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Tucson Daily Citizen from Tucson, Arizona • Page 45

Location:
Tucson, Arizona
Issue Date:
Page:
45
Extracted Article Text (OCR)

Poker Continued from page 9 have very nice diamond rings on one or more fingers. A jeweler would become apoplectic at a high stakes poker game. One player told of losing a $300 gold cigarette lighter and not going back to get it, despite knowing where it was, because he was on his way somewhere else. He now lights his cigarettes with a butane model, using his left hand while he riffles tbe Xhumb of his right hand up' and down a stack of $100 bills about three inches thick. Another, almost startling fact is that the final eight players all had blue eyes.

That defies the odds completely but speaks well for those blue- eyed people who claim intellectual superiority. Addington fixed his clear, blue eyes on opponents after making a large bet. A fidgeter ordinarily, Addington sits stone still.and stares his opponents into some kind, of action when his money is on the table. He takes immense pleasure from this activity. He is a man doing something he likes' to do.

Moss, also is doing some- thing'he likes to do. A native of Dallas (Texas, of course), he has been playing poker since he was 12 years old. That's 56 years of training. He is the dean of the Texas players and is considered one of the finest all- around poker players in the history of the game. He was the least colorful of the group that competed in the finals, looking more like a favorite uncle or your aging grandfather in East End, Ky.

But his bland approach to the game is an. acquired trait. Out Tonight To TUCSON'S TOP ENTERTAINMENT NI'GHT CLUB INTIITAINMINT 7 NIOHTS AWIIK I. 32nd St. 1(5-3431 Pirate's UJ MK.HM 6475 E.

Golf Links Rd. ROBERT mifl. RCDFORD FflRROUU THC GR6RT SPECIAL HOLIDAY MATINEES THRU MONDAY HURRY! ENDS SOON TODAY el DORADO "No film since Kubrick's 'Space Odyssey' has used such a blazing display of photographic ingenuity to suggest a time beyond tomorrow." -Charles Champlin, LA. Times A JOHN BOOKMAN MATINEES DAILY THRU MONDAY HELD OVER! 2ND WEEK TODAY 1:30 3:30 5:30 7:30 9:30 TO HONG KONG FROM HARLEM Where Champ Cal Jefferson whipped the Kung Fu Killers at their own game. in i COLOR prints 5 PIUS: FIRST RUN CO-HIT The True Story of the Two Cops Called Batman and Robin EXCLUSIVE NOW SHOWING 2 FIRST RUN HITS SATES OPEN Moss is said to have won more than $10 million playing poker in and around Las Vegas during the 1950s, but he gave it all back on the roll of the dice.

Moss left Las Vegas to escape the craps tables. He traveled for 15 years, gambling and -investing his nings in apartments in Texas, but he came back to Las Vegas in 1969. His business now is ruling over the rooms at the Aladdin Hotel. Other players accuse Moss of having ice water in his. veins.

He seems cold and ruthless at a poker table, but he is a warm and likeable man. He treats fellow players and others with respect, having learned much of the good and bad of life in his years of traveling and gambling. Moss plays the game conservatively. There a note of desperation, when some of the players push their money into a Moss knows what wins and what loses. His decisions are made after careful study, his mind clicking over the probabilities and possibilities.

Often during the final stages of the tournament, he would turn to his wife, Virgie, for advice, A solemn woman who wore dark glasses through most of the event, she often nodded approval of her husband's actions and led the applause. when 'he made a good play or picked up a sizeable pot. Jack Binion, the 37-year-old businessman who operates the Horseshoe Club and originated the World Series, says most players consider Moss a father CONTINUOUS FROM 12:30 SEE MOVIE TIMES FOR STARTING TIMES 6 1 3 0 A FOUR THtAliJiS UNDER ONE ROOI Cinderella Liberty rniouRY nniixc 1 COLOR BY PANAVISION' AL PACING "SCRPICO" PLUS ELIZABETH TAYLOR "ASH WEDNESDAY" (R) POSITIVELY GLENDA JACKSON BEST ACTRESS "A TOUCH OF CLASS" (PG) TATUM O'NEAL BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS "PAPER MOON" (PG) presentation of K-TE1 motion ptcluies Walter "Puggy Wuggy" Pearson (left) didn't last long, but he smiled a lot, pleasing the spectators with his Tennessee drawl and exasperated looks when a big pot slipped away. A dollar bill in a high stakes poker game has about the same value as a grain of sand in the Sahara but, for unknown reasons, one gambler stuck a buck (above) atop about $30,000 worth of chips. type.

They go to their peers fOr action but they go to Moss for advice. As late as Friday night, when Moss's holdings had slipped briefly to around Binion still considered him a good bet to win the championship. The final hand of -the game came p.m. Saturday. Addington had $42,500.

Moss had $117,500. Moss was the favorite at that point, but had shown a propensity for coming back, once from a low of about The players were dealt their two down cards. Addington opened with a modest bet 4that sounds absurd because at that point each chip was worth- $500). The dealer flopped up the three of diamonds and the nine and 10 of clubs. Addington barely hesitated, pushing his entire $42,500 into the-pot.

He had the ace and deuce of clubs in his hand and therefore had two more chances to make a club flush, an excellent hand in Hold Em. Moss called the bet. He was holding a pair of threes in his hand, giving him three of a kind with the three, on the board. He seemed the winner' at that point, but all the dealer had to do was turn up another club and Moss would have been staring at an Addington club flush. The dealer turned the queen of spades.

No help for either Addington or Moss. There was still one more chance for Addington to win and take control of the game. The last card brought a little gasp from the crowd. It was the nine of diamonds. Addington's flush possibilities were gone, as were his chances of winning the World Series of Poker in .1974, Moss ended up with a full house, his two threes plus the one on the board and the two nines in the up position.

Moss-and his wife brdke into big smiles. The crowd cheered because Moss is well liked. Addington- shrugged, smiled and congratulated the winner. On the sidelines, Walter "Puggy Wuggy" Pearson, one of the eliminated finalists, challenged 'the winner, saying he'd play poker for the entire "I could win it, too," he bragged: Chances are he could, because the action never ceases. king for the day, but there's always-tomorrow.

PETER FONDA SUSAN GEORGE DIRTY MARY CRAZY LARRY COLOR BY DE LUXE' THEYDOffT CALLIM THAT FOR Dennis Hopper in "KID Wfutltt WEST GRAN I A I I-IOFREEWAY) 8 KOIB Feature At Jerry Lewis Cinema "THE LAST AMERICAN HERO" 1AGE 10 SATURDAY, MAY 25. 1974.

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About Tucson Daily Citizen Archive

Pages Available:
391,799
Years Available:
1941-1977