} James "Jim" McManus (born March 22, 1951) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

teacher, writer and

poker Poker is a family of comparing card games in which players wager over which hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, however in some places the rules may vary. While the earliest known form of the game w ...

player living in

Kenilworth, Illinois Kenilworth is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, north of downtown Chicago. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 2,514. It is the newest of the nine suburban North Shore communities bordering Lake Michigan, and is one of ...

. He is a professor in the

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admini ...

program for writers at the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

Poker and ''Positively Fifth Street''

McManus is best known as the author of the book '' Positively Fifth Street: Murderers, Cheetahs, and Binion's World Series of Poker'' (). The book is dedicated to his son, James McManus (1979–2001). The book is based on his trip to

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

to cover the progress of women in the

2000 World Series of Poker The 2000 World Series of Poker (WSOP) was held at Binion's Horseshoe. Preliminary events Main Event There were 512 entrants to the main event. Each paid $10,000 to enter the tournament. The 2000 Main Event was the first time the total entries o ...

(WSOP) and the death of

Ted Binion Lonnie Theodore Binion (November 28, 1943 – September 17, 1998), or Ted Binion, was a wealthy American gambling executive and one of the sons of famed Las Vegas casino magnate Benny Binion, owner of Binion's Horseshoe. Ted Binion's death has be ...

. He used his advance to enter a satellite tournament for entry into the main event, defeating the likes of

Hasan Habib Hasan Habib (born 19 April 1962 in Karachi, Pakistan) is a Pakistani American professional poker player. During his early years in Pakistan, Habib was the Pakistan 14-and-under National Tennis Champion. Habib went to America at the age of 18 to ...

to qualify for the seat. He made the final table of the Main Event, finishing in 5th place and winning $247,760. He credited his success in the tournament to the book ''Championship No-Limit & Pot-Limit Hold'em'' () by T. J. Cloutier and

Tom McEvoy Thomas K. McEvoy (born November 14, 1944, in Grand Rapids, Michigan) is a professional poker player, author and member of the Poker Hall of Fame, 2013 inductee. He is best known for winning the 1983 World Series of Poker Main Event. Early life ...

. Cloutier, Habib and

Chris Ferguson Christopher Philip Ferguson (born April 11, 1963) is an American professional poker player. He has won six World Series of Poker events, including the 2000 WSOP Main Event, and the 2008 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship. Ferguson is a ...

were also at the same final table. McManus made the quarter-finals of the 2006

National Heads-Up Poker Championship The National Heads-Up Poker Championship was an annual poker tournament held in the United States and produced by the NBC television network.

, where he was eliminated by Ferguson. McManus continues to play live poker when not teaching and raising two young daughters with his second wife, Jennifer Arra. As of 2012, his total live tournament winnings exceed $760,000.

Other works

Fiction

*''Going to the Sun'' (winner of the

Carl Sandburg Carl August Sandburg (January 6, 1878 – July 22, 1967) was an American poet, biographer, journalist, and editor. He won three Pulitzer Prizes: two for his poetry and one for his biography of Abraham Lincoln. During his lifetime, Sandburg ...

Award) *''Ghost Waves'' *''Curtains'' *''Chin Music'' *''Out of the Blue''

Non-fiction

*''Positively Fifth Street: Murderers, Cheetahs, and Binion's World Series of Poker'' (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003) *''Physical: An American Checkup'' (2006) *''Cowboys Full: The Story of Poker'' (October 2009) serialized in ''Card Player'' magazine

Poetry

*''Great America'' *''Antonio Salazar Is Dead''

Journalism

He has also written for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'', ''

Harper's Magazine ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. (''Scientific American'' is older, b ...

'', and ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' among others. His ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...

'' article on

stem cell In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can differentiate into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type o ...

research was featured in '' The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2005'' and was a finalist for the National Magazine Award. He has been the poker columnist of the ''New York Times'' and currently writes the history column for ''Card Player''. He has spoken about the game at

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...

Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs () is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered at 200 West Street in Lower Manhattan, with regional headquarters in London, Warsaw, Bangalore, H ...

, and on numerous media outlets. His work has also appeared in ''The Best American Poetry'', ''Best American Magazine Writing'', ''Best American Sports Writing'', ''Best American Political Writing'', ''Best Erotic Writing in Modern Fiction'', ''The New Kings of Nonfiction'', ''Richter 858'', ''The Book of Irish American Poetry'', and other anthologies. He has received the

Peter Lisagor Peter Lisagor (August 5, 1915 – December 10, 1976) was Washington bureau chief of the ''Chicago Daily News'' from 1959 to 1976 and was one of the most respected and best-known journalists in the United States. Lisagor gained nationwide reco ...

Award for Sports Journalism, fellowships from the Guggenheim and Rockefeller foundations, and other awards.

Personal life

He was born to Kevin Joseph McManus (1927-1989) and Mary Agnes (née Madden) (1928-2016), both of Irish descent. McManus pursued undergraduate degrees from

Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Cathol ...

and

University of Illinois Chicago The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a public research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus established under the University of Illinois sy ...

. He received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in 1974 and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree in 1977, both from UIC. He teaches at the

School of the Art Institute of Chicago The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is a private art school associated with the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to an art students' cooperative founded in 1866, which grew into the museum and ...

, as well as the history section of Harvard's new online poker university.

References

External links

Chicagoist.com interviewEsquire article ''Further Adventures in Poker''Cardplayer article ''The Biology and Eros of No-Limit Hold'em Tournaments''New Yorker article ''Aces''What Poker Can Teach Us
* {{DEFAULTSORT:McManus, James 1951 births American gambling writers American male non-fiction writers American poker players Writers from Chicago People from Manhattan Living people People from Kenilworth, Illinois