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1998 World Series of Poker |
1998 World Series of PokerA summary of 1998 world series of poker.
In 1998, under the administration of former US president Bill Clinton, the world took a major shift in the political arena as the United States of America captured the attention of the international community. The conflict with Iraq was addressed that year with Clinton deciding to send air strikes to the Iraqi premises. Negotiations went underway for a common amendment, yet the conflict continued. That year was also a historical event as Clinton stepped down from the White House as a result of an impeachment ruling by the US House of Representatives.
As the world was facing major political changes, the casino industry was making its own history as well. The year 1998 now belongs to the major highlights of the World Series of Poker history. That year, poker players from all over the world converged to the poker tables to grab the top win. The number of entrants reached 350 and each of them paid an amount of $10,000 as tournament entrance fee.
The last five players in the final round were Lee Salem, T.J. Cloutier, Kevin McBride, Scotty Nguyen , and Dewey Weum. But that night belonged to Scott Nguyen, also known as a weird yet amazing poker player. Although Kevin McBride was a challenge for Nguyen, the world-class skills of Nguyen made him win that night. The years of poker experience paid off in the case of Nguyen. But McBride also showed excellent poker maneuvers when he won some draws against Nguyen. The final battle between the two heightened the excitement of the spectators as each player called their bluffs. The classic line of Nguyen, "You call this one and it's all over, baby." made that night a remarkable poker moment. To that, McBride replied, "I call. I play the board." After that night, Nguyen became a millionaire and made him one of the greatest poker players of all time. At the same time, his classic routine of drinking while playing poker eventually made him a US beer endorser.
In the same 1998 WSOP tournament, the poker master Stu Ungar was supposed to play. However, Ungar decided not to play due to his drug addiction issues. Later that year, the casino industry mourned the death of Ungar. This event must have been the most unforgettable and saddest moments in the WSOP history. It affected, in one or another, the perspective of poker players in the said casino game.
However, during that time, a record-breaking WSOP final match of five was made after Nguyen triumphantly won against Jan Lundberg and Ben Roberts. At the same time, on that particular WSOP night, McBride did an unorthodox manner by leaving for the bathroom right after deciding on his play and before Nguyen made his final move. Moreover, two gold bracelets were given that year to Canadian players. The Canadian Daniel Negreaneu became famous in 1998 after winning his first gold bracelet and became a poker celebrity. With the poker breakthroughs in 1998, more outstanding moments were added to the pages of poker history.
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