Friday, 29 August 2008


1982 World Series of Poker

A summary of 1982 world series of poker.



The World Series of Poker already attracted a huge following by 1982. If the last WSOP tournament only saw a minimal increase in player population, the 1982 WSOP witnessed a boom in the number of competitors. From seventy-five, the contenders for the most coveted poker title grew to one hundred and four -- virtually the biggest field during that time. With this, the WSOP poker tournament became more ruthless as more skilled poker players from all over the world came to Las Vegas, Nevada to vie for the World Champion title.

Two years prior to the 1982 World Series of Poker, the entire poker circuit was in utter disbelief that a young player named Stu Ungar could actually get away with a back-to-back championship. If there were any doubts on the poker whiz's skills during his first WSOP win, they were completely rubbed out on his second consecutive WSOP victory. For this reason, the buzz that surrounds the 1982 WSOP is whether Stu Ungar could achieve the amazing feat of winning the championship three times in a row.

As usual, the World Series of Poker was held in Benny Binion's hotel casino, the Binion's Horseshoe. Since there were over a hundred players, the year 1982 saw a good number of new players who are eager to get their hands on the WSOP title. Needless to say, the same poker crowd was also in attendance. Among the familiar WSOP faces include Thomas Amarillo "Slim” Preston, first woman player, Barbara Freer, “Welcome Back, Kotter” star, Gabe Kaplan, and former WSOP champion Hal Fowler. The tournament, which began on May 22, lasted for four days until May 25.

During the first day, the number of competitors was greatly reduced to sixty-nine. The tough competition continued up to the following day, leaving only twenty-six players to battle for the $957,000 pot prize and the World Champion title. It was also during the second day that Stu Ungar was knocked from the running, immediately crushing his hopes of winning the WSOP title for the third time. By the event's third day, there were only nine poker players remaining: Dewey Tomko, Berry Johnston, Jack Straus, AJ Meyers, Carl Cannon, Buster Jackson, Dudy Roach, Brian Roberts, and Doyle Brunson.

On the last day of the tournament, the last remaining players fell one by one, starting with Carl Cannon. He was followed shortly by Brian Roberts, who exited before Buster Jackson. After Jackson, Dudy Roach was the next one to go. Several minutes more and he was promptly joined by AJ Meyers, who was followed by Doyle Brunson and Berry Johnston. Finally, it was just Dewey Tomko and Jack Straus left to compete.

At the final table, Straus was dealt an ace of hearts and a 10 of clubs, while Tomko got an ace and a 4, both of the diamond suit. After getting their respective cards, the two players decided to go all-in on the pre-flop. The flop showed a 6 of diamonds, a 5 of clubs, and a 4 of clubs, putting Tomko on the lead. However, it was the ten of spades on the river that made Jack Straus the new 1982 World Series of Poker champion.