholder in RCA, had an outlet in Newark, New Jersey pioneer station WJZ. This station was transferred from Westinghouse to RCA in 1923, WEAF acted as a laboratory for AT&Ts manufacturing and supply outlet Western Electric, whose products included transmitters and antennas. The Bell System, AT&Ts telephone utility, was developing technologies to transmit voice- and music-grade audio over short and long distances, the 1922 creation of WEAF offered a research-and-development center for those activities. WEAF maintained a schedule of radio programs, including some of the first commercially sponsored programs. In an early example of chain or networking broadcasting, the station linked with Outlet Company-owned WJAR in Providence, Rhode Island, AT&T refused outside companies access to its high-quality phone lines. The early effort fared poorly, since the telegraph lines were susceptible to atmospheric. In 1925, AT&T decided that WEAF and its network were incompatible with the companys primary goal of providing a telephone service. AT&T offered to sell the station to RCA in a deal that included the right to lease AT&Ts phone lines for network transmission, the divisions ownership was split among RCA, its founding corporate parent General Electric and Westinghouse. NBC officially started broadcasting on November 15,1926, WEAF and WJZ, the flagships of the two earlier networks, were operated side-by-side for about a year as part of the new NBC. On April 5,1927, NBC expanded to the West Coast with the launch of the NBC Orange Network and this was followed by the debut of the NBC Gold Network, also known as the Pacific Gold Network, on October 18,1931. The Orange Network carried Red Network programming, and the Gold Network carried programming from the Blue Network, initially, the Orange Network recreated Eastern Red Network programming for West Coast stations at KPO in San Francisco. The Orange Network name was removed from use in 1936, at the same time, the Gold Network became part of the Blue Network. In the 1930s, NBC also developed a network for shortwave radio stations, in 1927, NBC moved its operations to 711 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, occupying the upper floors of a building designed by architect Floyd Brown
27.
Poker After Dark
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Poker After Dark is an hour-long poker television program on NBC. The show made its debut on January 1,2007, and was cancelled on September 23,2011 following the Black Friday criminal case, for its first two seasons, both of which originally aired in 2007, the show was presented by Shana Hiatt. The host for season 3 was Marianela Pereyra, and Leeann Tweeden took over starting with season 4, all seasons have contained voice-over commentary by Oliver Ali Nejad. The program returned to American television over the NBCSN on March 5,2012 with previously aired repeats, NBCSN schedules the show on weeknights at midnight, although the start time varies due to overruns by sporting events. The Poker After Dark format featured a look at one table as it develops over the week. Blinds start at $100/$200 and slowly escalate, commentator Ali Nejads commentary is limited, allowing viewers to hear much of the table talk among the players, all of whom are miked. The series was originally structured as a series of week-long No Limit Texas hold em mini-tournaments for six top poker professionals, each week the players vied for a $120,000 winner-takes-all prize pool, with each paying a $20,000 buy-in. By the end of the show, a winner is determined. The sixth show was a cut that includes excerpts from the action from the previous five days. Also, Seasons 3,4 and 5 had a Dream Table, pitting an amateur against five pros. Poker After Dark aired six times a week, at 2,05 a. m. ET Tuesday through Saturday, the early Sunday show is a directors cut weekly summary of the previous weeks shows. NBC Sports has since removed their poker section entirely from their webpage, eventually, repeats of the series began to air in late time slots on the NBC Sports Network with that networks January 2012 rebranding. In Canada Poker After Dark aired afternoons and late nights on Rogers Sportsnet and, in France Poker After Dark airs at night on RTL9. In Germany, it airs on SPORT1, with commentary provided by Michael Körner, in Ireland, Poker After Dark airs on Setanta Ireland and Setanta Sports 1 on most weeknights with little change from the US version. In The Netherlands, it airs on Veronica, episodes feature the original English commentary with Dutch subtitles, in Sweden, Poker After Dark airs on afternoons and nights on TV4 Sport and on TV10 weekday nights at 01,30. In Denmark, it airs at night on TV3+, in Italy, Poker After Dark airs at night on POKERItalia24. In Poland, Poker After Dark airs during evenings on Sportklub and Sport Klub+, commentary is provided by Paweł Majewski, in Russia, the show airs on 7TV at 11, 30pm every day until the Febral, and now shows on REN-TV at 3,00 pm. Full Tilt Poker held promotional tournaments that offered a seat on the show as the grand prize, Season 2 was taped in May 2007 at the South Point Casino in Las Vegas
28.
High Stakes Poker
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High Stakes Poker is a cash game poker television program, which was broadcast by the cable television network GSN in the United States. The poker variant played on the show is no limit Texas hold em. It premiered on January 16,2006 and ended on December 17,2007 for the first 4 seasons, the participants on the show include both professional poker players and amateur players. The show was hosted by AJ Benza in the first five seasons, starting with the sixth season, Kara Scott replaced Benza as Kaplans co-host, with Scott conducting interviews from the poker room floor. Starting with the season, Norm Macdonald replaced Gabe Kaplan as Scotts co-host. The second season, taped at The Palms and consisting of 16 episodes, premiered on June 5,2006 and ended on September 18,2006. The third season, consisting of 13 episodes, was taped at the South Point Casino at 9, 00pm and premiered on January 15,2007 at 9, 00pm and ended on April 9,2007. New players for the season included Jamie Gold, Phil Ivey, Chris Ferguson, Patrik Antonius, Paul Wasicka, David Benyamine, Brian Townsend. Returning players from previous seasons included Doyle Brunson, Daniel Negreanu, Sammy Farha, Phil Laak, Jennifer Harman, Barry Greenstein, Erick Lindgren, Mike Matusow, Brad Booth and others. On April 2,2007, GSN announced that High Stakes Poker would return for a fourth season, taping was completed in May, with the season premiering on August 27,2007 at 9, 00pm. Returning players included Patrik Antonius, David Benyamine, Doyle Brunson, Eli Elezra, Sam Farha, Jamie Gold, Barry Greenstein, Phil Hellmuth Jr. Jennifer Harman, and Daniel Negreanu. Newcomers for the season include Brandon Adams, Mike Baxter, Brian Brandon, Phil Galfond, Guy Laliberté, Bob Safai, Antonio Salorio. The later episodes of this season featured a $500,000 minimum buy-in, Season four finished airing on December 17,2007 and featured 17 episodes. The network cited the strong ratings performance in younger demographics. Season five, which ran from March 1,2009 to May 24,2009 at 9, 00pm, was taped at the Golden Nugget on December 19–21,2008 and featured a minimum cash buy-in of $200,000. The format for season 5 differed slightly from its predecessors by having Kaplan and Benza not appear on camera until after the first commercial break in the show, rather than at the outset. Season six premiered at 8, 00pm on February 14,2010 and ended on May 9,2010, with Gabe Kaplan and it was taped for a second straight season at the Golden Nugget. The sixth season aired with three different groups of players throughout 13 episodes, Tom Dwan and Phil Ivey bought in for $500,000
29.
Annie Duke
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Anne LaBarr Annie Duke is an American professional poker player and author. She holds a World Series of Poker gold bracelet from 2004, Duke won the 2004 World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions and the National Heads-Up Poker Championship in 2010. She has been involved in advocacy on a number of poker-related issues including advocating for the legality of online gambling and for players rights to control their own image. Duke was co-founder, executive president, and commissioner of the Epic Poker League from 2011-12 which failed in 2012 and is now bankrupt with many investors upset over how it was managed. Her parents were both card players and Duke became interested in cards from an early age and her siblings are professional poker player Howard Lederer and author/poet Katy Lederer, who published a memoir about the Lederer family. Duke attended St. Pauls School, then enrolled at Columbia University where she double-majored in English, after graduating from Columbia, she pursued a Ph. D. For her graduate studies she was awarded a National Science Foundation fellowship, in 1991, one month before defending her doctoral dissertation, she decided that she no longer wished to pursue academia and left school. In 1992, she married Ben Duke, and moved to Billings, the couple divided their time between Las Vegas and Montana between 1992 and 2002, when they moved to Portland, Oregon. They were married until 2004 and had four children, maud Duke was born in 1995, Leo Duke, in 1998, Lucy Duke, in 2000, and Nell Duke, in 2002. In 2005, Duke and her children relocated to Hollywood Hills, Duke first played Texas holdem at age 22 in a casino and continued to play for fun in Las Vegas casinos while visiting her brother, Howard Lederer, during her graduate school years. After she moved to Billings in 1992, Duke was encouraged by her brother to play professionally, sending her $2,400 and providing her with poker instruction books. She began to play poker initially at the Crystal Lounge, a bar in Billings that had a legal poker room. Following a successful playing in Montana, her brother prompted her to enter tournaments at the 1994 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. Within the first month, she won $70,000 and decided to move to Las Vegas to pursue a professional poker career, in the first two tournaments of the 1994 World Series of Poker, Duke placed 14th and 5th, and finished 26th in the Main Event. From 2000 onward, she became known for her high-profile achievements in WSOP events. She received a WSOP gold bracelet in 2004, placing first out of 234 entrants in an Omaha Hi-Lo Split tournament. By July of that year she had become the top money winner in the history of the WSOP, earning over $650,000 from 25 in the money finishes. Later in 2004, she placed first in the inaugural WSOP Tournament of Champions, beating her brother and nine world championship winners
30.
Jack Straus
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Jack Treetop Straus was an American professional poker player. In addition, Straus is known for pulling off one of the best bluffs in the history of poker. Straus began playing in World Series of Poker events in the early 1970s and he finished in fourth place in the 1972 Main Event. He won his first bracelet in 1973 in the $3,000 Deuce to Seven Draw event and he won the 1982 World Series of Poker Main Event, earning $520,000 and a second WSOP bracelet. His appearances at the table of the Main Event in 1972,1973. Other players to have done this include Main Event champions like Johnny Moss, Doyle Brunson, Stu Ungar, Johnny Chan, and Dan Harrington. Famously, Strauss 1982 win was a comeback after being down to a single $25 chip, supposedly the origin of the common tournament poker aphorism, a chip and a chair. Although accounts vary, the most common story is that he pushed his chips into the pot, was called, Straus had thought he was eliminated from the tournament, but when he got up, he discovered he had one chip left under a napkin on the table. Because he didnt declare himself all-in, the tournament directors allowed him to continue playing, Straus is credited with one of the most celebrated bluffs of all time. While playing in a no limit Texas Holdem cash game, Straus had won several large pots in a row. When he looked down he found that he had been dealt 7-2 offsuit, the worst starting hand in Texas Holdem, Straus raise was called by a single opponent and the flop came 7-3-3. This was a flop for a 7-2, so Straus bet out. However his tight opponent made a raise, indicating a likely overpair to the board. Straus knew he was almost certainly behind, but he decided that he might be able to beat his opponent by representing trip threes, so he called the large raise. The turn was a 2, for a board of 7-3-3-2, which was no help to Straus with a pair already on the board. This set his opponent thinking deeply, Straus knew that he was desperate to avoid a call, as his chances of drawing out to win on the river were very slim. After a few minutes, Straus offered his opponent a proposition and he told him that for $25, he could choose either one of Strauss hole cards and Straus would show it to him. The guy considered for a while, then tossed Straus $25, after another long pause, his opponent eventually figured that Straus would only make such an offer if both his hole-cards were deuces, therefore giving him a full house, deuces over threes
31.
Las Vegas Review-Journal
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The Las Vegas Review-Journal is a major daily newspaper published in Las Vegas, Nevada since 1909. It is the largest circulating newspaper in Nevada, and one of two daily newspapers in the Las Vegas area. The paper usually takes what is perceived to be an editorial stance. The Review-Journal has a joint operating agreement with the Las Vegas Sun, in 2005, the Sun ceased afternoon publication and began distribution as a section of the Review-Journal. On March 18,2015, the sale of the parent company, Stephens Media LLC. The Clark County Review was first printed in 1909 and became the Las Vegas Review in 1926 when owner Frank Garside, who owned several other Nevada papers, brought in Al Cahlan as a partner. In March 1929, the Clark County Journal began publication, and in July of that year, in the early 1940s, Cahlan and Garsides company, Southwestern Publishing, bought the Las Vegas Age, from Charles P. Pop Squires, which began publication in 1905 and was the oldest surviving paper in Las Vegas, the word evening was dropped from the name in 1949 when Garside left the company and Cahlan struck an agreement with Donald W. Reynolds and his Donrey Media Group. In 1953, the RJ signed on KORK, one of Las Vegas earliest radio stations, two years later, it signed on Las Vegas third television station, KLRJ-TV, in 1955, later changing the calls to KORK-TV. The station was sold in 1979, changing its call letters again first to KVBC, in December 1960, Reynolds exercised a buyout option with Cahlan, and bought the paper. The RJ published a morning and evening edition from that point until the late 1980s, Reynolds died in 1993, and longtime friend Jack Stephens bought his company, renamed it Stephens Media and moved the companys headquarters to Las Vegas. The Review-Journal entered into its first Joint Operating Agreement, or JOA, with the Sun in 1990, in early 2015, the Stephens Media newspapers were sold to New Media Investment Group. Beginning in 2010, the Stephens Media property Las Vegas Review-Journal adopted a new plan based on copyright litigation. That practice has been coined copyright trolling after its practice of scouring the internet for violations to make a profit, Righthaven sued a Boston-based cat blogger over her attribution to a Review-Journal story on her blog. com, Infowars, Free Republic and others. On August 25,2010, the Electronic Frontier Foundation announced that it would make efforts to assist Righthaven LLC defendants to the best of its ability, counterclaims were asserted against Stephens Media as well as Righthaven. The pleading alleged a sham relationship between the newspaper and Righthaven, and accused Righthaven of copyright fraud, in March 2011, a federal judge found that uses of Las Vegas Review-Journal content, including citations of full articles, is generally fair use ref. Norm Clarke, Clarke is a gossip columnist for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, his column, Vegas Confidential, covers celebrities and near-celebrities, steve Sebelius, Sebelius is the political columnist for the Review-Journal and author of the blog SlashPolitics. com. Vin Suprynowicz is the Editorial Page Editor and columnist who writes from a Libertarian perspective Las Vegas Review-Journal official web site Stephens Media official web site
32.
Johnny Moss
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Johnny Moss was a gambler and professional poker player. He was one of the inductees into the Poker Hall of Fame in 1979. Moss was born on May 14,1907 in Marshall, Texas and grew up in Dallas, Texas, a group of cheaters taught him how to cheat in games, but Moss put this knowledge to good use. As a teenager he was hired by a saloon to watch over games. While he was keeping games safe from cheaters, he was learning the strategy behind playing poker, two years later, he became a rounder, a player who travels the country looking for gambling action. In 1949, Moss played with Nick the Greek in a heads up poker marathon set up by Benny Binion. At the conclusion of the game, Nick the Greek uttered what has one of the most famous poker quotes ever, Mr. Moss. This game is cited as the inspiration behind the WSOP. This game became the foundation for Al Alvarezs book The Biggest Game in Town and is one of the best known stories in poker. Despite being one of the best-known poker stories, a soon to be released book, Showgirl Stories, according to Fischer, there were no stories or reports of this tournament until six years after Nicks death. Binion never spoke of the game even when providing a history of Las Vegas and avoided answering questions about the game by saying, Well. While Nick the Greek was often covered by the national media, Fischer says that nearly every version of the story is virtually identical to the version first told by Moss beginning circa 1971. The story is said to have taken place in 1949 at the Horseshoe Casino, a casino that did not exist for another year. Fischer also points out that during the time that Binion supposedly set up the game, because of his past, Binion lost his license to run a gambling establishment in 1948 and did not regain it until April 13,1950. He was not granted a license to open the Horseshoe Casino until December 5,1952, Fischer believes that the notion of Binion sponsoring a poker game, in front of a window, of a casino that hasnt opened, while fighting extradition is absurd. An authorized autobiography on Moss, which is called Champion of Champions, was written by Don Jenkins, Moss won the 1970,1971, and 1974 World Series of Poker Main Events. For the 1970 WSOP Main Event, Moss was actually elected champion by his peers, during Mosss career he won $834,422 in WSOP tournament play. *In 1970, Moss was voted champion by his peers, **Moss set the, as of the end of the 2016 World Series of Poker, still-standing record of oldest bracelet winner in WSOP history
33.
Amarillo Slim
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Thomas Austin Preston, Jr. known as Amarillo Slim, was an American professional gambler known for his poker skills and proposition bets. Preston won the 1972 World Series of Poker Main Event and was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 1992, before becoming a well-known tournament player, Preston was a rounder, touring the United States looking for gambling action along with Doyle Brunson and Sailor Roberts. Following his WSOP victory, he appeared on talk shows, including The Tonight Show. He appeared on Ive Got a Secret, where his secret involved losing $190,000 in one night of poker, Preston won four WSOP bracelets including two in Omaha. Prestons final WSOP win was in 1990, in the $2,500 Pot Limit Omaha event at the 2000 WSOP, he came in second to Phil Ivey. In January/February 1980, Amarillo Slim hosted the Second Annual Poker Classic and this series eventually came to be called the Super Bowl of Poker and continued until 1991. Gabe Kaplan became the first winner of this tournament series and Stu Ungar won the three times. Prestons lifetime tournament earnings totaled more than $587,000, in 1973, Preston and Bill G. Cox wrote Play Poker to Win which was published by Grosset and Dunlap. A revised edition was published by HarperCollins in 2005 entitled Amarillo Slims Play Poker to Win. In May 2003, Preston published his autobiography Amarillo Slim in a World Full of Fat People, where he wrote of playing poker with Larry Flynt, Lyndon Johnson, in addition to his poker exploits, Preston wrote about his exploits in proposition betting. In April 2007, Preston created a website and released an E-Book called All In, the book was written by Preston along with Joe Brent Riley. Thomas Austin Preston, Jr. was born on December 31,1928, in Johnson, Arkansas, after they divorced, his mother returned to Johnson, while his father moved to Amarillo. Slim is quoted as saying, Its a good thing he did, Preston was divorced, had three children, and lived in Amarillo, Texas. In August 2003, Preston was indicted in Randall County, Texas on charges of indecency with a 12-year-old grandchild. The charges were reduced to misdemeanor assault in a bargain and on February 10,2004, Preston pleaded no contest to the reduced charges. Preston received a $4,000 fine, two years probation and was ordered to undergo counseling, in a 2009 interview, he stated that he was innocent of any wrongdoing, but chose to take the plea bargain in order to spare his family from a court trial. Early on the morning of October 4,2006, Preston was the victim of an armed robbery. The armed robber fired three bullets into Prestons car as he sped away, on January 28,2007, Preston was robbed at gunpoint while in his home
34.
Puggy Pearson
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Walter Clyde Puggy Pearson was an American professional poker player. He is best known as the 1973 World Series of Poker Main Event winner, Pearson was born and raised in Tennessee in a family with nine siblings. He got his nickname Puggy from an accident that left him with a disfigured nose at the age of twelve. He dropped out of school in the grade, and at the age of 17 he joined the United States Navy. He strengthened his skills at poker and gambling while in the Navy, prior to 1949, all poker games were cash games, a player could cash out his chips and leave at any time. Pearson originated the idea of a tournament and shared his idea with fellow gambler Nick the Greek Dandolos in the early 1950s. Dandalos later brought the idea to legendary casino owner Benny Binion, after further urging by Pearson, Amarillo Slim, and Doyle Brunson, all of whom felt that such a tournament would create great side game action, Binion founded the World Series of Poker in 1970. Pearson won the 1973 World Series of Poker main event when his A♠ 7♠ defeated Johnny Mosss K♥ J♠ and he won four bracelets, two of which were in seven-card stud and two of which were No limit holdem. Pearson was known as a man who would seek out the biggest game in town. He owned a RV, which he called the Roving Gambler, with this painted on the side, Ill play any man from any land any game he can name for any amount I can count, Pearson was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 1987. Pearson, who had a history of heart problems, died on April 12,2006. Guardian article by Victoria Coren CardPlayer article by Jeff Shulman Hendon Mob tournament results http, //www. wnypoker. com/forums/showthread. php. p=81528
35.
Sailor Roberts
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Bryan W. Sailor Roberts was an American professional poker player. Before becoming a professional, Roberts was a rounder and traveled the country looking for games with Doyle Brunson. In addition to his career as a player, he was also a renowned contract bridge player. Robertss first WSOP bracelet was won at the 1974 World Series of Poker in the $5,000 Deuce to Seven Draw event and he won the 1975 World Series of Poker Main Event, gaining his second WSOP bracelet and $210,000. Roberts earned his nickname Sailor for having served in the United States Navy during the Korean War, Roberts died from cirrhosis caused by hepatitis. He was posthumously inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2012, Sailor Roberts Hendon Mob tournament results
36.
Doyle Brunson
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Doyle F. Brunson is an American poker player who has played professionally for over 50 years. He is a two-time World Series of Poker Main Event champion, a Poker Hall of Fame inductee, and he is also one of only four players to have won the Main Event at the World Series of Poker multiple times, which he did in 1976 and 1977. He is also one of two players, along with Bill Boyd, to have won WSOP tournaments in four consecutive years. In addition, he is the first of five players to win both the WSOP Main Event and a World Poker Tour title, in January 2006, Bluff Magazine voted Brunson the most influential force in the world of poker. Brunson was born in Longworth, Fisher County, Texas, one of three children and he was part of the All-State Texas basketball team. In the 1950 Texas Interscholastic Track Meet, he won the event with a time of 4,43. Despite receiving offers from colleges, he attended Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene. The Minneapolis Lakers showed interest in Brunson but an injury ended his hopes of becoming a professional basketball player. He still occasionally requires a crutch because of the injury, Brunson earned a bachelors degree in 1954 and a masters degree in administrative education the following year. Brunson had begun playing poker before his injury, playing five-card draw and he played more often after being injured and his winnings paid for his expenses. After graduating, he took a job as a business machines salesman, on his first day, he was invited to play in a seven-card stud game and earned over a months salary. He soon left the company and became a poker player. Brunson started off by playing in games on Exchange Street in Fort Worth with friend Dwayne Hamilton. Eventually, they began traveling around Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana, playing in bigger games, the illegal games Brunson played in during this time were usually run by criminals who were often members of organized crime, so rules were not always enforced. Brunson has admitted to having a gun pulled on him several times, Hamilton moved back to Fort Worth, while the others teamed up and travelled around together, gambling on poker, golf and, in Doyles words, just about everything. They pooled their money for gambling and after six years, they made their first serious trip to Las Vegas and lost all of it and they decided to stop playing as partners, but remained friends. Brunson finally settled in Las Vegas and he made some WSOP championship event final tables before his back-to-back wins, but since this was when the event was winner-take-all, they are not counted as cashes. Besides his two wins in 1976 and 1977, Brunsons other main event cashes are,1972,1980,1982,1983,1997,2004 and 2013
37.
Bobby Baldwin
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Bobby Baldwin is a professional poker player, and casino executive. As a poker player, Baldwin is best known as the winner of the 1978 World Series of Poker Main Event, Baldwin was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and attended Oklahoma State University in 1970. He currently resides in Las Vegas and he married Audra Hendley on August 2,2012 at their Southern Highlands home. Baldwin won his first two bracelets at the 1977 World Series of Poker, first winning the $10,000 Deuce to Seven Draw event, then winning the $5,000 Seven Card Stud event. Baldwin won his largest tournament prize in 1978 when he won the WSOP world championship event, earning the title, in 1979, he won the $10,000 Deuce to Seven Draw event again, earning his fourth and most recent bracelet at the WSOP. Baldwin also competed in the Super Bowl of Poker tournaments, organized by 1972 world champion Amarillo Slim, Baldwin cashed in several SBOP events and won the $5,000 Seven Card Stud event in 1979. His major wins include four WSOP bracelets, all won from 1977 to 1979 and he won WSOP bracelets in three consecutive years which only a small number of players have done in the history of the WSOP. In addition to his 1978 victory, Baldwins other WSOP Main Event cashes are,1981,1986,1987,1991,1992,1994, in 2003, Baldwin was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame. His last live cash came in the 2012 World Series of Poker in the Big One for One Drop, in 1982, he became a consultant for the Golden Nugget casino, and in 1984 was named the president. He was selected to head The Mirage in 1987, and was named as the president of the Bellagio hotel, Baldwin now oversees additional resorts added through the Mandalay Resort Group buyout as well as the previous Wynn properties. In addition to poker, Baldwin is also known as a world class billiards player, Baldwin and his playing style are the subject of a book entitled Bobby Baldwins Winning Poker Secrets, which was written by Mike Caro. Baldwin has written columns on poker and he authored a section for Doyle Brunsons Super/System. His own book Tales Out of Tulsa, a guide for novices, was published in 1985. The high-stakes signature poker room in the Bellagio is named Bobbys Room after Baldwin, as of 2012, his total live tournament winnings exceed $2,300,000. His 20 cashes at the WSOP account for $2,100,311 of those winnings