Publisher Description
Pharaoh's Last Bet tells the story of Harold Jones, a time-traveling programmer from the quiet town of Maple Creek, who finds himself in ancient Egypt during the reign of Tutankhamun. Harold, known for his purple attire and tendency toward solitude, introduces the young pharaoh to the game of poker. What begins as a way to help the isolated teenage ruler understand strategy and human nature evolves into high-stakes games that threaten the political balance of ancient Egypt.
The story reaches its climax when Tutankhamun, confident in his poker skills, wagers the Great Sphinx in a final game against Harold. Against all odds, Harold wins with a royal flush in the suit of Death. However, victory quickly turns dangerous as the pharaoh's advisors, particularly Ay and Horemheb, convince Tutankhamun that Harold used foreign magic to cheat.
Faced with imminent arrest, Harold makes a daring decision. Unable to claim the entire Sphinx, he chisels off its nose in the dead of night and flees into the desert. What follows is a harrowing chase across the sands, with the pharaoh's best troops in pursuit. Harold eventually escapes and makes his way north to the land of the Geats (modern-day Västergötland in Sweden), where he buries the nose in a location that will, thousands of years later, become the site of his best friend Carl's summer house.
The story connects one of history's great mysteries - the missing nose of the Sphinx - with a personal tale of friendship, adventure, and the unexpected consequences of teaching a pharaoh to play poker. It concludes in the present day, with Harold finally revealing to Carl the true nature of what lies buried in his garden, bringing the ancient and modern worlds together in an unlikely way.
