1997 was a very special year. I would like to say that it was the highlight of the decade. The casino tournaments in Baden-Baden proved to be a success, and the Texas Hold’em German Championship was held once a year. This variation was at that time completely unknown in Germany and just like Omaha, had to be approved by the regional administrative authorities.

In January the Deutsche Spielkartenmuseum (The German Playing Card Museum) in Leinfelden held an exhibition about the history of the game of poker in general and partially about me in particular. The Lord Mayor appeared in person for the opening, together with print media and the local radio and TV stations and it really was a moving moment when you consider how the story started. The exhibition was well attended, which to my delight, led to an increase in the popularity of poker. Furthermore the playing card manufacturer, Ass, approached me and offered me a sponsoring contract. For 30,000 marks a year I wore their company logo on my shirt collar or on my suit. I was the first player to benefit from the pleasures of individual sponsoring.

 

On top of all this with the support of a businessman friend of mine, Ulrich Schell, I founded the company Jeton Plus Ltd to further promote card games in Germany. In the process I organized another exhibition in the casino at Baden-Baden, which ran for five months.