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The 1996 World Series of Poker was proceeded by the loss of a member of the family. After the previous series, Johnny Moss, ‘the Grand Old Man of the Game’, suffered a stroke, depriving him the motor functions to play cards any more. Deprived of the pastime he loved, Moss passed of heart failure just before Christmas 1995. The ’96 event would be the first he wasn’t in attendance for.
While one legend passed, others were being forged. Bracelet winners that year included Barbara Enright, Sam Farha, Men “The Master” Nguyen, Freddy Deeb, Al Krux, Miami John Cernuto and David Chiu in a year that saw no repeat winners. One last name that should be added to the list; Dr Henry Orenstein, who patented the lipstick camera that would lead to poker’s televised revolution, won his one and only bracelet by defeating Humberto Brenes in the $5,000 Seven Card Stud final.
The Master almost pulled off the double, if not for being drawn out upon by eventual champion Huck Seed. Just twenty-seven years old, Seed first entered the scene at the beginning of the decade, when he bought 40% of 1991 Champion Brad Daugherty. Now, it was time to make his own mark on the strength of the bankroll that score had given him.
Seed entered the final against Dr. Bruce Van Horn with a 2:1 chip deficit after Van Horn handed John Bonetti his second third-place finish in five years. Still, Seed’s unpredictable had been driving Van Horn in circles, so when he moved all-in with pocket queens, Van Horn was all too happy to call with A-J. The pair held up and Seed had the lead.
It would be just thirteen hands later that the verdict would be decided. Van Horn raised T80,000 and Seed called with 9d-8d, the same hand that Dan Harrington won with a year earlier. The flop came 9h-8h-4c. Rather than slow-play, Huck made a moderate bet for T120,000. Van Horn, not believing his young opponent, raised another T210,000, then called when Seed moved all-in. The turn and river would come Ac and 3s.
The pot was the largest in World Series history to that point, with a total of T2,328,000 in the middle. The win netted Seed a $1,000,000 prize, while Van Horn took home $585,000 for his trouble.
Gary Wise
gary@wisehandpoker.com
