Michael Moukhanoff was born to Russian nobility with ties to the czar and a Russian princess. He lived on Miller Road, and his neighbors knew him as a maker of fine marmalade made with fruit grown on his five-acre citrus grove, unaware that he once was an internationally-known professional gambler who held court in Monte Carlo.
Mr. Moukhanoff was born to nobility in 1897 in St. Petersburg (Leningrad), came to Valley Center in 1976, and died in Valley Center in 1990 at age 92. His grandmother, born a Russian princess, had Tartar blood. He lived through the 1917 revolution and collapse of 400-year-old Imperial Russia, worked briefly as a diplomat for the British embassy, and ended up in Monte Carlo.
In Monte Carlo, he become a professional gambler and was touted as developing a system for winning at roulette. In 1972, he wrote a book, "You Can Win at Roulette," documenting his experience at Monte Carlo. He wrote another book as a tribute to his wife, Helen de Smirnoff Moukhanoff (1878-1963), to whom he was married for 45-years. He remarried in 1966 and later moved to Valley Center with his second wife, Fern, who predeceased him in 1985.
Along with making marmalade, Moukhanoff lectured at local colleges on Russian history and wrote extensively about Russia, but attracted little interest from publishers, according to a stepdaughter in a 1990 interview. Family members still live in this area.
Source: Valley Roadrunner – December 16, 2021
Mr. Moukhanoff was born to nobility in 1897 in St. Petersburg (Leningrad), came to Valley Center in 1976, and died in Valley Center in 1990 at age 92. His grandmother, born a Russian princess, had Tartar blood. He lived through the 1917 revolution and collapse of 400-year-old Imperial Russia, worked briefly as a diplomat for the British embassy, and ended up in Monte Carlo.
In Monte Carlo, he become a professional gambler and was touted as developing a system for winning at roulette. In 1972, he wrote a book, "You Can Win at Roulette," documenting his experience at Monte Carlo. He wrote another book as a tribute to his wife, Helen de Smirnoff Moukhanoff (1878-1963), to whom he was married for 45-years. He remarried in 1966 and later moved to Valley Center with his second wife, Fern, who predeceased him in 1985.
Along with making marmalade, Moukhanoff lectured at local colleges on Russian history and wrote extensively about Russia, but attracted little interest from publishers, according to a stepdaughter in a 1990 interview. Family members still live in this area.
Source: Valley Roadrunner – December 16, 2021
Michael Moukhanoff was born to Russian nobility with ties to the czar and a Russian princess. He lived on Miller Road, and his neighbors knew him as a maker of fine marmalade made with fruit grown on his five-acre citrus grove, unaware that he once was an internationally-known professional gambler who held court in Monte Carlo.
Mr. Moukhanoff was born to nobility in 1897 in St. Petersburg (Leningrad), came to Valley Center in 1976, and died in Valley Center in 1990 at age 92. His grandmother, born a Russian princess, had Tartar blood. He lived through the 1917 revolution and collapse of 400-year-old Imperial Russia, worked briefly as a diplomat for the British embassy, and ended up in Monte Carlo.
In Monte Carlo, he become a professional gambler and was touted as developing a system for winning at roulette. In 1972, he wrote a book, "You Can Win at Roulette," documenting his experience at Monte Carlo. He wrote another book as a tribute to his wife, Helen de Smirnoff Moukhanoff (1878-1963), to whom he was married for 45-years. He remarried in 1966 and later moved to Valley Center with his second wife, Fern, who predeceased him in 1985.
Along with making marmalade, Moukhanoff lectured at local colleges on Russian history and wrote extensively about Russia, but attracted little interest from publishers, according to a stepdaughter in a 1990 interview. Family members still live in this area.
Source: Valley Roadrunner – December 16, 2021
Mr. Moukhanoff was born to nobility in 1897 in St. Petersburg (Leningrad), came to Valley Center in 1976, and died in Valley Center in 1990 at age 92. His grandmother, born a Russian princess, had Tartar blood. He lived through the 1917 revolution and collapse of 400-year-old Imperial Russia, worked briefly as a diplomat for the British embassy, and ended up in Monte Carlo.
In Monte Carlo, he become a professional gambler and was touted as developing a system for winning at roulette. In 1972, he wrote a book, "You Can Win at Roulette," documenting his experience at Monte Carlo. He wrote another book as a tribute to his wife, Helen de Smirnoff Moukhanoff (1878-1963), to whom he was married for 45-years. He remarried in 1966 and later moved to Valley Center with his second wife, Fern, who predeceased him in 1985.
Along with making marmalade, Moukhanoff lectured at local colleges on Russian history and wrote extensively about Russia, but attracted little interest from publishers, according to a stepdaughter in a 1990 interview. Family members still live in this area.
Source: Valley Roadrunner – December 16, 2021
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