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NORWOOD - Thousands of people skipped meals, household chores and chatter around the water cooler Thursday - all to see firsthand Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein as the ace of spades.
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People wait in line (left) to purchase decks of cards featuring Iraqi bad guys at the U.S. Playing Card Co. in Norwood during a one-day only sale on Thursday. (Gary Landers photos)

By 9 a.m., several hundred people were lined up around U.S. Playing Card Co. to buy one of the hottest collector's items around - a deck of the only officially licensed Iraqi Most Wanted playing cards. The cards are the same as those given to Coalition soldiers in Iraq by the Department of Defense - which included the company's Hoyle Joker design.

Madeline Amend (right), 5, and her sister, Ali, 9, of Green Township, show their mother the new Iraqi leaders cards.

By 5 p.m., when the one-day sale ended, more than 20,000 decks had been sold. The decks, similar to those handed out by the Department of Defense to U.S. troops in the war zone, identify 52 members of the Iraqi regime, including the most nefarious power players - Saddam and his two sons, Qusay and Uday.

On Thursday, the cards moved like coalition forces into Baghdad - fast and furious.

"We're getting the cards for Daddy and uncles and Grandpa. My family's real big into collector's items," said Terri Dotson, a Petersburg woman who stood in line with her children, Cora, 1, and Samuel, 3. "I don't know if it's pro-American, but it's fun. It's a collector's item and a remembrance of this time."

George White, U.S. Playing Card vice president, was amazed at the crowds that queued up in an outdoor courtyard at the plant to buy the decks. Officials estimated that about 4,000 people showed up to pay $5 a deck, with a limit of 12 per person. About $100,000 will go to charity organizations.

"This has certainly exceeded our expectations," he said.

Internet sales of the decks also have been hot. So far, more than 700,000 decks have been sold at www.greatusaflags.com. And on eBay, thousands of decks are being offered, but some sellers warn of low-quality knock-offs being sold.

Copyright © 2003. The Cincinnati Enquirer.