Long before Ultimate Texas Hold’em dominated casino floors, Vegas World owner Bob Stupak was experimenting with turning poker into a table game spectacle. Known for his larger-than-life persona and love of the game, Stupak—alongside his “Resident Wizard” David Sklansky—tried to create a poker variant for the masses in the early 1980s.
A Legendary Lineup Tries Something New
Thanks to a recently digitized March 1982 VHS tape from UNLV’s Special Collections, we can witness poker legends Doyle Brunson, Sailor Roberts, Puggy Pearson, and Johnny Moss testing out Stupak’s creation during a press conference-turned-demo. The four champions were dealt hands against the house as Sklansky walked them through the rules, with Brunson casually flicking $100 bills and Pearson puffing on a cigar while Moss looked on in amusement.
The game, dubbed Casino Poker, featured:
- Five-card hands for players, with the dealer showing two face-up cards.
- Bets required to be twice the ante, with the dealer paying off remaining antes if their hand ranked below ace-king.
- Bonus payouts for high hands: three aces or a straight paid 3x, flush or better paid 10x, straight flushes earned $500, and a dealt Royal Flush hit a $1,000 jackpot.
In action, the pros tried to navigate strategy while keeping the mood light. Roberts doubled down on a pair, Brunson tanked on ace-high, and Pearson scooped a high pair—all while a small crowd enjoyed the chaotic, early-80s Vegas spectacle.
From Vegas World to Ultimate Texas Hold’em
While it’s unclear how long Casino Poker survived at Vegas World, the game foreshadowed Ultimate Texas Hold’em, now a staple of casinos nationwide. Ultimate refined the concept: players place blind bets and an ante, receive two cards, and have multiple opportunities to check or raise against the dealer’s hand, with bonuses and qualification rules adding excitement.
Stupak’s inventive streak didn’t stop there. Vegas World also introduced crapless craps, Double Exposure 21, and numerous other casino-first experiments. Though Vegas World closed in 1995, its legacy—culminating in the Stratosphere—still reflects Stupak’s flair for spectacle and his early vision of poker as a live, thrilling casino game.
In short: the VHS relic shows how Stupak’s playful creativity helped lay the groundwork for modern casino poker, turning the classic game into a house-versus-player thrill that continues to captivate gamblers today.
