The well-known Brno address of the Grandhotel in Benesova Street hides far more secrets than many local patriots remember. In the nineteenth century there used to be a musical inn by Leopold Briet, which had to give way to an ambitious plan for its extensive reconstruction over the course of the century. In 1865, Josef Werner started building a New Renaissance-style rental house here, but in 1870 he decided to streamline his business plan, converting the apartment building into a prestigious hotel, which he gave the sumptuous name of Grand. The year 1874 can thus be discussed, according to all available materials, as the first year when the beautiful building of the Grandhotel Brno really began to serve tourist destinations. Early on, Josef Werner's son-in-law – Franz von Felbinger - took over the management of the grand project, even receiving the hereditary title of Knight of the Order of the Prussian Crown, 3rd class. But he took more credit for the project of the first electric lighting in Brno. It was an event that even the great author of the light bulb patent, the American inventor and entrepreneur Thomas Alva Edison, who honored the Moravian capital with his personal three-day visit with his wife and daughter on September 13, 1911, on his way from Pest to Prague, could not miss. And here began to write our story, which has not yet left America. Where to get hidden information about the famous inventor and entrepreneur than at his birthplace and residence for many years? I approached Thomas Edison State University in New Jersey to find out more about the visit of the well-known author of thousands of patents, the most famous of which is the light bulb, which he perfected and patented. The current president of the University of New Jersey, Merodia Hancock, helpfully assigned me a very helpful working team, which began to search through the chronicles and personal notes of Thomas Alva Edison. We had a joint success. Brief notes about the inventor's trip to Brno were found! Edison still had a very busy calendar, and his plan was to spend three weeks in Europe, in which he had to make a personal visit to Paris, Strasbourg, Munich, Vienna, Pest, Brno, Prague, and Berlin. The famous entrepreneur made it all happen – also thanks to his own invention. Because of his poor childhood, Edison liked to surround himself with things to show off. That was why he traveled around Europe in his personally constructed automobile, which attracted a lot of attention during his travels, especially since generally automobiles didn't travel much at the beginning of the twentieth century. Edison had one great personal passion besides his inventions, which was poker. He even loved poker so much that he became chairman of a poker club in Montclair, New Jersey, where he settled permanently at the end of his life. Wherever there was an opportunity to play poker with other people, Edison didn't hesitate to sit at a table. This was exactly the case in the gaming cafeteria of the Grandhotel Brno. Although the inventor had not originally planned a multi-day stop in Brno, minor technical difficulties with the car forced him to stay in the Moravian capital for an extra day. He was able to personally inspect the lighting of the Mahen Theatre (originally the Municipal Theatre Na Hradbach), to which he himself had designed the wiring, applying his only three-year-old invention. The next evening, Edison went to sit in the ground floor of the Grandhotel Brno with the distinctive name of Kaffe Grand Brno, which already belonged to the billiard and card-table gambling hall, to enjoy his favorite cigar. Edison was known for his business in the tobacco industry and very often indulged in his own brand of cigarettes and cigars, which strongly contradicted his advocacy of a healthy lifestyle, such as proclaiming himself an avowed teetotaller and never drinking whiskey, such a popular drink in America at the time. Seven guests sat in the cafe hall of the Grandhotel Brno that day, four playing billiards, three sitting at the table and playing cards. Edison could not resist introducing himself as a big fan of card games and politely wanted to join the playing group. He sat down at the table of local card champions, got his hands on the first cards …and said nothing. In Europe at that time was played with classic cards of German origin (now known as the game of Prsi), while the whole of America played with cards of English pattern (we still know about poker or Jokers). The local table occupants embraced the classic Marias, while in America at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries it was poker that became a big phenomenon. Edison personally had a half-hour effort to explain the rules of poker to his opponents and they even tried to play a game with European cards. When the local guests did not understand the principle of the game, Edison went to a stand-alone table and contemplated and smoked a cigar. Poker did not really catch on in Brno then. Poker did not start to be a phenomenon in Central Europe until the nineties of the last century, almost 100 years after the conquest of America by poker. The good news is that the Grandhotel Brno still has a gaming hall after more than a hundred years and still plays cards. The Casino Grand was stylishly renovated by the ATX architectural studio and since the beginning of this February it has been operated under the premium brand LuckyBet. You can personally sit in Edison's seat and try poker against the dealer in the form of Ultimate Texas Hold'em or play cash game poker against other players and take your friends with you for fun. Maybe you'll be better than the famous American inventor. Good luck. Mgr. Michal Krcmar, MSc. Rebuy Stars & LuckyBet, PR

Where to get crucial and for many years hidden information about a famous inventor and entrepreneur than in the place of his birth and residence? I reached out to Thomas Edison State University in New Jersey to track down more information about a visit to the famous author of thousands of patents, the most famous of which is the light bulb he perfected and patented. The current president of the University of New Jersey, Merodia Hancock, helpfully assigned me a very willing work team that began to search through the chronicles and personal notes of Thomas Alva Edison. We had a joint success. Brief notes of the inventor's journey to Brno were found! Edison still had a very busy calendar, and his plan was to spend three weeks in Europe, in which time he had to make personal visits to Paris, Strasbourg, Munich, Vienna, Pest, Brno, Prague and Berlin. The famous entrepreneur managed to do it all - also thanks to his own invention. Because of his poor childhood, Edison liked to surround himself with things he could show off. That's why he travelled around Europe in his personally constructed automobile, which attracted a lot of attention during his travels, especially since there weren't many automobiles in general at the beginning of the twentieth century.

Besides his inventions, Edison also had one great personal passion, which was poker. He even loved poker so much that he became the president of a poker club in Montclair, New Jersey, where he settled permanently at the end of his life. When the opportunity arose to play poker with other people anywhere, Edison didn't hesitate to sit at the table. This was also the case in the gaming café at the Grandhotel Brno. Although the inventor had not originally planned a multi-day stop in Brno, minor technical problems with his car forced him to stay in the Moravian capital for a day longer. He was able to see the lighting of the Mahen Theatre (formerly the Municipal Theatre Na Hradbách), for which he had designed the wiring, and thus applied his three-year-old invention. The next evening, Edison went to sit down in the ground-floor rooms of the Grandhotel Brno, aptly named Kaffe Grand Brno, which at that time already belonged to a gambling hall with billiard and card tables, to enjoy his favourite cigar. Edison was well known for his tobacco business and often indulged in cigarettes and cigars of his own brand, which greatly contradicted his advocacy of a healthy lifestyle, for example proclaiming that he was a sworn teetotaler and never drank whiskey, a drink so popular in America at the time.

There were seven guests sitting in the café room of the Grandhotel Brno that day, four playing billiards, three sitting at a table playing cards. Edison couldn't resist and, as a big fan of card games, introduced himself and politely asked to join the playing group. He sat down at a table of local card pros, got his first hand of cards ...and was silent. After all, in Europe at that time they played with classic cards of German origin (known today for games like Raining), while all of America played with cards of English design (known today for poker or Jokers). The local table population held the classical Mario, while in America it was poker that became a big phenomenon at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Edison personally took half an hour to explain the rules of poker to his opponents, and they even tried to play a game with European cards. When the local guests didn't understand the principle of the game, Edison retired to a separate table, contemplated and smoked a cigar. Poker did not catch on in Brno at that time. Poker did not become a phenomenon in Central Europe until the 1990s, almost 100 years after the conquest of America by poker. The good news is that the Grandhotel Brno still has a gaming hall, more than a hundred years later, and still plays cards. The Casino Grand has been stylishly renovated by architectural studio ATX and has been operating under the premium LuckyBet brand since the beginning of February this year. So you can personally sit in Edison's seat and try your hand at Ultimate Texas Hold'em poker against the dealer, or play cash game poker against other players and bring your friends along for the fun. Maybe you'll be better than the famous American inventor. Good luck.

Mgr. Michal Krčmář, MSc.

Rebuy Stars & LuckyBet, PR