The Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King: Inside the Richest Poker Game of All Time

The Players: the top poker players on the planet. The Challenger is a wealthy Dallas banker. The Game: the worlds most valuable poker stakes... A wealthy Texas man landed onto the lavish Bellagio casinos high-stakes poker room in Las Vegas in 2001. Andy Beal, a self-made billionaire, challenged some of the worlds best poker players to heads-up matches in the wealthiest poker game ever played, including Doyle Brunson, Chip Reese, Howard Lederer, and Jennifer Harman.  Andy and each of his opponents started the thrilling poker tournament with $1 million each, betting $10,000 and $20,000 per round. As the games became more intense in the months ahead, and Andy progressed as a player, he discovered how to push his opponents out of their comfort zones: he raised the stakes to put all they had on the line. There was more than $20 million on the table by the end of the battle of wits. For the first time, a comprehensive, genuine description of the Big Game, which has already attained legendary status in poker lore, is available for the first time. Michael Craig takes you inside the iron-nerved mind and pathological psyche of the professional gambler, putting you rail side to see the heart-pounding action, where you can practically hear the unmistakable sound of clay chips hitting felt. The Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King is a unique, exciting voyage into the realm of those who live on the razors edge of fortune—where enormous wealth, or total catastrophe, hinges on the flip of a card—filled with vibrant characters, sensational tales, and riveting human drama.