1981 Super Bowl of Poker

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The Super Bowl of Poker (also known as Amarillo Slim's Super Bowl of Poker or SBOP) was the second most prestigious poker tournament in the world during the 1980s. While the World Series of Poker was already drawing larger crowds as more and more amateurs sought it out, the SBOP "was an affair limited almost exclusively to pros and hard-core amateurs." [1]

Contents

Prior to 1979, the only high dollar tournament a person could enter was the WSOP. 1972 WSOP Main Event Champion and outspoken ambassador for poker, Amarillo Slim saw this as an opportunity. "The World Series of Poker was so successful that everybody wanted more than one tournament," he said. [2] Slim called upon his connections and friendships with poker's elite to start a new tournament in the February 1979. Slim modelled his SBOP after the WSOP with several events and a $10,000 Texas Hold'em Main Event.

One of the principal differences between the WSOP and the SBOP was the prize structure. The WSOP's prize structure was flat ensuring more people received smaller pieces of the prize pool. The SBOP typically used a 60-30-10 payout structure. In other words, only the first three places received money and generally in the ratio of 60% to first place, 30% to second place, and 10% to third. [3] This payment schedule predominated the SBOP for the first 5 years of the event, but as the event grew the number of payouts increased while keeping the payout schedule top heavy. [3]

1981 Tournament

The 1981 SBOP was one of the most anticipated poker events in the 1980s. In 1980, Welcome Back Kotter's lead actor, Gabe Kaplan had won the SBOP Main Event. His victory proved that anybody could play poker. [4] Because of his popularity as an actor, people were eager to see how the returning actor would fare in the 1981 event. [4]

Billy Baxter, a Poker Hall of Famer won the Ace-to-Five Lowball event while fellow Hall of Famer Johnny Moss won the $5,000 Seven Card Stud event.

Key

*Elected to the Poker Hall of Fame.
PlaceThe place in which people finish.
NameThe name of the player
Prize (US$)Event prize money

Event 1: $ 10,000 No Limit Hold'em

Final table
PlaceNamePrize
1stJunior Whitehed$130,000
2nd Perry Green $78,000
3rdJay Heimowtz$52,000

Event 2: Ace-to-Five Lowball

Final table
PlaceNamePrize
1st Bill Baxter $26,400
2ndDon Rowe$13,200
3rdHal Fowler$4,400

Event 3: $ 400 Ladies Seven Card Stud

Final table
PlaceNamePrize
1st Ruth Godfrey $7,440
2ndJane Drache$3,720
3rdShelly Cory$1,200

Event 4: $ 1,000 Ace to Five Lowball

Event 5: $ 1,000 Seven Card Stud

Final table
PlaceNamePrize
1stJim McDaniel$23,400
2nd Ken Smith $11,700
3rdSeymour Leibowitz$3,900

Event 6: $ 1,000 Hold'em

Final table
PlaceNamePrize
1stDavid Chew$40,200
2ndGlenn Garrod$20,100
3rdDon Zewin$6,700

Event 7: $ 5,000 Seven Card Stud

Final table
PlaceNamePrize
1st Johnny Moss*$57,000
2ndPat Callihan$28,500
3rdRodney Pardey$9,500

Event 8: $ 1,000 Razz

Final table
PlaceNamePrize
1st Sam Angel $10,200
2nd David Singer $5,100
3rd Mike Sexton $1,700

Event 9: $ 10,000 Deuce to Seven Lowball

Final table
PlaceNamePrize
1stDave Hampton$54,000
2nd Doyle Brunson*$27,000
3rdDick Carson$9,000

Event 10: $ 500 Limit Hold'em

Final table
PlaceNamePrize
1stMark Porter$43,800
2ndKitty Sowa$21,900
3rdGary Carlson$7,300

Event 11: $ 2,500 Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo Split

Final table
PlaceNamePrize
1stTommy Hufnagle$18,000
2ndSam Moon$9,000
3rdSpence Edwards$3,000

Event 12: $ 1,000 Hold'em "Follow the Stars"

Final table
PlaceNamePrize
1stRalph Morton$46,000
2ndDick Albano$18,400
3rdDoug Johnson$9,200

References

  1. ↑ "1981 SBOP: Doubling Up". Hand of the Day. Poker Listing. Archived from the original on June 28, 2009. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
  2. ↑ Reback, Storm (March 5, 2009). "From the Poker Vaults: Amarillo Slim's Super Bowl of Poker, Part I". PokerNews. Archived from the original on May 14, 2009. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
  3. 1 2 Reback, Storm (March 12, 2009). "From the Poker Vaults: Amarillo Slim's Super Bowl of Poker, Part II". PokerNews. Archived from the original on May 15, 2009. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
  4. 1 2 "1981 SBOP: The Champion Dethroned". Hand of the Day. Poker Listing. Archived from the original on June 18, 2010. Retrieved June 17, 2009.
  5. ↑ "1981 Super Bowl of Poker $10,000 No Limit Hold'em". Tournament Results. The Hendon Mob. Archived from the original on February 20, 2008. Retrieved June 16, 2009.
  6. ↑ "1981 Super Bowl of Poker Ace-to-Five Lowball". Tournament Results. The Hendon Mob. Retrieved June 16, 2009.
  7. ↑ "1981 Super Bowl of Poker $400 Ladies Seven Card Stud". Tournament Results. The Hendon Mob. Retrieved June 16, 2009.
  8. ↑ "1981 Super Bowl of Poker $1,000 Ace to Five Lowball". Tournament Results. The Hendon Mob. Retrieved June 16, 2009.
  9. ↑ "1981 Super Bowl of Poker $1,000 Seven Card Stud". Tournament Results. The Hendon Mob. Retrieved June 16, 2009.
  10. ↑ "1981 Super Bowl of Poker $1,000 Hold'em". Tournament Results. The Hendon Mob. Retrieved June 16, 2009.
  11. ↑ "1981 Super Bowl of Poker $5,000 Seven Card Stud". Tournament Results. The Hendon Mob. Retrieved June 16, 2009.
  12. ↑ "1981 Super Bowl of Poker $1,000 Razz". Tournament Results. The Hendon Mob. Retrieved June 16, 2009.
  13. ↑ "1981 Super Bowl of Poker $10,000 Deuce to Seven Lowball". Tournament Results. The Hendon Mob. Retrieved June 16, 2009.
  14. ↑ "1981 Super Bowl of Poker $500 Limit Hold'em". Tournament Results. The Hendon Mob. Retrieved June 16, 2009.
  15. ↑ "1981 Super Bowl of Poker $2,500 Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo Split". Tournament Results. The Hendon Mob. Retrieved June 16, 2009.
  16. ↑ "1981 Super Bowl of Poker $1,000 Hold'em "Follow the Stars"". Tournament Results. The Hendon Mob. Retrieved June 16, 2009.
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