Perched on his gold-plated wheelchair, in an office crowded with Tiffany lamps, metal sculptures and a giant conference table, Larry Flynt sits behind a big, wooden desk. Paralysed from the waist down as the result of being shot by a white supremacist in 1978, he’s confined to the chair and speaks with drooping lips and whirring inflections. Laboured appearances to the contrary, Flynt experiences no pain as a result of the injury – key nerves have been deadened in order to relieve discomfort – and he seems perfectly content, absently chewing on ice cubes while discussing his primary passion.

Though Flynt is best known as the publisher of Hustler magazine (an interracial photo spread is what supposedly instigated the shooting), within the card-playing world he is known for something that many professionals find sexier than sex itself: Flynt is a wealthy amateur willing to play for the highest stakes imaginable against the best players in the world.

No newcomer to big-money poker, Flynt has been competing in WSOP events since the 1980s.