About the Author

David Spanier, who died in April 2000, was one of the world's foremost writers on poker and gambling. Born in London in 1932, his many books include the classic Total Poker, Welcome to the Pleasuredome: Inside Las Vegas and Easy Money: All Right OK You Win! Spanier became the world's first poker columnist of a national newspaper when he started a weekly column for The Independent. Spanier also had a long, distinguished career as a diplomatic journalist at The Times and in radio. His many other interests included chess, jazz, books and wine. Spanier was married to the fashion writer Suzy Menkes and they had three sons.

Reviews

"This Spanier fellow is one smart cookle. He's done just about everything but check-raise with a royal flush and have an affair with the queen." Bill 'Bulldog' Sykes "A scholar of poker who knew everything there was to know about its lore and history and the outrageous personalities who helped create the great game." Al Alvarez, The Independent "Unlike writers like Tom Wolfe or Hunter Thompson, who see Las Vegas as an opportunity for satire, David Spanier chooses to give us the straight dope on the place in his loving, informal account. (Welcome to the Pleasuredome)" Financial Times