Henry Orenstein
Encyclopedia
For Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 artist, see Henry Orenstein
Henry Orenstein (painter)
Henry Orenstein was a Canadian artist, specializing in easel paintings, murals and set design. He was mentioned in Barry Lord's The History of Painting in Canada: Toward a People's Art. He went on to become a set designer for the CBC in Halifax, Nova Scotia.-Family:He was married to Joan...

.


Henry Orenstein (born as Henryk Orenstein circa
Circa
Circa , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date...

 1925, Hrubieszów
Hrubieszów
Hrubieszów is a town in southeastern Poland, with a population of 18,661 . It is the capital of Hrubieszów County. Since 1999 Hrubieszów has been part of Lublin Voivodeship . Earlier, 1975–98, it had been part of Zamość Province...

, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

) is a poker
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...

 player and entrepreneur who resides in Verona, New Jersey
Verona, New Jersey
Verona is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 13,332.In 2008, New Jersey Monthly magazine ranked Verona #1 in Essex County and #3 in New Jersey as "Top Places to Live in New Jersey".-History:Verona and several...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

He won the $5,000 Seven-card stud
Seven-card stud
Seven-card stud is a variant of stud poker. Until the recent increase in popularity of Texas hold 'em, seven-card stud was the most popular poker variant in home games across the United States, and in casinos in the eastern part of the country. Two to eight players is common, though eight may...

 tournament at the 1996 World Series of Poker
1996 World Series of Poker
-Preliminary events:-Final table:-Other High Finishes:NB: This list is restricted to top 30 finishers with an existing Wikipedia entry.-External Links:*...

 (WSOP), earning $130,000 by beating fourth-place T. J. Cloutier
T. J. Cloutier
Thomas James "T.J." Cloutier is a professional poker player from Richardson, Texas. He was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2006.-Early years:...

, third-place Cyndy Violette
Cyndy Violette
Cyndy Violette is an American professional poker player who won a World Series of Poker bracelet in 2004.-Early life:...

, and runner-up Humberto Brenes
Humberto Brenes
Humberto Brenes is a professional poker player. Brenes currently resides in Miami Lakes, Florida with his wife and three children ....

. He twice had finished in the money in the $10,000 WSOP no limit
Betting (poker)
In the game of poker, the play largely centers on the act of betting, and as such, a protocol has been developed to speed up play, lessen confusion, and increase security while playing...

 Texas hold 'em
Texas hold 'em
Texas Hold 'em is a variation of the standard card game of poker. The game consists of two cards being dealt face down to each player and then five community cards being placed face-up by the dealer—a series of three then two additional single cards , with...

 main event: 12th in 1993
1993 World Series of Poker
-Preliminary events:-Main Event:There were 220 entrants to the main event. Each paid $10,000 to enter the tournament.-Final table:-Other High Finishes:NB: This list is restricted to top 30 finishers with an existing Wikipedia entry....

 and 8th in 1995
1995 World Series of Poker
-Preliminary events:-Final table:-Other High Finishes:NB: This list is restricted to top 30 finishers with an existing Wikipedia entry.-External Links:*...

.

He came in 7th in the $2,500 Seven Card Stud event at the 2005 United States Poker Championship
The United States Poker Championship
The United States Poker Championship is a major annual stop on the poker tournament tour. This event is held at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey...

, and despite being the oldest competitor (at age 80), won his first round of NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

's National Heads-Up Poker Championship
National Heads-Up Poker Championship
-2006:- 2007 :-2008:In additional to the poker professionals, several poker-playing celebrities from other fields were invited: Gabe Kaplan, Don Cheadle, Jennifer Tilly, Shannon Elizabeth, Jason Alexander and Orel Hershiser. Also invited was Alisha Kunze of Greensburg, Indiana, who won her seat...

 against one of the best cash-game players in the world, Chip Reese
Chip Reese
David Edward Reese , more commonly known as Chip Reese, was an American professional poker player and gambler from Centerville, Ohio...

. Orenstein would lose in the second round to John Hennigan
John Hennigan (poker player)
John Hennigan is an American professional poker player from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who, in his career, has won two World Series of Poker bracelets and a World Poker Tour title....

.

Orenstein is successful outside of his poker playing. A Holocaust survivor who spent much of the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 in various concentration camps, Orenstein became a toymaker who convinced Hasbro
Hasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...

 to start producing Transformers. He holds over 100 other patents, and aside from Transformers, the best-known of these inventions is U.S. Patent 5,451,054
Hole cam
In poker, a hole cam is a camera that displays a player's face-down cards to television viewers.The hole cam became popular in 1999 when the Late Night Poker program first began using it in televised tournaments shown on British Channel 4...

 which gave Orenstein the exclusive right in the United States to detect and display hole cards in poker games. The ability to show a player's hidden cards to an audience is one of the principal reasons that poker is so popular today.

Orenstein is the creator and an executive producer of the Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament
Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament
The Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament is a series of no limit Texas hold 'em poker tournaments. The first season is available on NTSC DVD. It airs on Fox Sports Net in the United States, Rogers Sportsnet in Canada and ftn in the United Kingdom.-Crew:...

 on FSN
FSN
FSN may refer to:* Fate/stay night, a visual novel and its adaptations.* The Federal Stock Number, a numeric code used to identify items in the Joint Army-Navy Catalog System....

. He also produces the popular TV Show High Stakes Poker
High Stakes Poker
High Stakes Poker is a cash game poker television program broadcast by the cable television network GSN in the United States. The poker variant played on the show is no limit Texas hold 'em. It premiered on January 16, 2006 and ended on December 17, 2007 and it returns back on March 1, 2009 and is...

, which can be seen in the United States on GSN.

As of 2009, Orensein's live poker tournament winnings exceed $200,000. He is a 2008 inductee into the Poker Hall of Fame
Poker Hall of Fame
The Poker Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional poker playing in the United States. Founded and located in Las Vegas, Nevada, it was created in 1979 by Benny Binion, the owner of the Horseshoe Casino, to preserve the names and legacies of the world's greatest poker players and to serve...

. Orenstein was also inducted to the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame.

Orenstein is a noted philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...

, giving money to many causes. Circa 1984 the US government built an eleven story building for low income families, it is named the Lejb and Golda Orenstein Building in honor of Orensteins parents.(see photo Orenstein and Mayor Ed Koch in "I Shall Live")Henry Orenstein paid for air conditioners in all apartments and security. There is also a Lejb and Golda Orenstein Building in Kiryat Ono,Israel.which consists of housing units and recreational facilities.Orenstein contributed most of money towards this project.
Orenstein has his own chapter at Metropolian Council for the Jewish Poor in New York. CEO William Rapfogel. Over the past thirty three years Orensteinn has helped thousands of poor New Yorkers to pay their rent, assist with their dental bills,hearing aid bills, surgical supplies etc.

Books

Orenstein wrote I Shall Live: Surviving Against All Odds 1939-1945, a memoir of his experiences during the Holocaust in Europe and his survival in five concentration camps.

Orenstein also wrote Abram which is the life story of Abram Silberstein who emigrated to then Palestine in 1934. He enlisted in the British army in 1939 and rose from the rank of private to rank of Major. He was great help to Ben Gurion . Abram was chosen to be the best book written about World War II. Orenstein received a medal, honorary certificate and 2500 Israeli Shekels.
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