Million Dollar Deals

ocallagh

Anyone have a copy of this or know where I could purchase one? Been meaning to watch it but can't find it anywhere including Amazon.

califano

I'd love to see this myself, ive heard of it but never seen it. There were a similar enquiry threads about this before. Most recent we learned it was never produced or made for sale etc but as i remember i think Lazares father works in tv production knows the guy who has the rights of the documentary. The guy said if he had enough interest in people willing to buy it he would look into getting in onto dvd.
That was the jist of it anyway.

DeadParrot

if it was shown on RTE/Network 2 it would be in their archives, you could ask nicely or even request a repeat, given the poker boom in Ireland, the upcoming regulation by McDowell etc etc...

Gholimoli

what is this about?

phantom_lord

is that the documentary they made following andy black around at the wsop?

BigDragon

phantom_lord wrote:

is that the documentary they made following andy black around at the wsop?

MILLION DOLLAR DEAL

(2000)

Copyright date
Not available

Production start date
Not available

Production end date
Not available

Production countries

* Great Britain

Notes
Not available

NFA Catalogue

Following the fortunes of five professional poker players in Las Vegas for the World Poker Championships.
Top five credits

Director
BUTLER, John
Production Company
Doubledown Productions
Producer
McMANUS, Luke

Sparky1808

Think it included Mike Magee, Garry Bush, Andy Black and a couple of others.

Either that or i'm thinking of the wrong documentary.

I can recall seeing the "Million Dollar Deal" a lot of years back though.

Hitman Actual

Sparky1808 wrote:

Think it included Mike Magee, Garry Bush, Andy Black and a couple of others.

Either that or i'm thinking of the wrong documentary.

I can recall seeing the "Million Dollar Deal" a lot of years back though.

That's the one. I think it's 1998, the year after Andy first did well in the WSOP (14th in 97?). He didn't do so well in this one and seems really dissillusioned with the game. Worth watching.

RasTa

Was it on the bbc? I remember seeing a docu following Mike Magee around the wsop before I even started playing poker.

bohsman

RasTa wrote:

Was it on the bbc? I remember seeing a docu following Mike Magee around the wsop before I even started playing poker.

Thats the one, think Marty Wilson was interviewed aswell telling some mad story.

gilmour

ive been wanting to watch this for a long time

gilmour

message i got from Linford (who i havent seen on here since) regarding a thread i made last year about the availability of it

Million Dollar Deal

---

I met one of the directors/producers of "million dollar deal" the other night and I told him that a number of people are looking to see the documentary.

He said that its not available anywhere and as far as he was aware the poker channels hadn't shown it in a while and were not planning on it either.

He still owns the rights to it and is willing to produce a DVD if people are interested in buying it. So if you are interested you can PM me here and I will let him know if there are many interested parties.

patmac

Slightly off topic(apologies) I remember this and I thought Mike Magee seemed to be really struggling at the time I've seen him a few times on telly does anyone know how he is doing?

bohsman

Seem to remember him getting a sponsorship deal last year, havent heard about him cashing anywhere though.

Samson

The Million Dollar Deal was filmed in 1998 (the year Scotty Nguyen won), and featured Mike Magee and Andy Black; and to a lesser extent Donnacha O'Dea and Marty Wilson.
The last time I recall this programme being aired was soon after the launch of The Poker Channel - it was split into two parts and repeated several times on that channel.
I actually recorded it to DVD at the time, but can only seem to find part two in my archives (shoe boxes).
If anyone's interested in a download, and if I can figure out how to do it (might need a little help), I will make a torrent.

Goodluck2me

i didnt think it was worth a new thread but id love a to watch rounders! no i havent seen it! yes i want to! i am goin to emporium tonight if any of you would be nice enough to bring it in on DVD or VCR would be great. thanks

biteme

Samson wrote:

The Million Dollar Deal was filmed in 1998 (the year Scotty Nguyen won), and featured Mike Magee and Andy Black; and to a lesser extent Donnacha O'Dea and Marty Wilson.
The last time I recall this programme being aired was soon after the launch of The Poker Channel - it was split into two parts and repeated several times on that channel.
I actually recorded it to DVD at the time, but can only seem to find part two in my archives (shoe boxes).
If anyone's interested in a download, and if I can figure out how to do it (might need a little help), I will make a torrent.

Are you sure it wasn't '97. It was the year Andy came 14th and got knocked out by a bad beat from Stu Ungar. That's what I remember from the Docu anyway

delanec8

biteme wrote:

Are you sure it wasn't '97. It was the year Andy came 14th and got knocked out by a bad beat from Stu Ungar. That's what I remember from the Docu anyway

No im fairly sure it was '98, where Mike Magee built up lots of chips and then went out on the bubble in 28th

ocallagh

I always thought it was purely about Andy Black?? around his infamous retirement from poker (edit: the year after his experience with Stu Ungar in 97) - yep it's from 1998

ocallagh

did the title of this thread change from Million Dollar Deal to Million DOllar Deals?? just found a way to change titles if so...

ocallagh

found this on google, from www.roytheboy.net - talks a lot about the documentary and is very well written.

www.roytheboy.net wrote:

Here is that most informative story:

The term “living legend” is an all-too-frequent and loosely applied expression. It’s a cliché that amounts to being alive and memorable for something notable, invariably brought about by sheer accident.

Possibly the phrase applies to Dubliner Andy Black, who played a starring role in the 1998 television documentary Million Dollar Deal. Narrated by John Hurt, the programme followed the fortunes of a group of English and Irish players in that year’s World Series of Poker.

Those who know Andy Black would probably best describe him as charismatic, highly educated, inoffensive, and popular. In retrospect, they would also use the words skilful and successful.

Relatively unknown on the European circuit, the Belfast-born player has been around poker for some considerable time, an amazing 19 years, to be precise.

Like many things in his life, poker came about by accident, but was soon studied with the intensity and passion of an adolescent teenager in receipt of his first pornographic publication.

“I started playing cards when I was 7 with my mum,” explained Black, who is now approaching his 40th birthday. “As for poker, that began in 1986 while I was studying for a law degree at Trinity College in Dublin

“It was at the Merrion Square Casino, then called the Griffin, where I played my first game of poker. I arrived with no money but was encouraged by the initial free entry and, more importantly, the free coffee and sandwiches. After all, I was a poor broke student.”



With poker, free food, and coffee abundant, Black eventually obtained a law degree but never went on to prosecute a shoplifter or defend a pensioner accused of smoking in a public house. “With a little more study, I could still become a lawyer,” he added in an incidental manor that basically confirms it is never going to happen.

Instead, his traditional work seems to have amounted to a short term as a nightclub promoter, but essentially it’s been a lifetime of poker and, more recently, a devotion to Buddhism.

The announcement that the Dublin resident had joined a Buddhist commune came at the end of the Million Dollar Deal, a programme considered so factually correct and matchlessly dramatic, it remains the most popular poker documentary ever made.

Even today, its appearance amongst the televisual wasteland, for the greater part inhabited by the likes of beach volleyball, tractor pulling, and repeats of The Simpsons, never fails to excite.

In it, Black comes over as a very unstable character, indeed. He’s fanatically dedicated to his chosen art-form and driven by an obsession that thrusts him to excel but also takes his mind to the edge of its workable limits - and sometimes beyond.

“Why do I put myself through this, I don’t even know, I don’t even like money that much!” he protested to a cameraman while packing his luggage - one suspects worldly goods - into a beach bag, which even to this day could be purchased for just 99p.

It was some serious question, considering he had just forfeited $10,000 in World Series entry fees. He also reflected, “Because of my worry about what other people think of me, I think it affects my judgement a lot. It [Poker] does put you aside from other people, and other people don’t understand what its like to get inside someone’s head.”



Today, it’s a very different Andy Black talking, although his analytical summary of any situation, whether in cards or life, remains massively intense.

“That programme was my idea. At the time, I would have been quite a high-profile character around Dublin, so I decided to send word around the city that I was going to Las Vegas to play in the 1998 World Series main event and, if someone could come up with a TV crew, I would be prepared to act as consultant.”

The salesmanship worked. “Sure enough, an independent company, partially funded by one of U2’s businesses, came up with the money. They originally wanted to do the whole film on me, but I persuaded them that it would be more interesting to focus on a number of players and follow their progress, which is what happened in the end.”



Ultimately, the show featured heavily on Mike Magee’s agonising 41st placed effort, just one place out of the money. But this heartache was not an experience alien to Black himself, as he had taken 14th and $30,000 behind the legendary Stu Ungar just a year earlier.

“Around that time [mid-1997], I’d become worn out by life, or maybe it is more accurate to say my choices had worn me out. I started looking for ways to improve myself and change the many bad habits I had developed in life and cards.

“I was bored being such a self-obsessed and often miserable person. Looking back, I often treated people and myself poorly; that needed to change.

“I stumbled along to a meditation class run by Buddhists in Dublin, and very quickly I became fascinated by the process of becoming more aware of my inner world.

“Reading a book on Buddhism I realised almost immediately that I had always been a Buddhist. This came as a great surprise, as I did not and still don’t regard myself as religious.”

Less than a year after going to his first meditation class, Black decided to try living and working full time with other Buddhists. For five of the next six years, that is precisely what he did. That sabbatical included two years spent raising funds for a Buddhist-run charity (the Karuna Trust), which raises money for the ex-untouchable community at the bottom of the caste system in India.


“It is quite a thing to live and work with others who consider there is no limit to how much one can transform oneself, people who believe trying to develop kindness and wisdom is the purpose of life, and that ultimately we are all interconnected. Wow, that’s a pretty positive outlook on how things actually are!”

When questioned on his religion’s standpoint on poker, Black said Buddhism does not have anything against it. “In my opinion, it is a personal question. As a Buddhist, I am suffused in principles such as actions have consequences, hatred breeds only hatred, and love breeds only love.

“Therefore, I try to act only in a kind and friendly manner while playing; sometimes I succeed better than others. Also, I don’t want to forget that when I win, someone else will lose, and losing isn’t easy.”

Andrew Black has been back in the poker fold for around a year now, and it comes as no surprise that he has had a winning 12 months. And why not? After all, he has won every other year that he has played.

“The $30,000 for the World Series 14th place was my best payday in a tournament, although there have been plenty of cash game wins around this figure.”

His preference is for tournaments. “Maybe they suit my temperament more than cash games,” he explained. “I enjoy trying to adapt to the ever-changing conditions and the necessity to make more marginal decisions.

“Also, there is the sheer magical aspect that, somehow, after many hours or sometimes days, one person has all the chips and everyone else is broke.”

Surprisingly, for one who appears so methodical, Andy talks of a struggle with steadiness, discipline, and restraint, “qualities that are more suited to cash games, although ideally you need to develop both.”

In a rare moment of modesty, he confirmed his strengths are flexibility, intuition, reading players, and heart, while confessing, “When things are going well or I’m playing with panache and skill, especially in tournaments, it’s great.”

Then comes a counter-quote, something many would consider as ironic contradiction: “I am a man with a great deal of emotion, so like most people, and despite so much experience playing poker, I find it difficult to enjoy losing. This is something that I am aiming to improve upon.”

Yet, while the new Andrew Black is becoming more and more at peace with himself, seemingly improved like Steve Austin (the six million dollar man, for those old enough to remember), ambitions remain.



“One of my aims is to become more of an ambassador in the poker world, acting thoughtfully and respectfully amongst others, and certainly less egotistically. I don’t find that easy, and hopefully when I act against these principles, which happens often, I will be brave enough to apologise to anyone I’ve offended. It’s a resolve to try harder in the future, to act in a manner that is in line with my own deepest ideals.”

There is also unfinished business in Las Vegas at the World Series of Poker.

“I plan to play 10 tournaments at the World Series this year, including the big one. The flights and accommodations are already booked, so that’s what all my energy is focused on at the moment and it will be for months to come.

“However, if I win a lot of money there, much of it will be given away. Maybe I am a bit wiser than in 1998, when I think that part of me had a subtle view that money was somehow a bit sordid.”

But the real question is: Should it all go agonisingly wrong in Vegas, will Black go on the missing list for weeks, months and possibly years once again?

“No, not as far as taking another sabbatical goes. Nowadays, I regularly go on retreats and I meditate every day; these to me are like mini-sabbaticals. For the foreseeable future, I have decided to continue my spiritual practise in the midst of my great passion, the love of poker.

“You see, at the moment I am experiencing a second honeymoon with cards. I’m working hard on my game and enjoying myself most of the time.

“I am pretty confident that I have the breadth and depth of game to make a substantial impact on the international tournament scene and, until I do that, I couldn’t imagine taking another long break.”

So, Andrew Black is back for the long haul, on a mission to enjoy card playing, whilst liberally respecting, even loving, his fellow players and preparing to announce his arrival on the fickle world of tournament poker beyond the City of Dublin.

His beliefs and outlook on life have not prevented him from being a winner thus far. But, ultimately, will his antidote to the pervasive cynicism of our age be a help or a hindrance?

For certain, should he reach the zenith of the mountain he seeks to climb, no sensibly minded person would be begrudging toward Andy Black.

gilmour

Samson wrote:

The Million Dollar Deal was filmed in 1998 (the year Scotty Nguyen won), and featured Mike Magee and Andy Black; and to a lesser extent Donnacha O'Dea and Marty Wilson.
The last time I recall this programme being aired was soon after the launch of The Poker Channel - it was split into two parts and repeated several times on that channel.
I actually recorded it to DVD at the time, but can only seem to find part two in my archives (shoe boxes).
If anyone's interested in a download, and if I can figure out how to do it (might need a little help), I will make a torrent.

that would be great if you could get it done. any computer whizzes about to help him?

Samson

biteme wrote:

Are you sure it wasn't '97. It was the year Andy came 14th and got knocked out by a bad beat from Stu Ungar. That's what I remember from the Docu anyway

Positive.
Just watching it again now.

Most people seem to be under the impression that Andy "retired" immediately following his elimination at the hands of Stuey Ungar in the '97 main event; however, it was actually his performance the following year* that put him over the edge. It's fairly obvious from his comments in the documentary that he is totally fed up with the game.

*Stuey Ungar did not play in '98.

Sparky1808

Yeah that is correct Samson, It was 98 when Black called it a day for a 5 year period. Then Ungar passed away sadly on 22nd November 98.

LuckyLloyd

This post has been deleted.

sikes

I can host on a big fat juicy line if i can get an avi of it, or a dvd and i can rip it.

EDIT: Tis a 20mb line dedicated line, though I aint sure how it would handle a lot of traffic off boards. I could at least seed a torrent from it

Samson

I can rip it myself, I just don't know how to make a torrent file to seed it.

sikes

i am sure there are loads of docs on creating a torrent. onceyou have it i will hop on and seed it for a few weeks/months. Have you got the first part to it?

http://torrentfreak.com/how-to-create-a-torrent/ is a guide

kpnuts

biteme wrote:

Are you sure it wasn't '97. It was the year Andy came 14th and got knocked out by a bad beat from Stu Ungar. That's what I remember from the Docu anyway

Andy losing to Ungar on a bad beat is popular myth, according to wikipedia entry for Andy:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Black_%28poker_player%29

Regarding original post, I too would love to watch this documentary again. I remember it being shown on BBC2 in 2 episodes before, I only managed to catch the very end of Ep 1 and most of Ep 2 but it was before I started playing poker so I'd love to watch it again now. Hope some of the Youtube gurus on the boards find time to stick it up there at some stage.

gilmour

haha i was just reading a link that was in Andys wikipedia page, its basically former Trinity College students who remembered him :

"Andrew will be remembered by other indymedia readers who were active in that period as a bit of a nuttier who spent quite a while going around with half a beard on one side of his face"

definitely worth reading - http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=70876&search_text=bubble%20gang&search_comments=on&comment_order=desc&save_prefs=true#comments

gilmour

no progress on this lads?

Bandara

sikes wrote:

I can host on a big fat juicy line if i can get an avi of it, or a dvd and i can rip it.

EDIT: Tis a 20mb line dedicated line, though I aint sure how it would handle a lot of traffic off boards. I could at least seed a torrent from it

if sikes puts this up on a torrent site i'll seed it for a while as well, i've a 6mb dedicated line so if we get one or two more seeders we'll be able to allow any boardies that want it to download it.

DopeyLocks

saw it and though it was shocking! Unless of course u like to observe Andy at his favourite passtime which of course is talking about himself! There is one very funny moment though when Andy ant Donnacha are talking about a hand, Donnacha gives him some advice and Andy tells him off (its obvious that Andy has left reality at this stage), Donnacha stands there looking at him totally bemused, priceless moment.

Dopey.

Samson

Sorry for the delay lads, here's the current sitrep:

I have only been able to find part 2 of the documentary (I had recorded them onto seperate discs for some reason, and can only find one).
I have it ripped to an AVI file, but it's too big (752MB) for me to seed on my crappy 128Kb connection. If anyone is still interested in seeding part 2 only, I can burn the file onto a DVD and leave at the poker desk in the Fitz some night.

Jesus Wept

www.roytheboy.net wrote:

The term “living legend” is an all-too-frequent and loosely applied expression. It’s a cliché that amounts to being alive and memorable for something notable, invariably brought about by sheer accident.

Possibly the phrase applies to Dubliner Andy Black

www.roytheboy.net wrote:

Those who know Andy Black would probably best describe him as charismatic, highly educated, inoffensive, and popular. In retrospect, they would also use the words skilful and successful.

Did Andy write this himself or just have the final edit

gilmour

Isnt Roy Brindley Andys manager/agent or something to that effect?

I remember Roy Brindley talking live during the 2005 WSOP FT cardplayer broadcast with Hellmuth about Andy and he was bigging him up to the max.

ntlbell

Samson wrote:

Sorry for the delay lads, here's the current sitrep:

I have only been able to find part 2 of the documentary (I had recorded them onto seperate discs for some reason, and can only find one).
I have it ripped to an AVI file, but it's too big (752MB) for me to seed on my crappy 128Kb connection. If anyone is still interested in seeding part 2 only, I can burn the file onto a DVD and leave at the poker desk in the Fitz some night.

If you can get it to me I can put it up on a 100mb link.

gilmour

one day im sure i'll get my hands on this

I see its listed in the RTE Independent Productions Archive, would they even consider a repeat if requested or should we just pursue easier routes? (laughing to myself here as i type this about the thought of one bloke ringing up asking for a repeat )

phantom_lord

if it's in the archive then you can probably order a copy of it.