Profiling Past WSOP Champions Part 1

In this first of a three part feature we are going to look at the poker careers of some of the WSOP main event winners of the past and if known their current whereabouts. Some are still playing poker, others are not and some have passed away. This article will look at three deceased former champions of the early 1980’s, Stu Ungar (1980, 1981, and 1997) Jack Struas (1982) and Jack Keller (1984).

Stu “The Kid” Ungar epitomises everything about the gambler that we prefer to uncomfortably brush to one side. Ungar made and lost millions throughout a gambling career littered with personal problems, degeneracy and poker brilliance. He was first brought to poker after cleaning out the Gin Rummy games of the 1970’s. Stuey, as he was known, is accepted as the greatest Gin Rummy player who ever lived. His poker playing exploits were amazing too. He was a fearsome opponent who won more $10,000 buy-in tournaments than any other player of his era, amassing millions in the process. Unfortunately he had a Cocaine addiction he was unable to beat and lost millions through ill-advised sports betting. He died in 1998 after been unfit to defend the WSOP main event title he won in 1997 which earned him a million dollars. He died in downtown Las Vegas with $800 to his name. Undoubtedly had he been alive today he would have been one of the superstars of the game but unfortunately died quite some time before the poker boom.

Jack Straus, winner of the 1982 main event, is perhaps best known for saying one of the famous poker quotes, “All you need is a chip and a chair”. There are numerous versions about how this quote came to be said but they all follow a similar story. At one point in the main event tournament Straus went all-in and lost the hand. He thought he was out and turned to leave, discovering only then one $500 chip. He managed to win the tournament from that point. Straus had previously had high finishes in other events and went on to continue playing poker until his death in 1988. The main event victory proved to be his finest moment in the game.

Jack Keller was former navy man who won two bracelets at the 1984 World Series of Poker, with the main event being his second bracelet. He was a very successful tournament player who went on to amass over $3 million in prize money winnings at a time when there were not the volume of high stakes tournaments that we find today. He had 24 cashes at the WSOP which accounts for just over half of his prize money winnings. He enjoyed further success at the WSOP with a win earning him $61,800 at a 1993 Omaha event for his third bracelet. He was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 1994 and continued to play poker right up until his death. He died in Tunica, Mississippi on December 5, 2003. Keller is the father of Kathy Koelberg who is also a professional poker player.

Although these poker players are deceased they all had a high profile back when poker was a game not inhabited by lots of young online players. These players played the big events but also the back street cash games where the odds of being robbed or shot were similar to that of taking a bad beat. They were true poker players of a bygone generation that rightly take their place in the rich poker history we enjoy to read about. In the next part we will look at some more poker champions and where they are in todays poker world.

By Malcolm Clarke

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