Positively Fifth Street by James McManus

Viva Las Vegas!

E and I are getting on a plane this morning (our first since the new liquid-free security rules) bound for Las Vegas, baby!

My bookish tribute to Las Vegas today is Positively Fifth Street by James McManus. From Amazon:

"In 2000, novelist and poet James McManus was sent to Las Vegas, innocently enough, by Harper's magazine to write a story about the World Series of Poker held annually at Binion's Horseshoe. But then, as so often happens on trips to Sin City, something kind of ... happened. Rather than becoming an objective report, McManus's article evolved into a memoir as he put his entire advance on the line, got lucky with his cards and won a spot in the competition, and came much closer than anyone expected to winning the darn thing.

Besides telling his own story, he relates the considerably more unpleasant tale of Ted Binion, whose grisly death was blamed on Binion's former stripper-girlfriend and her ex-linebacker beau… [McManus’] account of nearly winning the biggest poker tournament in the world and subsequently watching as the verdicts are announced for Binion's accused murderers makes for a great story. Even if it wasn't the one he was sent there to write."

This book is a great read, even if you’re only mildly interested in poker. McManus makes the quiet, cerebral game taut with excitement and suspense, and with the true crime element woven through the book as well, there’s nothing this story doesn’t have. But be careful when you read this book—you might just get bitten by the poker bug. Which, aherm, has definitely not happened to me…

Alright, I play some online poker and we have poker night at our house twice a month. But I’ve only played casino poker twice, and I prefer craps and blackjack when I’m in Las Vegas. Plus we’re having dinner at Michael Mina tonight, and tomorrow we’re going to see David Copperfield. I won’t have time to play poker. Really!

Positively Fifth Street by James McManus

tags: books book reviews World Series of Poker Ted Binion murder James McManus