Every Picture Tells a Story: Tunica, MS (2000)

 

 

EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORY:
GOLD STRIKE CASINO (TUNICA, MISSISSIPPI) — 2000

Note: As I mentioned in yesterday’s posts, I found another box tucked away inside my garage. It’s packed with hundreds of old photographs I haven’t looked at in years. Before I toss most of them away, in the coming weeks and months ahead, I’ll be sharing many of the most interesting images in this historical treasure trove and also tell the stories behind them, that is, if there’s something of value to share.

This photo was taken in early 2000, the first year of the Jack Binion World Poker Open. That tournament lasted three weeks and was held as a joint venture between the Gold Strike and Horseshoe casinos in Tunica, MS, a half-hour south of Memphis. Because of universal respect for Jack Binion, everyone in poker who was known at the time showed up, even though Tunica was noplace smack dab in the middle of nowhere. Tunica had a population of 900 and it was one of the poorest regions in the country, and yet it had TEN CASINOS! At the time, the Gold Strike was the tallest building in the state of Mississippi, and it was surrounded by swamps and cotton fields. Tunica was the third-biggest gambling market in the country, after Las Vegas and Atlantic City. It was a boomtown, and a most bizarre one at that. The poker tournament’s Main Event was televised by ESPN.

Smartphones and instantaneous digital photography wasn’t a thing, yet. So, it was taken with a real camera. Unfortunately, I’m a lousy photographer. This was just before I met Eric Harkins (owner of Image Masters), so I had to shoot many of my own photos for publication. I don’t know why I used black and white film at the time, but I did.

Short and simple story: During a break, Doyle Brunson and Jack Binion were off to the side chatting. That’s when curmudgeon Sam Grizzle ran over, sabotaged their conversation, and began bitching (he had just gone bust in a big cash game). Brunson and Binion are regarded as two of the biggest giants in poker history, but if anyone could upstage the two legends and steal a spotlight, it was an angry Sam Grizzle when he was fuming and obviously on tilt. It’s not the best pic of Sam, but you can see from the looks on the faces of Doyle and Jack this wasn’t an enjoyable moment. For those who don’t know anything about Sam (who died a few years ago), let’s just say his last name, “GRIZZLE” was perfectly fitting. If Sam wasn’t real, you couldn’t make up a guy with a name like that now mostly remembered for being one of the meanest –but also funniest players (so long as you weren’t his target)– in the history of the game.

In the comments section of this Facebook post CLICK BELOW (great stories shared by many of you, so far!), I’ll post a few more photos from this encounter, which are kinda’ funny if you like gambling nostalgia.