The Mayfair Club was a cardroom in New York City. Originally starting as a

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

and backgammon club, it eventually became "the most touted

card club A cardroom or card room is a gaming establishment that exclusively offers card games for play by the public. The term poker room is used to describe a dedicated room in casinos that is dedicated to playing poker and in function is similar to a car ...

in New York" until its abrupt closing by authorities in 2000. Eolis, Wendeen
"Documentary Film Shines Bright Light on New York Poker"
''Poker Player'' (pokerplayernewspaper.com). February 6, 2006. Retrieved 2014-06-27.
"This feature is an adaptation of material that may be part of Ms. Eolis' book in progress, ''Power Poker Dame''." Unlike the other gamehalls in the city, the Mayfair Club kept a low profile in a basement. During the poker era, Mayfair games and tournaments were dealt by the players as opposed to professional dealers in a

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

environment. Mayfair Club games were also noted for their high stakes and elite competition."Big Apple Busts: New York City Cardrooms Feel the Pinch in Recent Spat of Shutdowns"
''Card Player''. (cardplayer.com). Archived 2007-04-22. Retrieved 2014-06-27. The Mayfair Club developed a reputation as a training ground for

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 ...

players in the mid-eighties as a result of a small group of elite players who played at the club. In the

1987 World Series of Poker The 1987 World Series of Poker (WSOP) was a series of poker tournaments held at Binion's Horseshoe. Preliminary events Main Event There were 152 entrants to the main event. Each paid $10,000 to enter the tournament. The 1987 Main Event was J ...

(WSOP), Mayfair Club regulars finished very high in the Main Event.

Jay Heimowitz Jay B. Heimowitz (born December 26, 1937) is an American poker player from Bethel, New York. Heimowitz was one of the original players to help establish the Mayfair Club as a premier poker house. Heimowitz started playing poker for baseball car ...

finished in 11th place, Mickey Appleman in 8th,

Dan Harrington Dan Harrington (born December 6, 1945) is a professional poker player, best known for winning the Main Event at the 1995 World Series of Poker. He has earned one World Poker Tour title, two WSOP bracelets, and over six million dollars in tourna ...

in 6th, and Howard Lederer in 5th. This strong showing was repeated in the 1988 WSOP when

finished in 15th place, and

Erik Seidel Erik Seidel (born November 6, 1959) is an American professional poker player from Las Vegas, Nevada, who has won nine World Series of Poker bracelets and a World Poker Tour title. In 2010, he was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame. Early life ...

in 2nd place. Heimowitz had previously finished third in the 1980 WSOP Main Event and sixth in the 1981 rendition. As of January 2009, these five former Mayfair Club players have won a total of 22 WSOP bracelets, four

World Poker Tour The World Poker Tour (WPT) is an internationally televised gaming and entertainment brand. Since 2002, the World Poker Tour has operated a series of international poker tournaments and associated television series broadcasting playdown and the fi ...

titles, and numerous other poker accolades. In

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

won the WSOP Main Event, and he went on to make the final table of the main event in

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

and

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, for a total of four WSOP Main Event final table appearances. They have also written numerous books and articles. The Mayfair was also home court for business executive Wendeen Eolis, the first woman to cash in the Main Event, namely the 1986 rendition. Other famous players such as

Noli Francisco Manuel "Noli" Francisco (November 13, 1941 – February 23, 2017) was a Filipino American poker player. He had worked as an importer, architect, and real estate entrepreneur. He had been a successful recreational poker player for over 25 yea ...

Steve Zolotow Steve Zolotow (born March 30, 1945) is an American businessman and professional poker player from Las Vegas, Nevada. He has won two bracelets at the World Series of Poker. He was one of the regulars at the famed Mayfair Club while he lived in ...

Stu Ungar Stuart Errol Ungar (September 8, 1953 – November 22, 1998) was an American professional poker, blackjack, and gin rummy player, widely regarded to have been the greatest gin player of all time and one of the best Texas hold 'em players. He ...

David Catapano David Catapano is an American celebrity chef, professional poker player, an American football coach and reality television personality. He is known for his mastery in Italian Cuisine and his self-developed "Twisted Mediterranean" style. However ...

, Howard Lederer,

Jason Lester Jason Lester (born in Montreal, Quebec) is a professional poker player who has also lived in New York City and Los Angeles. He currently resides in Miami, FL. He is also an exceptional backgammon player and has won many tournaments in the past, ...

and Paul Magriel became club regulars, too, further enhancing the club's reputation as the premier poker club in New York. Later, the Chesterfield Club in the film '' Rounders'' was modeled after the Mayfair Club. Koppelman, Brian
"Mayfair Club: An Elegy for a Carpet Joint"
''The New York Observer''. May 21, 2005. (seiyuu.com). Retrieved 2014-06-27. In October 2008, TV show ''

Poker After Dark ''Poker After Dark'' is an hour-long poker television program that originally aired on NBC, premiering on January 1, 2007.

'' featured "Mayfair Week" with six prominent players who had their beginnings at the Mayfair Club. As the state of New York considers poker to be a game of chance, it is legal to play, but illegal for the host to garner a profit. In other words, one can legally play and win, but operating a poker club is illegal."Yankees tell A-Rod to avoid illegal poker clubs"
Associated Press. November 2, 2005. ESPN MLB (espn.go.com/mlb). Retrieved 2014-06-27. For years, the Mayfair Club and other established

underground poker Underground poker is poker played in a venue not operating in accordance with local gaming laws. In many jurisdictions, an unlicensed poker game may still be legal if the game is played in a residence, the host does not profit, and/or the buy-in ...

clubs, were an "open secret among law enforcement officials".Peterson, Nancy
"Clubs Get More Profitable, Harder to Find"
Online Poker Center (onlinepokercenter.com). Prior to 2000, whenever a poker club was closed down by the police, it was due to criminal offenses (usually drugs or weapons). In 2000, Mayor Rudy Giuliani's "Quality of Life" campaign led to the closure of the Mayfair Club and other game halls in New York.

References

{{Reflist , 25em , refs= Defunct companies based in New York (state) Defunct poker companies 2000 disestablishments in New York (state) Gambling companies disestablished in 2000 Backgammon Contract bridge clubs