James McManus

James "Jim" McManus (b. March 22, 1951 in Manhattan) is an American poker player, teacher and writer living in Kenilworth, Illinois.

Poker and Positively Fifth Street

McManus is best known as the author of the book Murderers, Cheetahs, and Binion's World Series of Poker (ISBN 0-374-23648-8). The book is based on his trip to Las Vegas to cover the progress of women in the 2000 World Series of Poker (WSOP) and the death of Ted Binion.

He used his advance to enter a satellite tournament for entry into the Main Event, defeating the likes of Hasan Habib to qualify for the seat. He made the final table of the Main Event, finishing in 5th place and winning $247,760. He credited his success in the tournament to the book Championship No-Limit & Pot-Limit Hold'em (ISBN 1-58042-127-X) by T. J. Cloutier and Tom McEvoy. Cloutier, Habib and Chris Ferguson were also at the same final table.

The book is dedicated to his son, James McManus (1979–2001).

McManus made the quarter-finals of the 2006 National Heads-Up Poker Championship, where he was eliminated by Ferguson. McManus continues to play live poker when not teaching and raising two young daughters with his second wife, Jennifer Arra. He also plays online three or four nights a week on Full Tilt Poker.

As of 2008, his total live tournament winnings exceed $740,000.

Other works

Fiction

• Going to the Sun (winner of the Carl Sandburg Award)
• Ghost Waves
• Curtains
• Chin Music
• Out of the......
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