Someone showed me Stu Ungar’s chip reporting clip at the end of Day One, when he won the 1997 WSOP Main Event. Here it is.
It was just a matter of time before poker artifacts started to become collectors’ items.
Think of all the decks of cards, poker chips, reporting slips, and other assorted memorabilia from years past which now serve as precious keepsakes of the game’s rich history and it’s most colorful players.
The single most valuable poker collectables are playing cards — and usually the winning hands. Unfortunately, all the playing cards from the early days are long gone and have since been destroyed. It would have been really cool to go to a giant wall somewhere and see every two-card combination of winning hands which ended up winning the World Series of Poker Main Event. For instance, Doyle Brunson’s famous Ten-Deuce would be a priceless keepsake, probably just as valuable as the gold bracelet itself in terms of rarity.
I’ve kept a number of playing cards over the years, which I gave away to people within the poker community for their service. The three rarest items I’ve given away were the winning cards held by Chip Reese when he won the inaugural Poker Players Championship, Doyle Brunson’s tenth gold bracelet hand, and Johnny Chan’s tenth gold bracelet hand. I’ve never actually sold anything, although I’ve been offered money to do so. I just happen to think there’s far greater benefit to giving something to people who deserve it, rather than selling our off history to the highest bidder. But if anyone wants to pay me a million dollars for my $5 chip commemorating “Oklahoma Johnny” Hale, hey — we’ve got a deal.
The one item I still have which probably has considerable value is Chris Moneymaker’s bio sheet from the 2003 WSOP Main Event. It’s basically Chris handwriting out all of his personal information at the final table just prior to him winning the world championship and changing the game forever. I actually fished his bio sheet out of a trash can at Binion’s Horseshoe several hours after the tournament was over, thinking I might actually need to contact Chris later (his phone number was listed on it). I was right. More than a few people wanted to talk to Chris for some reason.
I also get contacted from time to time to verify poker items, including autographs. I’m no expert on handwriting, but since I do have several samples of poker memorabilia I’ve collected over the years, at least there’s some basis for which to verify if a signature belongs to poker legends like Johnny Moss, Stu Ungar, Jack Straus, and others.
Earlier today, I had someone show me Stu Ungar’s chip reporting clip at the end of Day One, when he won the 1997 WSOP Main Event. That memorable tournament ended up being his third and final career victory, and was pretty much the swan song for the player some consider the greatest of all time.
The reporting slip looks legitimate and the handwriting certainly appears to be Ungar’s. The person who showed it to me hopes to get on the television shows Pawn Stars or Antiques Roadshow.
To some people, things like this have absolutely no value. To others, they are priceless. Like art, beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder.
And so, to those who are filling out their chip slips at the 2013 World Series of Poker, I have some advice. Write clearly. Sign your name carefully. Who knows? Maybe a few decades from now after you become a poker legend it will end up as a collectors’ item.