Earlier this year on an ordinary Monday afternoon, a bespectacled man walked into the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop on Las Vegas Blvd. Tucked under his arm was an uninteresting box that only he knew contained something rather interesting – a pair of gold watches dating back more than 40 years.
These were not your run-of-the-mill wristwear, but rather evidence of a unique and often overlooked time of poker history, a year when the World Series of Poker (WSOP) gold bracelet, now the game’s highest accolade, was replaced in favor of watches.
1982 WSOP watches
The man holding the box was David Sklansky, who in 1978 forever changed poker by advocating a mathematical approach to the game in his groundbreaking book The Theory of Poker. Nicknamed “The Mathematician,” he proved his prowess just four years later when he won two WSOP tournaments in five days.
First, he won the 1982 WSOP Event #7: $800 Mixed Doubles Limit Seven Card Stud, a tournament that paired one man with one woman, alongside Dani Kelly, and followed that up by taking down Event #12: $1,000 Limit 5-Card Draw High. A year later, the Binions reverted back to the beloved bracelets players know today, and Sklansky captured his third piece of WSOP hardware by winning Event #11: $1,000 Limit Omaha.
It was a remarkable accomplishment, and for more than four decades he’s kept safe the evidence of his victories, both of which still worked. So, why was Sklansky carrying his 1982 WSOP gold watches, two of only 15 ever awarded, into a pawn shop? Well, he was looking to sell them of course, but not to just any of the dozens of pawn shops spread across Las Vegas. Oh no, he was walking into arguably the most famous pawn shop in the world, the home to the wildly popular television show Pawn Stars, and he was there to do it with cameras rolling.
With action on Barry Shulman, the Cardplayer magazine owner wasted no time shoving all in for 4,400,000. Everyone folded, which was met by loud "Go Barry!" cheers from the rail, highlighted by his partner Allyn Shulman.
Colin Robinson raised from middle position and Gonzalo Almada defended the big blind. Almada check-called 550,000 on the K♦Q♣2♦ flop before both players checked the Q♦ on the turn.
A double-paired board appeared on the K♠ river and Almada checked. Robinson bet 1,250,000 and Almada called. Robinson slapped A♦K♥ on the felt to win the hand and move to 14 million.
Ivan Stankov raised to 600,000 from under the gun. Everyone folded around to Carl Shaw in the big blind, who three-bet shoved all in. Stankov snap-called to create a pot worth over 10 million in chips.
Ivan Stankov: Q♠Q♣
Carl Shaw: A♣K♣
The A♠K♦10♦ flop gave Shaw top two pair and the British rail roared. The 5♠ turn was safe for Shaw and the 7♦ on the river as well, making Stankov the ninth-place finisher.
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