Stu Ungar was a gambling prodigy: breaking records, defeating champions, and becoming the best at every card game he ever played. However, his private life was in shambles. His father died when he was a young boy, he grew up mean and tough on the streets, and in 1986, even his marriage to long-time love Madeline crumbled.
It was not the end of a string of personal losses and debilitating mistakes. His adopted son committed suicide after a high school prom. His drug problem escalated from “social” drugs to celebrate a big win, to an almost fatal overdose during the main event of the 1990 World Series of Poker. If his friend and fellow poker professional Billy Baxter hadn’t found him – unconscious in his hotel – he would’ve died.
(Despite being hospitalized for the rest of the tournament, Stu still finished 9th and was left with $20,500 even when dealers would take out his blinds every time.)
Stu’s genius at the card tables unfortunately failed him at the betting track. He lost large sums on horse racing and squandered the rest on cocaine, and for the next few years he would go from millionaire to dirt-broke at least four times. His friends were unable to stop him. Though they regularly encouraged him to go into rehab, he refused, saying that the drugs were easier to obtain at those facilities because dealers saw them as an opportunity to sell to large numbers of addicts. Not that Stu had any trouble obtaining them on his own. In one segment done by ESPN, many of his fellow poker players said they feared he wouldn’t live to be 40.
It seemed the only thing that really meant anything to Stu (at least to want to stay alive) was his daughter Stephanie. He kept a picture of her in his wallet, and would call her up frequently. Then in 1997, Stu was so broke that he didn’t even have enough money to join the World Series of Poker. His friend, Baxter, lent him the $10,000 buy-in. Though the heavy use of cocaine clearly showed on his face, especially his nasal membranes, which he unsuccessfully tried to hide with oversized, dark tinted sunglasses.
(Legend has it that he had a nose job to have it corrected, but the nostrils collapsed almost immediately after when he snorted cocaine again.)
Nevertheless, the drugs didn’t seem to affect his skill. He won, and split the million-dollar prize with Baxter.
After the tournament he flashed Stephanie’s picture and dedicated the win to her.
The media called him “The Comeback Kid.”
This should have been his second chance, but he blew it once again on cocaine and sports betting. Sometimes, Stephanie would convince him to quit – but only for a few weeks. At the 1998 World Series of Poker, Baxter offered to lend him money again, but just a few minutes before the tournament started he backed out. He sensed he was in such weak condition that joining would only have embarrassed him.
Stu’s life spiraled downwards. In the months that followed, it was said that he walked around poker rooms asking for money, supposedly to gamble, but only to buy cocaine. Even his friends stopped helping him (in an effort to make him stop taking drugs). He was arrested for drug possession.
Then, his luck completely ran out.
Stu was found dead in the Oasis Motel, Las Vegas. An official autopsy showed he had a heart condition caused by drug abuse. Though he had won over $30 million over his entire career, he had no assets, except for the $800 they found in his wallet (part of a $25,000 loan from Baxter so he could play poker again). In fact, his poker friends chipped in to pay for his funeral.
Stuart Errol Ungar was one of a kind. A true legend.
Rest in peace, my friend.
