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Famous Poker players. Past and Present
STU UNGAR
If you are a successful poker player, you have to deal with a number of issues that some people are not meant to play with. You toss in a few thousand bucks and walk out with millions more. This is what Stu Ungar’s life looked like on a daily basis. He was widely considered to be the best poker player in the world and was unchallenged with his three World Series of Poker main event wins. He also had a large number of other accomplishments, with winnings exceeding a mind-boggling $32 million throughout his whole life. But no money can buy true happiness and Stu’s life is in large part a sad chapter in the history of professional poker.
Stu Ungar was born and raised in New York in 1953. Mr and Mrs Ungar quickly realized that little Stu had a special talent. In fact, at the age of ten, he proved that he was a real prodigy after winning a local gin tournament. At the age of 15, he was considered to be one of the best gin players in New York. His earnings pulled him out of school as he quickly realized that he could make hundreds of thousands of dollars playing the game. In 1968, he moved south to Miami, Florida, to find more games. After a year, he came to the conclusion that he had to move to Las Vegas, Nevada, to find the competition he was looking for. At first, it seemed like a bad call; the casino owners quickly banned the young kid from all games after they had recognized his special card-counting skills.
After spending a year in Las Vegas, he entered the main event of the World Series of Poker. During the third day, Stu attracted large crowds who watched the young kid play all the way to the final table. Hours later, he won a sensational heads-up match with Doyle Brunson, who was defeated with 5-4 of spades, as the community cards popped up an ace, deuce and three. The following year, Stu participated once again at the main event, and was a big favourite to win. The runner-up Perry Green stood little chance against his A-Q of hearts, and by now Stu was declared a millionaire for the first time in his life.
Sadly, reality knocked on Stu’s door. His addiction to sports betting combined with the sudden spotlight attention led him to drugs. For the next sixteen years, Stu would combine a very unhealthy drugs habit with poker, but his perfect play was always apparent at the tables. As soon as the green sheets were gone, he would spend all of his time alone at hotel rooms. Despite all his winnings, he was usually broke and had to borrow money from his friends to participate in tournaments.
In 1997, Stu made a comeback and decided to play at the World Series of Poker main event once again. Like so many times before, he borrowed money from friends and started playing. Stu Ungar stunned the world once again and shut the critics who claimed that his comeback would be nothing but a failure. His skills in poker were as deep as his instincts and despite all the drugs abuse, Stu never lost his mind during the game.
Unfortunately, even sad stories come to an end. The poker players witnessed a physically and mentally deteriorated Stu Ungar, who started wearing shades, not because he wanted to improve his game play, but to prevent others from seeing his damaged nostrils, permanently damaged from his drug habit. In November 1998, he was found dead at a hotel room. The official cause of death was not an overdose, but coronary atherosclerosis. The doctors found mixtures of drugs in his blood, but only in small amounts.
Despite this tragic event, Stu Ungar will be remembered as one of the greatest poker players of all time, and possibly the best gin player who ever lived. Or as his friend Bob Supak put it, “He was the best. You can't expand on that. The best says it all.”
Comments
ok folks this thread is for contributions for Famous poker players
I will start it with - Nick the Greek ( No not from Lock, Stock & 2 Smoking Barrels)
enjoy the read
Nicholas Andreas "Nick the Greek" Dandolos (born in Rethymnon, Crete 1883-December 25, 1966) was a professional gambler and high roller.
Dandolos was the son of wealthy parents. He attended the Greek Evangelical College and earned a degree in philosophy. When he was 18 years old his grandfather sent him to the U.S.A. with an allowance of $150 per week. Although Dandolos settled down in Chicago he eventually moved to Montreal where he began gambling on horse races.
Dandolos was known throughout his life for winning and losing large sums of money. After winning over $500,000 on horse racing, he moved back to Chicago where he lost it all on card and dice games. He quickly became a master of these games, however, and became a prime attraction at casinos when he would play in them.
From January 1951 to May 1951, Dandolos played a two-person "heads up" poker match against Johnny Moss where the two played virtually every variation of the game that existed at the time. The game, set up by Benny Binion as a tourist attraction, is widely credited as being the inspiration for the modern day World Series of Poker.
At the end of this five month poker marathon, down an estimated $2-4 million dollars, Dandolos uttered what has become one of the most famous poker quotes ever: "Mr. Moss, I have to let you go." Fatigue was a major factor for Dandolos' loss as he was 24 years older than Moss.
One urban legend claims that Dandolos once had the opportunity to escort Albert Einstein around Las Vegas. Thinking that his gambling friends may not be familiar with him, Dandolos allegedly introduced Einstein as "Little Al from Princeton" and stated that he "controlled a lot of the action around Jersey."
Another urban legend has him winning one million dollars against a Texan. In the early hours of the morning, Nick felt tired and called an end to the game. The Texan accused him of chickening out while the going was good. Nick the Greek then called for a new deck of cards, shuffled them and asked the Texan if he wanted to play double or quit. The Texan declined and they went home.
Nobel-prize winning physicist Richard Feynman also met Nick the Greek, according to the autobiographical Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!. Nick explains how he wins big not by playing the tables, but by knowing the odds at the tables and betting against others who have superstitious beliefs about the outcome. He then relies on his reputation to bet against others.
Near the end of his life Dandolos was near broke and playing $5 limit Draw poker games in Gardena, California. When asked by a fellow player how he could once play for millions and now be playing for such small stakes, Dandolos supposedly replied "Hey, it's action, isn't it?"
He died on Christmas Day in 1966 and was a charter inductee of the Poker Hall of Fame in 1979.
It's estimated that he won and lost over $500 million in his lifetime. He himself claimed that he went from rags to riches over 73 times. A man who never respected money, he donated over $20 million (about $400 million adjusted for 2004 inflation) to education and charity.
A book by Ted Thackrey was published in 1968 titled Gambling Secrets of Nick the Greek.
A novel about Nick's life was written by Harry Marks Petrakis in 1978 titled Nick the Greek.
Born in 1957 in Guangzhou China, Johnny Chan has grown into one of the greatest poker players of all time. Chan came to America in 1968 with his family where they ran several restaurants in the Texas area.
At the age of 16, Chan started to realize his love for poker. It wasn’t long before he was testing his luck and doubling his earnings at the poker table, alongside many older, more experienced players.
Chan started playing in some underground games run in his father's restaurant. Chan consistently won week after week, and the other players began taking notice. The other players did not enjoy losing their money and began telling Chan that there would not be a game on the regularly scheduled night. Out of curiosity, Chan checked out the scene on the respective night and saw the usual cars in the parking lot. He had been ousted because of his talents.
At age 16, the the young Johnny Chan made his first trip to Las Vegas where he illegally sat with $500. In one night, he turned his $500 to $20,000 — but went on to lose it all the very next night.
Even though he was amazing at poker, Chan aspired to continue the family business. He had enrolled in Hotel and Restaurant Management at the University of Houston, but at the age of 21 left it all to pursue a full time career as a professional gambler.
Still relatively unknown on the tournament trail, Chan boldly entered into Bob Stupak’s America’s Cup Tournament. By the end of the tournament, Chan had knocked out 13 out of 16 players in a little over 30 minutes. It was then that Chan was quickly nicknamed ‘The Orient Express.’
At times, Chan had to sell off many of his possessions to keep his bankroll alive. Doyle Brunson once said, “Johnny was a hot-headed kid with some talent. But he didn’t know when to keep his temper under control or know when to quit playing.”
Chan’s playing style is extremely aggressive. He has been called a bully at the table more than once and it has only served him well. In 1987, he won the main event at the World Series of Poker and went on to successfully defend his title again in 1988.
Chan’s 1988 WSOP victory against Erik Seidel was immortalized in the 1998 film, Rounders, starring Ed Norton and Matt Damon. Not only did Chan have a cameo appearance in the movie, he taught the actors how to play, and offered bluffing tips in between takes.
So what’s next for the man who has everything? His ultimate goal is to own and manage his own casino, an aspiration that naturally suits Chan’s career background and industry experience. And, given Chan’s track record in the poker business; this future venture—along with anything Chan touches--is bound to be a success.
some good reads so far keep them coming Please
I am lazy so can't be bothered but google archie karas and you should find something interesting - probably the greatest gambler of all time
cheers for that m8 will do
Archie Karas (born Anargyros Karabourniotis in 1950) is a Greek-American gambler, poker player, and pool shark famous for the largest and longest documented winning streak in gambling history simply known as The Run when he turned $50 in December 1992 into over $40 million by the beginning of 1995, only to lose it all later that year. He is considered by many to have been the greatest gambler of all time and has often been compared to Nick the Greek, another high stakes gambler. Karas himself claims to have gambled with more money than anyone else in history.
Karas was born in 1950 at Antypata on the island of Kefalonia, Greece. He grew up in poverty and had to shoot marbles as a teenager to avoid going hungry. His father, Nickolas, was a construction worker who struggled financially.
Karas ran away from home at the age of 15 after, in a rage, his father struck him with a shovel barely missing his head. He never saw his father again. Nickolas died four years later when Archie was 19.
Karas worked as a waiter on a ship, making $60 a month until the ship arrived at Portland, Oregon. He then moved to Los Angeles, where he would gamble his bankroll up to $2,000,000 before losing it playing high stakes poker.After arriving in America, he worked at a restaurant in Los Angeles which was next to a bowling alley and a pool hall. There he honed his pool skills and eventually made more money playing pool than he did as a waiter. When his victims from the pool hall thinned out, he went to Los Angeles card rooms to play poker. He quickly became an astute poker player, building his bankroll to over $2,000,000. In December 1992, he had lost all but $50 playing high stakes poker. Instead of reevaluating his situation and slowing down, he decided to go to Las Vegas in search of bigger games. He claims to have gone from broke to millionaire and back several times before he went to Las Vegas. What happened in the next three years would going down in legend as the greatest run in gambling history.
Karas drove to Vegas with nothing more than his car and $50 in his wallet. His initial run lasted for six months where he turned $50 into $17 million playing poker and pool. After arriving at the Binion's Horseshoe, he started gambling and went on a hot streak. Karas recognized a fellow poker player from the Los Angeles scene and convinced him to loan him $10,000, which Archie quickly turned into $30,000 playing $200/$400 limit Razz. Karas returned $20,000 to his backer, who was more than content.
With a little over $10,000 in his pocket, Karas began looking for pool action. He found a wealthy and respected poker and pool player, Karas refused to reveal the name of his opponent for the sake of his opponent's reputation; he simply referred to him as "Mr. X". They started playing pool at $10,000 a game. After Karas won several hundred thousand dollars, they raised the stakes to $40,000 a game. Many gamblers and professional poker players watched Archie play with stakes never seen before. Karas ended up winning $1,200,000. He then played Mr. X in poker and won an additional $3,000,000 from him. Karas was willing to gamble everything he made and continued to raise the stakes to a level few dared to play at.
With a bankroll of $4 million, Karas gambled his bankroll up to $7 million after spending only three months in Vegas. By now many top poker players had heard of Mr. X's loss to Archie. Only the top players dared to challenge him. Karas sat at the Binion's Horseshoe's poker table with 5 of his 7 million dollars in front of him waiting for any players willing to play for such stakes.
The first challenger was Stu Ungar, a three-time World Series of Poker champion widely regarded as the greatest Texas Hold'em and gin rummy player of all time. Stu was backed by Lyle Berman, another professional poker player and business executive who co-founded Grand Casinos. Karas first beat Stu for $500,000 playing heads-up Razz. Ungar then attempted to play him in 7-card stud, which cost him another $700,000. The next player was Chip Reese, widely regarded as the greatest cash game player. Reese claims that Karas beat him for more money than anyone else he ever played. After 25 games, Reese was down $2,022,000 playing $8,000/$16,000 limit. After the loss, Reese said to Karas "God made your balls a little bigger. You're too good."
Karas continued to beat many top players, from Doyle Brunson to Puggy Pearson to Johnny Moss. Many top players would not play him simply because his stakes were too high. The only player to beat Karas during his run was Johnny Chan, who beat him for $900,000 after losing to Karas the first two games. By the end of his six-month-long winning streak, Karas had amassed more than $17 million.
The poker action for Karas had mostly dried up due to his reputation and stakes. He turned to dice rolling for $100,000 on one roll. He said that he could quickly win $3 million on dice, while it would take days to weeks with poker. He said that "With each play I was making million-dollar decisions, I would have played even higher if they'd let me."
Transporting money became a hassle for Karas as he was moving several millions of dollars in his car everyday. He carried a gun with him at all times and would often have his brother and casino security guards escort him. At one point, Karas had won all of the Binion's casino's $5000 chips. By the end of his winning streak he had won a fortune of just over $40 million.By mid 1995, Karas lost all of his money in a period of three weeks. He lost $11 million playing dice and then lost the $2 million he won from Chip Reese back to him. Following these losses he switched to baccarat and lost another $17 million, for a total of $30 million. With $12 million left and needing a break from gambling, he returned to Greece. When he came back to Las Vegas, he went back to the Horseshoe shooting dice and playing baccarat at $300,000 per bet, and in less than a month, lost all but his last million.
With his last million, he went to the Bicycle Club and played Johnny Chan in a $1,000,000 freeze out event. This time, Chan was also backed by Lyle Berman and both took turns playing Karas. He preferred playing the both of them instead of just Chan, as he felt Chan was a tougher opponent. Karas won and doubled his money, only to lose it all at dice and baccarat, betting at the highest limits in just a few days.Since he lost his $40 million, he has gone on a few smaller streaks. Less than a year later, he turned $40,000 into $1,000,000 at the Desert Inn. He then went back to the Horseshoe and won an additional $4 million before losing it all the next day.
A few years later, Karas went on another streak at the Gold Strike Casino, 32 miles outside Las Vegas. He went with $1,800 and lost $1,600 until he was down to just $200. Then after getting something to eat, he decided to gamble the rest of it. He shot dice and ran his $200 into $9,700 and then headed to Las Vegas. He stopped at Fitzgeralds Casino & Hotel and won another $36,000 betting $1,000 with $2,000 odds. He went back to Binion's and won another $300,000 at the Horseshoe and by the third day, had won a total of $980,000 from that $200 start.Makes a very interesting read and I for one would love to meet him and hear some of the stories he must be able to tell!
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Des Wilson was born in Oamaru, New Zealand, on March 5, 1941, the third of six children of Mr and Mrs Albert (Ab) Wilson who ran a painting and decorating business.
DW went to local schools, Oamaru North School and Waitaki Boys High School, leaving at 15 with School Certificate.
As a teenager he had three enthusiasms: cricket, theatre, and journalism. (These enthusiasms were reflected in later years as a member of the English Cricket Board, an executive with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and a columnist for two leading Fleet Street newspapers, The Guardian and The Observer.)
He began his career in New Zealand in 1956, working for two and a half years on Dunedin-based newspapers before moving to Melbourne, Australia, for a year with the Melbourne Sun. He then travelled to the UK in 1960 when 19.
After five years travelling in Europe, working in coffee bars and jazz clubs, then on local or trade papers, before exploring the possibilities of public relations, he decided to express his political idealism (he was by then a local Labour Party activist) via charitable/campaigning work and became involved in the launch of Shelter. He was its first director and held the post for four and a half years. At that time he also wrote a Guardian column and did some television work. He was also on the national committees of the Child Poverty Action Group and the NCCL (now Liberty).
In 1971 he joined The Observer as a columnist, writing for it until 1974 when he joined The Royal Shakespeare Company as head of public affairs. He was there for two years, including the centenary season. He then returned to journalism as managing-editor of Social Work Today, turning it from a fortnightly into a weekly; he ran this for three and a half years. Throughout this time he wrote regular features for The Illustrated London News and he became its deputy editor in 1979 and was there for two years.
In 1982, aged 41, he returned to campaigning for 10 years, launching in January the Clear campaign that won its battle for lead-free petrol in April 1983, and subsequently got lead-free petrol introduced throughout Europe (and in New Zealand where he won a campaign after only nine days). In 1983 he became Chairman of Friends of the Earth and also launched an umbrella campaigning organisation called Citizen Action. This, in turn, launched the Campaign for Freedom of Information; this campaign achieved a Freedom of Information Act in the UK just over 10 years later.
In 1973 he had joined the Liberal Party and fought a by-election in Hove, and he now returned to active Liberal party campaigning, becoming President of the party in 1986-87 and publishing a book on the 1987 General Election. He played a key role in establishing the Liberal Democratic party and In 1992 he ran its General Election campaign, subsequently being awarded PR Week’s award for the industry’s outstanding individual of 1992 for that campaign.
On the back of this he re-entered public relations as director of public affairs for Burson Marsteller and from there went to BAA as director of corporate and public affairs and was there from 1994 until 2000 when he retired.
He subsequently became a member of the board of Earls Court and Olympia Ltd. and was a non-executive director of The Carphone Warehouse at the time of its flotation.
In the public sector, he was from 1998 until 2004 active on a number of fronts: he was appointed to the Board of the British Tourist Authority and was on the Board for six years, then became deputy chairman of Sport England and chairman of its Lottery Panel, and a member of the UK Sports Council. He acted for three years as public affairs advisor to the MCC and was elected to the English Cricket Board but resigned during the Zimbabwe tour controversy of 2004.
He has written 14 books, including two novels, Costa del Sol and Campaign, a book with Sir John Egan on corporate social responsibility, and his most recent book on professional poker (published in June 2006).
He has in the past made many appearances on programmes such as BBC TV’s Question Time and radio’s Any Questions. In the early 60’s he fronted two LWT Sunday night series and made a documentary in the BCC series “One pair of eyes”. He has been for many years a sought-after public speaker.
He has written for every major British newspaper, including being a columnist for two years on The New Statesman.
His career has thus spanned 50 years and involved journalism, public relations and public affairs, and politics.
He first married in 1962 and his son Tim now runs his own public affairs agency and his daughter Jacqui is a senior executive in the health service. He re-married in 1984. His wife Jane is an artist. He lives in Cornwall where he plays poker regularly in local tournaments and on the internet, and writes, and from where he travels and engages in his hobby of travel photography.
(Taken from a bio on his website).
Cheers m8 for an Excellent read
Many thanks Dowzer
dtw
sorry i haven't replied sooner have had a lot on many thanks for your contribution it seems bennydip2 shares you veiw for being the best
cheers m8
dtw
hi all checkout bennydip2 read on Stu Unger which benny is doing in 4 parts well worth a read its in bennydip2's the truth is out there thread
nice 1 benny
dtw
I'll post Part 3 and 4 of THE KID thursday, going to be busy all through wednesday .
glk benny
no worries m8 have a good time in Luton tonight & be lucky look forward to parts 3 & 4
cheers benny
michael
YEP THE NEW KID ON THE BLOCK HAS HIS WEARS ON SHOW ONCE AGAIN HIS LATEST BLOG IS AWESOME
HAVE TO SAY THOUGH THAT BENNYDIP2 4 PART STORY HAS & STILL IS BEST READ I'VE HAD ABOUT
STU UNGAR
ENJOY