Ball So Hard – A Look At Poker’s History of Decadence

A pair of articles from the gang at PokerPlayer gives the reader a taste of the tales of poker excess gone by.

In the heyday of US online poker, stories emerged of young poker players who got rich super quick and thought the money would never stop rolling in. Previously unknown names like Andrew Robl, Tom Dwan and Alec Torelli were coming to prominence along with legends of them blowing massive amounts of cash playing the part of big-time ballers.

Torelli remembers another debauched night at Candy Land, a party at the Palms Casino. ‘Imagine 1,000 girls dressed in sweets, and you’ll get a mental picture of what it was like. We paid $15,000 for a table loaded down with champagne, tequila and vodka and got seated next to Snoop Dogg and his posse.’ Not even Snoop Dogg was invited to the after party though, back at durrrr’s penthouse. ‘That was truly baller,’ remembers Torelli. ‘There were a bunch of girls from the strip club Sapphire, dressed in lingerie and just having the best time.’

But it wasn’t just these new school kids who knew how to light money on fire, they took their cues from previous generations of sicko poker players like Stu Ungar and Phil Ivey.

‘Rich dude at club sends ten bottles of champagne over to Ivey’s table. Ivey sends back 20 bottles. Rich billionaire guy sends back 30 bottles. Ivey sends 40 bottles. Rich guy sends 50 bottles. Ivey sends 80 bottles. Rich guy quits. Everyone in the whole club has a bottle of champagne in their hand.’

So, if you fancy yourself a once or future baller, you might enjoy these tales of decadence from PokerPlayer: It’s A Rich Man’s World and Money, Money, Money! Poker’s Top 10 Ballers.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call the Virginia Council on Problem Gambling (VACPG) helpline at 1-888-532-3500
published 8 years, 12 months ago • by • permalink

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