The Story of the 1990 WSOP Main Event
The year 1990 brought the beginning of the third decade of the World Series of Poker (WSOP). And poker was changing as fast as the world was around it. With an influx of poker players from all over the globe the World Series of Poker had truly become a global event. The Main Event was bigger than ever before, with 194 players taking on the $10,000-entry World Championship. The 1990 edition of the WSOP had more lead-up events than ever before and the first winner to reside outside of the United States, who would take home a record top prize of $835,000.
More Events Than Ever Before
With over a quarter of a million dollars for first place in Event #1 of the 1990 WSOP – around $580,000 in 2023 adjusting for inflation – the popularity of the Series was starting to shine through. The World Series was growing and thanks to Benny Binion‘s sons buying up The Mint Hotel in 1988, the WSOP’s property footprint doubled in the following years, expanding to an entire block of Fremont Street and being renamed as Binion’s Gambling Hall & Hotel.
Just when it seemed like the WSOP was only getting bigger and better in preparation for the 1990 series, Christmas Day of 1989 brought with it a wholly unwanted surprise, as the owner of Binion’s Horseshoe and the man behind the World Series of Poker’s arrival in Las Vegas, Benny Binion, died.
With Benny gone, his son Jack took over the role as the presiding family member and wisely chose to grow his team with a pair of close allies in the poker world, Jim Albrecht and Jack McClelland. With both in place to help command the WSOP’s growth in the 1990s, poker would reach new heights under their supervision.
There were an unprecedented 15 events at the 1990 WSOP, with the action beginning on the last day of April with a $1,500 Limit Hold’em event. As it happened, the opening event was the busiest, with an unheard of 420 entries piling up a prizepool of $630,000. The top prize of $252,00 was won by Mike Hart (Harthcock), who beat the bracelet winner from 1989, Australian player Mel Judah, heads-up.
Other Big Names Win in 1990
With so many events and such a heavy footfall of new players from all across America and around the world, there were plenty of new bracelet winners as the final decade of the millennium kicked off. Ray Rumler claimed the title in Razz (event #2), Norm Boulus won the Seven Card Hi-Lo (event #3), and Monte Kouz won the Omaha 8 or Better (event #4). All three of them earned over $100,000.
After others such as Tony Stormzand (event #5), Phil Reher (event #6), Vasili Lazarou (event #7), and Shawqi Shunnarah (event #8) all won gold. John Bonetti – 16th place in the Main Event in 1989 – finally won his first of three bracelets, taking down the Event #9: No Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball for $83,250. A second South African winner came next as Hugh Todd won the Five-Card Stud event #10 and there were victories for former WSOP Main Event champions Amarillo Slim (event #11), and Berry Johnston (event #12) in Pot Limit Omaha and Limit Hold’em events respectively. It was Slim’s fourth and final WSOP bracelet. The last preliminary open event, the $2,500 buy-in No Limit event #13 was won by Allen Baker who was relatively unknown at a final table featuring Phil Hellmuth, TJ Cloutier, David Sklansky, Freddy Deeb and Mansour Matloubi.
The Women’s Seven-Card Stud event of 1990 featured 110 entries and was won by first-time winner Marie Gabert for $22,000, who beat the English player Jenny Kaye heads-up. Until 1990, English players had made very few appearances at a final table at the WSOP and Kaye’s runner-up position represented a big finish for the British contingent. Kaye herself would go on to cash consistently in live events for over two decades playing the game, including a win worth $37,913 in the 1995 L.A. Poker Classic.
The Kid is Blinded by the Lights
Looking back on 1990 as the first year a true non-American won the World Championship (Johnny Chan had dual nationality as a Chinese-American in 1987 and 1988) the Iranian-born Mansour Matloubi, who lived in England back in 1990 was about to win a legendary title. Matloubi’s win paved the way for international players to compete on equal footing with their American counterparts, forever changing the landscape of professional poker.
With the world watching on, Binion’s Horseshoe Casino in Las Vegas was packed. Any players who didn’t make the latter stages were packing out ‘Bobby’s Room’ further down the Sin City Strip. Sneaking into the top 36 places and earning a min-cash of $7,500 were players such as Norwegian Thor Hansen (34th) and Irish player Donnacha O’Dea (32nd), with Costa Rican player Humberto ‘The Shark’ Brenes finishing 26th for $10,000.
Mel Judah once again performed brilliantly, coming 17th for $12,500, while the returning Stu Ungar contributed to perhaps the 1990 WSOP’s most heartbreaking story. ‘The Kid’ was playing his A-Game and running deep in the Main Event when he succumbed to a drug addiction that was threatening to destroy not only his poker career but his life. Ungar had plenty of chips entering the penultimate day of the Main Event but due to a medical emergency, he was unable to make it to the poker table and was blinded out of the action, his stack finally disappearing, along with his chances of a third world title, in 9th place for $25,050.
Tuna Can’t Catch a Break
At the six-handed final table, early exits for Al Krux in sixth place for $58,450 and the 1986 world champion Berry Johnston in fifth place for $75,150 meant that four first timers were facing off for the title. Jim Ward was unable to go any further, crashing out in fourth place for $91,850 when his ace-jack was not able to improve enough against Dave Crunkleton’s pocket queens.
Crunkleton may have taken out Ward, but he was next to head to the rail. First, though, he doubled up the winner. Crunkleton’s queen-nine flopped a nine when committed pre-flop against Mansour Matloubi, and a queen on the turn helped him make two pair but Mansour Matloubi found a miracle eight to hit a set of them on the river to survive.
Reno player and crowd favorite Hans ‘Tuna’ Lund knocked out Dave Crunkleton for $167,000 in third place. His full house on the river was more than good enough to send play heads-up and the American crowd surged forward in support of their man.
“You have to get lucky; if you don’t get lucky, you won’t win anything,’ said Matloubi, the underdog with 800,000 to Lund’s 1.4 million chips. “I think we’re both open players, I don’t think you’ll have to wait too long. We play pretty fast.”
That prophecy came true. Mansour was all-in on a flop of 9-4-2 with pocket tens. Lund called with ace-nine and needed help to win the title in the hand. Surrounded by cries of “Tuna! Tuna!”, an ace landed on the turn and Lund was on the verge of becoming world champion, a 20:1 favorite to survive the river and become the Main Event winner. Amazingly, a ten on the river denied a visibly upset Lund in exceptionally cruel circumstances. Lund looked devastated and the tide had turned.
“Mansour is from London, but he has the luck of an Irishman!” the commentary team declared. “You have to think Mansour Matloubi might be blessed.”
Matloubi Makes History
Down to 300,000 in chips, Lund eventually got it in with pocket fours and was called by Matloubi with pocket sixes. A flop of Q-8-2 with two clubs gave Lund only a shot to a four or the back door flush. A king of diamonds on the turn ended flush hopes and the river was a deuce of clubs, as the Iranian-born Mansour Matloubi became the first-ever non-American winner, beating Hans Lund in incredible scenes.
“Every one of those hands, when the chips went in the pot, I had the best hand.”
What would Matloubi do with the money, presenter Chis Marlowe asked.
“Keep playing poker!” Matloubi smiled.
You can watch Mansour Matloubi capture the record-breaking $835,000 top prize in the 1990 World Series of Poker Main Event right here.
One year after Mansour Matloubi’s heroics captured the hearts of a watching public and the minds of every non-American poker player who dreamed of becoming the world champion, the Main Event would be even bigger. In 1991, the winner of the Main Event would be the first-ever million-dollar top prize.
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Mansour Matloubi | United Kingdom | $835,000 |
| 2nd | Hans Lund | United States | $334,000 |
| 3rd | Dave Crunkleton | United States | $167,000 |
| 4th | Jim Ward | United States | $91,850 |
| 5th | Berry Johnston | United States | $75,150 |
| 6th | Al Krux | United States | $58,450 |
| 7th | Rod Peate | United States | $50,100 |
| 8th | John Bonetti | United States | $33,400 |
| 9th | Stu Ungar | United States | $25,050 |
1989 WSOP Main Event 1991 WSOP Main Event
About the Author: Paul Seaton has written about poker for over 10 years, interviewing some of the best players ever to play the game such as Daniel Negreanu, Johnny Chan and Phil Hellmuth. Over the years, Paul has reported live from tournaments such as the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas and the European Poker Tour. He has also written for other poker brands where he was Head of Media, as well as BLUFF magazine, where he was Editor.