In the history of humanity there have always been geniuses in the different and countless disciplines practiced through the centuries. Poker was not the exception, and one day of June of 1953 was born the unbelievably talented, the master of the masters: Stu “The Comeback Kid” Ungar. His roots in the gambling world started to grow from a very early age given his father run a betting house which was connected to the mafia of New York at that time. The Kid’s skills soon earned him the protection of one of the most influential gangsters and he started playing not only banked by his sponsor but also protected with bodyguards.
Ungar, well known now for his poker achievements was an even better player at a game called “Gin Rummy” but he was so incredibly good at it that nobody, not even the most popular professionals of his time dared to face him and rejected any tournament where “The Kid” was to participate. That was the main reason Ungar had to look for new alternatives and began with Black Jack, which he also dominated very quickly and multiplied his money to keep on playing; but the casinos started banning him as he seemed to win too much and prohibited him to sit at their tables or closed the tables he was already crushing down... he usually left those tables saying the cards that were still in the deck one by one proving he was an invincible card monster.
Stuey met poker, and a very few tourneys later he was taking down the Main Event of the WSOP which he won 3 times. Players like Doyle Brunson recognize him as a brilliant player who improved his style and techniques at a unique pace; his aggressive and smart moves where it was almost granted his rivals would fold any other hand which wasn’t “The Nuts” along with incredibly accurate readings granted him a similar reputation in the Cadillac of poker.
But Stu Ungar’s life wasn’t all glory, money and prestige, on the contrary, his addiction to cocaine and chronic gambling tendencies made him swing between the extravagant luxury and the devastation. He was constantly consuming the potent drug and when he touched the bottom of calamity he looked for a new benefactor who could pay his entry into a new poker tourney where he usually made enough to start the circle again. His abuse was so bad that his nose was totally destroyed and he had to pay for a surgery to re-build it. When it was done the doctor told him to let it heal for some time but Stu couldn’t resist the necessity and sniffed so much that night the nose was completely undone next morning. After that he tried using shades to cover-up the worsening condition.
In 1997 after he struggled day and night to get the $10.000 for the entry into the WSOP Main Event, a friend, Billy Baxter, paid for his seat and he could join the list of participants in the last minutes available. That first day was a nightmare for the player given he was totally exhausted, but his friend Mike Sexton encouraged him as well as Baxter told him off for making him waste that money… in the end that was enough to help him survive and comeback next day rested and ready for the kill. He collected a huge chip-stack and didn’t stop till he got the first place and 1 million dollar prize, which he shared with his backer 50/50. The Comeback Kid, as he was called by the media for the time frame between the previous title and his last one, dedicated the victory to his daughter Stefanie.
One year later, he had spent all his money on drugs and gambling and despite having an offer to be staked again for the Main Event by Baxter, the player decided not to play as he considered it was better not to show up at the tables because of his lame condition, consequence of the drug abuse. Ungar’s nose was so damaged he couldn’t sniff coke no more and had to use crack instead. Many former friends of the fallen genius refused to give him any money as they thought he was going to use the capital to keep using the alkaloids. His life continued wandering from one casino to the other begging for money until he found Bob Stupak who offered him to pay his debts and grant him the poker sponsorship for coming tourneys in exchange for future winnings; of course Stu accepted and his friend gave him 25.000 anticipated. On June 20 1998 Ungar rented a room at the Oasis Motel and was found dead 2 days later. The doctors say he didn’t die of an overdose given the quantity in his blood wasn’t fatal and they attribute the decease to a cardiac illness developed as a result of the drug-abuse.
Ungar won around 30 million dollars during his whole career, he was a mastermind with no equal at the tables; he knew he was the best and acted like it, a fearless poker beast ready to annihilate any rival in front. The Kid was so insolent and arrogant that even Doyle Brunson felt like punching him in the face a couple times and one dealer quit his job with the sole intention to beat him up. A refulgent star which was at the same time the darkest; the greatest of all time; the one and only: Stuart Errol Ungar.
