My heartfelt thanks must go to two of the most active figures involved in my life-altering good fortune after finishing first and winning a million bucks in the tournament. In this corner, weighing in as a heavyweight casino executive, we have Mr. Jimmy Wike. I give him all the credit for giving tournament players including the pros the chance to pay for the unheard prize of a million dollars. The top brass at the Hilton was very unsure if they wanted this type of action, and Jimmy must have had his neck on the block for us. But there is more to this story.

In the opposite corner is a heavy, recovering attorney – yes a g.d. lawyer! I believe that without Peter Nathan, this effort would have fallen apart. The powers that be in the top floor of the Hilton re-fused to guarantee the prizes. Peter held their feet to the fire until they capitulated and gave the written promise of the pay-outs. Before these concessions were given, the tournament entries were very small in number, and combined with their totally inept promotion to help the tournament grow, I didn’t think it was going to survive a full year. Hell, I wasn’t going to chance the $1,000.00 a pop entry fee and I play anything.

Now comes the painful part.

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