Hal Powler, the Man of One Legend
Hal Powler is a wonderful example of a person who just saw, came, won and left. Sometimes it happens; actually it does not happen really often, but still.
It took place in 1979, when he showed up on a horizon to win the World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet. It was really brave, as according to some sources, he did not have money to buy in. He borrowed a necessary sum from Benny Binion.
At the end of the 70s there were not many participants in the WSOP. Only 54 folks were fighting to be called the best player. It was the first tournament where the lady participated. It was Barbara Freer, who then became a World Series of Poker champion in the 1979. $400 Ladies - Limit 7 Card Stud. That was impressive.
But now we are talking about a man, who did not play professionally or seriously. On the first day of the tournament several great players simply did not survive in their game until day two. On the next day there were also eliminations of the players like "Puggy" Pearson and other 24 people.
Hal was like a "dark horse" at the tournament. That is why the experienced players did not take him as seriously as they should have.
Hal won $270 000. But since then he did not participate in any of the tournaments, as he had complications of Diabetes, which caused troubles in legs and eyesight loss. His game was over. And he died in the nursing home in 2000.
