WSOP 1990
In the long and colorful history of the World Series of Poker, there are small milestones and then there are huge milestones. Without any question, what unfolded in the year 1990 falls into the latter category. If you ask just about any reputable poker analyst, he or she will tell you that this was one of the most outstanding tournaments of all time.
For one thing, the year of 1990 itself was a historic one in WSOP history. Hard as it seemed to believe at the time, 20 years had passed since Benny Binion first started this most noble of all poker events. Back in 1970, when only seven players gathered to compete for a silver cup in the main event, no one knew the tournament would grow into such a globally recognized phenomenon. Well, perhaps Binion himself had some visions of this greatness, but he kept them to himself. Being a true poker player, Benny understood the value of keeping your cards close to the vest. Therefore, he would focus solely on the business at hand, taking a very involved approach to managing each year's tournament and leaving the far-reaching analysis to historians.
Sadly, 1990 was the first year in which Benny Binion was not alive to witness the action at the event he himself created. But his passing only seemed to inspire the players. I can vividly remember it was with a sense of great import when the first round of the 1990 WSOP commenced. Everyone involved seemed to know that they were part of something very special.
All you had to do was count the number of entrants in the main event: a staggering 194. Clearly, there was no poker player out there worth his salt who wanted to miss out on this momentous occasion. And yet, although each of them would pay $10,000 to compete, they all knew that only one person could be victorious at the end of the tournament.
That great champion was none other than Mansour Matloubi, who walked away from the green felt table with a monstrous total of $835,000. I'll be the first to admit that I did not see this one coming. All my predictions were based on the prospect of a roaring comeback by none other than Stu "The Kid" Ungar, who had never fully recovered from missing out on his dream of being the first player to win three consecutive championships. Alas, Ungar would have to satisfy himself with being among the top 30 finishers in 1990. All the glory that went with the 20th anniversary of the World Series of Poker belonged to Mansour Matloubi.
by Mason Raymond
