Gambler's Book Shop: Comes up Aces

If you haven't heard about the Gambler's Book Shop in Las Vegas, who bill themselves as "The largest selection of gambling books, videotapes and software in the world!" you've missed out on a priceless treasure. Howard Schwartz longtime owner, is one of Las Vegas's most colorful and savvy denizens. It's worth a trip to the store just to meet Howard whose years in the biz make him an expert on gambling. (my words, not his.) Here's Howard's bio right off the Gambler's Book Shop Website:

Howard Schwartz, the "librarian for gamblers," is the marketing director for Gambler's Book Club in Las Vegas, a position he has held since 1979. Author of hundreds of articles on gambling, his weekly book reviews appear in numerous publications throughout the gaming industry.

It's easy to subscribe to the Gambler's Book Shop online free monthly newsletter with none of the hassles. Just go to their Website at http://www.gamblersbook.com/.

By the way, Slick's been invited to a Gambler's Book Shop event where he'll be featured on a radio interview.

Date: Thursday, April 24, 2008
Time : 2:00 p.m. (Las Vegas time)
place: The Gambler's Book Shop
630 S. 11th Street
Las Vegas, NV 89101

If you're in the area on the 24th, drop by and talk with Slick and Howard Schwartz and Mark Matthews from the store.

NEW YORK POST--Cherie's Second Review

This review appeared Sunday, April 13, 2008 and will run for a week:

DEAD MENS' HANDS
By CHERIE ROHN

April 13, 2008 -- "McCall, who had quietly moved behind Hickok, pulled a gun from under his jacket and shot him, crying out, 'Damn you, take that.' The bullet drilled a hole in Hickok's head and went on to hit Massie in the wrist. Hickok died instantly and fell silently to the floor."

The lesson? Never hold aces and eights. And, according to New Zealand author Des Wilson, who recreates the demise of Wild Bill Hickok during that famous poker game, know that "the key to [poker's] popularity is its history."

"The players, even the youngest, know it comes from the back alley, the gangster's den, the Western saloon," Wilson writes. "They know there was a time when there were guns in the game . . . they know there are ghosts at the table."

Wilson's history is divided into four ages: the old frontier, the road gamblers, Las Vegas and the modern poker explosion. He scoured the archives and crisscrossed the country exploring the places where poker legends plied their trade from dusty, remote Tombstone and Dodge City, the stomping grounds of Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday; to the Mississippi riverboats where you didn't lose at poker, you were robbed or worse; to the Texan road gamblers like Johnny Moss, Sailor Roberts and Amarillo Slim who "faded the white line" driving from game to game. The object was to leave with the money they'd won, keep it and stay alive long enough to enjoy it. "It's these poker people who give the game its special aura," Wilson says.

Wilson identifies poker's special characters and dispels some of the more fanciful fabrications. In a game that has largely remained illegal, whose rich stories were passed on by word of mouth, it's no wonder the line between myth and reality fuzzes over.

Such is the case with Benny Binion, who established the World Series of Poker at the Horseshoe in Las Vegas and nurtured it for 35 years. While building a fortune running the Horseshoe, Binion said, "If you want to get rich, make little people feel big." But as Wilson explains, "every now and then the mask would drop and Benny's ruthlessness would emerge." Binion's now famous words after a Mafia hit man claimed Binion hired him were "I'm capable of doing my own killing."

Wilson has no qualms asking former World Series of Poker director Eric Drache about the cheating and rumors of collusion that went on during the early days of the World Series and "fixing" the main event in 1972. Nor is Wilson afraid to call a spade a spade when he describes major hitters like Stu Unger, who Mike Sexton called "the greatest no-limit poker player ever to have played the game." Unger blew it all over cocaine, dead by 45.

Ultimately, it's the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas that takes center stage. This battle of the titans has grown from a handful of players in 1970 with a major prize of $100,000 to an international field of 54,000 in 2007 with a staggering $60 million main event prize.

As the World Series ratchets up the stakes, it also attracts a new breed of Internet poker whiz kids to its ranks who give the old guard a run for their money. As evidence, Wilson observed during the 2007 World Series "four of the final table are either Internet professionals or play most of their poker online." Perhaps more important, he adds that "the world's most popular game is in good shape."

Cherie Rohn co-authored Thief! The Gutsy True Story of an Ex-Con Artist.

Ghosts at the Table
A History of Poker
by Des Wilson
Da Capo Press

THEN & NOW

Then: In 1947 there were only 3 casino/hotels on the Las Vegas Strip (named after another famous strip—Sunset Strip in L.A.) They were the El Rancho Vegas, the Last Frontier, and Bugsy Siegel’s infamous Flamingo. The Flamingo boasted a 200-room capacity at a cost of $6 million and Bugsy Siegel’s life.

Now: With more than 38 million visitors descending annually on Las Vegas, the choices of Strip casino/hotels exceeds 27 multi-million and billion dollar establishments.

Part II: Woman Writes as a Man Who Hung with the Mob

Check out Part I further down the page to see how this crazy partnership began.

Two years into writing, Slick told me to send out the manuscript to publishers...it was good enough. I knew it wasn't, but didn't want to argue so I sent it to about 20 litereary agents, the guys who know the publishers that like this sort of material. After about a month, a literary agent said he wanted to see some sample chapters. (They rarely ask to see the entire manuscript.) Oh boy, I thought. We're in business. So I sent along the first 3 chapters. (The first 3 let them know if you can hook the reader and keep them interested.)

Six months went by and I almost forgot about the chapters. Then a standard rejection letter appeared from the same literary agent. At the bottom were penned the words: "Great idea but writing not up to industry standard." I put the "cake" back in the oven to cook some more.

When I didn't think I could make it any better, I knew I was done. That was 9 years after I started writing. I realized it had to be damn good. Otherwise, no publisher would take a risk with an unknown author.

Turned out that Slick knew Tony Montana who knew a respected author and mob expert by the name of Ed Becker. Ed was so excited over the Thief! manuscript, he sent it off to his good friend Lyle Stuart, publisher of Barricade Books. Lyle read the manuscipt, loved the writing and offered Slick and me a publishing contract. He said it would need minimal editing, music to my ears. As they say, the rest is history.

A famous author whose name I forget said:

"If you're only writing for the money, you will grow bitter before you grow rich."

You better believe it! Of the 200,000 new books that hit the market yearly (450-500 per day), less than 1/10 of 1% of all those authors make it big. That's why they appear on Oprah and David Letterman because they are so RARE!

Sales of Thief! are brisk mostly because Slick, Tony Montana and I work like hell to market the book. Yeah, it's different from the old days when publishers had the money and staff to promote their books. Now, marketing is up to the author.

If you have any questions, just leave a comment below and I'll be sure to answer.

Congratulations Joe Batterz!

If you haven't checked out the blog http://www.chicagosyndicate.blogspot.com/, do yourself a favor. While blogspot owner Joe Batterz has always presented a clean, easy-to-understand and navigate site, you should see it now!

Whether you're researching a project about the Chicago Outfit, brushing up on recent mob events or just looking for a good read, The Chicago Syndicate is a must.

Town Square Borders Update

A while back, CEO of Borders Books, George Jones, visited the Borders store at McCarran Airport in Las Vegas. Slick was at his regular gig signing copies of Thief at the store. Well, Mr. Jones was so impressed after he found out from the store manager that Thief had sold around 700 copies, that he invited Slick to sign Thief at the opening of the New Town Square Borders on the Strip.

The actual opening weekend became solidly booked with top-rated authors and other notables. But Borders wanted Slick there very much. So they arranged that Slick will sign books Sat., April 5 at 7:00 p.m. at the new store. He'll have a regular gig every week after that.

Borders Town Square is located near the corner of Las Vegas Blvd. and Sunset. Actual address is 6521 Las Vegas Blvd. South.

See you there. If you stop by, look for your photo on this blog.

A Felon Speaks

Over 50 years ago I lost my civil rights. But like millions of other felons, I am still an American. If someone talks bad about my mother or country, either black or white, it makes my blood boil. So to anyone who says, "God damn America," I say, Get out.

William "Slick" Hanner