Poker Historian Johnny Hughes Stories Thread

[Johnny Hughes 0]

I was banned at TwoPlusTwo, but I probably deserved it.

 

I made fun of mods, a no no. Humor is calling leveling, and as a comic writer, I can't live without it.

 

My big offense was to write GOOGLE DOC T RIVER POKER. He was my stalker, giving me great trouble. He pretends to be a big poker expert, always challenging me to play heads up. The search showed he plays tourneys for a whole buck entry, but he is a great book reviewer of advanced books.

 

I love to write poker history, often writing about folks I have known: Benny Binion, Johnny Moss, Amarillo Slim, Doyle Brunson and more. I met Johnny Moss and Sarge Ferris in 1959 on a road trip with gambling legend, Curly Cavitt. They were playing in a huge razz game in Longview, Texas. Thousand dollar bills and five hundred dollar bills were in circulation then.

 

In 1960, I went to Las Vegas, and Curly Cavitt, my mentor, one of the greatest cheaters of all time, "vouched" me in and Benny Binion got me a job shilling at poker at the Golden Nugget in the "snatch" games, huge pot cut $1 limit five-card stud. We cheated by signaling the other shills if we had a pair by placing our cards at a forty-five degree angle. The only time I ever cheated. Moss, Sarge Ferris, Benny Binion, and Bill Boyd were later inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame.

 

I watched the broke man, Nick the Greek shooting dice at the Sands. I had played poker with Amarillo Slim. That is five hall of famers I met, and one I observed. I was 21.

 

I am certain the big match between Johnny Moss and Nick the Greek took place in 1949 at the Las Vegas Club.

Critics now say it did not because it was not in the newspapers. There was only one newspaper, the Senator McCarran and Mob controlled Review-Journal.

 

Moss was never broke. The critics say him having the Dunes game in his name meant he had to take a job!! Crandell Addington, Hall of Fame, my best source and reviewer, said the Dunes game was the "biggest cash poker game of all time." Moss bought two luxury apartment houses, around a million, in Odessa, Texas and owned them the rest of his life. I have spoken with his family who live here in Lubbock.

 

Anybody need a historian around here?

[loogie 115]

Got any fun poker pics?

[Johnny Hughes 0]

The newspaper did not report winnings and losings. Benny and Moss had IRS troubles. They would not want publicity on the $2 million that Nick the Greek lost. The newspaper did not evenm write that Benny owned clubs. He was listed in the newspaper as the restaurant manager.

 

The second newspaper, the Hank Greenspun controlled Las Vegas Sun's founding in the 50s was a huge national story for a few years. Senator McCarran called from Washington and asked the Mob casinos, nearly all the Strip casinos to boycott Greenspun's newspaper. He found out, sued the newspaper and casino bosses such as Moe Dalitz, and basically he won after a two-year struggle and they were forced to buy ads.

 

Some of the so-called poker historians that appear on the same radio shows I am on are way, way off. As Crandell said, the Dunes game made the early World Series "look like a minnow." When the Dunes game had pots of $200,000, the Series had a top prize of $130,000. The Dunes game had Hall of Famers: Sid Wyman..casino boss spreading the game with Johnny Moss, also Doyle Brunson, randell Addington, Corky McQuorcandale, Sarge Ferris, Joe Bernstein, Red Winn, and Puggy Pearson.

 

Senator McCarran was the crooked Senator depicted in Godfather 2. His political clount controlled gambling licenses and all the joint owners had to kowtow to him.

 

I have lots of pics, but am not good at posting. Sometimes I can.

 

My best writing now is about Old West gamblers: Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, Bat Masterson, Ben Thompson, Luke Short,Poker Alice, Lottie Deno. The gunfighters were professional gamblers, and cops some. All were good poker players and could get a job at the best square gambling joints dealing faro or owning a piece. They were nationally famous early in life, and folks wanted to play against them.

[FCP Bob 1,312]

You may want to try formatting your posts better so that they are more readable Johnny.

[InternetExplorer 2,609]

so this is an actual person?

[Johnny Hughes 0]

Bob, thanks for your feedback. You tell me exactly what you want me to do, and I'll do that. I am new here and want to please you where I will be allowed to post. I know my writing is not universally loved. However, my new book has the best line-up of rave reviews of any gambling book, ever. Doyle Brunson, Poker Hall of Fame, says "you have a great writing style, very credible." Doyle and one of his best friends, Crandell Addington, also of the Poker Hall of Fame, gave me fabulous reviews for my poker history. Those two are often quoted by me. They are my best sources and pen pals. Anthony Holden, of London, wrote Big Deal, and 33 other books. He is President of the International Federation of Poker. He used three pages from one of my books in his strategy book, and gave me a rave review. Nolan Dalla, Media Director of the World Series of Poker said that I gave possibly the best portrait of old gamblers written and said I was "the William Manchester" of poker historians. That was in 2007. Dr. Pauly compared me to Hemingway and Tom Wolfe. The late Lou Krieger gave me the longest review and had me on his show twice for an hour on history. I was on one of his last broadcasts. He was a hell of a man. I have reviews from Blair Rodman and many others. This was boring crap about me, which I hoped would pave the way to share a few stories here. I recently did a radio show about a cheating scandal in Austin,Texas. Bob, may I post about that? It is a public service since there is a new way to cheat. Cheating is very, very rare, not an issue in casinos except partners. I have written that cheating in the Old West did not happen as much as some historians think and that the ones I write about most were square gamblers and worked in the biggest, fanciest square joints: Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, Bat Masterson, Ben Thompson, Poker Alice, Lottie Deno. I am a square gambler, but I was taught about all the ways to cheat by Curly Cavitt, one of the greats. Bob, may I post about that?

[FCP Bob 1,312]

Post what you want Johnny. Use this thread for your poker history stories if you like.

 

You need to use paragraphs though when you are posting or they just look like a wall of text and that makes it very hard to read.

 

I edited your first post so you can see what I mean.

 

I also edited the title of the thread.

[Johnny Hughes 0]

If I wrote like that my book would be 34,000 pages long. I'll check y'all some other time.

[Theraflu 1,035]

So your book doesn't use paragraphs either? Sounds like a fun read!

[Johnny Hughes 0]

Bob wants a paragraph more often than the experienced editors I worked with.

 

 

 

A paragraph for a sentence is done but for a reason.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Makes me look like I had not published each and every month for five years in poker magazines.

 

 

 

They have space considerations.

 

 

 

Player Ireland two years,

 

 

Bluff Europe three years, every month.

 

 

 

 

I never wrote this way before!

[Johnny Hughes 0]

Of course, my book has paragraphs at the right times . Check out Amazon for sample free about Nick the Greek and Johnny Moss. Kindle look inside. Any questions of anything y'all would like me to write about?

[Ron_Mexico 4,219]

Oh no, a guy that does nothing but pimp and talk about his own stuff isn't sticking around because its too hard to hit the enter button occasionally? A loss indeed.

 

What's sad is it appears he may have something semi-interesting to add, but that is negated by being incredibly self involved.

[InternetExplorer 2,609]

he seems kind of mad.

[Tiltinagain 973]

he seems kind of mad.

 

Because he's too busy citing his "credentials" to realize that reading a book and reading a computer screen are not the same thing?

 

Sounds like an interesting guy. If you can manage not to change the channel during all the commercials.

[speedz99 145]

Humans are so incredibly strange.

[GOCUBSGO 77]

Johnny Hughes and Vegas Knights = same person?

[Yossarian 9]

Hi Johnny, please tell us about the olden days. Thanks, Yossarian

[Vegas Knights 54]

Moss was never broke. The critics say him having the Dunes game in his name meant he had to take a job!! Crandell Addington, Hall of Fame, my best source and reviewer, said the Dunes game was the "biggest cash poker game of all time." Moss bought two luxury apartment houses, around a million, in Odessa, Texas and owned them the rest of his life. I have spoken with his family who live here in Lubbock.

 

Anybody need a historian around here?

 

I heard Moss blew a lot of money in his final years on the new game (at the time) Omaha and couldn't get staked anymore by Jack Binion. But in his prime, Doyle said he was the best around.

[Vegas Knights 54]

Johnny Hughes and Vegas Knights = same person?

Negative, although I'm flattered that you think so since he probably knows more about the old Vegas than anyone, except for maybe Doyle and Jack Binion.

[brvheart 1,752]

Johnny, we like you. Just make paragraphs.

[SuperJon 175]

Johnny Hughes for President!!

[Vegas Knights 54]

Of course, my book has paragraphs at the right times . Check out Amazon for sample free about Nick the Greek and Johnny Moss. Kindle look inside. Any questions of anything y'all would like me to write about?

I read somewhere that Nick the Greek (after a big win) was asked not to play craps anymore at one casino. Johnny, ever hear of that story?

[CobaltBlue 662]

Segues - apparently overrated.

[GWCGWC 83]

Everyone seems to need a paragraph more often than the experienced editors I worked with.

 

sup jon

 

 

 

Humans are so incredibly strange.

 

dogs!

 

http://youtu.be/KBluUZ4NnZg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Segues - apparently overrated.

 

I for one, am NOT looking that up.

[Ron_Mexico 4,219]

You may want to try formatting your posts better so that they are more readable Johnny.

 

You censored me? C'mon Bob. It wasn't bad.