Poker Wars

Murder and mayhem, bullets and bombings, carnage and corruption…and a whole lot of outlaws gambling for the highest stakes of all. Poker Wars tells the true story of the hitmen, bandits, card sharks, and mobsters who brought about the internationally successful World Series of Poker. The World Series of Poker, the sport’s most popular and lucrative event, had its inaugural event in 1970 and has since grown well beyond anything its founders ever imagined. Especially considering where it came from. Poker Wars chronicles the history of the dangerous key players and the violent conflicts that brought the game from the dark Dallas underbelly to the bright lights of Las Vegas and turned it into the billion-dollar industry it is today. Offering an in-depth exploration of the nearly inconceivable life stories of the sport’s pioneers—especially those of “The Cowboy,” Benny Binion, an illiterate horse trader turned gambling boss who was as quick tempered as he was business savvy—Poker Wars is a thorough breakdown of the remarkable sequence of events that brought the card game into the national spotlight. With new insights, Guitar and Martyka offer a behind-the-scenes look into some of the most well-known conflicts in poker history, including Binion’s feud with Herbert Noble, an ambitious gambler who earned the nickname “The Cat” by surviving several assassination attempts. They also present a comprehensive look at poker forefathers like Titanic Thompson and Nick the Greek, as well as the colorful personalities of the Texas Circuit like Johnny Moss and Doyle Brunson, who upped the ante by introducing a brand-new variant of the game. At once an exposé of the darker side of the tournament’s early legacy and its consequences and a wild, colorful, outlandish tale, Poker Wars is a true crime joyride.