Positively Fifth Street: Murderers, Cheetahs, and Binion's World Series of Poker

by James McManus

Book Overview

In the spring of 2000, Harper's Magazine sent James McManus to Las Vegas to cover the World Series of Poker, in particular the progress of women in the $23 million event, and the murder of Ted Binion, the tournament's prodigal host, purportedly done in by a stripper and her boyfriend. But when McManus arrives, the lure of the tables compels him to risk his entire Harper's advance in a long-shot attempt to play in the tournament himself...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312422520
• ISBN13: 9780312422523
• Release Date: March 2004
• Publisher: Picador USA
• Length: 448 Pages
• Weight: 0.92 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Being the hero of your own book--masterfully told

I spent two days lost in this book. Quite a performance by Jim McManus, and I don't mean only the writing. For a fancy wordsmith, he is one heck of a poker player. To come to Las Vegas and play in your first tournament and make it to the final table of the World Series of Poker is one very fine achievement.Jim McManus, 49-year-old novelist, poet, teacher, and sometime journalist on assignment in Las Vegas for Harper's Magazine takes part of his $4,000 retainer and buys into a satellite tournament hoping to win a pass to play in the big one, the $10,000 buy-in no limit hold'em event that annually decides the world championship of poker. Not coincidentally he is also covering the trial of Sandy Murphy, a saucy, skanky Vegas lap dancer and her linebacker beau Rick Tabish who are accused of the murder of Ted Binion, brother of Becky Behnen, host of the tournament, and one of the sons of Benny Binion, the long time owner of the sponsoring Horseshoe casino.What results is a suberb example of a genre that I call "participatory journalism," the sort of thing the made George Plimpton, Gay Talese, Hunter S. Thompson and some other very fine writers famous. What happens in participatory journalism is the journalist himself joins in the action and becomes part of the story. Because of McManus's cleverness with the pasteboards (actually they're made of plastic of course), his discipline, and because he did indeed get lucky a time or two on Positively Fifth Street, his experience became more than just part of the story. As he covers the trial and the World Series of poker from the inside, he focuses intimately--sometimes perhaps too intimately--on himself and what it was like, first person singular, to play the kind of high stakes poker that most of us can only dream about. And to win. Not all the marbles but enough of them to pay off the mortgage and, as he says, maybe pay for a semester of college for a daughter in 2016.Reading this book--*living* this book, I might say, because it is such a vivid and engaging romp through some things and a part of the world that I know very well--was an adrenaline pumping and humbling experience for me, poker player and writer myself. I was dazzled at times by the sheer energy of his prose, at the worldly-wise (and wise-acre) metaphors, references and striking allusions that jump off the page as adroitly expressed and appropriately placed as notes in a symphony--a modern symphony with discordance and harmony splashed out with wild and sardonic energy. Or maybe I should say, Jim McManus writes like a poet with an ear for the vernacular and an eye for the kill. He begins with an informed imagination on just how handcuffed Ted Binion was "burked" to death with girlfriend Sandy Murphy naked on his chest and big boy Rick Tabish forcing a turkey baster full of heroin and Xanax down his throat while holding the millionaire's nose shut. Not a pretty way to die. Now enter the journalist, perhaps a bit like Jackson Brow

A book that gets better every 50 pages.

Positively Fifth Street is one of those rare nonfiction books that read like a great first person novel. It doesn't hurt that McManus follows in the gonzo tradition of Hunter Thompson on his journey. The book begins with McManus a professor and freelance writer who is hired to write a story on how women are appearing more and more at the World Series of Poker and how women are becoming more visible in the game. But this is no ordinary World Series, because the Binion family that has run the event every year since its founding is distracted by the murder trial of sibling, Ted Binion. And to top it off, author, narrator, Jim McManus is also a bit of a poker player himself. Jim wants to enter the tournament with his writing advance, but he doesn't have enough money. He has two college aged children and two young children at home and nothing but bills. With all of the tension of the story Jim is sent to cover, his own personal tensions slowly become the center of the book, especially after he enters the tournament and goes up against famous players, including the author of Jim's favorite tournament book, TJ Cloutier.I found the writing very immediate like a conversation that happens immediately after the event. I also found the tension internal and external was enough to sustain the multiple storylines. McManus seems to end each section of commentary at a natural conclusion and this makes the transitions easy to follow. I enjoyed Alvarez' great history ONLY GAME IN TOWN and found Anthony Holden's BIG DEAL quite interesting, but neither was as fun to read for me as POSITIVELY FIFTH STREET. This is the kind of book that you can enjoy regardless of your poker knowledge. It may even convince you to take up the game.

Not just for poker fans!

This book is absolutely fantastic. I read it because I am a fan of poker and a long time follower of the World Series of Poker. Others have written about their own poker adventures, but Mr. McManus takes us beyond just poker. He writes of Benny Binion and the murder of his son, Ted. He shares with us intimate stories about his family and his own past. He delves into the history of poker and some of its more famous players. This book is far beyond just a "poker adventure" book. The stories are very informative, insightful, entertaining and at times touchingly personal. You do not have to be a fan of poker to enjoy this book. If you have ever thought of what it would be like to follow one of your dreams, then you will enjoy this book.

The Best Poker Book I have EVER read!

Positively Fifth Street is the best book about poker I've ever read, and I've read just about all of them. The history of card art, of poker, of Binion's World Series, of the science and technology of the game as it's being played now. And if you ever doubted that an average or above-average home player could "catch up" to the pros using primers and computer programs, this book will definitely change your mind. The strip club and courtroom scenes are pretty good, too. READ THIS BOOK!The author is now such a strong player that he routinely dares to tempt fate and play the great no-limit maestro K-REX heads up.

The ultimate insider's guide

Fifth Street replaces "The Biggest Game in Town," as the ultimate insider's guide to the World Series of Poker. There is no better chronicle of the multi-million dollar event in or out of print today. McManus has accomplished something that no other poker player/writer could - he went to Vegas to write about the biggest poker game in the world - and he almost won it. For that reason alone, his book has to be considered the most authentic volume on the subject. It's also a pretty captivating piece of journalism.Andy BellinAuthor of Poker Nation