In This Chapter

Stu Ungar
Johnny Moss
Jack "Treetop" Straus
Benny Binion
".knarillo Slim" Preston
Doyle Brunson
Johnny Chan
Phil Hellmuth, Jr.
Scotty Nguyen
Chris Moneymaker
Honorable mentions

Poker is the only popular game of skillful human interaction where it's impossible on any given day to play against the world's best players. At any of the hundreds of major poker tournaments held in the United States or Europe every year, you could find yourself face-teface against former world champions such as Scotty Nguyen, Phil Hellmuth, Jr., or Huck Seed. Ever heard of them? How about T. A. Preston? Name sound familiar? He's better known a s "Amarillo Slim." If No-Limit Texas Hold'em is your game, you might get raised by none other than Johnny Chan, who appeared in the film, Rounders. Chan won two World Series of Poker titles back to back! If you visit Las Vegas, you could go head-up against Doyle Brunson, also known a s "Texas Dolly." Brunson has been called the "Babe Ruth of poker" - a fitting moniker among poker players that does as much for the late Bambino's image as Brunson's. He's a living legend and a two-time world champion. Just walk into casinos in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Atlantic City, London, and places in between, and you'll see players who have electrified the game and thrilled millions of viewers on ESPN, the Discovery Channel, and in several championship poker videos.
What distinguishes a poker "legend" from other poker players who may be successful in their own right? Conferring legendary status means the player has reached a certain level of accomplishment in the poker world manifested in the universal respect of one's peers. Poker legends are widely respected because they usually win (or have won) the most money in years past. They also usually win (or have won) the biggest tournaments in their careers. Their play is feared and respected. They have a powerful public image, even a celebrity-like status in poker circles when they walk into a cardroom and sit down in a game. That's a poker legend.
In this chapter, we identify ten legendary poker professionals. It's possible you will encounter some of these names during your poker career, particu- larly the younger superstars who are now dominating tournament competi- tion. At the very least, you will hear these names spoken around poker tables, so it's certainly wise to give yourself some background about poker's rich history and discover what makes these players truly special.

Stu Ungar

In the late 1970s, Stuey "the Kid" Ungar burst onto the Las Vegas poker scene with the full force of a firestorm. When it came to conventional poker strat- egy, Ungar didn't just push the envelope, he ripped it to shreds. Poker hasn't been the same since. From an early age growing up in New York City, Ungar was a savant at the card table. Before becoming a successful poker player, Ungar set the gin rummy world ablaze. His talent was so overwhelming that by the time Ungar was a teenager, he could no longer find opponents willing to play for money. So, at age 24 Ungar moved to Las Vegas and immediately jumped into the biggest poker games he could find.
Ungar won the World Series of Poker and the Super Bowl of Poker three times each. (No other player has won both events even once.) But the genius that made him also destroyed him. Ungar's lifestyle was as flamboyant as his rol- licking character at the table, his eccentricities amplified by astronomical wins and devastating losses. As brilliant as he was at the poker table, Ungar was burdened with personal problems that were largely of his own making. This ultimately resulted in his tragic death in 1998, at age 45.
Most memorable quote: "I just want to destroy people at the poker table."

Iohnny Moss

Johnny Moss was called "The Grand Old Man" for good reason. He played poker almost daily his entire life, all the way until his 89th birthday. Originally from Texas, Moss played on the famous underground circuit in illegal gambling halls and backrooms of the South during the Great Depression and eventually became respected as one of the best traveling pros in the world. Moss was the first to launch the concept of poker as a spectator event, participating in perhaps the greatest heads-up poker match of all-time, the 1949 duel on Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas when he faced Nick "the Greek" Dandalos in a 21-week marathon of Five-Card Stud.
Moss later moved to Las Vegas and took over the Dunes poker room, which for many years was the mecca for high-stakes poker. Moss won the World Series of Poker three times (the only player other than Stu Ungar with as many victories). Had the World Series been initiated earlier - before Moss's advanced age - there's no telling how many more world championships he would have won. He passed away in 1997.
Most memorable quote: "If things get tough, you get tougher."
Jack "Treetop" Straus

Everyone called Jack Straus "Treetop" because he stood six-feet seven-inches tall and had a big bushy beard. He was a truly lovable man, a larger-than-life figure with a reputation for gambling every single dollar in his pocket on a daily basis. Straus carried around bundles of money, which often amounted to thousands of dollars, stuffed haphazardly into a brown paper bag. On more than one occasion, Straus lost the bag and was left flat broke. He usu- ally dismissed these losses with a casual comment, "Such is life." Straus was a truly great No-Limit Texas Hold'em player, certainly one of the best of his day. He won poker's world championship in 1982. For many years, the Frontier Casino in Las Vegas held a major tournament in his name, which attracted poker's top players. He died of a heart attack in 1988 while in Los Angeles, fittingly while sitting in a high-stakes poker game. No doubt, Straus died with a smile on his face, doing what he loved best - playing poker. Most memorable quote: "I have only a limited amount of time on this earth, and I want to live every second of it."

Benny Binion

One of Las Vegas's last true patriarchs, Benny Binion started out by running illegal bootlegging and gambling rackets in Dallas during the 1930s. Binion arrived in Las Vegas in 1946 (some insist to evade murder charges back in Texas) and bought the dilapidated Eldorado Casino. He renamed it Binion's Horseshoe, and it soon became the epicenter of gambling activity. The Horseshoe wasn't really built for common tourists; it was a place for real gamblers.
For more than four decades, Binion had a standing public offer: He would accept a wager of any size, from anyone who walked into his casino. More than a few eccentrics were entranced by Binion's willingness t o take the ulti- mate gamble, and there are many stories in Binion's folklore (all true) of high- rollers with suitcases full of money riding on a single roll at the craps table. But Binion's first love was poker.
In 1970, Binion decided to try and duplicate the success of the Johnny Moss- Nick Dandalos match some 20 years earlier. He invited all of the top poker players to the Horseshoe for what he deemed would be the world champi- onship. The World Series of Poker was born. Now, over 30 years later, the annual event at Binion's Horseshoe remains the preeminent poker event in the world and every serious poker player's dream. Binion died in 1989. The Binion family continues to dperate the casino.
Most memorable quote: "Treat people right, and the rest will take care of Itself."

"Amarillo Slim" Preston

Probably the best-known poker player in the world, Amarillo Slim's down-home style and natural charm have made him a household name. Thomas Austin Preston was, in fact, born in Arkansas and took his memorable appellation many years later when he bought a ranch in West Texas with his gambling winnings. In his younger days, Slim made most of his money not at the poker table, but as a pool hustler. During a stint in the navy, Slim won over $100,000 in cash (and five cars, according to one story) while traveling up and down the West Coast.
Slim's exposure to gambling introduced him t o other legendary players of his day, including Doyle Brunson, Brian "Sailor" Roberts, and Johnny Moss. Slim won the World Series of Poker in 1972 and continued to be a dominant force in the poker world for a long time. Aside from his poker prowess, perhaps Slim's true genius has been marketing himself with colorful yarns and home- spun quips that have entertained millions of viewers and turned new genera- tions on to the excitement of poker.
Slim has appeared on The Tonight Show over a dozen times in addition to his numerous other television and radio appearances. Slim also organized what was for many years poker's second-largest tournament, the Super Bowl of Poker. Today, Slim lives in his namesake Amarillo and can be found at many of poker's biggest tournaments.

Doyle branson

"Texas Dolly" was born in the dusty West Texas town of Longworth in 1933. He earned a full basketball scholarship to Hardin-Simmons University and was scouted by the (former) Minneapolis Lakers. Just before the NBA draft, Brunson shattered his knee and the history of poker (and perhaps basketball, too) changed forever. Brunson, who went on and earned a degree in educa- tion, toured gambling's underground circuit in the South like many of his poker contemporaries -winning hundreds of thousands of dollars while dodging the law and getting robbed at least a dozen times. Brunson won back-to-back world poker championships in 1976 and 1977. He also finished second in 1980. Brunson has won a total of six World Series of ' Poker events, including his most recent victory in 1998 in the Seven-Card Stud Razz event. (Razz is a version of Seven-Card Stud in which the lowest- ranked hand wins.)
In 1999, Brunson defied the odds again by making t'he final table at the inau- gural Tournament of Champions, besting nearly 500 other poker players. Brunsoh is equally respected for his many contributions to poker's develop- ment. He wrote the book acclaimed by many as the "bible" of poker: How I Won A Million Dollars Playing Poker, (also known as Super/System: A Course in Power Poker) first published in 1978. He also wrote a popular column, According to Doyle, which ran in Gambling Times magazine for more than a decade. Today, Brunson lives in Las Vegas and still plays almost every day in the biggest games at the Bellagio.

Johnny Chan

Known as "the Oriental Express," Chan arrived in the United States from China when he was 9 years old. His parents, fleeing the horrors of the Cultural Revolution, set up a restaurant in Houston. At 21, Chan came to Las Vegas where he worked as a Glitter Gulch fry cook on Fremont Street. He fre- quently played poker after his shift was over, sometimes still wearing his white apron while sitting at the table. Chan eventually made enough money to quit his minimum wage job and became a full-time poker player. He rotated between the biggest games in Las Vegas and Houston for a decade before winning his first world championship in 1987. The following year, Chan won the title again. In 1989, Chan was shooting for his third consecutive world championship, which would have been an unprecedented feat.
However, he finished second to a young first-timer named Phil Hellmuth, Jr. Since then, Chan primarily plays only in the biggest games, although he made an appearance in the 1998 poker movie, Rounders, starring actor Matt Damon.

Full chapter only in the printed book