Just finished an interesting book (gambling related)
June 24th, 2011 at 9:57:50 AM
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Titanic Thompson: The Man Who Bet on Everything
Not bad. It's told with a little bit of hagiography but enough straightforwardness to keep the story grounded. I found it to be a fascinating look at a time when "fair" was a moving target, or often not even a consideration.
Titanic Thompson was perhaps the greatest proposition gambler (and cheater) of all time. The story spans most of the 20th century, from pre-WWI through the mid '70s; Thompson died in '74. By all eyewitness accounts he was possibly the best golfer of the 20th century, but he lived at a time when a pro golfer might earn $5000 annually; Thompson often made 10 times that on a single match. Thompson was the inspiration for Damon Runyon's character Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls, albeit with some major changes (Sky was strictly a taker of odds, not a maker, and never cheated).
An example: He often bet that he cold throw a peanut over a building. He kept a peanut full of buckshot in his pocket, and would palm the first one and throw the gamed one. He once followed up that bet by betting that he could throw a watermelon onto the top of a 6 story building. After bets were placed, and the watermelon selected, he went to the 10 story building next door with the watermelon, and threw it down four stories!
Worth a read.
wiki page for Titanic Thompson From the wiki, "One hustle of his was to beat a golfer playing right-handed, and then offer double or nothing to play the course again left-handed as an apparent concession. One thing his opponent usually did not know was that Thomas was, in fact, naturally left-handed."
Not bad. It's told with a little bit of hagiography but enough straightforwardness to keep the story grounded. I found it to be a fascinating look at a time when "fair" was a moving target, or often not even a consideration.
Titanic Thompson was perhaps the greatest proposition gambler (and cheater) of all time. The story spans most of the 20th century, from pre-WWI through the mid '70s; Thompson died in '74. By all eyewitness accounts he was possibly the best golfer of the 20th century, but he lived at a time when a pro golfer might earn $5000 annually; Thompson often made 10 times that on a single match. Thompson was the inspiration for Damon Runyon's character Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls, albeit with some major changes (Sky was strictly a taker of odds, not a maker, and never cheated).
An example: He often bet that he cold throw a peanut over a building. He kept a peanut full of buckshot in his pocket, and would palm the first one and throw the gamed one. He once followed up that bet by betting that he could throw a watermelon onto the top of a 6 story building. After bets were placed, and the watermelon selected, he went to the 10 story building next door with the watermelon, and threw it down four stories!
Worth a read.
wiki page for Titanic Thompson From the wiki, "One hustle of his was to beat a golfer playing right-handed, and then offer double or nothing to play the course again left-handed as an apparent concession. One thing his opponent usually did not know was that Thomas was, in fact, naturally left-handed."
A falling knife has no handle.
June 24th, 2011 at 10:05:28 AM
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delete.
A falling knife has no handle.
