Supreme Poker
The Hoover Institution Archives at Stanford recently released a slew of papers kept by the late Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist. Interestingly enough, a fellow home game player Walter Berns had a few notes included about the last games played with Rehnquist, as well as the names of other Justices who currently play – Roberts and Scalia. The Blog of Legal Times noted:
Reached at AEI, Berns said this week that Rehnquist had first announced his illness to his fellow poker players during a game the previous fall. It was the last game he attended, a sad occasion. Berns, who joked that he is the “corresponding secretary” of the games, said he has records of more than 200 poker evenings going back to the 1980s.
The games go on, Berns said. “The new chief [John Roberts Jr.] replaced the old chief.” Among others who play, according to Berns, are Justice Antonin Scalia, D.C. Circuit Court judge David Sentelle, and Robert Bennett, a partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.
Vinny B. says:
August 21st, 2009 at 8:41pm
President Bush was well-known at Harvard and Yale as a great poker player. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if Clinton was good at poker too. On the other hand, Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford probably sucked at it.
California Jen says:
August 21st, 2009 at 11:15pm
LOL Vinny. Obama is an admitted poker player, though he may not have played since he moved to DC. Maybe Obama and Congress should play poker for health care reform…
DanM says:
August 21st, 2009 at 11:38pm
I know Vinny’s gonna think I’m a flaming liberal — I’m not, really, not even close — but I just can’t help buy think that GWB was one of those “action players” who kept being invited back because he was “good for the game”.
Johnny Hughes says:
August 22nd, 2009 at 7:44am
Presidential gamblers go back to Washington and Jefferson. They made whiskey, grew dope (hemp), and bet on horses and cards. I think McManus’ new book will be the definitive poker history. Nixon had a boodle saved after WWII from poker. Racist icon George Wallace gave up poker for politics.
So, how can poker get a case before a poker playing court?
What if one guy is big sucker for years, and his lifestyle is impacted while the other Justices beat him bad? Hope so.
Johnny Hughes says:
August 22nd, 2009 at 7:46am
So far, you have named right wingers. Do the liberals play? Probably barred, they’d make the game hard.
Vinny B. says:
August 24th, 2009 at 3:40pm
I know Vinny’s gonna think I’m a flaming liberal — I’m not, really, not even close — but I just can’t help buy think that GWB was one of those “action players†who kept being invited back because he was “good for the gameâ€.
You are colored by your dislike of Bush. No one wanted to play with him because he owned games. I could not find it, but I read it a story a few years back, written by a British leftist who went to Harvard and played poker with Bush. The guy said he liked Bush a lot personally, didn’t care for his politics, and lost a lot of money to him in poker, as did everyone because Bush was the best player there. It was a good piece.
Come to think of it, I’ll bet LBJ was a great poker player too. Not based on his record as President, but as Senator. Few will argue that he was perhpas the most adept Senator ever at playing the political game, and I am sure it translates to poker.