What's the Most Unusual Thing That Happen at the World Series of Poker?

What is the most unusual thing ever to happen at the World Series of Poker?

In our book The 50 Greatest Poker Stories, author Marton Magyar has chapters on two of the most unusual things ever to occur at the World Series of Poker. We're sure there are others, but these are great stories.

The first is called "Jack Straus’ Incredible WSOP Main Event Victory," which details an event at the 1982 tournament experienced by seasoned poker pro Jack Strauss, nicknamed “Treetop,” due to his six-foot seven-inch height and frizzy hair. That year, Straus was one of 104 entrants to the $10,000 Main Event. Early in Day 1, he went all in on a hand and lost. As he was getting up to leave the table, he noticed that he still had a single 500 chip underneath a napkin. Since he’d never announced all in, he put his last chip into the pot and was allowed to continue. All he could so was go all in again; he won that hand and made it through the first day. By Day 3, he'd amassed almost 350,000 in chips and had made it to the final table, where he was facing off against poker greats Doyle Brunson, Berry Johnston, and Dewey Tomko. It got down to heads-up between Treetop and Tomko. When Straus busted Tomko, he’d completed the most incredible comeback in poker history, winning the $520,000 first prize after being down to one measly chip.

Coincidentally, we ran an excerpt of that chapter in the August issue of LVA.

The second is called "Phil Laak’s WSOP Disguise." Phil “the Unabomber” Laak, nicknamed due to the hooded sweatshirt and sunglasses he wears at the table, is a flamboyant pro known for playing the longest recorded cash-game session in poker history—115 hours. In the 2008 WSOP, the 35-year-old Laak registered for the Main Event, but never showed up. Actually, he did, but he was disguised with gray hair, a mustache, and soul patch, wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses. Why? Aside from putting on a show, none of the other players knew who they were going up against. Laak didn’t make it into the money, but he was responsible for changing the WSOP rules and starting in 2009, participants aren’t allowed to “cover or conceal their facial identity.” Players who do so are risking disqualification and the forfeiture of their entry fee.

The 50 Greatest Poker Stories is a good quick read, 50 three- to five-page stories about poker, from the first mention in print (in the 1840s) to poker-playing computer Libratus, with coverage of the greatest poker personalities and events along the way (it's on sale for $12.71 and free shipping).

No part of this answer may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without the written permission of the publisher.

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Comments

Flaxx Aug-17-2022

Does this count?

This year, a player died right at the table in one of the cash games hosted by the WSOP. Maybe that's not what the questioner meant, but it was an unusual thing to happen *at* the WSOP even if not *in* the WSOP.

jpfromla Aug-17-2022

Flaxx

He was definitely "All in"

JimBeam Aug-17-2022

My Favorite

My favorite was about the guy who registered for the wrong event and ended up winning the whole thing. I think it was about 6-7 years ago now. Since there are multiple events running any day, the guy had intended to register for a hold-em event but ended up in a lowball event. He only realized the mistake when he was dealt 5 cards on the first hand. But it was too late to get his money back by then since he had already seen a hand. He kept playing and ended up winning the whole thing! I'm sure other people here will be able to fill in the details on who this was and what year, but I'm positive it happened in relatively-recent WSOP history.

Kevin Lewis Aug-17-2022

Not that miraculous

Straus did, in fact, still have 1/20 of his buyin left and could choose when to go all in (depending on where he was relative to the big blind). People have made comebacks from worse positions.

One aspect of those early WSOP  was that the blinds went up so quickly, the game became a crapshoot very rapidly.

Llew Aug-17-2022

Flaxx

Talk about drawing dead. 😜

David Miller Aug-17-2022

One chip

 Having one chip, even if it was 1/20th of the buy in, and then going all in and progressing upwards and winning the tournament may not be miraculous, but it was and is certainly noteworthy, signifying that one should never give up even if succeeding was a remote possibility.

VP4LIFE Aug-18-2022

The Behnens

Didn't Nick Behnen (Becky Binion's husband) have some moments where he flipped out at WSOP players? I recall him ripping down Russ Hamilton's plaque off the wall and throwing a hotdog at a dealer.

Question of the Day - 17 August 2022

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