WSOP History (1997): The Kid Dazzles Fremont Street

News / Chris Edwards / 11 June 2008 / Leave a comment

With the hot topic at the moment being the final table change, a lot of people don't know that this will not be the first time the WSOP tried something different on the last day.

The original WSOP was partly a publicity stunt to draw people inside Binion's Horseshoe, but the problem with this was that while this was going on inside, people were walking past. In 1997 the decision was made to move the final table outside onto Fremont Street to make it an actual passing attraction.

This idea proved troublesome in practice. During May the heat in Las Vegas reaches exceptional temperatures, 'It was about 100 degrees!' said Tom Sexton, brother of WPT announcer Mike. The winds also meant that each player had to use heavy card guards handed out before the event and that the flop had to be dealt under a Plexiglas board on the table so the cards did not fly away.

Stu Ungar is considered one of the greatest NL Hold'em tournament players of all time. Barry Greenstein reported that supposedly he won 10 out of the 30 large buy-in tournaments he played in. Said Ungar of his poker skill: 'Some day, I suppose it's possible for someone to be a better No Limit Hold'em player than me. I doubt it, but it could happen'.

Stu, or Stuey as he was known by friends, had a lengthly battle with drug and gambling addiction. By the time the WSOP came about in 1997, Ungar was heavily deflated by his problems and was scared to play his own money (if he had any, he was in serious debt by this point) and had to be staked into the event. Ungar's nose had been destroyed by cocaine abuse which was the reason he wore blue tinted sunglasses, much like John Lennon. Tom Sexton recalls having dinner with Ungar during the second day of the Main Event: 'After we were done eating dinner, Stuey looked at both of us and said, "I need your help to get up... I don't have the strength to stand up." Mike grabbed one arm, and I held the other, as we gently lifted him up to his feet and pointed him back to the poker room.'

Ungar held a dominant chip lead throughout most of the tournament before arriving at the outside final table. During the final hand, Ungar raised with A4 and his opponent, John Stzemp made the call with A8. The flop of A 3 5 was enough for both players to go all in. A rivered Deuce secured Ungar's third main event title. Unfortunately his crown as the 'Comeback Kid' was short lived. In his post victory interview he spoke the immortal words: 'There's no one who could ever beat me playing cards. The only one who could beat me was myself.'