77 Facts About Stu Ungar

Stuart Errol Ungar was an American professional poker, blackjack, and gin rummy player, widely regarded to have been the greatest gin player of all time and one of the best Texas hold 'em players.

Stu Ungar is the only person to win Amarillo Slim's Super Bowl of Poker three times, the world's second most prestigious poker title of its time.

Additionally, Stu Ungar is one of only four players in poker history to win consecutive titles in the WSOP Main Event, along with Johnny Moss, Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan.

Stu Ungar was born to Jewish parents Isidore and Faye Stu Ungar.

Stu Ungar was gifted at school and skipped seventh grade, but then dropped out of school in tenth grade.

Stu Ungar had the ability to recite the spelling and definition of all of the words in the dictionary and apparently shared a penchant and interest for calculating odds while gambling as Ungar did.

Stu Ungar was infamous for his arrogance and for routinely criticizing aloud the play of opponents he felt were beneath him, which included just about anyone.

Stu Ungar dropped out of school to play gin rummy in the 1960s full-time to help support his mother and sister after his father died, and began regularly winning tournaments which earned him $10,000 or more.

Stu Ungar eventually had to leave New York due to gambling debts at local race tracks.

Stu Ungar later moved to Miami, Florida, to find more action.

In 1977, Stu Ungar left Miami for Las Vegas, Nevada, where he reunited with Madeline Wheeler, a former girlfriend who would become his wife in 1982.

One of the reasons Stu Ungar eventually took up poker exclusively was because gin action had dried up due to his skilled reputation.

Stu Ungar destroyed anyone who challenged him in a gin match, including a professional widely regarded as the best gin player of Stu Ungar's generation, Harry "Yonkie" Stein.

Stu Ungar beat Stein 86 games to none in a high-stakes game of Hollywood Gin, after which Stein dropped out of sight in gin circles and eventually stopped playing professionally.

Stu Ungar was known to let his opponent look at the last card in the deck, offer rebates to defeated opponents and always play each hand in the dealer position, all of which put him at a strong disadvantage.

When Stu Ungar first visited Las Vegas in 1977, gin was still popular in a tournament format, much like heads up poker tournaments.

Stu Ungar won or finished highly in so many gin tournaments that several casinos asked him to not play in them because many players said they would not enter if they knew Stu Ungar was playing.

Stu Ungar later said in his biography that he loved seeing his opponent slowly break down over the course of a match, realizing he could not win and eventually get a look of desperation on his face.

Shortly after arriving in Las Vegas, Stu Ungar defeated professional gambler Billy Baxter for $40,000.

Baxter noted that when Stu Ungar first entered the room, Baxter did not believe he was his opponent because of Stu Ungar's youthful looks and small stature.

In 1980, Stu Ungar entered the World Series of Poker looking for more high-stakes action.

Stu Ungar won the main event, defeating Brunson, who wrote the book on Texas Hold 'Em, by reading the book the night before he entered, becoming the youngest champion in its history.

Stu Ungar would defend his title successfully at the 1981 WSOP by defeating Perry Green.

Binion's son Jack interceded and convinced his father to let Stu Ungar play, citing the media attention that the defending champion would attract.

Stu Ungar defeated professional poker player and multi-WSOP bracelet winner Dewey Tomko in the $5,000 Seven Card Stud event, winning $110,000.

In 1977, Ungar was bet $100,000 by Bob Stupak, an owner and designer of casinos, that he could not count down half a six-deck shoe and determine the last three decks.

Stu Ungar was fined in 1982 by the New Jersey Gaming Commission for allegedly cheating while playing blackjack in an Atlantic City casino.

The casino said that Stu Ungar "capped" a bet, something he vehemently denied.

The fine for this offense was $500; however, paying it would have forced Stu Ungar to admit that he had cheated.

Stu Ungar believed that his memory and card counting ability were natural skills and thus he did not need to cap bets or partake in any form of cheating.

Stu Ungar fought the case in court and won, avoiding the $500 fine.

Since Stu Ungar was a known card counter, the casino managers agreed on the condition that his betting would have a high and a low limit, which they presumed would render useless Stu Ungar's card counting ability.

Stu Ungar continued to play blackjack at the Lady Luck for six months.

Stu Ungar built his bankroll up to as much as $300,000 but eventually busted out.

Stu Ungar noted in his autobiography that at first he used it on the advice of fellow poker players because of the drug's ability to keep someone up and energized for a long period of time, something that would come in handy during marathon poker sessions.

Stu Ungar legally adopted Madeline's son from her first marriage, Richie, who adored Stu Ungar and took his surname.

However, he had such a chip lead that even when the dealers kept taking his blinds out every orbit, Stu Ungar still made the final table and finished ninth without playing another hand, pocketing $25,050.

Stu Ungar's addiction took such a physical toll that in an ESPN piece, many of Ungar's friends and fellow competitors said that they thought that he would not live to see his fortieth birthday.

Stu Ungar refused, citing several people he knew who had been to rehab previously who told him that drugs were easier to obtain in rehab than on the street.

In 1997, Stu Ungar was deeply in debt and clearly showed physical damage from his years of addiction.

Stu Ungar was exhausted on the tournament's first day as he had been up for over 24 hours straight trying to raise or borrow enough money to play in the event.

Stu Ungar would go on to amass a large chip lead and carry the lead into the final table.

Stu Ungar was so highly regarded at this point that local bookies made him the favorite to win the tournament over the entire field, an extreme rarity.

Stu Ungar went on to win the Main Event, joining Johnny Moss as the only three-time winners.

Stu Ungar was dubbed "The Comeback Kid" by the Las Vegas media because of the 16-year span between his main event wins as well as his past drug abuse.

Stu Ungar spent all of his 1997 WSOP prize money over the course of the next few months, mainly on drugs and sports betting.

Stu Ungar attempted to give up drugs several times at the behest of Stefanie but stayed clean for only weeks at a time before relapsing.

However, ten minutes before play started, Stu Ungar told Baxter he was tired and did not feel like playing.

Stu Ungar later said the real reason he chose not to play in the event was due to his drug abuse in the weeks prior to the tournament.

Stu Ungar noted that he felt showing up in his current condition would be more embarrassing than not showing up at all.

In November 1998, Stu Ungar was ready to return to play.

On November 20,1998, Stu Ungar checked into room No 6 at the Oasis Motel, a budget motel located at the end of the Las Vegas Strip.

Stu Ungar is interred at Palm Valley View Memorial Park in East Las Vegas.

Stu Ungar was noted for his ultra-aggressive playing style and well-timed bluffs.

However, Stu Ungar wanted to beat his opponents as soundly as possible, and he often insulted those whose skills he felt were inferior to his own.

However, Stu Ungar indicated that pride in his own skill would not allow him to do this; apparently he could not stand the idea of someone having a victory against him, even an illegitimate one.

Stu Ungar was once at an airport attempting to fly out of the United States to Europe for a poker tournament with several fellow pros.

Stu Ungar did not even have a Social Security number until after his 1980 WSOP win and that was only because he was forced to obtain one in order to collect his winnings.

Stu Ungar misconstrued this as a request for a bribe, something he was used to back in New York when with Romano.

Stu Ungar had no problem doing this and slipped the agent a $100 bill.

The agent was going to call the police and have Stu Ungar arrested for attempting to bribe a public official before his fellow poker players stepped in and smoothed things over.

At one point Stu Ungar was being staked by Las Vegas mob enforcer Anthony "The Ant" Spilotro, and showed up at Spilotro's house after having been gone for two days with a gun in his waistband.

Stu Ungar brought it back to the dealership and was told by a mechanic that it had no oil and thus would not run.

Stu Ungar was known to be a large tipper to cabbies and casino employees, regardless of whether he was winning.

Sexton noted that because Stu Ungar would pay for everyone in his dining party, regardless of how expensive the meal was, it was impossible to argue with his method.

Stu Ungar was known to always be willing to help out a friend.

Salem had not asked for money and had only mentioned offhand to Stu Ungar he was in the midst of a nasty losing streak.

Stu Ungar responded that he was OK, but struggling a little financially.

Stu Ungar pulled out a $100 bill and gave it to the man.

Stu Ungar returned from the restroom in the middle of the hand, at which point he was thrilled that his money was involved in such a giant pot.

Stu Ungar once won a large amount of money on a series of horse races.

Stu Ungar never had a bank account in his own name, preferring to keep his money in safe deposit boxes in hotels across Las Vegas.

Stu Ungar dismissed the notion of a bank or checking account.

Stu Ungar won 10 major no-limit Texas hold 'em events out of a total of 30 major tournaments he entered in his life, a record still unsurpassed in percentage terms.

Stu Ungar won the Main Event at the now-defunct Amarillo Slim's Super Bowl of Poker in 1984,1988 and 1989, when it was considered by the poker world the world's second most prestigious poker title.

Stu Ungar was inducted posthumously into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2001.

The Emmy-winning ESPN documentary One of a Kind: The Rise and Fall of Stu Ungar was broadcast in 2006.