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Henry Orenstein (born Henryk Orenstein; October 13, 1923 – December 14, 2021) was a Polish-born Jewish-American toymaker, professional poker player, entrepreneur and Holocaust survivor who resided in Verona, New Jersey. A survivor of five Nazi concentration camps and death camps, he emigrated to the United States as a refugee after the war, and later held more than 100 patents, including for the Transformers toyline. He made his fortune as a toy designer and manufacturer, and was inducted into the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame. His family includes his niece Lili Bosse, noted philanthropist and mayor of Beverly Hills, California.

Orenstein played poker professionally in the US. In 2008, he was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame because of his consistent record and winnings.

Early life

Henryk Orenstein was born in October 1923, in Hrubieszów, Poland, to a Jewish family. His mother was a homemaker and his father was a grain exporter. Because he was Jewish, he was deported from his town to Nazi concentration camps, surviving five of them. After the war, he emigrated to the United States.

Orenstein, along with his three brothers and father, had initially fled to Olyka after the German army entered Hrubieszów in September 1939. The Orensteins lived in Olyka for two years before returning to their mother and sister in Hrubieszów. Orenstein explained during interviews that his family had built secret hiding spots between double walls, where they evaded authorities. Finally, having exhausted food and water supplies, they turned themselves in.

His parents were loaded onto trucks with other Jews and taken to a cemetery to be shot to death and buried. He and his siblings were transported to the Budzyń Prison Camp in southeastern General Government (occupied Poland), which was eventually incorporated as a sub-camp into Majdanek concentration camp. Orenstein and his brothers were also held at Płaszów in southwestern General Government under the infamous commandant Amon Göth. Orenstein and his brothers were later transferred to Ravensbrück concentration camp in Germany.

While at Budzyń, Orenstein had heard an announcement over the loudspeaker one day that any scientists should register with the office. Figuring this would be a chance for survival, Orenstein signed up his brother and him, although neither had scientific training. By personal account, Orenstein has said that the Nazi German commanders figured out that some who had registered were not scientists, but went along with the ruse to allow them to remain in so-called "research positions" rather than be drafted into the Nazi German infantry.

Business career

Orenstein and two brothers, Fred and Sam, survived the Holocaust. Their parents were murdered by Nazis in 1942, and their brother, Felix, and sister, Hanka, died during their final days of captivity in separate concentration camps at the end of the war. He emigrated to the United States aboard the SS Marine Flasher, a Type C4-class ship used to transport refugees. He joined their uncle on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

Initially finding work with the Libby's canned food company, one day Orenstein noticed a bride doll in a department store window display, on sale for $29.95. (He has said this would be equivalent to $200 in the early 21st century). He decided that he could make one that was more affordable and he became a toy manufacturer. After gaining success with his first dolls, he earned his first million dollars and founded Topper Toys. It produced such well-known toys as the "Suzy Cute" line of miniature dolls and the Johnny Lightning line of model cars.

Orenstein is credited by former Hasbro CEO Alan Hassenfeld as "the catalyst" for the existence of Transformers: the man who convinced Hasbro to buy the Diaclone and Micro Change toys and repackage them as Transformers. He held more than 100 other patents. Aside from Transformers, the best-known of these inventions is U.S. Patent 5,451,054: a device to detect and display hole cards in poker games.

Poker

In a bid to make televised poker championships more interesting for the audience, Orenstein devised a way in which the players' face-down cards could be seen by the audience: by cutting a window into the tables at each player and having a piece of glass with a camera under it, the audience would be able to better appreciate the game play, while not disturbing the setting for the players. NBC Sports President of Programming Jon Miller said that Orenstein is "single handedly responsible for the success of poker today."

Orenstein was the creator and an executive producer of the Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament on FSN. He also produced the popular TV Show High Stakes Poker, which ran from 2006 to 2007 and 2009 to 2011; old episodes can be seen in the United States on GSN.

As of 2009, Orenstein's live poker tournament winnings exceeded $200,000. He was a 2008 inductee into the Poker Hall of Fame. Orenstein was also inducted into the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame.

He won the $5,000 Seven-card stud tournament at the 1996 World Series of Poker (WSOP), earning $130,000 by defeating fourth-place T. J. Cloutier, third-place Cyndy Violette and runner-up Humberto Brenes. Orenstein twice had finished in the money in the $10,000 WSOP no limit Texas hold 'em Main Event: 12th in 1993 and eighth in 1995.

Orenstein came in seventh in the $2,500 Seven Card Stud event at the 2005 United States Poker Championship. Despite being the oldest competitor (at age 80), he won his first round of NBC's National Heads-Up Poker Championship against one of the best cash-game players in the world, Chip Reese. Orenstein lost in the second round to John Hennigan.

Death

Orenstein died from COVID-19 at a hospital in Livingston, New Jersey, on December 14, 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic in New Jersey. He was 98 years old.

Books

• I Shall Live: Surviving Against All Odds 1939-1945 (1987), a memoir of his experiences during the Nazi Holocaust and his survival in five concentration camps.
• Abram: The Life of an Israeli Patriot, a biography of Abram Silberstein, who emigrated to Palestine in 1934. He enlisted in the British Army in 1939, rising from the rank of private to major. He was a great help to Ben Gurion.

References

1. zczuba (June 16, 2007). "Z cyklu "Nieznani, a szkoda": Henry Orenstein". Agora SA.
2. I Shall Live: Surviving the Holocaust Against All Odds, "Before World War II"
3. Peters, Donnie (December 14, 2021). "Henry Orenstein, the Inventor Who Forever Changed Poker, Passes Away at Age 98". Poker Go News. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
4. Orenstein, Henry (1987). I Shall Live: Surviving the Holocaust Against All Odds, 1939-1945. United States: Beaufort Books. pp. 64–70. ISBN 978-0825305979.
5. ^ "Poker Hall of Fame announces 2008 inductees". Casino City Times. October 31, 2008. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
6. ^ Jones, Abigail (December 21, 2016). "Meet Henry Orenstein, the Man Who Changed How the World Plays". NewsWeek. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
7. Langer, Emily (December 17, 2021). "Transformers and TV poker visionary Henry Orenstein dies at 98". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
8. Orenstein, Henry (1987). I Shall Live: Surviving the Holocaust Against All Odds, 1939-1945. United States: Beaufort Books. pp. 64–70. ISBN 978-0825305979.
9. ^ "The Man Who Taught America To Play". MAGZTER. December 30, 2016. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
10. "Henry Orenstein - Transformers Wiki".
11. West, Justin. "An Interview With Kevin Belinkoff". PokerPages.com. Archived from the original on May 31, 2008. Retrieved February 6, 2008.
12. "Henry Orenstein's profile on The Hendon Mob". The Hendon Mob Poker Database. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
13. "27th World Series of Poker - WSOP 1996, Seven-Card Stud". The Hendon Mob. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
14. "24th World Series of Poker - WSOP 1993, No Limit Hold'em World Championship". The Hendon Mob. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
15. "26th World Series of Poker - WSOP 1995, No Limit Hold'em World Championship". The Hendon Mob. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
16. "2005 United States Poker Championship, 7 Card Stud". The Hendon Mob. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
17. "Henry Orenstein, 98, Dies; Force Behind Transformers and Poker on TV". The New York Times. December 18, 2021. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
18. Lissner, Caren (January 12, 2022). "Essex County Toy Maker Who Inspired Transformers Dies Of COVID". Patch.com. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
19. Kent, Bill (May 28, 1995). "Holding His Own". The New York Times. Retrieved March 30, 2024.

• 1923 births
• 2021 deaths
• Majdanek concentration camp survivors
• People from Verona, New Jersey
• Ravensbrück concentration camp survivors
• Polish emigrants to the United States
• 20th-century Polish Jews
• Polish poker players
• American poker players
• American sports businesspeople
• American inventors
• World Series of Poker bracelet winners
• Poker Hall of Fame inductees
• Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in New Jersey