- New Deck of Cards Fingers Big Shots Who Gambled Away the American Economy -

CHICAGO, May 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Watch your back, Senator Phil Gramm! Heads up, Congressman Barney Frank! Better duck, George Bush! You're about to be decked! A friendly poker game turned into a shouting match over who's responsible for the current economic meltdown. The result is a new deck of cards called "Crooked Deal," which names names and assigns numbers. Poker players Tommy Littell, Mike Bugera, C.J. Maynard and Mark Sickman have listed the culprits from "Ace of Spades" Uncle Sam all the way down to "Joker" May DeFault, an unqualified loan applicant.

Along the way they take sarcastic shots at fifty-one additional bankers, bureaucrats, congressman and crooks who ruined the economy by creating, selling, legitimizing or encouraging high-risk securities.

"Creating the cards was a great way to blow off steam," says video technician Bugera, whose retirement fund was devastated by the meltdown. "I get a certain rush of energy every time I slap a Christopher Dodd card on to the table," claims Maynard. "This guy helped wipe out my investments!"

The four players were in general agreement over the fifty-four names, but argued for days over the descriptions on each of the cards. They finally settled on the captions. Former Vice President Dick Cheney is described as the "White House tough guy who took aim at Saddam Hussein, but was afraid to tackle Fannie Mae." Economist Larry Summers is described as "the Prince of Panhandlers" who took millions from bankers, taxpayers and universities. Even Sarah Palin has a card--the two of hearts. The caption reads: "The economic meltdown is all her fault because ... well ... everything is all her fault."

"The whole thing is a catastrophe," says Littell, an HVAC contractor who fumes at the bailouts and stimulus programs while his own business has been cut in half during the recession. "We're trying to laugh our way through it."

The deck of cards is available for purchase at CrookedDeal.com. A video on the new product, entitled "Out-of-Work Poker Players," can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMEpWYbHOfs.

Media inquiries: Mark Sickman (619) 972-5663