madpokerplayer.com

 

 

 

Come join Richard Sparks, Jenny Okun,

Larry Grossman and Barbara Strasen

for a launch party at the Craig Krull Gallery

to celebrate Richard Sparks' new book

 

 

 

 

BOOKS WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE AND SIGNATURE BY THE AUTHOR

SUNDAY APRIL 3RD 2005
2:00 - 5:00 P.M.

CRAIG KRULL GALLERY
BERGAMOT STATION
2525 MICHIGAN AVENUE
BUILDING B3
SANTA MONICA, CA 90404
TEL: 310 828 6410
FAX: 310 828 7320

RSVP BY EMAIL TO:
Ace@madpokerplayer.com

 

MORE BOOK INFORMATION:   http://www.madpokerplayer.com/

 

 


accompanied by a special one-day exhibition

of Las Vegas images by artists

 

 

 

JENNY OKUN

 

 

 

 

 

 

BARBARA STRASEN

 

 

 


Photographs from Diary of a Mad Poker Player by
LARRY GROSSMAN

 

 

 

  Photographs from Diary of a Mad Poker Player by

 LARRY GROSSMAN and RICHARD SPARKS and JENNY OKUN

 

Diary of a Mad Poker Player

 

"The agony and the ecstasy of the world's greatest game... Insightful, entertaining, delightful - a Grand Tour of the brave new world of poker."

- Tom McEvoy, 1983 World Champion, multiple WSOP title winner and leading poker author

"Surpassing typical authors, Richard Sparks brings the game to life as never before with compelling insights. By sharing his experiences, we learn things about our game that haven't been made clear to us before. The pace is breathless. This is easy reading with a purpose. Poker players have been waiting for an entertaining book like this for many years."

- Mike Caro, "The Mad Genius of Poker," leading poker author and authority

 

THE BOOK

 

In 2003, twenty-seven-year-old Tennessee accountant, Chris Moneymaker, parlayed a $39 buy-in to an Internet satellite into the

 

2003 World Championship of Poker and $2.5 million.  It was his first ever live poker tournament in a bricks-and-mortar card room.

 

This amazing feat set recreational players all over the world thinking, â If he can do it, anyone can!

 

Diary Of A Mad Poker Player is the story of one such player's journey to Las Vegas and the World Series of Poker, from March 30th -May 28th 2004.

 

As with all journeys, it's not just about the destination - it's about the getting there, and the people met, the sights seen and the lessons learned along the way.

 

Meet top professionals, the rock stars of the current poker boom.  Meet angry amateurs, cheats and cons, industry insiders, legal experts, and Internet moguls.

 

Set off on an up-to-the-minute exploration of the peculiar, alternative universe that is the poker life.  Go behind the scenes at card rooms and even poker websites. 

 

And come inside the ropes at the greatest tournament of them all: The World Series of Poker.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 THE AUTHOR

 

 

Richard Sparks is an accomplished writer and director.  His plays and productions have appeared onstage and on the air in the UK, the USA, Europe and New Zealand.  A full biography is available on the website 

 

http://www.madpokerplayer.com/

 

 

 

THE EXHIBITION PHOTOGRAPHERS

 

 
Larry Grossman has been covering the World Series of Poker for fifteen years, both as a photographer and a broadcaster. He is the creator and host of "You Can Bet On It", the longest running gambling show in America. It airs every weekday on Las Vegas Sports Radio 1460 AM and is archived on www.cardplayer.com. His images from the book show the legends of poker, playing under the pressures of the very highest level of the game. He is a keen poker player, and has interviewed Richard Sparks on his show.
 
http://www.larrygrossman.com/
 
Jenny Okun shows her architectural images at the Craig Krull Gallery.  Her photographs are in many international museums, major corporate and private collections.  Okun's images for this exhibition will include two 15 ft long extravaganzas of the lights of Las Vegas.  Jenny is also an experienced poker player, and married to Richard Sparks.
 
http://www.jennyokun.com/
 
Richard Sparks has made composite images of famous people whose wise words are quoted in Diary of a Mad Poker Player.  Now we can see what Goethe, Kipling, Freud, and others, would look like at the poker table.  Richard plays poker in home games, casinos and online.  His ears twitch when he is bluffing.
 
http://www.madpokerplayer.com/
 
Barbara Strasen has produced lenticular photographs for this show that combine humor and visual vitality.  Strasen's photographs of neon casino lights, nebulae, chandeliers, and street illuminations merge to form 3-D images which sparkle like a walk on the Strip in Las Vegas.  Strasen exhibits internationally, and is represented in museums and private collections.  Barbara is not a poker player because it is very hard for her to keep a straight face and curb her enthusiasm. 
 

http://www.jennyokun.com/Strasen.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

 

Diary of a Mad Poker Player

A Journey to the World Series of Poker

by Richard Sparks

 

ISBN: 1-888690-24-0

$14.95 | paper

 

A Russell Enterprises, Inc. Book

http://www.chesscafe.com/