 | | | | | | One Of A Kind | 
Stock Photo | | Item Specifics - Nonfiction Books | | | Author: | Mike (FWD) Sexton, Nolan Dalla, Peter Alson | | Category: | Biography & Memoir | | | Publisher: | Atria Books | | | | | | ISBN-10: | 0743476581 | | | | | | ISBN-13: | 9780743476584 | | Condition: | -- | | | Format: | Hardcover | | | | | | Publication Year: | 2005 | | | | | | Special Attributes: | -- | | | | | | |
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| Portions of this page Copyright 1995 - 2008 Muze Inc.  All rights reserved.
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***Brand New Book***
One of a Kind : The Rise and Fall of Stuey "The Kid" Ungar, The World's Greatest Poker Player
Stu Ungar is known as one of the original bad boys of poker. Because of
his early death I never had the opportunity to play alongside of him,
but his stories are infamous. He was considered a genius at calculating
odds, and putting players on hands. But, no matter how talented he was,
addiction took hold of his life and he was not able to break free of it.
Stuey was born on the Lower East Side of New York City. He grew up in a
Jewish household with his father Isador, mother, and older sister Judy.
His first introduction to cards was at the age of ten, while vacationing
with his family in the Catskills. Here he would play the hotel's wait
staff at the game of gin, beating them out of their nightly tips. At the
age of 13, Ungar lost his father Isador to a fatal heart attack, while in
the arms of his mistress. Twelve months later his mother suffered a stroke
which left her unable to care for herself, or children. Subsequently, Stu
dropped out of the tenth grade to support his mother and sister, becoming
a dealer for a local card club. His natural ability was apparent, and it
was a short time until he had beaten the most legendary of gin
professionals. Even though he was making thousands of dollars playing
cards, he was losing just as much down at the racetrack. Before long he
owed a substantial debt to the wrong people, and was forced to leave town,
heading west to Las Vegas.
Begun as an as-told-to by Dalla with Stuey Ungar, this biography tells
in painful detail the story of the poker and gin superstar. Ungar is
certainly a fascinating subject. He was prodigiously dysfunctional, a
manic sports bettor and cocaine addict who won an estimated $30 million
during his life, but who, after his death in 1998, needed a collection
from his friends to pay for his funeral. Unfortunately, the
complexities of Ungar's personality aren't satisfactorily unraveled by
the authors. They offer stories from the likes of poker legend Doyle
Brunson and Mike Sexton, television's reigning poker guru, of Ungar's
fabulous skills as a card player and spectacular need for "action," but
few insights into the source of Ungar's self-destructive demons: he
died prematurely at age 45 from the ravages of drug abuse. Without any
analysis, the repetitious account of years of poker ups and downs,
sports gambling losses, manic acts of generosity and descents into drug
abuse, as tragic as it is, becomes tedious. Still, without distorting
or downplaying Ungar's depredations, this is a heartfelt, respectful
and accepting biography.
E1496F
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| | | | Additional Information about One Of A Kind
Portions of this page Copyright 1995 - 2008 Muze Inc. All rights reserved.
| Size | | Length: | 316 pages | | Height: | 9.5 in. | | Width: | 6.5 in. | | Thickness: | 1.0 in. | | Weight: | 18.4 oz. |
| | Publisher's Note | Traces the rise and fall of poker champion Stuey Ungar, offering insight into his meteoric career as one of the game's most feared tournament players, the factors behind his tragic change of circumstances, and his early death at the age of forty-five.
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| | The seller, kathy55, assumes full responsibility for the content of this listing and the item offered.
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