In a recent issue of All In magazine, they asked the question who are or were the most influential people in poker. You might immediately think of Chris Moneymaker or Mike Sexton. Who else?
Columnist Cory Zeidman says it's Henry Orenstein, the man who conceived the idea of putting small television cameras inside a poker table. Orenstein, 86 years old, is a Holocaust survivor who is an amazingly accomplished inventor. Zeidman asked him where he got his idea:
"He told me he ws watching an ESPN broadcast of a poker tournament back in the 1990s, and after about five hands of action, he found it very boring and shut off the TV. Then he sat back and started to think about what could make the broadcast more interesting. It dawned on him that if you saw each player's hold cards, that would make all the difference, and the rest is history. It might seem obvious now, but, at the time, it was a revolutionary thought."
As a player, Orenstein won a bracelet in stud in 1996 and was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2008.
From one that doesn't get the mag: Thanks for that tid-bit. Liked it.
ReplyDeleteThat little invention made poker what it is today. Imagine not knowing what the players have........ Wouldnt make for great TV would it...
ReplyDeleteYep, it's like watching paint dry -- not too much fun.
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