Larry Flynt was an absolute riot! Larry Claxton Flynt Jr, of Larry Flynt Publications (LFP), passed away on February 10, 2021, at the age of 78. For those who don't know, he was an infamous X-rated publisher for Hustler TV and various adult-content publications. Larry was a wild gambler and extremely active despite being paralyzed after an assassination attempt back in 1978. Despite this, his sense of humour remained acerbic, and his wit razor sharp. The first time I interviewed Larry Flynt in the 1990s, I quizzed him about his penchant for blackjack and poker. In his characteristic croaky voice, perched up on his platform in a motorized, gold-embossed wheelchair, he uttered – 'Well, I'm not going to take up water skiing, am I?'
No doubt that's true, but Larry Flynt, with his characteristic boyish charm, didn't get into gambling when he used a wheelchair – that began many years before. In the interview, he said he started playing poker while in the military. As he grew his wealth, he increased his poker stakes. He did that for all gambling activities. So when renowned casino host Steve Cyr came across Flynt in the high-limit arena of the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Larry Flint was a legitimate casino whale. The dude dropped $25,000 per hand on blackjack at the time – that figure grew substantially over the years. His credit line was a cool $1 million.
Naturally, Steve Cyr attempted to get Larry Flynt away from the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino so he could play at the Las Vegas Hilton. That's where Steve was stationed.
Of course, Larry Flynt felt comfortable where he was and didn't have any interest in playing anywhere else. Then Steve Cyr proposed something that the notorious publisher couldn't refuse. 'I told him that I have 100,000 reasons for him to come over to the Hilton.' This was detailed in a book titled “Whale Hunt in the Desert.” Steve shared this with 888. 'I gave him $100,000 in promotional chips [used for play at the casino tables and then repaid with winning hands on cashable chips]. And because Larry is such a good sport, he said, 'If you're giving me 100,000, I'll bring $1M of my own.' He was putting his money on the line for us to win off him; that's not something every player is willing to do.
As it turns out, the decision was golden! 'Larry went through the 100K', Cyr recalls. 'Then he dipped into his own money and wound up winning $1 million from us.' That result set the stage for future outcomes for Larry Flynt. According to Cyr, he won money from the casino in his next seven outings. Baron Hilton owned the hotel chain at the time and presented a trophy to Larry Flynt that said – World’s Greatest Blackjack Player. Around that time, the Hustler giant was spending millions of dollars. The casino couldn't beat him that year. Larry was disciplined, despite spending a lot of time playing blackjack at the casino. Cyr reckons that Larry Flynt had a number in mind when he was gambling. He played until he hit that number or lost a specified amount. Then he quit.
Larry flew in and out of Las Vegas on his private jet. It was a rather ominous-looking jet with the word Hustler painted in electric pink against a glossy black background. Larry came and went as he pleased. He wouldn't stay for the weekend if he didn't want to. It was his call every time. Steve Cyr described him as a shrewd operator. He recalls that bankroll management was one of Larry's strengths. He knew how to ride out his gambling losses, and he maintained strict discipline throughout. A few interesting facts have emerged about his playing habits and preferences. For example, he tended to avoid playing casino games after a few glasses of wine as it impaired his judgement. Most noticeable was the fact that he loved boiling-hot coffee. He always had sizzling-hot coffee at the table, and there was a butler with a Bunson burner on hand to maintain the tycoon's preferred coffee temperature.
While Steve Cyr respected Flynt's bankroll management, the casino enterprise certainly didn't. One of his friends, Justin Smith, mentioned that the casinos didn't know whether they should keep Larry Flynt playing or stop him from playing. It was a dilemma; Larry put them in an uncomfortable predicament. Smith revealed lots of juicy information to 888 – he was a former high-stakes poker professional who turned his energy to movie production. His latest project was 'Flinch,' with details available at flinchthemovie.com.
Naturally, Larry Flynt knew how to negotiate better terms and conditions. The same held when he gambled at the casinos. Cyr indicated that there were 30 deal points. Once Larry landed, he received a $10,000 reimbursement for his airfare. If his losses amounted to $1 million or more, he was given a 20% discount. That means the losses cost him $800,000. For every three hours he played at the casino, he would receive $25,000 promotional chips. Thanks to his negotiating skills, and his clout, he was allowed to split aces four times. He surrendered any two cards in blackjack, and switched dealers as often as he wanted. He needed to be able to surrender any two cards in blackjack – that was a dealmaker for him.
Many years ago, while attending a high-stakes baccarat tournament in Monte Carlo, one of the leading players shared some exciting information with me. He said he worked with a poker professional to create a winning blackjack strategy for Larry Flynt. This strategy paid particular attention to comps given to players by the casino. Larry minimized losses by factoring in many value-added extras. Discounts were considered, and casinos rolled everything up into a winning package for players. Of course, this information was fully vetted by Larry Flynt. The poker professional in question was none other than Jason Lester, and Larry described my particular source as the guy from San Francisco.
In his own words, Flynt stated, 'The big thing they helped me on is whether you're supposed to surrender six against a face card. He and the San Francisco guy ran several million hands through a computer and concluded that you are 30% better off to just surrender.' Indeed, Larry Flynt was one of the few casino whales to use a blackjack strategy when playing. Generally speaking, these strategies were used by anxiety-riddled retirees and old ladies. However, Larry told me personally that his card was extraordinary. The San Francisco dude and Lester conjured up the blackjack strategy that he was using. The blackjack strategy cards used at casinos, according to Larry, are non-aggressive, weak, and conservative. One year before the interview, in 2007, Larry told us that he made many unique strategy cards and used them frequently in Las Vegas, Nevada. He scooped up $2.5 million using these strategies.
The casino would have had less costly requests to agree to. One request was to host his 1998 bachelor party at the Beverly Hills Hilton, and the other was to advertise Hustler in the sundries shop. Sadly, for the publishing tycoon, Baron would not concede to these requests. Nonetheless, Steve Cyr was inventive. He stated that whenever Larry was on site at the casino, Steve purchased several Hustlers and placed them on the magazine shelf of the gift shop. He also arranged for the bachelor party to be set up in a Beverly Hills mansion for Larry Flynt. For Larry, it was clear why his Hustler magazine should be prominently displayed in the gift shop – Playboy magazine was on full display, yet Hugh Hefner wasn't gambling at the Hilton casino!
The jury remains unsure whether Larry Flynt was a winning blackjack player. For those who don't know, he opened up the Hustler Casino in 2000 in Gardena, California. I was told in confidence by Larry Flynt that he came out ahead in blackjack, but Steve Cyr maintains that he lost overall. Perhaps we can glean a little insight from the poker professional turned movie producer, Justin Smith. He states that Larry knew what he was doing. In his opinion, one would be remiss to expect that a man who owns Hustler wouldn't be a hustler in his capacity. If it were up to Smith, he would have reservations about letting Larry Flynt gamble in a casino – because he considers him a winning player.
Getting any more information out of Smith was a no-go. Finally, he explained that he had to honour the code!
He knows all too well. He participated in many world-famous Larry games. Ultra-high-stakes poker blowouts could leave you $500,000 richer or poorer in a single night of play. Larry Flynt was a big fan of 7-card stud. For many years, he played this game at home, with low ambient temperatures. One legendary poker ace – Barry Greenstein – came to Larry Flynt's poker games wearing multiple layers of thermal underwear beneath his clothes. Larry later transferred the game over to the Hustler Casino. Before that, Larry Flynt repeatedly played on the Vegas poker circuit, competing alongside legendary players such as Stu Ungar, Chip Reese, and the Texas Dolly himself, Doyle Brunson. Larry was asked to provide some insights about Stu Ungar's drug fancies. He had no hesitation answering the question [verbatim]:
'I got shot a couple of years before I started playing in Vegas, and I took many painkillers. I used to drink a Brompton cocktail: 60% morphine, 20% alcohol and 10% cocaine. This concoction was perfectly legal. It was made up for cancer patients in their final few weeks of life. I gave Stuey a cup of that. He went to the restroom and drank it. He didn't come out for a while. So, a couple of people went in looking for him, and he was sprawled on the floor, unconscious. When he came around, he accused me of trying to kill him.'
After telling that story, Larry Flynt let it sink in. But it wasn't long before he revealed another tale about the tragic poker ace. According to him, the next story perfectly summed up Stu Ungar's personality. He and Larry played poker in a heads-up tournament at the Horseshoe Hotel & Casino Las Vegas, Nevada. He removed a card and had a gut-shot straight draw. Larry caught a seven for a nine-high straight. It was a great hand. Stu Ungar made three of a kind or something like that, then bet out. Larry raised, and then Stu called him. Stu turned over his cards and said to the table, ' God damn!' Next, he proceeded to turn over the blackjack table and toss it on the floor. He had a fiery temper. When things were going his way, he was perfectly okay. But, when he started losing, and bad beats came his way, he would boil over and lose it.
Recall Larry Flynt's boyish charm that we alluded to earlier? He smiled at me and said he could always get Stu Ungar easily irritated!
Whether poker or blackjack, Larry Flynt was an out-and-out gambler who loved competition and managed bad beats much better than Stu Ungar. Larry was the quintessential gentleman when gambling, according to Cyr. Whether losing or winning, he took it all in his stride. You have to give it up for a guy who has the guts to make big betting decisions, packs a mega bankroll, and has a love for the game. That, my friend was Larry Flynt!
