If there is a person in the world who does not dream of hitting the jackpot, it means that they are either a yogi or a plant. Director Vanzetti Danielyan cannot be classified as either. For him, gambling is life itself.
In 1975, in one of the Monte Carlo casinos, he took a big risk twice and won both times. And as a result of this win, the “Angelic” cake, once admired by the emperors of Rome, was revived.
Jackpot
“Why aren’t you playing?” Nika whispered. “You said yourself that you’d spend 1500 francs at the casino. If you keep standing like this, everyone will think you’re stingy.” His wife’s words had an element of truth.
Firstly, Vanzetti had indeed prepared her in advance that the aforementioned amount was intended not for shopping, but for psychological relief. Secondly, the other members of the Soviet delegation, who had lost everything in the battle with the “one-armed bandits,” began to loudly hiss about the machinations of capitalism, casting sidelong glances at Danielyan as if he was to blame for it all.
More precisely, he was “guilty” of not putting his cash into the mindless and cunning machine. Vanzetti was simply bored fighting the machine; he wanted a real game, something nerve-wracking, because who knows when fate would give a Soviet person such an opportunity again.
And the opportunity was indeed unique: in the entertainment plan for the USSR cinematographers’ delegation, which had arrived at the Cannes Film Festival, there was a visit to the Monte Carlo casino. It was probably intended to make them, tormented by envy at the impossibility of playing seriously, burn with class hatred towards the decaying capitalism.
Twenty-one of the 23 delegation members felt approximately that way. Finally, prompted by his wife, Danielyan approached one of the “one-armed” machines and, caring less about the result and more about how to play real poker, threw a five-franc coin into the slot.
The ringing sound that followed is well known not only to those who are truly “hooked” on gambling but also to millions of people who have heard it in movies. It is the ringing of an endless stream of tokens, in the golden-sweet rolls of which the coveted “Jackpot!” can be heard.
While Nika was collecting the tokens in a beautiful leather bag, as if Vanzetti had brought it specifically from Cairo for this purpose, he approached another machine and threw in another five-franc coin.
For a moment, it seemed like it was either déjà vu or someone was rewinding a recording from five minutes ago. The machine, seemingly laughing at the theory of probability, cheerfully spat out another mountain of chips. Jackpot!
Usually, this only happens in movies, and even then, one of the skeptics will inevitably snort, “Unbelievable. This doesn’t happen in real life!” Vanzetti looked at the unfolding events through the eyes of a professional director, mechanically noting medium and close-up shots.
With the exception of a few faces, the surprise and delight of the gathered crowd were genuine. The visual mosaic had not yet come together when a close-up shot captured Nika’s face, in which open horror could be read.
“You know, – he heard her heated whisper, – they will hate you for this!” Vanzetti weakly noted the inconsistency of female logic – first, she urged him to play, and then she was indignant about his winnings.
And then, finally, the details of the mosaic fell into place: he noted with chagrin that among all those present in the hall, only the delegation members were not happy about his success. If envy could burn, Vanzetti would have already been a smoldering ember.
To his horror, he felt a creeping fear, which was in the genes of the Soviet person, whose fate could entirely depend on the opinion of the collective, which often could not stand the wealth of its neighbor. It is unknown why the defense mechanism worked this way, but unexpectedly for himself, Vanzetti said:
“Colleagues, my winnings are our common victory!” There would be no need to shoot a second take: the faces of his compatriots instantly turned from malicious to happy. There was no doubt that someone had mentally not only counted “their share” but also thought about what to spend it on.
Aces Full
But Vanzetti had his own script for how events should unfold. As a good director, he was a subtle psychologist and understood: it was either now or, perhaps, never. Of course, now, while they feel enriched, but subconsciously still in the atmosphere of treacherous gambling.
“Friends, I play poker very well,” he began, “if each of you gives me 1500 francs, I guarantee that we will leave here as millionaires.” And again, it seemed to Vanzetti as if he were reading the thoughts of his colleagues: to risk or not risk their “hard-earned” money. It is unknown how the “cards would fall,” but then a representative from Georgia approached him, followed by one from Uzbekistan, both passionately assuring him that they were ready to take the risk.
Within five minutes, the rest agreed. Considering himself a skilled poker player, Vanzetti was not lying. The fact was that in the Soviet Union, he was filming a movie about card games, and to avoid mistakes, he had invited not just a professional poker player, but a well-known ace in narrow circles as a consultant.
As a result, soon enough, Danielyan himself played quite well and never missed an opportunity to sit at the table with Nikolai Kryuchkov, who was famous for his passion for poker. Of course, it’s one thing to play cards with friends and quite another to play on the green baize of Monte Carlo. But gambling is a powerful thing. In this case, it was not only about the game itself but also about a long-standing dream – to play precisely in a casino.
In a word, having secured the “collective agreement,” Vanzetti took two “seconds” from the group (one of them spoke English, the other French) and headed to the gaming room, previously entrusting them with the task of exchanging money for chips. He was seated fifth at the table.
Judging by the glances of the others, he realized that they had taken him for a millionaire, accompanied by two tall blue-eyed “boys,” and prepared to significantly lighten his wallet. Meanwhile, the game began. The cards were dealt. Vanzetti, one could say, had nothing special: just a weak three-of-a-kind – three sevens.
However, there was an advantage – he was fifth, which means he was the last to play. When his turn came, he discarded his cards, declaring a fold. (He was later told that almost no one folds in Monte Carlo – it’s too risky.) When the rest of the players revealed their hands, it turned out that one of them had a decent full house – two queens and three tens. He looked at Vanzetti with respect, obviously initially thinking that he was a novice and bluffing.
Judging by the glances exchanged by those sitting at the table, Danielyan understood that they had made a decision about him and mentally smirked. The cards were dealt anew. Vanzetti was now the fourth. One of the players bet a huge sum, the second went dark – doubled the bet. Danielyan revealed his first card – an ace!
He revealed the second – an ace! The third – an ace! His blood pressure shot up so much that his ears began to ring. He was almost certain that he had fallen into a company of cheaters, and they had deliberately dealt him three aces so that he would lose his head, and one of them would take four sevens and… What a fun outcome – four sevens would beat three aces!
But he was playing with “other people’s” money. From this thought, his blood pressure dropped just as suddenly as it had risen. Moreover, the game continued and it seemed to promise him nothing good. The third player, who asked for two cards (meaning he had a three-of-a-kind in hand), discarded one. Perhaps he had a four-of-a-kind.
Calculating combinations, Vanzetti announced a draw, taking time to think. Then he discarded an unnecessary nine of clubs. Both of the following players refused the draw, and the second one raised the bet.
The third player paid, and Danielyan announced a draw. It was here that he understood, based on his own fluctuating blood pressure, why it is considered that the one with stronger nerves wins in poker – he got another ace! “Fold,” said Vanzetti, sincerely hoping that no one heard the drumming roar of his heart. “Fold,” repeated the player who didn’t take the draw.
The cards were revealed. Two of them had a flush, and each was confident that their hand had formed, and the “millionaire” was just bluffing. It is impossible to describe the reaction of those present to the four aces. You can’t even film such a thing! Danielyan stood up and gracefully said, “Merci.” Then he calmly walked to the exit, noticing how skillfully his “seconds” were scooping up the chips.
He had not yet reached his friends when a casino employee approached him and asked him to fill out a form – who he was, where he was from, and so on. Within a couple of minutes, Vanzetti held in his hands a certificate stating that he had won one and a half million French francs in the casino and a medallion with the engraved profile of the Prince of Monaco.
When he finally returned to his friends, the group’s delight knew no bounds. One had to see the happy eyes of the Soviet people, who were used to meager per diem allowances. They couldn’t believe in the miracle of their transformation into millionaires.
Danielyan’s total winnings amounted to one and a half million francs, so each of the 23 who had put in “their” one and a half thousand received 56,000 francs! By the way, for comparison: a luxurious “Mercedes” displayed in the Mercedes-Benz store on the first floor of the hotel cost 46,000.
Cake “Angelic”
In the evening, when the delegation arrived at the Palace of Cinema, it turned out that everyone was already aware that the director from the Soviet Union had hit the jackpot – the newspapers had already printed the story. They congratulated him, rejoicing in his extraordinary luck.
Later, Danielyan and his wife, along with Sergei Bondarchuk, Irina Skobtseva, and a film producer from the FRG, Sergei Gambarov, were invited to the residence of the USSR’s ambassador to France, Stepan Vasilyevich Chervonenko. When dessert was served, Vanzetti noticed that his restrained wife was literally devouring the cake.
“Try it,” she said, closing her eyes in pleasure. The cake indeed turned out to be incredibly delicious. Seeing her husband’s reaction, Nika insisted that he find out the recipe. This turned out to be not so difficult: the embassy’s first secretary was an Armenian – Genrikh Liloian. Danielyan turned to him.
He promised to help. Within a few minutes, he returned and informed them of the sum the pastry chef was willing to sell the recipe for. The figure was incredibly inflated – three times the cost of the luxurious fur coat Nika had bought. However, Vanzetti understood that everyone wanted to hit their own jackpot – these were the inevitable consequences of the rumors about his fantastic winnings. But he was not used to backing down and agreed without bargaining.
Imagine his surprise when, along with the recipe, he was told the story of the cake. It went back to the early days of Christianity. Gregory the Illuminator and King Trdat, during their visit to Rome, treated the emperor to a cake that delighted him.
The emperor wanted to know the secret of this culinary masterpiece. Queen Ashkhen revealed that it lay in special algae found only in Lake Van. These algae give the cake its unique piquancy and, moreover, allow it to retain its freshness for a considerable period of time.
Having returned to Yerevan, the gambling man Danielyan began to think about how to find a practical, more precisely, commercial application for the recipe, for which he had paid a substantial sum. At that time, his friend Rafael Shahbazyan was the Minister of Food Industry in Armenia.
The director turned to him with a request to allocate a workshop at one of the bakeries for setting up the production of cakes. Moreover, by that time, he had already managed to find and prepare specialists. He succeeded in everything, but… The fact was that any new product had to undergo a tasting, so to speak, at the “Center,” in this case – at the “Krasny Oktyabr” confectionery factory.
It should be noted that this exam was by no means as “sweet” as it might seem. The tasters did not sit in the hall, tasting a piece from different products and choosing the best one. They sat in a restaurant, had a full dinner, and only then, as it should be, proceeded to the sweet course.
That is, the quality and taste of the product being tested had to be such that the proposed dessert would still be desirable even after a hearty meal. After the tasting, all the cakes received 8 points, and only the “Angelsky” cake scored 10. This was the cake that Vanzetti presented.
The director of “Krasny Oktyabr” tried in every possible way to extract the recipe from him, but in vain! To understand the difference between 8 and 10 points, for example, one could say that at that time the cost of the best cakes did not exceed four rubles, while the “Angelsky” cake was valued at 12.
And it was worth it! In 1987, the chairman of the Armenian Gosagroprom, Vladimir Movsesyan, summoned Vanzetti Amirdzhanovich and, introducing him to two stunning beauties, said that they were guests from Moscow and it was necessary to make sure they left satisfied.
Then it was explained to him that this meant the following: two “mata hari” from the “Krasny Oktyabr” factory were sent by the restless director with the sole mission to find out the cake recipe. Of course, it was not allowed to share the recipe, but he had to refuse smartly so that it didn’t look like a refusal.
Vanzetti didn’t know whether to be angry about being put in an impossible situation or to “play dumb,” as no one spoke directly about it. He chose the latter. He entertained the ladies with truly Caucasian hospitality and enjoyed himself.
However, on the day of departure, one of the “spies” tearfully confessed to him that if they returned empty-handed, their careers would be ruined, and both of them held serious positions at their factory, one of the most famous in the Soviet Union.
What man can resist a woman’s tears?! Except for one who’s not used to losing. So Danielyan came up with what he thought was a foolproof plan in the style of “neither yes nor no.”
He said that the deal would take place if the factory director would exchange it for 10 tons of agar-agar (a substance obtained from algae similar to those in Lake Van) – a very valuable confectionery component necessary for the cake. Danielyan was sure it was impossible.
But when a few days later, he received a message from Moscow that the agar-agar had been sent, he realized that the director of “Krasny Oktyabr” was no less of a gambler. However, Moscow was interested not in the cake itself but in the filling – souffle. It was based on this souffle that they began to produce the famous airy souffle candies there.
There is no doubt about the income it brought! Vanzetti Amirdzhanovich didn’t miss the opportunity to use the “advanced experience.” Since it was the time of the new Soviet NEP, he and his partners opened the cooperative “Lusiné”, where they produced amazingly tasty candies – chocolate souffle, cherries in chocolate, and other treats.
Then a new era began – the collapse of the Soviet Union, the independence of Armenia, the blockade, the energy crisis… The cooperative “Lusiné”, like almost all enterprises in the country, ceased to exist.
Thus ended the amazing journey through time of the cake, which survived the fall of the Roman Empire, the collapse of the USSR, and the crisis in independent Armenia. However, who knows, perhaps history, making another turn, will once again gift gourmets with the “angelic” pleasure. After all, the recipe remains!
Dossier
Vanzetti Amirdzhanovich Danielyan was born in Yerevan. He graduated from the Art and Theatre Institute and, as an external student, the History Department of Yerevan State University. He worked at the “Armenfilm” and “Mosfilm” film studios.
He participated in the creation of films such as “Path of Thunder”, “The Mystery of the Mountain Lake”, “Personally Known”, “Northern Rainbow”, “For the Sake of Honor”, “Master”, “War and Peace”, and others.
Films based on his scripts include: “An Incident on the Street”, “Ashnaktsy”, “The World in a Mirror” (with Karina Kakieva), “Meeting with the Marshal”, “Martiros Saryan”. For the last two, he was awarded certificates of honor from the USSR State Committee for Cinematography.
At different times, on the direction of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Armenia, he worked as the head of the recreation area management on Lake Sevan under the Council of Ministers of the Armenian SSR, the head of the water facilities and water surfaces management of the Yerevan City Council, and the first deputy general director of the “Armenian Gems” company.
Author: David Grigoryan Translation by Vigen Avetisyan
