Yes. The Palazzo Corpi poker game story refers to an oft-cited incident in which U.S. ambassador John George Alexander Leishman bet members of Congress during a poker night that, if he won, they would reimburse him for buying the Istanbul building that housed the U.S. mission. He won the hand, the U.S. government reimbursed him, and the property became official U.S. diplomatic premises. The episode did not involve Turkish officials, it was a wager with American lawmakers to secure reimbursement.
What is the Palazzo Corpi poker game story?
The story centers on Palazzo Corpi, a 19th century palazzo in the Beyoflu district of Istanbul that served as the seat of the United States legation and later embassy to the Ottoman Empire, and afterward as the U.S. Consulate General. Ambassador John G. A. Leishman reportedly purchased the building with his own money when the landlord was ready to sell, then used a friendly poker bet with members of Congress to lock in federal reimbursement for the purchase.
Thomas J. Carolan Jr., writing for the American Foreign Service Association, called Palazzo Corpi “the first and only U.S. diplomatic premises to be won in a poker game.” This anecdote appears in multiple diplomatic histories and reference works.
The phrase won in a poker game describes the political lever he used to obtain repayment, not the property deed itself moving across a card table.
What is Palazzo Corpi and how did the United States use it?
Palazzo Corpi was built in the 1870s by the Genoese Corpi family. The United States legation began leasing it in 1882 during the late Ottoman period. In 1907, Ambassador Leishman bought the palazzo, reportedly for 28,000 Ottoman liras, anticipating the U.S. government would reimburse him. The embassy operated there into the early years of the Republic of Turkey. When Turkey moved its capital to Ankara in 1923, the United States eventually shifted its embassy to Ankara as well, a process completed by 1937 according to common accounts and official histories of U.S.CTurkey relations on the U.S. State Department’s Office of the Historian site.
From 1937 to 2003, Palazzo Corpi housed the U.S. Consulate General in Istanbul. After the consulate moved to a modern compound, the palazzo left U.S. government use and is now home to Soho House Istanbul.
The U.S. Embassy today is in Ankara, while the U.S. Consulate General in Istanbul operates at a different location, as noted on the official consulate page.
How did a poker game lead to U.S. ownership?
According to diplomatic lore repeated by historians and former diplomats, Leishman used personal funds to secure the purchase quickly, then asked Washington to reimburse him so the property would belong to the United States. The government initially refused, classifying the outlay as a personal expense. Leishman then hosted a social evening with visiting members of Congress in which a poker hand was played with a specific side bet. If Leishman won, they would back reimbursement for the purchase. He won, and the United States reimbursed him, thereby making Palazzo Corpi U.S. government property.
In other words, the poker table functioned as an informal political commitment device within a social setting. The official transfer of funds and title still ran through normal government channels after the wager.
Is the poker story verified by primary sources?
The core facts are well documented. The U.S. legation leased the building in 1882, Leishman purchased it in 1907, and the building served as the U.S. Embassy in Constantinople and later as the Consulate General for decades. These points appear in multiple reference sources, including the Palazzo Corpi entry on Wikipedia, which cites diplomatic histories and articles from the American Foreign Service Association.
The specific poker wager is best described as a widely reported anecdote from diplomatic circles rather than a detail preserved in formal congressional records. The American Foreign Service Association has repeated the line about Palazzo Corpi being the only U.S. diplomatic premises won in a poker game, and the story has been echoed in museum notes, building histories, and media features. While there may not be a surviving transcript of the game, the anecdote is consistent with contemporaneous practice, since purchases of overseas property often depended on caseCbyCcase appropriations before later reforms standardized acquisitions.
What happened to Palazzo Corpi after the embassy moved?
When the embassy transferred to Ankara, Palazzo Corpi became the U.S. Consulate General in Istanbul, a role it held until 2003. The U.S. mission then moved to a new compound for security and operational reasons. Palazzo Corpi was subsequently restored and adapted as a private members club and hotel operated by Soho House Istanbul, which highlights the buildings layered history.
Why does this story matter?
The tale captures how ad hoc diplomacy and personal initiative sometimes shaped early U.S. overseas infrastructure. It also corrects a common misconception. The poker game was not a bet against Turkish owners, it was a social wager with American lawmakers that helped unlock reimbursement and formalize U.S. ownership. For those tracing diplomatic property histories, Palazzo Corpi is a colorful case that sits at the intersection of personal diplomacy, congressional appropriations, and the evolution of U.S.CC Turkey relations documented by the Office of the Historian.