Mr Janus emerged from the back room of a Brooklyn social club carrying a cigarette and several envelopes marked OFFICIAL in large red lettering that looked suspiciously handwritten.

The year is 1956. Elvis is shaking his hips. Cuba still looks lovely this time of year. The Soviets are up to something. And despite what certain so called football historians may tell you, the world is absolutely getting a World Cup this year.

One of the older fellas frowned.

“There ain’t supposed to be one in 1956.”

Hugh took a slow drag from his cigarette.

“Due to several administrative disputes, political tensions and one deeply unfortunate incident involving the Uruguayans, FIFA has authorised a special international tournament.”

“You just make that up?”

“Do I look like a man who would lie about international football governance?”

Nobody answered.

After several months of negotiations with international sporting committees, bookmakers, dock workers, and two Albanian fellas, the Janus Family is proud to announce THE JANUS WORLD CUP INVITATIONAL OF 1956.

ENTRY FEE: $2,500,000.

MAXIMUM ENTRANTS: 24.

ONE ENTRY PER PERSON.

“Too many men handling the same Janus leads to confusion. Each participant will receive TWO nations drawn entirely at random.The tournament draw will be split into TWO OFFICIAL BOWLS containing 24 nations each.

POOL A contains the footballing aristocracy:

Brazil, Argentina, Italy, Germany, England, Uruguay, Spain, France, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Croatia, Morocco, Mexico, United States, Colombia, Japan, South Korea, Switzerland, Austria, Sweden, Turkey, Denmark and Serbia.

POOL B contains the remaining nations including whatever the Yugoslavians decide to call themselves by kickoff. Canada qualified despite most of their population preferring ice skates to football boots, while Scotland once again arrive carrying the hopes of a nation fully expecting disappointment.

Every participant will receive: ONE nation from Pool A. ONE nation from Pool B.

TOTAL POT IF FULL: $60,000,000. JANUS FAMILY ADMINISTRATION FEE: 5%. TOTAL REMAINING PRIZE FUND: $57,000,000.

PRIZE DISTRIBUTION:

WORLD CUP OWNER: $39,900,000.

RUNNER UP: $11,400,000.

THIRD PLACE: $5,700,000.

No substitutions. No redraws. No complaints. No accusations of corruption unless absolutely necessary. Should your two nations meet during the tournament, you must publicly declare allegiance before kickoff like a man".

A voice from the back shouted.

“What if I get stuck with Scotland?”

“Then you’ll finally understand what it feels like to support Scotland.”

Sign ups begin immediately. Funds will be sent to a reputable Upper to avoid any doubt or concern regarding payment.

Ah, I can hardly remember the last Mafia World Cup, it must've been nearly 4 years ago, or possibly 2 or 6. It reminds me of the time my little Brazilian cousin, from the Rio De Janeiro wing of the TextBasedMafiaRPGFamily, pulled a couple moves and embarrassed me at the family reunion. I resent that child and curse the name Pelé in my prayers. I will be wiring my entrance fee into the sweepstakes, and I'll send extra under the table if you don't give me England. 

To be honest, I don't even know what a world cup is and truth be told, I don't believe some of these "countries" even exist.

Come on. Uruguay? Denmark? Made up places. Regardless, I have sent some money over to hopefully not receive these said "countries".

Perhaps TextBasedMafiaRPGMan can represent his new favorite country, Portugal?

Hugh my friend. The Janus line is renowned for running tournaments, I look forward to seeing all the success that comes from this one.

Are we sure the United States is in this? That doesn't seem accurate 

Richard-Harrow, I dream of drawing Portugal. I'll take my winnings and buy a mansion out in the country, where my pigs can run and eat all of the acorns falling off the trees. They'll all be named Joao or Bruno or Joao Bruno. I have sent my entrance fee, more than I've ever donated to DetroitSimon I'll have you know, and am hoping for the best.

¿Cómo se dice 'I'll take it'?

Close enough. I'll just swap my obrigado's for gracias'. As for Scotland, I'll need them as angry as they come if we're going to see any success there. I may try to convince my little Brazilian cousin Pelé to switch allegiances. McPelé has a ring to it. 

Go big or go home.

You accepted House's Tops dice bet. House rolled 326 and you rolled 855. You won $5,000,000 cash. You gave the dealer 1% of the profit. Click here to rebet.

I'm going in - sending your way Janus.

Let's get this show on the road. 

John always liked fun, so he decided to enter into the tournament. John advised his accountant to wire $2.5 million to HughJanus for his entry.

”Come on! Give me some good teams!”

RocknRollStaaaaar would rather lose $2.4m than visit your business and receive $1m. Nerd York mentality in full effect; you really can't teach them anything. 

I'm intrigued by this, Hugh and the prospect of crushing TextBasedMafiaRPGMan is also very appealing. Are you sure these are all actually countries though? I mean, "Scotland"? Are you just making some of these up for the entry fees? 

Anyway, count me in. I'm sure any Vegas entrants will be happy to swap with me too if I get any made up places. Right, Text?

Thanks for the invitation HughJanus. Sound like an awesome event. 

I like the dangerous pairing also.

Love having a nation capable of an upset. But you know what they say - “Life is to short for a bad Barbecue.”