Las Vegas Mogul Bob Stupak Dies at 67

The poker and the Las Vegas communities lost one of their own last week, when entrepreneur and former World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Bob Stupak succumbed to a lengthy battle with leukemia. He was 67 years-old.

To cite just one or two things Stupak will be best remembered for would be doing a disservice to a man whose long list of accomplishments ranges from building the iconic Stratosphere to winning a WSOP bracelet to placing a $1 million bet on the Super Bowl.

In addition to his reputation as an exceptional and well-rounded gambler, Stupak was also considered by many to be a master of publicity. Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman summed up his legacy in a statement he gave to the Las Vegas Review Journal: “Bob was an impresario, a ringmaster in the mold of the promoters who made Las Vegas the great town that it is,” he said. “His ingenuity got him into trouble sometimes, but that happens to folks who try to grab the brass ring.”

It is true that Stupak did not always have the easiest road to success. After a failed attempt at running a restaurant, he opened Bob Stupak’s World Famous Historic Gambling Museum on the Las Vegas Strip. Despite its less-than-stellar location on the northern portion of Las Vegas Boulevard, the museum drew patrons with slot machines, which promised huge payouts for a small investment. Unfortunately, the building burned down just two months after opening. In its place, Stupak built Las Vegas World, a casino with a space motif. Years later, Stupak would pioneer the efforts to build the 1,149-foot tall Stratosphere. While the project was seen to completion, it went bankrupt within its first year of operation and was sold off to Carl Ichan.

Stupak did not let these setbacks keep him down for long, though, and managed to keep himself in the spotlight via a series of outlandish sports bets and other gambling ventures. The Las Vegas Sun reported that Stupak placed a $1 million bet on the 1989 Super Bowl, which garnered quite a bit of media attention, although the paper also suggested that he quietly made some side bets to compensate for the financial blow he would take should he lose. Thankfully, he won.

In exchange for a $100,000 donation to the United Negro College Fund, Stupak was able to suit up for the Harlem Globetrotters in 1996. Stupak’s official website features a video of the event highlighting his charitable contribution, but John L. Smith’s biography of Stupak, “No Limit: The Rise and Fall of Bob Stupak and the Las Vegas Stratosphere,” suggests he could not help but set up some side bets on his basketball prowess for as much as $250,000.

Stupak’s charitable side extended beyond his Globetrotters adventure and he was known throughout Vegas for his philanthropic efforts, which included financing a local park and community center and helping to fight homelessness in the city. He was a civic-minded individual as well, running for Las Vegas Mayor and Nevada Lt. Governor, among other posts, but he failed to win any of his campaigns.

The poker world knows Stupak as a man with a knack for 2-7 Triple Draw. He won his bracelet in the now defunct $5,000 2-7 Triple Draw with rebuys event, a tournament that many of the pros cited as one of the more prestigious bracelets to win. In addition to nabbing the bracelet in 1989, Stupak made three other appearances at 2-7 final tables in the 1980s and 1990s. He also final tabled the World Poker Tour’s first trip to Commerce Casino for the L.A. Poker Classic and made an appearance on the popular “High Stakes Poker” television program.

Stupak is survived by his three children, daughters Summer and Nicole and son, Nevada, as well as two sisters and two ex-wives. Stupak’s body was cremated and there were no plans for a funeral.

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Casino poker language:

DEALER'S CHOICE - In home games, a rule that permits the dealer to name which poker game to be played that hand. Often limited to selecting from a list provided.
SET - In Hold'em, three of a kind where two of the cards are hole cards.
JOKER - A 53rd card in the deck, distinct from the others, used as a wild card or as a BUG.
EXPECTATION - The long-run [dis-]advantage of a given situation, specifically without reference to any particular outcome. I.e., what you figure to win [lose] on average after a large number of repetitions of the same situation.
ACTION - Money that is being bet. "NO ACTION" means a hand or game has few bettors and fewer raisers. "Gimme some action" is ostensibly a plea for calls and raises.
OPENERS - Cards in a hand that qualify a player to open the betting.

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