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Bob Stupak, the infamous Las Vegas entrepreneur and poker player, lost his battle at age 67 with leukemia on September, 25, 2009. He was well-known not only for his ambitious 1,149-foot-tall Stratosphere Tower, but also for his charm and mischievousness.
According to Las Vegas mayor, Oscar Goodman, “Bob was an impresario, a ringmaster in the mold of the promoters who made Las Vegas the great town that it is. His ingenuity got him into trouble sometimes, but that happens to folks who try to grab the brass ring. I’ll miss his impishness.”
He was renowned for that “impishness,” which manifested itself in many forms. Just one example of many was the time he slapped a TV reporter who asked him if he was drunk while interviewing him about his failed run for Las Vegas mayor in 1987.
Stupak also raised eyebrows when he proposed the Stratosphere, which opened in 1996, went bankrupt and was sold soon after. As he put it, “They thought I was a complete, oh, for lack of a better word, fruitcake — and maybe they were right.”
“He had a really big idea with the Stratosphere, but it was a little before its time. Love him or not, he wasn’t afraid of anyone or anything,” said former Las Vegas mayor Jan Jones.
But Stupak backed up his bravado with some real poker skills. And he had the hardware to prove it: he entered World Series of Poker (WSOP) history when he won a bracelet in 1989 for a deuce-to-seven lowball event. His skills got him a place at the table on the Game Show Network’s High Stakes Poker, which put him back in the limelight after some time away to take care of his failing health.
But Stupak wasn’t all flash; he had a soft and charitable side too. In the mid-1990s he offered $100,000 for information to help solve the case of a Las Vegas child who had been shot to death on Halloween. He also gave money to homeless organizations and personally fed meals to thousands of homeless people. While his charitable acts served to balance out his wilder side, it also made him even more of an enigma.
But he knew his reputation well. As he said, ”The last thing I’ve ever been all my life is normal. I’ve accomplished what I have by being nothing close to normal.”
Stupak requested that his body be cremated and that there not be a funeral. His family has asked that anyone who wants to honor his memory send contributions to the Stupak Community Center:
The Stupak Trust
300 South Fourth St., Suite 701
Las Vegas, NV 89101
