Although Churchill wasn’t allowed to win back his money, he didn’t lose any more.

From Bloomberg's End; Sky-High Aspirations; Deal Him In by Carl M. Cannon from Friday 6th of March. The excerpted section has nothing to do with politics.

Good morning. It’s Thursday, March 5, 2020. On this date in 1946, Winston Churchill made one of the most momentous speeches of the 20th century; he did so while on American soil, at Westminster College in Fulton, Mo. The Last Lion began by noting that iconic European capitals -- Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Sofia, Bucharest -- were under increasing pressure and control from Moscow.

“From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent,” Churchill proclaimed. “This is certainly not the liberated Europe we fought to build up. Nor is it one which contains the essentials of permanent peace.”

And with that, the Cold War was unofficially engaged. On a lighter note, Churchill received an honorary degree that day. This tangible tribute to the Western leader who had done so much to win World War II was the idea of a close aide to President Harry Truman. But, as we’ll see in a moment, it was the least Truman’s Missouri cronies could do.

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As I’ve related in this space before, choosing Westminster College as the setting for Winston Churchill’s iconic speech was Harry Truman’s idea. The president, who introduced Churchill to the audience that day, remained on the platform while his guest spoke, listening intently to the speech. Moreover, he had accompanied the former British leader on the train trip from Washington, D.C., to Missouri. But that journey almost ended disastrously.

The summer before Churchill’s momentous, post-World War II visit to the United States, the citizens and leaders of the Western allies were simply happy the fighting was over. Polls in mid-1945 showed that a majority of Americans trusted the Soviet Union. In Great Britain, the electorate expressed their gratitude to Churchill by voting his party, and the country's iconic wartime leader, out of office.

Restless and at times melancholy, he turned to painting. He also traveled, seeking sun and a change of scenery. He found both in Florida, where he liked to vacation. But the world wasn't done with Churchill -- nor he with it. He happily accepted Truman aide Harry Vaughan's honorary degree offer, and Truman’s choice of locale. (“This is a fine old college in my state,” the president had written to the former prime minister. “If you'll come out and make the speech, I’ll take you out and introduce you.”)

Taking him out there, in this case, meant a traveling Anglo-American railway excursion, complete with the common diversions of the day. This meant drinking and, for the Missourians, poker, a game at which they excelled.

As soon as the president’s train pulled out of Washington’s Union Station at midday on March 4, 1946, President Truman served drinks to his guests. As Truman aide Clark Clifford recalled in a memoir, “Churchill drank scotch, with water, but no ice, which he viewed as a barbaric American custom.”

But the great statesman was half-American, so he fancied himself a poker player, as well. This was a mistake.

Over dinner, Churchill told Truman he’d first played stud poker during the Boer War and asked if a game might be conjured up. These were magic words to the Missourians. “Winston,” Truman said, “the fellows around you are all poker players, serious poker players, and would be delighted to provide you with a game.”

When Churchill excused himself briefly after the meal, Truman turned to his pals and told them that if their guest had been playing poker for 40 years, he was probably a cagey and excellent card player. The president told them that the honor of American poker was at stake and they should do their duty.

Led by Vaughan, the U.S. contingent rose to the challenge. But after about an hour, it became clear that Churchill was in over his head.

During a bathroom break, Clark Clifford later recalled, Truman changed his tune. “Now look here, men. You are not treating our guest very well,” the president said while looking at Churchill's dwindling pile of chips. “I fear that he may have already lost close to $300.” This would be about four grand today, but hearing this Vaughan started laughing. “But boss,” he told Truman, “this guy's a pigeon!”

Vaughan suggested that they had already been going easy on their guest and that if Truman really wanted them to play poker for the nation’s honor, Churchill would be sitting at the table in his underwear long before they reached Fulton.

So they decided to ease back on the throttle a bit. Although Churchill wasn’t allowed to win back his money, he didn’t lose any more. An alliance, if not an empire, was preserved.