Poker Legend Stu Ungar Remembered
One of the cruel ironies of human existence is that bountiful gifts are often given to those who cannot handle them. Beauty and money come immediately to mind, but talent in a particular discipline is often bestowed upon those who cannot maximize it to its greatest potential. Still others are unwittingly destroyed by some trait or characteristic that makes them exceptional. That’s what makes an athlete like Michael Jordan so exceptional-seldom are awesome talent, desire, discipline and dedication found in the same package in such prodigious abundance. The mass of humanity often reaps the benefits of their talents despite their external flaws. Such was the case with poker great Stu Ungar, who was found dead in his room at the Oasis Motel in Las Vegas on November 22,’98.
The only way to accurately describe Ungar’s poker skills is to evoke a sports metaphor–Ungar’s skills at the card table were like those of Michael Jordan or LeBron James on the basketball court. Ungar’s greatest accomplishment was his three World Series of Poker victories, an accomplishment not far removed from Michael Jordan’s six NBA titles. While countless volumes have been written on poker strategy, Ungar’s understanding of the game was almost instinctive. Although he won millions playing poker, the amazing reality was that it was essentially a ‘plan C’ for him as a professional card player. He started as a Gin Rummy prodigy, but quickly ran out of willing opponents in his native New York. He then moved to Nevada, and cleaned out the gin players in the Silver State. He turned to blackjack out of necessity and was almost instantly successful, only to be barred as a card counter at a number of Las Vegas casinos. Needing a new way to earn money as a card player, he took up poker.
Ungar’s problem was that he was awful at basic survival skills. He fought a number of addictions-most notably to drugs and sports gambling. After his WSOP win in’97, he was nearly broke and wasted away from drug use by the time the’98 tournament rolled around. Vegas casino owner Bob Stupak provided the $10,000 he needed to defend his title, but as the games began Ungar cowered in his darkened hotel room unable to pull himself together enough to play.
There are countless other Ungar stories that evoke the same theme: he once paid cash for a new Mercedes and drove it until it simply fell apart from lack of basic maintenance. He signed his mortgage paperwork at the table in the Dunes poker room and was taken aback that he couldn’t make his down payment in chips.
Tragically, Ungar’s death came as he’d began to show signs of turning his life around. Noted casino owner and longtime friend Bob Stupak had stepped in to help Ungar pay off his debts, clean up his life, and provide the stake money to enter the major poker tournaments. Ungar was found two days after the two had formalized the agreement in a contract. Ungar also left behind an ex-wife and a teenage daughter, who still live in Las Vegas. The official cause of death was listed as “coronary atherosclerosis” and a mixture of drugs including cocaine, methadone and Percodan were found in his system.
While many legendary gamblers have been tough, larger than life individuals with a healthy dose of ’street smarts’, Ungar was the diametric opposite. He was almost completely helpless away from the poker table. In the card room, he became an almost unbeatable warrior. While his death came years before the ‘poker boom’, his influence as a pioneer of the game is without question.
Ross Everett is a experienced freelance writer who covers travel, poker and sports handicapping. He is a staff handicapper for Anatta Sports where he is responsible for providing daily free sports picks. In his spare time he enjoys fine dining, fencing and scuba diving. He lives in Southern Nevada with four dogs and a pet coyote.
