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The 1991 World Series of Poker may have been the least exceptional of them all. Doyle Brunson won a bracelet, but that’s nothing new. The final table was amongst the weakest in the event’s history, with Perry Green the only player in the final six to notch another final table at the main event. No one won two bracelets…enrollment only went up five players…aside from being the first Series to pay $1,000,000 to first place, there’s little history remembers.
Jack Binion had promised the million-dollar prize the year before. While the Series had grown, it was becoming more spectacle than competition. Gabe Kaplan and Telly Savalas were trumpeted more than Brunson or Johnny Chan, while Puggy Pearson drew more attention than the other former champions because of his comical neo-classic native American get up. It was a far cry from the competition we know today.
With the field getting increasingly larger, the event was becoming more of a crapshoot. Brunson, Amarillo Slim, Stu Ungar and Phil Hellmuth --all returning champions—were eliminated on the first day. In fact, all of the returning champions were done when Bobby Baldwin bowed out in twenty-ninth.
The man who’d join their ranks was Brad Daugherty. A construction worker-turned casino dealer-turned professional poker player, Daugherty had taken a beating at the side games leading up to the Big One. Not to be left out of the party, he sold 40% of himself to Huck Seed and another piece to his poker mentor, Tuna Lund. The investments ended up being the wisest of the tournament.
Daugherty entered the final table with just T150,000, but he tripled up on the hand that eliminated Green, giving the Idaho native a real shot. Still, when he made the final two against Tucson Don Holt, he was at a chip disadvantage, and it would get worse before getting better, his stack reduced as low as a quarter-million chips to Holt’s T1.9 million. Still Daugherty fought his way back, then won a T1.15 million pot. He’d never give up the lead when he did.
On the final hand, Daugherty raised T70,000 and Holt called to see the flop of Jc-9h-8d. Holt, holding just 7h-3h, had been getting impatient, and it showed in his decision to move all-in. Daugherty finally made the call with Ks-Js, good for top pair, and when the turn and river came 5c and 8s, Daugherty was the Champion. He got to hold $1 million cash, even if he didn’t get to keep it for very long.
Gary Wise
gary@wisehandpoker.com
