Vegas World: Retro VHS Tape Reveals 1980s Poker Game
Before the massive success of games like Ultimate Texas Hold’em, Las Vegas was a wild laboratory for gambling experiments. A recently unearthed VHS relic from 1982 has taken us back in time to witness the birth of one of the very first “poker table games” ever created.
Bob Stupak and the Birth of “Casino Poker”
The story centers on the legendary Bob Stupak, the colorful owner of the famous Vegas World casino (which later became the Stratosphere). Stupak was a true poker fanatic – he even won a WSOP bracelet in 1989!
Alongside his “Resident Wizard,” the famous poker theorist David Sklansky, Stupak wanted to create a version of poker in which players faced the house rather than each other. They called it, simply, “Casino Poker.”
A Legends-Only Press Conference
To launch the game in March 1982, Stupak didn’t just hire models – he called in the biggest heavyweights in poker history. A newly digitized video shows a “press conference” featuring:
- Doyle Brunson (The Godfather of Poker)
- Sailor Roberts
- Puggy Pearson
- Johnny Moss (The first-ever WSOP Champion)
In the video, these Hall of Famers sit around a table, cigars in hand, trying to figure out the best strategy for this new game while Doyle casually tosses around $100 bills.
How Did It Work?
The rules were a precursor to the table games we see in casinos today:
- Every player puts in an Ante and gets five cards.
- The dealer shows two cards face up and three face down.
- Players can either fold or bet (the bet must be 2x the ante).
- If the dealer has Ace-King or better, they qualify and play against the players. If not, everyone wins their ante!
There were even “jackpot” bonuses: A Royal Flush paid $1,000, and a Straight Flush earned a $500 bonus.
The Legacy of Vegas World
While “Casino Poker” didn’t become a global sensation like Texas Hold’em, it paved the way for modern favorites. You can see its DNA in games like Ultimate Texas Hold’em and Three Card Poker that dominate casino floors today.
Bob Stupak was a visionary who saw poker as a grand spectacle long before the “Poker Boom” of the 2000s. This VHS tape is a beautiful reminder of a time when the legends of the game were just hanging out, gambling, and helping shape the future of the industry we love.
Via poker.org
