WSOP 1981
Even a most basic perusal of the history books in regards to the year 1981 reveals that this was not exactly a tranquil 365 days in the history of America, or the world. It was a year of both ups and downs, tragedy and triumph. On January 20th, 52 hostages were freed in Iran. And yet, the Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was assassinated not long thereafter.
Back here stateside, Ronald Reagan was inaugurated as the 40th president of the United States. Just two months later, he would be hit by a madman's bullet.But nothing, not even the act of a would-be assassin, could change the fact that a new era was moving forward with a full head of steam. The 1980s promised to be a decade defined by thrills and excitement.
And, nowhere was this more true than at the World Series of Poker. Eleven years earlier, when Benny Binion first had the brainstorm idea of hosting a tournament for the very best poker players, he probably did not envision how unusually lucrative and influential his idea would become. Or, at least, it is unlikely that he imagined how rapidly it would grow into a bona fide monster. With each successive year, more people entered the tournament and a larger grand prize was available to whatever enormously skilled individual managed to emerge victorious in the main event.
Back in 1980, Stu Ungar had absolutely shocked the poker world by becoming the champion. He was the youngest player to do so at the time and few people had given him much of a chance before the tournament started. Ungar showed he had to the right combination of talent, skill, heart and luck to pull off the seemingly impossible.
You better believe that there were a whole lot of players looking for payback in 1981. In fact, a total of 75 entrants took part in the main event of the tournament. But, was Ungar intimidated by being in such a glaring spotlight? Doubtful. This guy had been playing high stakes games - starting with gin rummy way before moving onto poker - since he was a lad back in some pretty rough areas of New York. He could handle pressure and he had already proved that he had the makings of a champion.
And so, in 1981 Ungar shocked the world again by winning his second consecutive WSOP grand prize. He walked away $375,000 wealthier for his efforts and had undeniably carved a place for himself in the history books. Now, everyone was left wondering: is it possible that this little upstart could truly make history and win three years running? It would be a long twelve months until the answer to that question came.
by Mason Raymond
