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Stu Ungar Poker Legend R.I.P
(b. Sept 8 1953 - November 22 1988)
Stu Ungar was born to Jewish parents in the lower east side of Manhatten, New York.
Stu was exposed to gambling at a young age as his father was a loan shark who ran a bar come social club that also doubled as a gambling den.
1968 Stu's father died of a heart attack in his mistress's arms and not too long after his mother suffered a stroke which would force the young Stu Ungar out of high school so that he could provide for his mother and sister. Stu started to deal at a local club.. It was around this time that he became friends with alleged Genovese crime family member, Victor Romano. The two shared a passion for calculating odds and were as sharp as each other. It has been said that the two became so close that Romano became a father figure to Stu.
Stuey had already at the age of 10 a reputation for playing gin rummy and playing well. By 1976 Stuey had earned himself a reputation as being one of the best if no the best Gin Rummy players around. The problewm that stuey had was that he like to gamble and would lose most of his winnings at the race track. Because of this he had to leave New York. Stuey left for Miami Florida and in 1977 he set for Las Vegas where he was to meet his future wife Madeleine
Stuey had gone to Las Vegas to get some more gin Rummy action as his reputation was a fierce one and the action was drying up in Miami. After a while his reputatuion was so much that he was in effect forced to stop playing as nobody would play Stuey, therefore losing an income and forcing him to start playing poker.
A while later Stuey was quoted saying - "Some day, i suppose it's possible for someoe to be a better no limit hold'em player than me. I doubt it, but it could happen. But i swear to you, i don't see how anyone could ever paly gin better than me".
1980 - 81
After not having a great deal of experience in Texas Hold'em at this stage he entered and won the World Series Of Poker at his 1st attempt and in doing so, becoing the youngest ever WSOP winner in history whic was eventually beaten by Phil Hellmuth and then by Annette Obrestad who won the first ever WSOP outside of Amercia called the WSOPE. To prove the 1980 WSOP win was no fluke Stuey retained the WSOP Title in 1981 and won his 3rd WSOP bracelet in the $10,000 Deuce to Seven Draw cemeting his reptuation as fiercesome No Limit Hold'em player.
WSOP Bracelets
Year |
Tournament |
Prize |
|---|---|---|
1980 |
$10,000 No Limit Hold'em World Championship |
$365,000 |
1981 |
$10,000 No Limit Hold'em World Championship |
$375,000 |
1981 |
$10,000 Deuce to Seven Draw |
$95,000 |
1983 |
$5,000 Seven Card Stud |
$110,000 |
1997 |
$10,000 No Limit Hold'em World Championship |
$1.000,000 |
Stu Ungar was unable to win the WSOP main event a 3rd time in 1982 as he put it himself as beaing physically exhausted from having to defend himself in court against a charge of cheating from an Atlanta Casino whilst playing BlackJack. You see, Stuey had a genius level IQ and an eidetic memory, which made him almost unbeatable at BlackJack. The casino basically did not want him there. Stu Ungar succesfully defended himself and avoided a $500 fine but the whole trial cost him around $50,000. He could have avoided the courts by paying the $500 fine but that would have meant that he cheated.
His skill and reputation was so much that he was unable to get a game of blackjack any where.
1986
Madeleine, Stueys wife divorced him. The couple never recoverd from Ritchie's suicide (Rithcie was Madeleines Child from her first marriage). Stuey had addopted Ritchie and they also had a child of their own.
It was not too long after all these problems that Stuey started to use class A drugs it is said inhis biography that he started using cocaine on the advice of fellow poker players saying that it helped keep them alert and energized something that came in handy for long poker marathons. Form being a recreationl drug it soon spiralled out of control into addiction. HIs addcition was so much that friends believed he would not make it to his 40th. Stuy was constantly in and out of debt losing most of his phenomenal poker winnings on the race track or drugs.
ComeBack Kid
1997 - After all the problems that surrounded Stu's life, he still managed to get the $10,000 buy in for the WSOP main event, from friend and fellow poker player named Baxter. Stu arrived at the tournament with clear signs of physical damage from his hectic life style. He wore round blue tinted glasses to take away from the damage caused to his nasal passage from sustained cocaine abuse.
Stu Ungar won the WSOP tournament for the 3rd time and split the winnings 50/50 with Baxter. Not much is known after this. His dauther begged Stu to quit drugs but he could only manage to stay clean for no more that 2 weeks at a time and on the lead up to the 1998 WSOP tournament Baxter staked Stu again but this time 10mins before the tournament Stuey pulled out of the tournament. Soon after Stuey went on the missing list
Ungar was found dead in his motel room in Las Vegas with $800 without any assets to his name.
Poker Clip - WSOP 1997 - Stu The Come Back Kid
Major Wins
WSOP Main event 1980 - 1981 - 1997
Amarillo Slim's Super Bowl Of Poker 1983 - 1988 - 1989
Movie
A film called High Roller: The Stu Ungar Story or Stuey was made in 2003
Poker Hall Of Fame
Stu Ungar was inducted into the Poker Hall Of Fame in 2001.