James McManus and the 2000 World Series of Poker Tournament
As with previous WSOP tournaments, the spotlight was supposedly created for the last man standing, in this case Poker pro Chris Ferguson. But since "Harper" magazine's James McManus decided to convert his coverage of the 2007 World Series of Poker from a mere eyewitness account to a personal account, the story was changed for that year.
Yes, Ferguson bagging around $1.5 million cash is big news but that cannot kill the fire that McManus's own triumphs created. "Harper" magazine sent McManus to Las Vegas for two reasons, cover the progress of women players in the high-stake games and get fresh information on the progress of the ongoing trial for casino mogul Ted Binion's death. Everyone thought of Poker as a man's world and the entry of more women in the 2000 World Series of Poker tournament is sure a hot topic. Unfortunately, it is not yet the time for women Poker pros to shine. Ted Binion, on the other hand, is such a popular figure in the casino world. Anything about him, especially his still unexplained death, is worth of every magazine and newspaper page. Previously, authorities declared the reason behind his death as accidental overdose until Ted's sister thought otherwise. She hired private investigators to look into the case and after just a couple of months, a pair of suspects were arrested. Surprisingly, one of them was a close associate of the victim, none other than Ted's live-in girlfriend Sandy Murphy. She was arrested for accusations of conspiring with alleged boyfriend Rick Tabish for Ted's murder.
But when McManus stepped on the glittering city of Vegas, those two goals were made to three. The other is to try his luck at the gambling table and risk his whole-month salary! Oh boy, try he did!
McManus obviously did not made it to the final pot but going home $247,760 richer plus a 5th place popularity on the globe's biggest casino battle is not bad for a beginner! Considering of course, that those rewards are only the sidings because he did got his stories on women pros and on Ted Binion's intriguing death spiced up with his first hand Poker experience. Interestingly, his 2000 WSOP coverage was later made into a bestselling autobiographical book titled "Positively Fifth Street: Murderers, Cheetahs, and Binion's World Series of Poker".
But while that side story about McManus is highly interesting, the tournament itself is not far behind. The big winner, Ferguson, was obviously cut out for more wonderful things as a professional Poker player. That's what the critics had been yelling about since he entered the gambling world in 1995. The California born and bred Poker pro had been making impressions for his trademark Jesus Christ looks. His bearded face coupled with long, brown, curled hair are not to be missed especially since he is almost always among the few who stay longer at the Poker table, tournament or not!