Paul Soloway (October 10, 1941 – November 5, 2007) was a world champion American
bridge player. He won the
Bermuda Bowl world team championship five times and won 30
North American Bridge Championships "national"-level events.
Soloway was inducted into the
ACBL Hall of Fame in 2002.[1] At the time of his death he held 65,511.92
masterpoints – more than any other player in history, and more than 6000 points ahead of second place.
Early life
Born and raised in
Los Angeles, California, Soloway nearly drowned at age three when he fell into a swimming pool at the home of family friend
George Raft. He was saved by his uncle, gangster
Bugsy Siegel, who jumped into the pool and pulled him out.[2]
Soloway learned to play bridge in college, where he majored in business studies. He first played duplicate bridge in 1962.[3] Shortly after graduation, he became a bridge professional. In 1971, he joined the
Dallas Aces bridge team, but left after one year. In 1998 he joined the
Nick Nickell team. He lived in
Mill Creek, Washington, and died at a hospital in
Seattle, Washington, from a heart attack during his treatment for
Staphylococcus aureus.[2] He was cremated with a deck of bridge cards in his hand.[4]