The Orenstein Patent

Those of you who have been around awhile, particularly Atlantic City high-limit stud players, probably know a gentleman by the name of Henry Orenstein. He is a fascinating person who survived the holocaust in Poland, which was a very rare feat in itself. He told his story in his book, I Shall Live; Surviving the Holocaust 1939-1945.

He is also an inventor who has more than 100 patents. Those of you who are my son Jeff's age may remember a toy called a Transformer. He invented it, and they still make them.

Then, about five years ago, he received U.S. Patent 5,451,054. That patent gave Orenstein the exclusive right in the United States to detect and display holecards in poker games, which is an absolute must in order to bring poker into mainstream viewing via television.

On the other hand, the concept has already been proven to be viable by an English program called Late Night Poker, and also was used very successfully at the Poker Million.

With access to this patent, poker viewing on television in the United States could and would be enjoyed by millions of people, which could easily double existing poker room attendance and actually make tournament corporate sponsorship a reality.

Orenstein, a man with a passion for poker, has been sitting on the patent, waiting for a group that he perceived would be willing and able to positively maximize poker exposure on television for the good of the game.

I am proud to announce that he has granted the exclusive use of that patent to Jeff Shulman, Adam Schoenfeld, and me.