Positively Fifth Street

Positively Fifth Street: Murderers, Cheetahs, and Binion's World Series of Poker
AuthorJames McManus
LanguageEnglish
SubjectGambling
GenreMemoir
Publication date
2003
Publication placeUnited States

Positively Fifth Street: Murderers, Cheetahs, and Binion's World Series of Poker is a memoir published in 2003 by Chicago area author James McManus set during the 2000 World Series of Poker.

On assignment from Harper's Magazine, McManus was sent to Las Vegas to cover the trial of Rick Tabish and Sandy Murphy, who were accused of murdering Binion's Horseshoe casino executive Ted Binion. The trial coincided with the 2000 WSOP, which McManus entered. He won a satellite tournament into the Main Event, and reached the final table, placing fifth.[1][2] The book is a two-track memoir of his coverage of the trial interspersed with and finally subsumed by the poker tournament.

The book's title was inspired by Bob Dylan's 1965 single "Positively 4th Street".[3][4]

  1. ^ Nissley, Tom (November 4, 2013). "May". A Reader's Book of Days: True Tales from the Lives and Works of Writers for Every Day of the Year. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 157. ISBN 9780393241495. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  2. ^ Rogers, Mark (2006). 52 Greatest Moments World Series of Poker. Cornhole Book. p. 65. ISBN 9780978744694. Retrieved November 28, 2017 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ Jacobi, Martin J. (September 1, 2001). "Positively 4th Street: The Lives and Times of Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Mimi Baez Farina, and Richard Farina". Genre. 34 (3–4): 339–343. doi:10.1215/00166928-34-3-4-339. ISSN 0016-6928.
  4. ^ Bob Dylan - Positively 4th Street (Official Audio), retrieved July 11, 2023