An Erdös Number of 2?!!?!

Had a headsup e-mail from a correspondent calling himself Jim Chasm yesterday, telling me there was another Erdös number up for grabs at eBay.

Don't know what an Erdös number is? Check the explanation I gave the last time one was up for sale.

The previous eBay auction, which ended in shambles and refusal to pay the winning bid, offered an Erdös number of 5. The current auction offers a 2, which is as good as it gets, being as Erdös himself is dead.

Seems someone who co-authored a paper with Erdös is looking to write a paper on Playing Skill in the World Series of Poker and the World Poker Tour and needs some help with research and analysis.

The "item location" for this auction is the bucolic village of Forest Grove, OR, where I spent a couple days a few years back. I sent a heads-up about the auction and the item location to the editor/publisher of Computer Bits, for which I write a monthly column. The editor/publisher hies from that area and has a serious poker-playing buddy who may be able to suss out who this mysterious Erdös 1 is.

How "real" is this auction and how serious are the people who track Erdös numbers? You be the judge.

Auction ends Jul-22-04 19:30:00 PDT.