Where Are They Now: Ron “The Carolina Express” Stanley Battled Stu Ungar at 1997 WSOP
Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Ron “The Carolina Express” Stanley, 70, was one of the most feared players in the game. In fact, he even went toe-to-toe with the legendary Stu Ungar at the final table of the 1997 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. It was there that Stanley donned a tuxedo while playing in the intense Las Vegas heat on Fremont Street.
Stanley, who has been playing poker for a living for “at least 50 years,” was recently spotted at the 2022 WSOP and was kind enough to chat with PokerNews.
“My dad used to play poker and he’d take me to the games when I was a kid,” he said about how he learned poker in the first place. “I was watching and it got pretty interesting. He was pretty good at it and I picked it up from him. It’s in my blood I guess.”
While he hasn’t had any major tournament scores since before the Poker Boom, Stanley is still on the grind.
“I play poker 5-6 days a week at least, mostly cash games,” he said. “In Vegas, I mostly play at South Point, but I’ve been in South Carolina for six months playing a lot of home games.”