The WSOP: 1992-1997

From 1991 to 1999, first prize in the main event at the World Series of poker was set at an even million dollars. The number of players entering the tournament grew steadily from 194 at the start of the decade to 393 at the end - steady growth, but nothing spectacular.

For the first half of the decade, the main event was won by names most people today would not recognize. Dan Harrington changed that with his 1995 win. Rather than slipping back into the shadows, Harrington leveraged his new profile and wrote a number of very good books on poker.

The following year a kid from California named Huckleberry Seed (Do you think his parents were hippies?) won the title, which created ripples of interest outside of the poker world.

Then in 1997 Stu Ungar shocked the poker world when he won the main event for the third time. By 1997 Stu Ungar had been battling drug addiction for over ten years and despite his poker triumphs he was deeply in debt. Few people wanted anything to do with him. Everyone remembered the 1990 WSOP, when Stu did not show up for the third day of play and was found unconscious in his hotel room after too much cocaine. Once unquestionably the best poker player in the world, Stu was now up all night before the tournament trying to convince someone to back him. Billy Baxter, an old friend, finally agreed to pay Ungar's entrance fee (in exchange for a cut of Ungar's winnings) but by the time the tournament began Stu was exhausted and began falling asleep at the table. Miraculously, he made through the first day. From his second day on, Ungar destroyed his competition. Showing up well rested each day, he quickly amassed a huge chip lead and won the tournament easily. He split the million dollars evenly with Baxter.

What could have been -should have been- the turning point in Ungars life may have been his undoing. Ungar blew his winnings in a few months, mostly on drugs and sports betting. Ungar's addiction prevented him from competing in the WSOP the following year. A year and a half after his amazing third main event win, Stuart Errol Ungar was found dead in a seedy Las Vegas hotel room. Despite having won millions at poker in his lifetime, Ungar died without assets. At his funeral a collection was taken up to pay for the service.